Client: Chicago Foodseum
Chicago Foodseum is the city’s first food museum. I began working with Foodseum during their Kickstarter campaign in December 2014 until their first temporary pop-up exhibit ended in December of 2015. I acted as Director of Marketing in a freelance capacity during this time. Many of my duties could have been considered a managing editor as well since I hired and worked with many freelancers/interns and I oversaw the social media, newsletter, and blog strategy.
Needs: Full-blown bootstrap marketing strategy for early stage startup’s forthcoming temporary pop-up exhibit.
Results:
- Created and oversaw cohesive monthly editorial calendar covering newsletter, blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and event calendar.
- Beyond growing the presences myself, I also eventually hired and managed a team of interns to launch Foodseum’s Instagram presence (5k followers in 9 months) and grow Twitter and Facebook (doubled following).
- Hired and oversaw a freelance Blog Manager to launch The Red Fork, Foodseum’s official blog, and recruit freelance writers.
- Composed twice monthly newsletter to generate excitement for pop-up exhibit and gather volunteers.
- Managed twice monthly social media launches of #FoodseumFilms, a YouTube short film featuring local Chicago chefs, by coordinating simultaneous social media blasts over Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, blog, and YouTube, with prominent local media and influencers like Choose Chicago.
- Coordinated and produced social media coverage of relevant food events, including live James Beard red carpet coverage and a special visit from the Wienermobile over Instagram and Twitter.
- Oversaw multiple Twitter and Instagram giveaways to generate new excitement during three-month long pop-up exhibit.
- Generated and oversaw brand appropriate content and campaigns like a Hot Dog Walking Tour and a #FindtheRedFork social media campaign during Taste of Chicago.
- Encouraged use of branded hashtags and social sharing during exhibit walk-throughs with signage.
- Coordinated multiple campaign-specific blasts across social media, blog, newsletter, and influencers to push messaging across a wide audience and inspire action
Highlights:
- Doubled our newsletter following from about 1,500 to 3,000 subscribers before the pop-up launched; Newsletter highlights include October 2015 and November 2015.
- Led James Beard Awards red carpet coverage; generated tens of thousands of impressions within 60 minutes thanks to retweets from huge influencers like Rick Bayless, Andrew Zimmern, The James Beard Foundation, Curtis Stone, and more.
