Neon Monster was a San Francisco mash-up between a neighborhood comic book shop and a world-class design boutique. (Though its existence was brief, it did get voted “Best Amalgamation of Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Toys, Records etc.” by SF Station.) This experimental entity occupied a sweet spot in the art lovers’ Venn diagram that meant they could hand out comics for Free Comic Book Day in Noe Valley AND create a site-specific installation at Art Basel in Miami. For one fun year, I was their Marketing and Social Outreach Director. My duties included: writing copy for print, web and direct mail; developing daily content for a blog and providing editorial oversight for a newsletter; planning and executing various marketing initiatives; researching, analyzing and monitoring data and participating in a wide variety of  social media activities and offline events.

Project Details

Publisher Neon Monster
Year 2009-2010
Role Marketing and Social Outreach Director, Writer, Curator

As part of the branding strategy for this quirky company, Neon Monster worked with local artists to create an all-ages, eco-friendly stuffed animal version of their monstrous mascot, Mitch. The cyclops-character-cum-mascot was dreamed up by co-founders Isaac and Jacob Pritzker, who said:

“We made him out of plush so people can bask in his gruff hug-ability at a price point easy on the wallet and from materials easy on the planet.”

Indeed, when it was time to mass-produce Mitch, concern for the environment was a big factor: Mitch is made of 100% recycled materials and comes packaged in a reusable plastic bag. PR for Mitch included traditional channels (like a nod from Parenting Magazine), publicity stunts (as diverse as Wondercon, SXSW, Art Basel and Jazz Fest) and guerrilla marketing tactics (street art in San Francisco). Read the press release here.

Neon Monster was invited to Miami to take part in the multi-brand, limited edition environment, F-Factory during Art Basel. With their urban, exclusive and artful Cave of Wonders, Neon Monster bridged the high-end DIY handbags of ground floor anchor, Fendi and the hip, print-on-demand shirts of neighbors to the north, Surropa. As Neon Monster’s co-founders put it:

“The modern collector wants fun, functional and engaging objects, items that both inspire and reward the owner. We used this opportunity to produce limited edition art forms that create emotional, tactile and surreal visual experiences.”

While in Miami, I organized a live painting event, handled press requests and kept the company’s blog and social media feeds running.