The Strong National Museum of Play Out of Home Case Study

Travel + Tourism

Getting there is half the fun.

Increasing attendance with an unconventional billboard
and wayfinding campaign.

The Challenge

Expanding a beloved legacy giant  beyond its backyard

The Strong National Museum of Play was already one of Rochester’s most beloved institutions — a place generations of families had grown up with and a destination deeply rooted in nostalgia, imagination, and play.

But with a major expansion underway, The Strong faced a much bigger ambition: transforming from a regional favorite into a must-visit family destination capable of attracting audiences far beyond Western New York.

As a Legacy Giant, the challenge wasn’t credibility. It was scale.

The Strong needed to reach new audiences — particularly families outside its immediate market — and give them a reason to believe the trip itself would be worth it.

The Wake Up

The fun should start before you arrive

To wake the brand up for a broader audience, we stopped thinking about the museum visit as the beginning of the experience.

Instead, we transformed the journey itself into part of the play.

We identified a simple but powerful truth: The Strong doesn’t just entertain kids. It reconnects adults with the joy, nostalgia, and imagination of childhood, too.

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like an open box of crayons. It says, "Draw the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like an Etch-a-Sketch. It says, "Design the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like a Scrabble board. It says, "Score the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like an box to store Hot Wheels toy cars. It says, "Start your engines for the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like the board game Battleship. It says, "Launch the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like the video game Oregon Trail. It says, "Blaze a trail to the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like a clown's face made on a Lite Brite. It says, "Light up the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

Photograph of a Strong National Museum of Play billboard that looks like the game Connect Four. It says, "Drop in on the best day ever in Rochester, NY."

The Stance + The Movement

The Path to Play

We created “The Path to Play,” an immersive out-of-home campaign that transformed the drive from Toronto to Rochester into a playful, interactive brand experience.

A series of toy-inspired billboards strategically placed along the route created a breadcrumb trail for families traveling to The Strong — building anticipation and surprise mile after mile. Each installation turned the road trip into part of the adventure, gamifying the journey in a way that felt emotionally connected to the spirit of the museum itself.

To deepen engagement, we paired the campaign with geo-targeted Waze integrations that interacted with travelers in real time and guided them along the experience.

Phones showing how pins, preview screens, and inbox messages look for The Strong National Museum of Play in the Waze app.

The Pulse

Playing on a bigger stage

“The Path to Play” helped expand The Strong’s reach beyond its core market and reposition the museum as a family destination worth traveling for — behaving like a destination brand instead of a local museum. The campaign delivered:

108.6M

Impressions

700%

Web Traffic Lift

35%

Increase In Visits

Most importantly, the work transformed awareness into anticipation — proving that when a legacy institution starts moving differently, it can unlock entirely new audiences.

Gold Jay Chiat Award
Regional Strategy

Our Work

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