Graffiti Bar
Details. Art direction. Social media strategy & buzz generation. Marketing. Events.
Role. Designer
Just off Midtown Village’s bustling 13th Street, Graffiti Bar sits around back from Sampan, the much-lauded Asian fusion restaurant in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. A narrow alleyway opens onto a 30-seat open-air patio, and when I was pulled in, the 15 year old three-story-high mural was in desperate need of a new paint job, and social buzz around the space in general was dwindling, hurting revenue.
01. The Campaign
Given the notoriety of the city as one that is rich in mural arts, we ultimately decided to call out to our followers to tag their favorite artist in the area to help us decide which artist to commission for this project.
We posted on multiple social channels, including owner and chef Michael Schulson’s personal account, Sampan/Graffiti Bar’s account, Philly Mural Arts, and generate reposts from some local art scene influencers. All in all, we achieved our goal of reaching some big accounts and our campaign saw over 15,000 impressions with around 100 submissions from local artists.
02. Art Direction
After reviewing all of the submissions, we decided to go with the artist that ultimately represented the brand the best with bold, vibrant colors and an underlying feminine feel, Ali M. Williams.
In her submission, she originally gave us very simple mockups, and under my art direction, we reached the final design that brought in more of her whimsical photo realism style that told a story of an urban oasis escape in the middle of the city.
The floral and natural elements in the design, including snowy owls and a huge diamond featured at the end of the alleyway, brought a cool organic look to the space, and turned it into a literal concrete jungle. We were excited to post all of the progress videos and shots to increase the hype surrounding the unveiling party.
“The ever-cool Graffiti Bar in Midtown Village might be like honey to Philly's collegiate gadflies, but it warrants the buzz.”
- CONDE NAST
03. Lasting Power
The campaign, overall, was a huge success. We hosted an unveiling party with local influencers and notables from Philly Mural Arts program, as well as press. We featured special drinks for the event, had a meet and greet with the artist, and had timelapse behind the scenes videos playing on screens around the venue.
Beyond the campaign, the mural wall continues to pepper social feeds and has put the bar back on the map as a must-go destination in the local social scene. Followers before the campaign on instagram were hovering around 10.1k, and have climbed to 18k.
