MediaLink

The Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art®

The Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art® is an annual outdoor juried fine arts and crafts show held among the tree-line streets of Madison Indiana’s National Landmark Historic District. As the event has grown and evolved, it has consistently turned to MediaLink to freshen their brand image and create effective media plans.

In 2004, the event’s 1990s era brand was out-dated, no longer reflecting the event’s competitive market position. Although event attendance remained strong, vendor sales of upscale arts & crafts were flattening. MediaLink guided the event committee through a brand identity process and evaluated the existing marketing materials. Recommendations included a new visual emphasis on art objects and the arts experience available at the event and the addition of fine art visuals – not just crafts – to entice the buying audience they desired. MediaLink provided creative direction for production of new collateral materials, print ads and a 30-second TV spot to reflect these recommendations. Post-event artisan surveys reported increased vendor sales at the 2004 Madison Chautauqua.

The 2008 event faced increasing competition from arts events in surrounding communities and sky-rocketing gas prices, and 2009 was challenged with a lagging economy. During this time MediaLink provided creative direction and content for the event’s new website, collateral materials and print ads, revamped the media plan and initiated an online advertising component. An annual online contest was introduced to generate interest and consumer leads, a quarterly eNewsletter to those consumers was launched, and a searchable database of exhibiting artisans was created for the website. Crowds to both events held steady and artisan surveys continued to praise the marketing efforts of the show & the quality of buyer it brings.

A Facebook page for the event was added in July 2010 to further engage event enthusiasts on a personal level and offer additional portals to the eNewsletter and annual Getaway Contest entry forms. MediaLink guides the event's social media strategy and is administrator of the content.

To capitalize on increased smartphone usage, MediaLink recommended the addition of a mobile website and incorporated QR Codes in print marketing messages in 2011. QR Codes in print ads for the annual Getaway Contest linked to the event’s online entry form. Event date reminder ads and window poster QR Codes linked to the event’s homepage for instant access to event maps and driving directions.