Supporting Seattle Arts: Vera Project
Photo by: @poundingthenail August 24th, 2023
In our office, we know how important postering is for helping local venues and bands gain awareness. Personally my camera roll is filled with quick snapshots of posters that I pass by, hoping to catch a good show! That’s why Polite Society supports The Vera Project, and provides relief on the postering end. Founded in 2001, the Vera Project has ALOT going on, in the best way. They are best known for being a non-profit all ages venue, a rare find here in Seattle. Vera Project is constantly bringing great line ups including ZULU, Soul Glo, and Playytime from a recent lineup.
photo by: @hilden.chase September 11th, 2023
The Vera Project not only provides seattle’s youth with great shows, but also great opportunities. Vera provides classes accessible to all skill levels, ages, and identities, such as screen printing, sound & stage, and photo & video. These are an invaluable resources for budding artists looking to break in to the industry. The Vera Project is a dedicated, collaborative, community space centered around music & art, and is an amazing venue for self expression. Just recently, they opened Cafe Vera, a collab with Caffe Vita. Music, art, and great coffee in one place? We couldn’t ask for anything more!
Visit the Vera Project at their location in Seattle Center and show your support for local art and music. Vera’s community impact is an important part of the arts scene in Seattle and we are proud to continue to support this incredible organization!
NEW BELGIUM BREWING: GLITTERY GLOW-UP AT SEATTLE PRIDEFEST
Pride Month in Seattle features some of the biggest celebrations in the world. 200,000 people descend on Seattle Center following the Parade, and many companies understand this opportunity to show their support of the LGBTQ+ community as well as highlight their brands in a fun and welcoming environment.
This year, our longtime relationship with the PrideFest organizers yielded a new partnership with New Belgium Brewing. They wanted to offer attendees in one of the beer gardens a free, fun activity that would also let them highlight their beer sponsorship of the festival. Our big idea: to construct a Glitter Garden.
Our initial proposal had to be adapted due to on-site size constraints, so we went back to the drawing board for a fresh concept that would work.
We drew up some plans and then converted them into a 3D model for being able to precisely measure the dimensions and materials we would need to execute the vision.
Preliminary Concepts
Initial rendering of our concept in Sketchup
We obtained all the wood and lattice we would need, and spent several days painting it all white and sprinkling glitter onto the pieces that would be facing out.
Once we had the materials itemized and priced out it was just a matter of assembly. The complication was that this had to be done on-site, as the final structure would be too big to move. Further, we could only set it up on a single afternoon the day before the activation was taking place.
We gathered all the pieces and prepared for the big day. Here are the results:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
It took a few hours and a couple mishaps but the final vision had been realized. The Glitter Garden was ready for business tomorrow!
We included framed photos of previous Seattle Pride Parades for a splash of color and featured fake ivy and wisteria to maximize the “garden” feel. New Belgium had room to display their products in the glass cabinets, and we brought real salon chairs and mirrors for the guests.
When we returned to the activation the following day everyone was really enjoying themselves and the line to get glittered was across the beer garden! We deemed it a very fun and creative project with an awesome outcome that really pleased the client and spoke to their brand and values. They hope to reproduce this next year!
Supporting Seattle Arts: SMASH
SMASH Benefit Concert 2022: David Bowie Tribute Night
At Polite Society, our connection to the local music industry runs deep. From postering to partnerships we have a fond love of the local scene. We realize that the culture of Seattle wouldn’t be the same without the great organizations and venues that support underserved musicians in the area. We understand that at many turns creativity sometimes falls short of being able to pay the bills in a place with a high cost of living. That’s why we sponsor and support SMASH, Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare. They are one of our favorite non-profits.
SMASH does amazing work for their members all over Western Washington, keeping our music scene thriving and helping musicians with a variety of services. Their free(!) membership helps remove the barriers to medical, dental, hearing, mental health, and medical insurance benefits that otherwise would be difficult to access for those with financial challenges.
Aside from just providing access to their amazing services, being a member of SMASH enters you into a vibrant network of music supporters, healthcare partners and other community organizations, strengthening the bonds within the local music community and beyond. This network includes the UW Speech and Hearing Clinic, Sonic Guild, and the Seattle Drum School just to name a few. SMASH puts on amazing fundraising shows all the time so check their calendar for upcoming events!
Thank you SMASH for all that you do for our community and musicians! We are thrilled to be involved with you and your work.
Why Should You (A Musician) Use Street Marketing?
