Year
Client
City Side Cafe
Project Type
Social Campaign
Challenges
An open call only works if artists believe it’s worth their time. The contest asked for finished, wall-ready work across a short submission window, from artists who mostly didn’t know City Side yet. The theme also had to work for painters, photographers, illustrators and digital artists alike without feeling vague. Views alone wouldn’t measure success. The real measure was artists sitting down to make something and sending it in.
Solution
Set the Table gave the campaign its hook. The brief was personal enough to spark an idea right away and open enough for each artist to read it through their own practice, whether that meant a shared meal, a quiet moment at home or a gathering. Accepting six formats, from painting to printmaking, meant the call didn’t shut out any part of the community.
Paid social carried the campaign, and every ad led to one action: the submission form. The copy put the opportunity first, with real wall space in a Brampton cafe and a public unveiling for the winners. The tone stayed warm and human, right down to a deadline note that gave artists an extra few hours overnight. Every step of the path was tracked, from views to link clicks to form visits to finished entries.
Results
The campaign reached 18,000+ people and drove 700+ contest link clicks. The submission form drew 1,135 visits, far more than paid clicks alone could explain, which means artists were sharing the call with each other. By the deadline, we received over 30 artworks and surpassed our original goal. Three winning pieces went up at City Side Cafe, and the October 5 unveiling lined up with the cafe's grand opening, making for a great moment for both the artists and the cafe.
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