For Immediate Release 09.18.08
For more information, contact:
Matt Hutton : 217.351.6700
Champaign, Illinois, September 17, 2008—Asking an innovative company like Spinlight to "do something a little different" with your marketing is kind of like asking a Trading Spaces designer to "use a little color" on your walls. You don't know what you're going to get. But you know it's going to get noticed. Such was the case when Krannert Center for the Performing Arts asked Spinlight to develop a new marketing campaign to introduce their new season to the hip and happening that populate Champaign's downtown scene.
"They didn't want the same old, same old," says Matt Hutton, co-owner of Spinlight. "They wanted to shake things up and get people to think about art in a whole new way. And we were only too happy to oblige." Within a matter of weeks, Spinlight created the vision for a shadowy underground art movement called Fireswallow that would initiate a series of innovative "art attacks" on the downtown scene - voicing their support for art that's accessible to all. Through fireswallow.com, the new organization would document their attacks and invite the community to send in their pictures and video of the events as they took place. It was different, edgy and out there. And Spinlight sold the concept to Krannert. Without a single word.
"We decided to meet the client for lunch at a prearranged location downtown," explains Spinlight co-owner and creative director Debby Winter. "As we were enjoying lunch, a well-dressed guy in a suit approached the window next to our table from the street, pausing to stare at his reflection. After a few seconds, he produced a squeegee and proceeded to clean the glass. Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats, wondering what was taking place. After cleaning the glass and adjusting his tie, the stranger then moved on, only to be replaced by another man who sprinted to the window, slapped a stencil over the same spot and sprayed the logo for a mysterious organization onto the glass. As the small group erupted in a mix of laughter and applause, we presented the complete proposal for a full-scale, guerilla marketing campaign that would bring the Fireswallow Project to the public. And the rest is history."
"At first we didn't know what was going on," says Maureen Reagan, assistant director for marketing at Krannert, speaking of the initial presentation. "But when we got it, we got it, and we were instantly on board. As a hub for the performing arts, we exist to embrace and celebrate art in all of its forms, including ways that get people to look at their world from a different perspective, and we could see how Fireswallow would do just that."
After project approval, work began in earnest, starting with the distinguished attire for "PARTicle Man" - a glowing, nighttime traveler who would visit the public at night, with 400 red LED lights attached to his black suit and bowler. "For each attack, we also created around 100 cards for PARTicle Man to hand out, each with its own single red LED and a battery," explains Chris Phillips, the senior designer at Spinlight who fashioned the look for the other-worldly ambassador of the arts.
After that, Kerri Hurd, the Spinlight graphic designer who dedicated the most time and energy to the project, recruited a local performance art group called Zoo Improv to read the group's mysterious manifesto in public places all around town, including open mic night at one of the area's trendiest bars. After one reading at the local farmer's market, they were even invited to read the manifesto on local community radio, generating a lot of free publicity for the project.
Other attacks included street performers that gave away Fireswallow kazoos instead of playing for tips, as well as a large public chalk art project that - in addition to the work of a local artist - included buckets of chalk that invited the public to "pARTicipate" with their own works of art.
By far the largest and most ambitious of the projects was the posting of nearly 500 yard signs across the city that read, "Vote for Art. This message endorsed by fireswallow.com." Facing frigid temperatures, and possible arrest, Fireswallow agents spread out across the twin cities at 5 o'clock in the morning, posting signs in parks, intersections and other public places before the crack of dawn. Soon local political chat boards were a buzz with the feat, along with the rest of the community, and hits to the Fireswallow website nearly tripled overnight.
"Without buying any airtime, we got our message on the air. Without buying a single board, we were seen by hundreds of people traveling through the community. That's the power of guerilla marketing," explains Hutton. "You can't buy buzz. But if you're smart about how you do things, you can sure create it. And we did just that."
The project has even been adopted by 40 North | 88 West, a local county organization committed to promoting the arts in the local community. "We have no idea where it will go from here," explains Hutton. "It's a little scary to see something that you created pass into someone else's hands. But it's fascinating to see something that we designed as a short-run campaign become something that will live on, inspiring new art in the community. We're advertisers, but we're also artists, and we're pleased to have played a major role in exciting passion for the arts in our region."
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About Spinlight Studio
Since its founding in 2000, Spinlight Studio has won over 150 local, regional and national awards, including 46 American Graphic Design Awards and 48 ADDYs. Located on South Staley Road in Champaign, the company offers a full range of print, broadcast and digital marketing services for a range of local and regional clients.