by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The advertising and public relations industry probably changes faster than most businesses, if only for the reason it’s at the cutting edge of what’s happening now. Advertising and public relations also have a significant impact on what will happen in the future. That’s true for products, services and even candidates for public office.
When the Dalton Agency moved its offices Downtown in January, one of the first things Jim Dalton, president, said the agency was going to do was “be part of this neighborhood.” One of the first projects would be to donate the agency’s talent and expertise to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), one of the neighbors Dalton can see from his office window.
He assigned Amanda Mousa, account coordinator and event planner, to lead the agency’s effort for MOCA. Mousa graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in broadcast journalism and has been with the Dalton Agency for 18 months. She began in the public relations group and transitioned into event planning just before last year’s Super Bowl game.
“It was the first event I ever did. We had planned parties for 1,800 people. I flew back and forth from Jacksonville for weeks,” said Mousa
How did the “new media” of event planning fit into the agency’s overall plan?
“It has become a huge part of what we do and a strategic part of many marketing plans,” said Dalton.
He added event planning has a place in almost every campaign, including for companies that have always relied on media like television, radio and print advertising to market their products.
“Even companies with large corporate structures and enough money to buy traditional media are moving into promotions. Street teams are the guerilla marketing of today and they have been hugely successful. The more ways we can get our message in front of the consumer, the better,” said Dalton.
Mousa said planning events has also allowed her to learn a new set of skills that weren’t always part of advertising and public relations.
“At first, I didn’t realize how much was involved in planning events. There is so much involved when you’re planning something for a Super Bowl and I have learned how to recruit and train street team members. They are a lot of fun.”
Events allow the agency to present the product, as in the case of MOCA, in a way that’s more interactive than traditional forms of marketing and public relations.
“Working just across Hemming Plaza from the museum has made it easy for us to discover how much fun MOCA really is. We’re going to make it a place to hang out. It’s a way to combine the social experience with art and education, which is one of the museum’s primary missions. Once you experience what MOCA has to offer, you want to come back and be a part of it,” said Mousa.
The museum is already experiencing the benefits of having the agency on the account. The new look for the windows facing Laura Street, one of Dalton’s projects, has gained a great deal of visibility for the building.
MOCA Director Debbie Broder said she believes until the new graphics were put in place some people weren’t aware there was an art museum in the building. Dalton said based on a survey many people who were regular patrons at Cafe Nola (MOCA’s restaurant in the lobby) didn’t realize they were dining in a museum.
Mousa coordinated a media reception and tour to introduce MOCA’s three new exhibits that opened in September and nviting people who were Downtown for last week’s Art Walk to witness the dedication of the outdoor sculpture that was installed on the sidewalk in front of the museum was the latest special event Dalton created.
Broder said in order to retain the agency’s services in the usual fashion, the museum’s board of trustees would have to mount a capital campaign.
“The Dalton Agency has helped MOCA send a loud and vibrant message to invite the community to visit our galleries and exhibitions. Their efforts have also brought attention to our classes, music concerts, our Art Explorium Loft and the ArtFusion workshops.
The new creative work has put a fresh face on the museum’s programs and placed that message throughout the city, but their true gift is the strength they give the museum in creating advertising and public relations that is derived from a deep understanding of the museum and its mission and goals,” said Broder.
Having MOCA as a client has also yielded results for the agency in terms of developing new talents and skills for the staff, said Dalton, who added the agency has already discovered at least one other good reason for having a relationship with the contemporary art museum in the neighborhood.
“One of the unexpected benefits is that we have discovered how to use their facility for our own events and activities like an agency retreat. It’s a great environment and we’ve been able to expose many of our clients to that environment.”
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