Online art gallery celebrates women artists

When it comes to the inequality gap between men and women, there has been plentiful reporting on the worlds of business and entertainment. Not so much in the art world, though—a situation Saatchi Art aimed to correct. Timed to Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day in March 2019, Saatchi Art’s Refuse the Muse campaign also sought to contribute to the larger gender imbalance conversation. The campaign has earned first place in the “PR on a Shoestring” category in the PR Daily Awards.

Using various channels, such as a dedicated catalog, social media, video and targeted public relations efforts, the campaign was designed to celebrate and support women artists both online and off by providing them with a space to showcase and share their impressive works while introducing them to new audiences globally.

It was an easy pitch for Saatchi Art, an online art gallery, where 54% of its bestselling artists are women. All of the assets produced for the campaign were compelling, the video especially so as a collection of women artists discussed their approaches to their art.

The campaign secured coverage in multiple publications and generated more than 4.2 billion impressions from media outlets in the home décor, lifestyle, art, culture, advertising, media and technology categories. The print catalog, mailed to 150,000 homes and available online to the company’s 2 million monthly unique users, 400,000 email subscribers and 1 million-plus social media followers, contributed to a 14% increase in sales for the first half of the year. The social media campaign drove 1.5 million impressions and more than 100,000 engagements.

Congratulations to Sarah Meller, Kelsey Ruiz and Mia Mendez.