I’ve come across two examples recently of outside-the-box marketing (in my opinion!) :

   (double click images to see them larger)

Who better (literally) to drive tourists and visitors to your Museum than your city’s taxi drivers?  The Smithsonian’s American Art and Portrait Gallery recently staged an event for Washington’s cabbies – Abe Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe and other icons represented in the Museums’ collection gave out free doughnuts, branded coffee mugs, and museum information to all the cabs that drove by one morning last week.  (Read more about the event on SAAM’s blog, Eye Level).
Not only might cab drivers better remember the Museum’s hours and location, they will also have a fun story to tell every passenger that wants to go there.

    If you’ve ever been through Pittsburgh’s airport, it’s likely you passed this pair;  everyone does on their way to baggage claim.  Who are they?  A young, 20-something George Washington, and Steeler football player Franco Harris.  The two icons of Pittsburgh history are accompanied by signage inviting arriving passengers to “relive a few classic battles” – when George Washington stormed into the area in what was to become the French and Indian War;  and Harris’ Immaculate Reception that won the Steelers’ 1972 playoff game against the Oakland Raiders.  It’s a curiosity that’s hard to avoid, and one that simultaneously invites you to experience more interesting stories at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, a Smithsonian affiliate.

These examples seem both fun and effective, and I bet there are many many more out there.  What’s yours?!  Let us know so we can share.