Kimmel Cultural Campus
Curtains Calling
- Brand Strategy
- Brand Identity
- Brand Activation
- Branded Environment
- Campaign
- Arts & Culture
Places, everyone. Places!
Highly regarded as Philadelphia’s premier performance venues, the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, The Miller Theater, and the Academy of Music needed no introduction. But the organization behind the three curtains certainly did. From audiences arriving at the wrong building to a broader misconception that the events were exclusive and inaccessible for the greater public, the parts were overshadowing the whole. We worked closely with Kimmel’s internal teams and cultural influencers across our city to give this creative epicenter the spotlight it deserves.
Getting the Band Together
To shift Philadelphia’s perceptions of these three iconic venues into one unified and amazing arts destination, it was going to take far more than a name change. Through extensive stakeholder interviews, diverse committee workshops, and a fresh brand architecture, we gained consensus, heightened awareness, and ultimately repositioned the organization to reflect their unified intention – to cultivate a thriving creative economy in our city.
Bringing the Arts to Life
The new identity stitches the buildings’ iconic shapes into a mark that’s playful and elegant at once. Those same shapes dance back and forth across Broad Street and into every piece of brand communication, from playbills to posters. The black-and-white palette serves as the stage and allows the wonderful entertainment and events to grab the spotlight across a highly cohesive visual system.
Taking Shape
The new identity quite literally brings the arts to life, with shapes serving as portals into diverse cultures and vibrant colors celebrating programming and events. From local puppet theater to Broadway blockbusters to arts education, the Kimmel Cultural Campus is integral to Philadelphia and its place as an arts and culture epicenter.
Dress Rehearsals
Essential to the new brand was training the internal Kimmel teams on how to best use it. With the brand guideline as our script, we held multiple working sessions to make sure they were off-book and ready to roll out the new brand everywhere and anywhere up and down Broad Street. The way their team has taken the brand and run with it definitely deserves a standing ovation.
Curtains Rise
For their celebratory first season after COVID shut off the stage lights for years, the Kimmel Cultural Campus was ready for its debut. The season collateral was fresh and clean, giving audiences a new perspective on who they were and what to see. Now the only problem was deciding what to do first. The system is easily updated and adapted each year as the performances and programming grow and change. Bravo!
“J2 has been a wonderful partner and leader for our organization…they are flexible and roll with the punches.”
Crystal Brewe, SVP Strategic Marketing & Communications, Kimmel Cultural Campus
