Organizations, whether for-profit or nonprofit, want to be noticed in order to gain new customers and grow. But the amount of information available today sometimes makes it hard to stand out.
That’s why I was interested to learn what the Mattress Factory, the contemporary art museum on the city’s North Side and the subject of this month’s Uniquely Pittsburgh, is planning in hopes of reaching a wider audience.
Drawing a larger audience
The Mattress Factory, which presents room-sized environments created by in-residence artists, decided to commission a site-specific light installation for the roof of 500 Sampsonia Way.
German artist Hans Peter Kuhn has been commissioned to create the project, which is currently in the fundraising stage.
The sculpture, titled Acupuncture, appears as long lines of white light piercing the roof and walls of the building — their alignment changes dramatically depending on the angle from which they are viewed.
The imaginative light sculpture helps bring installation art to a larger audience by using the entire building as an exhibit, while strengthening the identity and permanent collection of the Mattress Factory.
Is there a better way to advertise your product than to use your entire building to show people who haven’t made the commitment to enter what you’re all about?
Separate from the pack
This kind of eye-catching, innovative thinking is what businesses need to separate from the pack. You can’t just do the same old things that worked in the past. You need new ways to reach people — and new ways to be heard over the noise.
For example, this past summer we all heard about, and participated in, the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, which spread like wildfire over the Internet. In August, the ALS Association announced it was using the ice bucket donations to fund $34.2 million in research.
The organization reached an entirely new segment of the U.S. population by being clever and — as much as I hate to use this phrase — thinking outside of the box.
But in order to make this kind of unusual marketing memorable, and actually transition into new business, you need to connect it to your product.
A dash of humor and a willingness to take a risk
I think one of the biggest ways to set your company apart from the competition, and thus reach more people, is through humor. (We all remember the funny billboard by the highway.)
Think about Google. They have fun with their logo, changing it to fit historical events and holidays. They also solicit ideas from students and let people vote. Why can’t more companies do things like this? It gives customers ownership of the brand and makes us all take notice of something we look at day in and day out, but don’t really see.
So, in order to reach a wider audience for your organization, think about how to have a little fun with your marketing and connect with more people.
