Everyone in Sacramento already knew the Crocker. That was actually the problem.

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For years, its media coverage followed the same pattern: an exhibition opens, a press release goes out, coverage happens, repeat. It worked — but it kept the museum in one lane, known as a name on a marquee rather than felt as a place that belonged to the people walking past it.

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That started to shift when Dr. Agustín Arteaga stepped in as the Crocker's new CEO, opening real space to deepen the museum's relationship with the Latino community. The opportunity in front of us: help the Crocker become not just a museum in Sacramento, but the museum for families and first-time visitors who hadn't always seen themselves reflected in its galleries — and in Spanish-language media, there was almost no presence to build from at all.

We built a six-month earned media strategy around one idea: the Crocker isn't a static institution. It's a place where art meets everyday life, at every age and every stage.

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Three narratives ran through everything we pitched:

• Art belongs to multicultural families, not just art insiders
• Art is relevant at every stage of life
• The Crocker is a place to find real connection, regardless of background or museum experience

The most important call we made early on: Spanish-language outreach would be its own strategy, built from the ground up around what actually resonates with Latino audiences — family, cultural pride, leadership, belonging. If Latino families were going to feel like the Crocker was theirs, the story had to start there, not get bolted on after the fact.

Our team, then:

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• Researched, planned, and proactively pitched local, regional, arts, lifestyle, community, and Spanish-language media
• Built bilingual press materials and lined up in-language spokespeople
• Managed interview coordination, briefings, and talking points
• Tracked coverage and reported on progress throughout the campaign

Every pitch was shaped for who was actually going to read it. Exhibition stories leaned into "national-caliber art, right here in Sacramento." Family stories led with hands-on, visual, take-the-kids moments. And Spanish-language stories centered on belonging, multigenerational participation, and Latino leadership — because it mattered that Latino families saw themselves in the museum before they ever walked through the door.

The campaign didn't just hit its targets. It blew past most of them.

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• 23 earned media placements — nearly 3x the goal
• 19 visit-driving placements tied to exhibitions and public programs — goal was 6
• 7 Spanish-language placements — more than double the goal of 3
• 2,184,810 people reached
• $132,923.37 in estimated publicity value
• 5 stories reframing how people see the Crocker — goal was 3

Beyond the numbers: 87% of placements carried at least one of our priority messages, and 83% featured a spokesperson — meaning the museum's own voice, not just its name, showed up in the story.

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