Boston-based creative agency HATCH and Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) are rolling out the latest leg of their imaginative brand campaign positioning the 225-year-old Salem institution as a powerful alternative to algorithm-driven digital experiences.
The campaign’s foundation rests on a simple but powerful insight that while social media algorithms deliver content designed to keep users scrolling, PEM purposefully curates experiences that challenge perspectives and engage the senses. The new campaign elements launching this month include ‘glitching’ video ads that will run across social and can be found below:
Escape the Algorithm: Chill
Escape the Algorithm: Dino
Escape the Algorithm: Dog
“Every visit to PEM reveals something new and surprising.” adds Derek O’Brien, Chief Marketing Officer at the museum. “It’s the opposite of social algorithms, which are using your data to show you more of what you’ve engaged with in the past. PEM is creating opportunities for human connection and cultural discovery that the algorithm can’t replicate.”
Launched earlier this year, PEM’s ‘Escape the Algorithm’ campaign has already delivered exceptional results, driving website sessions up by nearly 50 percent and new online visitors up by almost 75 percent. Additional work can be seen across multiple touchpoints, including billboards throughout Greater Boston, transit station domination ads and mall signage, along with digital and social media content.
“This latest iteration is a reminder that we can all get sucked into our social feeds for longer than we’d care to admit,” explains HATCH Creative and Brand Director Doug Murphy. “Just check your screen time — personally, I’m afraid to look at mine. We created the social pieces of the ‘Escape the Algorithm’ campaign to snap people out of that endless-scroll hypnosis and, hopefully, inspire them to go have a more rewarding, real-life experience at PEM.”
CREDITS
PEM
Chief Marketing Officer – Derek O’Brien
HATCH
Creative & Brand Director – Doug Murphy
Creative Director – Mike Shaughnessy
Photographer – Conor Doherty
SVP of Client Services – Alyssa Napoleon
CEO & Founder – Jennifer Harrington
About HATCH
HATCH is an independent, women-owned agency that serves growth-hungry brands a customizable combo of creative capabilities and expertly sourced talent, all from one strategic partner. Because as marketing leaders flex, adjust, and pivot to stretch fluctuating budgets, hit moving targets, and stay ahead of the competition, they need on-demand access to both fresh creative ideas and ready-to-roll talent. HATCH clients include Peabody Essex Museum, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Hood, Quicken, and Babson College. Learn more at hatchtheagency.com.
About the Peabody Essex Museum
Founded in 1799, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, is the country’s oldest continuously operating museum. PEM provides thought-provoking experiences of the arts, humanities and sciences to celebrate the creative achievements and potential of people across time, place and culture. By connecting people through inquiry, empathy and dialogue, PEM encourages an understanding of our shared humanity and fosters a sense of belonging in a complex, ever-changing world. Learn more at pem.org.
