Preserving a Historical Landmark

Challenge
Raise $150K with no budget
Solution
Design limited-edition prints to drive grass-roots donations
Result
National media coverage and over $250,000 raised

Preserving a House & a Household Name

Charles and Ray Eames are legends of modern design, but the house they designed and lived in needed preservation.

Brand & Audience Insights

The Eames House is one of this renowned couple's most important works. It was designed by the husband and wife team and served as their home and studio during the most prolific half of their lives. And to help protect this iconic landmark, the Eames Foundation needed to raise some serious funds.

We knew that if we could reach our target audience of design enthusiasts, we could get their attention and encourage them to lend a helping hand in our preservation efforts.

We also knew that a simple call for donations wouldn't be enough. Since the house isn't open for public tours, very few people have actually seen the iconic landmark in person, so there wasn't a built-in audience on which to rely.

Based on this insight, we realized that we needed to find a way to let design supporters own a piece of the Eames legacy, and, with a personal interest in their unparalleled contributions to art, architecture, filmmaking and furniture, we jumped at the opportunity to help.

Solving the Problem

The team created four original prints inspired by the elegant geometry and understated simplicity of Eames designs. Five hundred of each of these hand-numbered, limited edition prints were produced and sold for $75 apiece, with all funds directed toward the Foundation. This provided art aficionados and Eames fans alike with the opportunity to actually own a piece of their legacy.

Herman Miller and Vitra partnered with Nebo and the Eames Foundation to help by creating the Authenticity Fund, which matched donations of $75 for each print purchased.

In order to sell the prints and create awareness around the effort, Nebo created a donation microsite that highlights the house and the preservation efforts.

To help communicate the duo's contribution to modern design and cement their legacy, we combed through the archives of the Eames Office and created an interactive timeline highlighting their greatest works in furniture, film, advertising and architecture.

Media outreach helped augment our word-of-mouth efforts and amplified the message.

Results

Just two months after the launch of the campaign, over 1,000 prints had been sold, and more than $250,000 had been raised.

Key outlets ran online coverage promoting the campaign, including the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Verge, Wallpaper* Magazine, Apartment Therapy, Signal vs. Noise and Interior Design Magazine's Design Wire blog. Online influencers such as Design Milk, Maria Popova, and Architizer also posted information about the initiative through their respective social media channels.

The Bottom Line

$250K
Raised in Two Months
1000+
Prints Sold

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