When the exhibit is the menu: what The Field Museum actually did
The Field Museum was running a Bloodsuckers exhibit during Chicago's brutal winter, a season that routinely kills attendance. Rather than advertise harder, they partnered with eight local Chicago restaurants to create Blood Appétit, a month-long February programme of special menus where blood was the hero ingredient. Diners who ordered from these menus earned discounted museum tickets, turning a restaurant meal into a path to the exhibit.
The tension it resolves
Museums feel like effort; restaurants feel like reward. The campaign dissolved the gap by making the restaurant visit the front door to the museum visit.
The challenge it solved for The Field Museum: How does a nonprofit museum drive attendance to a niche science exhibit during the lowest-footfall season, without a large media budget or a mass-market audience?
The mechanism
Anchor the cultural institution's offering to an existing high-frequency social behaviour by making participation in that behaviour produce a tangible reward that unlocks the institution.
The proof
Campaign: Blood Appetit, Leo Burnett Chicago with Publicis North America, Aisle Rocket and PXP Studios. Ran Feb to Mar 2024. 42% increase in attendance, more than double the original goal. Grand Effie at the 2025 Effie Awards US, the top prize, chosen from the top-scoring Gold winners. Note: Bloodsuckers, Legends to Leeches was the exhibit being promoted, not the campaign name. Eight restaurants took part, and diners received a discount code for admission, not free entry.
FAQ
What is the When the exhibit is the menu pattern?
Anchor the cultural institution's offering to an existing high-frequency social behaviour by making participation in that behaviour produce a tangible reward that unlocks the institution.
Which brand proved it works?
The Field Museum, in culture and the arts / museums (Chicago, USA). Campaign: Blood Appetit, Leo Burnett Chicago with Publicis North America, Aisle Rocket and PXP Studios. Ran Feb to Mar 2024. 42% increase in attendance, more than double the original goal. Grand Effie at the 2025 Effie Awards US, the top prize, chosen from the top-scoring Gold winners. Note: Bloodsuckers, Legends to Leeches was the exhibit being promoted, not the campaign name. Eight restaurants took part, and diners received a discount code for admission, not free entry. jugnu's Kosh tracks 356 such patterns across Indian and global brands.
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