American Craft Council

For more than 30 years, the American Craft Council has presented The American Craft Show in Baltimore, the largest indoor, juried craft show in the country. The show features new works by more than 700 of the nation’s top craft artists and attracts approximately 23,000 attendees from the Mid-Atlantic and beyond each year. In 2005, the Council selected Profiles, Inc. as its marketing and public relations resource for its Baltimore show, specifically to provide new ideas in networking and outreach, as well as to offer an innovative approach to media relations, marketing and advertising.

Since that time, the Council and Profiles have worked closely to identify strategic objectives for The American Craft Show-- to broaden its appeal to general audiences, to re-educate the public about the definition of craft and to invigorate its presence in the Baltimore market. To accomplish these goals, Profiles employs aggressive marketing, advertising and media outreach initiatives.

Marketing Collaboration
In an effort to boost show attendance, Profiles works with local organizations to take advantage of numerous promotional opportunities. Promotion of the show through this type of outreach has included: online mentions, inclusion in community newsletters, postcard displays, display of artists work to preview the event, partnerships, and mailing list exchanges. More specifically, Profiles’ efforts resulted in:

• A display of American Craft Show work at the Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.

• A feature in the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association’s February e-newsletter to 90,000 subscribers, an event highlight on BACVA’s homepage in the Hot Happenings section and a feature in its calendar of events.

• A feature on the electronic billboards inside and outside of the Baltimore Visitors Center the week of the show and a display of postcards from December through the show.

• A partnership with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts including a postcard display in the lobby, distribution of an email blast to promote the show to its extensive database, and an event listing in its online calendar.

• Inclusion of The American Craft Show’s information in Live Baltimore’s relocation packets and a listing in its online calendar of events.

• Discounted and/or free admission to the American Visionary Art Museum for artists participating in the show during all show days.

• A partnership with Maryland Life magazine including a display opportunity for Maryland Life at The American Craft Show in Baltimore in exchange for its mailing list of 10,000 subscribers and a half-page, full-color ad.

• A partnership with Urbanite magazine including an upgrade from a ½ page ad to a full page, full color ad free of charge and a feature in its biweekly e-newsletter to subscribers in exchange for a rack display with copies of the publication on the show floor.

• Coordination of a mailing list exchange with several organizations including theTorpedo Factory Art Center, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore School for the Arts, Canton Gallery, ARTFX Gallery, the Walters Art Museum, the American Visionary Art Museum, and Goggleworks Art Center. These lists were used to send arts enthusiasts postcards in mid-January and in the beginning of February.

• Outreach to art departments at universities in Baltimore, Washington and the surrounding areas to inform them about student group rates and The American Craft Show lecture series. Schools were issued a personal invitation and follow-upcall to ensure receipt. The show was also posted online on the Collegetown Network.

• An informational mailing to over 200 neighborhood organizations/associations in Maryland for event inclusion in newsletters and promotion in meetings.

• Solicitation and coordination of individuals to model craft throughout the American Craft Show in Baltimore.

• A feature on the BaltimoreatHome.com homepage for the month of February.

• Cross-promotion with Showcase Productions in which The American Craft Show provided a gift certificate for use as a raffle prize at each of the four bridal shows produced by Showcase Productions in the Baltimore/Washington market during January and February. In exchange for the gift certificates, The American Craft Show received an ad in each of the four bridal show program books.

• Solicitation and coordination of entertainment—including a jazz group and an acapella group—to perform in the lobby where guests purchase tickets.

• Cross-promotion with Sister to Sister: Everybody Has Heart, an event designed to promote heart health among woman, including postcards for attendee goodie bags and a gift certificate for the raffle.

• Cross-promotion with The Baltimore Sun’s Travel and Golf Expo, which took place at the Baltimore Convention Center during The American Craft Show, including free admission to the expo for American Craft Show attendees,promotion of the free admission offer in ads for the Travel and Golf Expo, and a donation of an American Craft Show gift certificate for the expo’s raffle.

• A posting about the show on several appropriate blogs including those focusing on arts and entertainment, cultural events, craft, etc. in the Baltimore area.

• Postcard distribution to the following: more than 50 retail locations; Welcome Centers throughout Maryland; over 150 hotels in Baltimore, Washington and the surrounding areas; the top 15 largest office buildings in Downtown Baltimore; arts organizations and their members; Walters Art Museum; and Peabody Elderhostel, one of the largest Elderhostel programs in the U.S.; regional arts and cultural institutions

Advertising
Profiles has consulted with the American Craft Council on placement of advertising to maximize its budget while reaching new audiences and traditional attendees.

Media Outreach
Profiles’ aggressive media relations strategy encourages new thinking-- gaining editorial coverage by focusing on personal stories of show artists, trend stories in the craft industry and coverage of new show components. Additionally, media outreach efforts have secured numerous online and print event listings to encourage show attendance.

Results: Since Profiles began working with the American Craft Council to promote The American Craft Show in Baltimore, Profiles has secured coverage in the following publications: The Baltimore Sun, The Baltimore Examiner, Fiberarts magazine, Where Baltimore magazine, Where DC magazine, Baltimore Afro-American Newspapers, Washington Post, Washington Blade, Baltimore Jewish Times, Frederick News-Post, Annapolis Capital, Pennysaver, Baltimore City Paper, Baltimore Messenger, Owings Mills Times, Towson Times, Maryland Gazette, Baltimore OUTLoud!, Baltimore Gay Life, Avenue News, Baltimore Business Journal, Baltimore Daily Record, Recreation News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Commonwealth Times, Woodshop News, Fashion Accessories, Federal Hillsider, Ceramics Monthly, Urbanite, Baltimore’s Child, Chesapeake Family, Maryland Family, Baltimore magazine, Style Magazine, SmartWoman magazine, Go!, Sky Writings, Crafts Business, Crafts Report, Home and Design, American Craft magazine, Ornament, Gifts and Decorative Accessories, American Style, Valley Times, Mason-Dixon Arrive, The Oregonian, The Times-Union, and Giftware News. Coverage and interviews were also secured on WBFF-TV, WMAR-TV, WBAL-TV, WJZ-TV, MPT, CN-8, WHUR- FM, WTTR-FM, WPOC-FM, WHFS-FM, WYPR-FM, WTMD-FM, WWMX-FM, WLIF-FM, WVIE-AM and WCBM-FM.

The American Craft Council has been a client of Profiles since August 2005