Communications and Marketing Mindset

Meet Chris:

Chris implements the Alliance for Pioneer Square’s marketing and communication strategy. Chris utilizes a diversity and equity lens to tell the Pioneer Square community’s story through various digital and print communication channels. Chris honors the authenticity that Pioneer Square exudes by finding innovative approaches to amplify the neighborhood’s ethos.

CenturyLink Field / 2019 Seattle Art Fair:

Chris is photographed at the 2019 Seattle Art Fair, hosted at CenturyLink Field over August 1st-4th. The Seattle Art Fair is a one-of-a-kind destination for the best in modern and contemporary art and a showcase for the vibrant arts community of the Pacific Northwest. Based in Seattle, a city as renowned for its natural beauty as its cultural landscape, the fair brings together the region’s strong collector base; local, national, and international galleries; area museums and institutions; and an array of innovative public programming. “This year we have projects that center around the notion of a 21st century Wunderkammer,” said fair artistic director Nato Thompson. Wunderkammers were cabinets of curiosities from the 16th century that “consisted of the natural, mystical, colonial, aesthetic, and scientific.” Thompson told The Stranger that they’re looking at artists who tackle “the post-human, the colonial project of artificial intelligence, climate change, and mutant creatures.” This year, Chris is particularly excited to catch Pioneer Square’s galleries being represented at Seattle Art Fair- such as Greg Kucera Gallery, Linda Hodges Gallery, and ZINC Contemporary.

Chris this week:

This week, Chris is excited for the next iteration of the Alliance for Pioneer Square’s Meet the Makers campaign videos to launch. In addition to the one-minute video the Alliance for Pioneer Square recently released which highlighted Pioneer Square’s rich art scene, a second video highlighting the neighborhood’s culture and passion was released in late July. The second video, made in partnership with Vulcan Inc, features footage from the Seattle Sounders FC March to the Match, the neighborhood’s visually striking character, and Seattle Art Fair. The next video to be released will highlight Pioneer Square’s exquisite craft cocktail offerings.

The Meet the Makers denotes an important shift in the marketing and communications strategy of the Alliance for Pioneer Square in that the focus has shifted towards digital marketing. By using a digital medium to reach critical audiences, we are able to leverage exquisite visual storytelling to convey what makes Pioneer Square truly great- the people of the neighborhood. “I’m really looking forward to the release of the next handful of videos,” Chris says. “We just wrapped filming on the final two, and the whole process has built up some internal anticipation about their reception.”

Speaking of reception, the Meet the Makers campaign has been received very well thus far. Based on reporting numbers from the Alliance for Pioneer Square’s advertising consultant- Gibson Media- the Meet the Makers campaign has also exceeded targeted metrics projects. The campaign has nearly tripled anticipated impressions and quadrupled clicks, not to mention reaching an exceptional number of Seattle’s visitor’s arriving on cruise ships.  “Not so bad…” Chris says coyly.