Sparkle Factory

Promoting the Auction of an Iconic LA Property

A Banksy Mural. Old Hollywood Heritage. An Integrative PR Campaign.

Situation

A well-known national commercial brokerage contacted Miller Ink to develop a marketing strategy in support of their efforts to sell 908-910 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles at auction. Without question, the building – known locally as the Sparkle Factory – was a unique offering: Built in 1914, the restored seven-story mixed office/retail building served as the 30-year home of the Western Costume Company, was featured in the 1924 silent film classic Safety! Last!, and remains internationally renowned today as the home of the British street artist Banksy’s “Girl on a Swing” mural.

Approach

With only about 10 weeks before the auction, Miller Ink moved quickly to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for the Sparkle Factory. Core to this was highlighting the building’s unique assets, including its connection with Old Hollywood and Banksy’s “Girl on a Swing” mural, especially given that the mural is the only freestanding Banksy work in Los Angeles and one of the few Banksy murals still in their original location within the United States.

To best emphasize these features to the public and potential buyers, Miller Ink developed a property-specific website, promotional video, and international press strategy to garner media coverage and position the Sparkle Factory’s upcoming auction. Our team also organized a celebrity-studded event to gain further media attention and emphasize the building’s potential value to prospective buyers.

Impact

Miller Ink secured a vast array of ongoing media coverage on the Sparkle Factory’s auction in only a handful of weeks. The team secured an exclusive with the New York Times to cover the offering’s launch, with additional follow-up placements in outlets including The Sunday Times and Yahoo News. Miller Ink also worked to secure coverage in industry-specific publications like CoStar, the Robb Report, The Art Newspaper, and ARTnews, just to name a handful of more than 100 outlets that ultimately covered the auction announcement.

In addition to securing significant media placements for the auction, the other elements of Miller Ink’s marketing plan played key roles in efforts to both drive interest in the offering as well as bring prospective buyers to participate in the auction. Hundreds of thousands of people visited the property’s website and viewed the promotional video. The event Miller Ink organized – called “Night Park: A Celebration of Los Angeles Culture” – was sponsored by three award-winning restaurants and Gibson Brands, Inc. and attended by influential Angelenos ranging from Elizabeth Olsen to Andy Garcia to Nestor Carbonell, which was featured in many publications, including the Daily Mail.