Seattle’s culture is inextricably linked to its music scene, thanks in no small part to its great venues like the Paramount, Neptune Theatre, the Showbox, Neumos, Chop Suey and many others. The local industry is further supported by great organizations and nonprofits that provide services, practice spaces and equipment, training and skills for musicians young and old. These venues, organizations, touring acts and local musicians alike have long turned to posters to help get the word out about their upcoming shows. It remains a staple of the industry’s marketing tactics for shows of any size.
Polite Society is a specialized marketing agency that focuses on street and experiential marketing techniques, which can help musicians get their music and message out to the public in creative and innovative ways. We can help you develop a comprehensive marketing plan and then implement it in an effective and efficient manner, including everything from setting up and executing guerrilla marketing campaigns to forging partnerships with local businesses and organizations.
When considering options for outsourcing awareness efforts, here are some of the most prominent benefits for a musician partnering with a street marketing agency like Polite Society:
Reach a Wider Audience: A street marketing agency can help you reach a larger and more diverse audience than you would on your own. Through our marketing efforts, you can reach potential fans you may have otherwise missed.
Word-of-mouth and artist social media pages are often heavily relied on by artists to gain notoriety, but how can they reach people that aren’t already familiar with them in some form? A pole poster campaign is a great starting point. These campaigns are cost effective and are a direct way to grab the attention of people who frequent the area. People looking for weekend plans or fun things to do will be intrigued by a strong poster design that jumps out to them. Awareness is a huge part of getting people in the door for local shows, so this form of street marketing can help artists easily see a return on a small investment by reaching a larger audience than other methods they may currently employ on their own.
Wheat pasting is another medium to consider in tandem with, or instead of, a pole poster campaign. Wheat pasting has the added benefit of dedicated locations on utility boxes, meaning an artist’s event is featured alone instead of with a grouping of other shows and events on a pole. While this service has a slightly higher price point, the possibility of added benefits is worth considering if it’s in the budget.
Create Lasting Connections: Street marketing campaigns create a more personal connection between you and your fans. By engaging with them in a physical space, you can create a more direct response that will last much longer than a digital connection.
Messaging can easily be lost on the endless feeds of social media. However, street marketing is a direct approach to reaching an audience while creating more unique and personal engagement. In addition to pole posters and wheat pasting, hand-to-hand flyering is another great way to create this memorable connection with an expanding audience. Street team members can ensure that messaging is getting directly into the hands of consumers who may be less receptive to other forms of marketing. This more personal touch can have a greater influence on people by giving them a reminder to take with them rather than relying on their memory of a show date on a poster or social media feed.
Leverage Location: Street marketing campaigns allow you to target specific locations and tailor your message to that specific audience. This can be very effective in reaching potential fans in a certain area of the city or a specific demographic.
Street marketing offers the flexibility of giving musicians the ability to target specific neighborhoods close to music venues where they’re performing and reach people who are already frequenting or living in the area. These people are more likely to attend shows close to home or work, and posters can very easily remind them about upcoming shows and venue schedules. We regularly post in and around neighborhoods where prominent music venues are situated, reinforcing the local music culture and keeping awareness high.
Using a street marketing agency can be a powerful and money-efficient way to get awareness about your music out there and connect you with your fans. Polite Society can suggest a specific service or mix of services and suggest campaigns that are well within your budget. You can trust us to create an effective marketing plan and get your message to the right people in the right locations. If you’re looking to expand your reach and develop meaningful relationships with your audience, consider using street marketing for promoting your next show.
Supporting Seattle Arts: Children's Film Festival Seattle
Northwest Film Forum
We love being surrounded by so many amazing arts organizations in our neighborhood, some of which we are lucky enough to have right here on our Pike Street block. Our close friends at Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) always have something interesting going on, which is especially true this week as the Children’s Film Festival Seattle begins!
Children’s Film Festival Seattle is celebrating 15 years of intergenerational connection through film. This year, over 175 films will be screened at NWFF, including feature-length films, short films, and documentaries all aimed at kids aged 3-14 and focused on the experience of childhood.
47 countries will be represented by these films, allowing the young festival-goers to experience life through the eyes of children from all over the world. Additionally, this year will feature a shorts program devoted to celebrating LGBTQ kids, workshops aimed at inspiring the next generation of filmmakers, an Indigenous Showcase screening, and several other programs that have us in the Polite Society office trying to borrow our friend’s kids so we have an excuse to go.
It’s easy to see why this local festival has gained a lot of traction this year, and you can read a full write-up about Children’s Film Festival Seattle in the Seattle Times here.
The festival runs at Northwest Film Forum from February 27th to March 7th, with a special closing day on March 8th at the Rainier Arts Center. You can view the schedule on the Children’s Film Festival Seattle website.