To draw more visitors, the Newport Mansions turned to Nail Communications to build on its successful “Live the drama” campaign.
“Our first foray into this kind of storytelling focused on their most famous property, The Breakers, and the Vanderbilt family that built it,” explained Nail Creative Partner, Alec Beckett.
“But The Breakers is just one of ten amazing properties in our collection,” added Kevin O’Leary, Director of Marketing for the mansions. “The challenge was to bring the same kind of drama and excitement to another one of our National Historic Landmark properties.”
The decision was made to focus on The Elms, a spectacular but often overlooked mansion on legendary Bellevue Avenue. “So the question was, can we bring a very different Gilded Age mansion to life by dramatizing the actual people and history that took place in it?” continued Beckett.
Working with the museum’s curators, they honed in on the story of the Berwind family, whose coal mining fortune built The Elms, and the staff of immigrants who went on strike over working conditions in one of the earliest examples of labor protest in the country.
“We distilled that down to the theme of ‘American ambition.’ Then we set out to dramatize this history in the form of a theatrical trailer,” explained Beckett.
“We also used our actors, costumes, and the remarkable ‘set’ of The Elms for a series of interviews and social content to make it clear that these people and stories were real—not characters in a movie,” added O’Leary.
The resulting campaign layers a rich context and excitement onto a relatively unknown but historically important property.
“Telling the stories of the people who lived and worked in the Newport Mansions is crucial to giving our visitors a memorable experience,” said Trudy Coxe, CEO and Executive Director of the Preservation Society of Newport County, which owns and cares for the Newport Mansions. “This campaign sets the stage to experience The Elms in a compelling way.”
Learn more about Living The Drama.
Cast/Curator Interviews:
- Curator Leslie Jones speaks with the actress portrayingBridget, the maid in The Elms trailer
- Curator Leslie Jones speaks with the actor portraying EJBerwind in The Elms Trailer
- Tour Guide Pat Blakeleyspeaks with the actor portraying Mr. Birch, the butler in The Elms trailer
ABOUT NAIL COMMUNICATIONS
Nail Communications is where every brand finds its fascinating. For 25 years, Nail has made award-winning advertising, design, and branding work for regional, national, and global brands.
ABOUT NEWPORT MANSIONS
The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, is a nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes, decorative art, and social history. Its 11 historic Newport Mansions properties – seven of them National Historic Landmarks – span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development. For more information, please visit www.NewportMansions.org.
CREDITS
Creative Direction: Alec Beckett, Brian Gross
Strategy: Stephen Fitch
Senior Creative: Sam Holland
Senior Creative: Iman Richards
Senior Producer: Cameron McCormack
Senior Editor: Jack McKenna
Account Director: Susan Hasten
Production Company: Sovereign State Films
Director: Pete Sestina
Color: Phil Choe
