IABCLA held a professional development event — “IABCLA Case Study: How to Entice a New Audience to a Traditional Treasure” — in partnership with the IW Group on April 11 at IW’s office in West LA. 

The agency’s Lauren Alvermann, Eljay Feuerman, and Annie Zhao presented their successful campaign for the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden Magical Lantern Art Festival held between October 2018 and January 2019. The arboretum was filled with dozens of enormous glowing lanterns that included dragons, pandas, and flowers. Guests also enjoyed live performances by dancers and acrobats and sampled delicious cuisine. The venue is a 127 acre arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site in Arcadia. 

Attendees of the case study learned about IW’s integrated advertising and public relations initiative — videos were shot, radio spots were recorded, ads were placed, articles were written, signs were installed, and influencers were asked to influence. The result? The happening sold 153,000 tickets, garnered 133 million media impressions, and received 277,000 social media imprints — all of this far exceeded initial goals. 

“Congratulations to the IW Group!” said IABCLA’s Vice President Jenny Matkovich. “On behalf of the chapter, I want to thank them for sharing their amazing work and for being such gracious hosts. We look forward to collaborating with the firm again, and we wish them continued success as they begin preparations for next year’s festival.”