A non-profit start-up in the middle of nowhere gets noticed by The New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, People Magazine, BBC and more
Tarren leveraged the brand’s biggest negative to brand advantage
The Situation:
The city of El Dorado, Arkansas (site of the country's largest oil field discovery in the 1920's) was facing a shrinking population and the loss of jobs due to changes in the oil industry. The population shrunk to under 18,000 and the city is 2 hours from anything sizable (Little Rock, AR., Shreveport, LA., Dallas, TX). However, more than 1 million people live within that 2 hour drive. City leadership determined that an arts, music and entertainment district would authentically represent the city's cultural heritage. The $100 million Murphy Arts District (MAD) was born.
The project included a 7,000-person outdoor amphitheater, a 2,500-person performance hall, a 200-person restaurant with performance stage, an historic 1920’s era Vaudeville theater with seating for 900, Arkansas’s largest outdoor children’s destination Playscape, and a 4 story art gallery space and artists residence.
Tarren was brought in to lead the marketing effort eight months prior to opening. There was no staff, no brand, no website and no plan. The grand opening would include a three-day music festival launch with nationally known acts ZZ Top, Brad Paisley, Smokey Robinson, Train, Migos, Ludacris, Ashley McBride, and more.
Strategy / Tactics
Tarren assembled a team of 6 external agencies to support the hyper-speed development of the brand identity and launch strategy. Agencies included brand, digital & social media, public relations, traditional media, membership/fund raising, and web development.
The keystone effort was the brand identity, personality, and story, leading to the creation of MAD. The personality was designed to evoke fun, presented with irreverence and tongue in cheek humor. We knew this was a crazy project and wanted the world to know that we knew it.
Key brand personality phrases included “We Don’t Want To Change The World, Just Show It A Good Time,” and “No One Knew Where Woodstock Was Either,” and “MAD Is The New Happy”
An outrageous story of "who are these people and what are they doing in the middle of Southern Arkansas" was pitched to national media in several categories: travel/tourism, lifestyle, music and entertainment (consumer), music and entertainment (trade), general news. Additionally, focused on wide coverage in all Arkansas media (print, digital and broadcast)
Outcomes:
Attendees came from 42 states for the grand opening weekend
Significant national media picked up the MAD story, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, USA Today, Billboard Magazine, Mashable.com, Insidehook.com, Yahoo, Southern Living, the BBC, Garden and Gun, the AP, the Bitter Southerner, and many more
More than 7 billion earned media impressions in the first 14 months
17% of the market signed up to become paid MAD members in the first year
