Amsterdam and Stockholm pioneer new approaches to cultural communications
In Northern Europe, traditional communications methods are making way for new concepts designed to boost the impact of a new generation of campaigns. We head to Amsterdam and Stockholm, to take a closer look at how FOMO and marketing activations are being used to encourage people to visit museums.
In the Netherlands, the initiative stemmed from a report by Amsterdam & Partners (which studies tourism and the Amsterdam economy) showing that visitors were more likely to choose walking or cycling over cultural activities. The city authorities and a number of cultural institutions decided to respond by showcasing ten Amsterdam's museums, appointing Monks and JCDecaux to deliver the campaign.
Catch me at the museum
Alongside billboard advertising, two ‘marketing activations’ installed near Central Station are designed to spark engagement by appealing to visitors' emotions. “The idea of turning an object into a living statue, with an actor indistinguishable from the original artwork, had never been done before”, explained Gert Schrijvers, Director of JCDecaux Studios. A red telephone booth has also been set up, allowing visitors to chat with ‘Crazy Bob’. As Radha Pleijsant, Creative Director at Monks, points out, the “‘Catch Me at the Museum’ campaign is playful, direct and creates FOMO.
FOMO?
FOMO or Fear of Missing Out is not a new concept and has long been used in advertising to encourage purchases. However, it remains extremely uncommon in institutional communications. The concept encourages people to act quickly for fear of missing an opportunity and is fuelled by the belief that others are enjoying a rewarding experience
Sweden leads the way
Everyone knows about New Year's resolutions. On 1 January this year, many Swedes resolved to cut back on screen time and some (a third of the population) even considered swapping their smartphones for basic mobile phones. The Fotografiska museum seized on the trend by inviting people to immerse themselves in its real-world universe, far away from the digital sphere.
The picture speaks for itself
“Photography deserves more than your feed” was the campaign's tagline. Across Stockholm, photographs by Elliott Erwitt were displayed at exactly the same size as the images that appear on our mobile phone screens. The contrast couldn’t be clearer! “It’s our way of standing up for physical art beyond algorithms and feeds, for individuals, culture and society as a whole”, explained Jenny Kaiser, CEO of Fotografiska.
