Studio Brief 1 - Art Fund Brief research

The purpose of the Art Fund brief is to 'create a campaign that can drive sales of the Student Art Pass amongst university students in autumn 2018.' The company is a charity that was set up in 1903 to help galleries and museums buy and display works of art for the nation to see. The majority of the funds are provided by the National Art Pass, which allows people to visit over 240 museums, historic houses and galleries across the country, at a discounted price. It also offers customers 50% off major exhibitions that are displayed around the country. The Art Fund has also created a Student Art Pass, which is priced at £5, which is significantly more convenient than the National Art Pass, which is priced at £65. This price for the student pass will only be available between October and December.

Their creative challenge

'We need to convince students – not just art students – that visiting museums and galleries can help them step out of their daily lives and get a new perspective on the world. For some, it might be about inspiration for their studies. For others, museums and galleries can offer a chance to relax and reset. 

The annual pass offers them access to a huge variety of art throughout the UK, for just £5. The campaign will appear in university media and online, in autumn 2018. There is a relatively limited media budget, so we’re looking for a distinctive campaign that can stand out from the freshers’ week clutter. 

Forget Glastonbury; the Student Art Pass is now the biggest drop of the year.'

Audience of the campaign

The Student Art Pass was created to entice students of all types and not just art students. The aim is to  make gallery and museum viewing more popular among all students in the UK. As the time of the campaign will be during the month of October, there will be competition with other brands that will target new university students between 18 and 22. This will mean the campaign needs to be distinctive and appealing enough to stand out among competitors.

Key Insight

As the Art Fund has conducted research into student life, it has found how technology is a regular tool used by students. It aims to entice students to visit a gallery or museum instead, so that they can either be inspired, feel more relaxed or to 'switch off' from technology. This idea of switching off, relaxing and finding inspiration is the brand's primary focus, while its secondary focus is to sell the passes at £5 for 1 years worth of gallery and museum viewing.

The campaign strategy

Art Fund aims to create a wide variety of marketing strategies, so that it can reach all types of students during fresher's. This will include posters, on-campus stunts, university intranets, digital screens in lecture halls and university magazines/papers. On social media, it aims to use university social pages, venues and influencers to promote the brand, or by paid-media formats, such as Facebook adverts. It could also collaborate with another campaign to promote the brand to university students using offers.

Brand considerations

Art Fund aims to rival organisations such as Glastonbury and Supreme, when it comes to marketing. Thinking digitally may be a more convenient option, as apposed to showing the works of art. Art Fund also want the scale of the student pass to be emphasised, by saying it is national and covers hundreds of venues. Testimonials from past students could be used to show the effectiveness of the pass and its customer response. The production budget will also be limited, so it will mean considering the costs throughout the campaign.

Required considerations

• Include the name Student Art Pass and the £5 fee. 
• Where the students can purchase the passes. (E.g. https://www.artfund.org/student)
• It must not draw attention to the original price of the national pass, at £65.

Brainstorming

The brand can be broken down into 4 aims for the design elements of the campaign. This will include, how the price can play a part of the design, how inspiration and relaxation are projected by other brands and how competitors are targeting the same audience.

The next step was to look at each of the 4 key factors in depth, so that more ideas could come about. This will also provide insight into ways in which brands market their ideas, the techniques they use and the ways that this can be applied to the campaign for Art Fund.

Kitkat - Rewarded its customers with chocolate by interacting with a billboard, which required them to dance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOXz4Ijztgs

Ikea - Sleeping lion advert was used to prove the quality of their furniture products have maximum comfort.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8D_TPMx7mk

Volkswagen - Slide on a public stairway, showed commuters how to travel quicker and efficiently
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4o0ZVeixYU

Sanctuary - This advert encourages viewers to make the most of the time they have in life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVPj6-5xpo