Spilling the tea on Pittsburgh’s hidden heroines.

Our objective was clear with this campaign: attract a multigenerational group of visitors to Heinz History Center to learn about the unflappable women who helped make this region what it is today. Be smart, strategic, and make the most of a tight budget while showcasing the grit and grace of the women who were movers, shakers, mothers, metalworkers, and more. If the future is female, then past is prologue.

Creative and media teams got to work collaborating to concept a pop-culture infused campaign with a wide-reaching traditional and digital media strategy. With installations like billboards and bus shelters in the wild, the campaign was positioned to bring a smile to daughters, mothers, and others on their commutes and in the city itself near schools and workplaces.

With a filter here and some colorizing there, we modernized and energized the mostly black and white images of women and artifacts that we had access to. We punctuated the imagery with Urban-dictionary-approved language like “mansplaining,” “slay,” “girl gang,” “lit,” and others to highlight contrast between the past and present with irony and humor and appeal to a diverse audience. The goal was to engage people—who may have never heard of pioneering undercover journalist Nellie Bly—but could be intrigued by this old-fashioned-looking woman who “spilled the tea.” There was also a greater likelihood of edgy organic posts getting shared on social media, generating more impressions and driving ticket sales among a younger demo.

Through promotional videos on KDKA and leveraging our relationship to secure an on-location Pittsburgh Today Live interview, we were also able to target an older demo. We had some clear digital campaign wins, too—the most successful being a full-screen mobile unit with a click-through rate nearly doubling forecasts.

The exhibit was so successful that its run was extended, and we continued to promote it with refreshed creative, including trading cards of female pioneers.

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