Open House Melbourne is an event that provides a free and rare opportunity to discover the interior design, architecture and engineering of historic buildings nestled around the city. Recently, the brand’s extensive integrated campaign has been building in anticipation of this weekend’s event. I’ve noticed advertising and promotion in public transport, vimeo, facebook and pinterest and twitter. All have helped me keep an eye on the calendar, and make sure I don’t miss this year’s Open House Melbourne.
In 2013, tickets to 11 of Melbourne’s most iconic buildings were pre-allocated via a ballot system to help handle the overwhelming demand for the event. Today I received news about my attempt to gain access to the Manchester United building this Saturday: I was not successful. However I was not disappointed for long, the email I received also informed me that I was one of the first to know the identities of the mystery buildings featured by OHM. By offering me useful information, the email became a positive brand gesture rather than a rejection letter. This is just one example of how OHM has used digital media successfully throughout its campaign.
As with all good integrated campaigns, there should be a number of ways to interact with the brand on and off line. For example, encouraging people to alert others via twitter as to whether there is a #queue or #noqueue at any of the buildings during the weekend, helps time management and navigation throughout the event. An iphone ap that helps you build an itinerary, Video and Instagram inspired competitions, a printed program and a comprehensive website are all also ways of contributing to the success of the event. Through well-coordinated use of digital and traditional platforms, OHM will without a doubt, successfully get hundreds of thousands of people through the doors of Melbourne’s most important buildings.
The success of OHM is not only measured by numbers, but it’s ability to promote public awareness of good design through site visits, a speaker series and a children’s program. Increasing the engagement between Melburnians (and visitors) and their city by providing an event that educates and attracts national and international attention is also a massive achievement in itself.
So here’s to the success of another great event in our city. And don’t forget to check times and locations for a peak inside your favourite buildings this weekend: http://www.openhousemelbourne.org/ Or if you’re interested in creating a well considered integrated campaign or event brand, drop us a line.
Julia Dowe
Design Creative
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