We've got our game faces on!

Hard to believe it’s only a few days until the 2010 Olympic Winter Games descend on Vancouver; more than 350,000 visitors are expected to visit Vancouver and Whistler over the two-and-a-half weeks of the games. You can’t imagine how much we want to see some of those folks come through our doors…

The only problem? We’re not exactly rich, so we don’t have a million-dollar marketing budget. Buying advertising during the Olympics? Not unless you’ve got a sizable pile of cash. Guerrilla advertising? Risky, to say the least, since the rules are (understandably) super-strict for events like this. Do nothing? Seems foolish when so many people are coming to town.

Swiss House, German House, and... Big House?

So, what *is* our Games-time strategy? We can’t pay for advertising, but thankfully nothing beats word-of-mouth. We hope that our friends, both online and offline, will help us spread the word that we’re open, we’re worth visiting, and we’re up to interesting things during the Olympics.

We are offering our popular Sins of the City tour every day during the Games; we’re also extending our hours by staying open on Sundays. Some have even suggested that we re-brand ourselves as the “Big House” for the Olympics. (Not so sure about that idea… but if you want to get your mugshot taken here, we’d be happy to oblige!).

So, to put it as plainly as we can, we need your help.

Not for you. (But you can have a great t-shirt!)

Do you have a great idea on how we can promote ourselves or our walking tour over the next few weeks? Do you know someone (who knows someone) who’s profoundly influential and willing to let people know we exist? Can we put our logo on the side of your poodle? If so, or if you have a better idea, post them in the comments below or send us an email at chris@vancouverpolicemuseum.ca. We’ve got a stack of “Sinner” shirts looking for new homes, and we’re happy to pay (in apparel, not in cash… although $1.2 million looks appealing, doesn’t it?) for your great ideas.

There’s been some activity on a few blogs about this, including:

• Cool Marketing Thoughts
  
• Busseum.com

So, what do you think? Do you like these ads? Should we use them somehow? Should we use the idea in a different way, maybe?

“Sins” has always been a little bit easier to write about, because there are so many compelling ways to look at the material, so many great threads to tug on. The challenge is to get the “flavour” of things across in only a few short paragraphs.

Without any further fanfare, here is the press release that we sent out yesterday to all the local media outlets. Now, we wait and see if someone nibbles…

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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sins of the City: Back for Another Season

Vancouver (July 8, 2008) – Vancouver’s rowdy history is the focus of the Sins of the City Walking Tour offered again this summer by the Vancouver Police Museum. Back for a third season, this two-hour guided tour takes participants through the oldest parts of Vancouver—Japantown, Chinatown and Gastown—exploring the early history of the city’s sex and drug trades, alcohol laws and much more.

“For all the talk today about turning Vancouver into a Civil City, we have a long history of barely-restrained behavior,” says Chris Mathieson, Executive Director at the Vancouver Police Museum. “This was a city built on a foundation of vice—‘Gassy Jack’ Deighton and ‘Portuguese Joe’ Silvey were selling alcohol and running cock fights before the place even had a name.”

“Much time is spent trying to present a polished view of our city to the world,” continues Mathieson, “but our roguish side is nothing new, and it seems people are keen to learn about that naughty side.”

Covering twelve city blocks, the tour highlights some of the many brothels, opium dens, gambling houses and bootlegging joints that once called this city home. Also presented are some of the many fascinating characters—on both sides of the law—that battled for the heart and soul of Vancouver.

In the middle all this history sits the Vancouver Police Museum, which has seen significant growth in the last five years—from 3500 visitors in 2003 to almost 20,000 in 2007. “Programs like the Sins walking tour have helped significantly to raise the profile of the museum”, says Mathieson. “People are starting to realize that our museum is housed in an amazing building and we have countless compelling stories to tell.”

These walking tours take place, rain or shine, on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays at 4 p.m. from July 9 to October 1, 2008. The fee is $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors; Reservations are required 24 hours in advance by calling (604) 665-3346. Participants are also invited to visit the Police Museum on the day of their walking tour at no additional charge. More information can be found on the museum website at www.vancouverpolicemuseum.ca.

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Contact:

Chris Mathieson, Executive Director
Vancouver Police Museum
240 East Cordova, Vancouver BC
Direct: 604-665-2207
chris@vancouverpolicemuseum.ca
www.vancouverpolicemuseum.ca
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Instead, we have to work smarter. That means building positive relationships with those who are most likely to suggest or recommend us. It means having a good sense of who actually visits our museum, so that we can reach out to others like them. I firmly believe that whoever has responsibility for marketing should have to spend some time, regularly, on the front line. Talk with your visitors, don’t just survey them.

We’ve seen phenomenal growth over the last few years, partly because we’ve worked really hard, and partly because we’re really lucky. About three months ago, we were approached by a local advertising firm , asking if we were interested in having some pro bono (free!) design work done for us. Of course, we jumped at the chance.

They interviewed us, took a few tours of our facility and then went away to brainstorm. Two weeks later they came back with sketches of a few different ideas for a poster/print campaign. We might never be able to afford to get them printed, but just having someone put that sort of effort into developing ideas for us is invaluable.

Another idea they came up with is a small campaign designed to increase our visibility in nearby neighborhoods. I can’t say what, exactly, this campaign is going to look like… but it will be iconic, easily identifiable and will definitely have some impact. (Look to the right!)