Hello! This is Paula Bartlett, one of the owners of The Savage Way. I write these blogs but today wanted to share the story of how we brought Clean Graffiti to life from my perspective. Enjoy.
We get asked daily, “What exactly is Clean Graffiti?” Ten years in and we’re still fortunate enough to explain this disruptive outdoor advertising medium to people. And it’s just as exciting every time! However, I don’t think we’ve ever shared how Clean Graffiti came about for us. So here is the story of how we brought Clean Graffiti to life.
Prior to The Savage Way, Torrie worked in the marketing and advertising industry. She spent 10 years in media buying for a few different employers. She was responsible for managing budgets and getting as much unique exposure for her clients as possible. So her brain was always thinking in ads; looking at billboards, magazine ads, bus ads, etc. Well one day she was pressure washing the driveway at her parent’s house and free-handed the name “Savage.” (pressure washing the dirt away to leave the “cleaned” letters showing). Immediately her brain thought, “That would be a great ad, but it would have to be crisp and follow brand standards.”
She did what we all do when we have an idea and Googled it, sure enough, there was an artist in Europe (Paul Curtis aka Moose) who was pressure washing art onto old, dirty walls. The results were beautiful. Using mother nature to create art was a revolutionary idea to her. Fast forward a few years, The Savage Way started. At the time we were a marketing agency helping clients with social media, business openings, community engagement, etc. Torrie casually mentioned this sidewalk advertising idea to me one day and I said, “What are we doing?! This is incredible. Let’s do that!” Immediately we started researching and trying to see how we could bring this idea to life. I remember countless late nights in Torrie’s loft in the NoDa neighborhood in Charlotte, NC where we would just dream and talk about how we would do this out-of-the-box idea.
But before we could even work out all the details, an opportunity knocked on our door. We were introduced to a marketing legend in Charlotte, Blair Primis. He was the VP of Marketing for a privately owned orthopedic surgeons office. Blair was open to new ideas and always looking for ways to make his brand stand out. And I’ll never forget sitting down with him to pitch some ideas and seeing the light in his eyes and smile on his face when we told him our idea. “Genius,” he said. “I want the biggest option you’ve got.” WHAT?! To have someone believe in your idea when you haven’t even physically done a campaign yet… it was the exact boost that we needed.
We left that meeting saying give us a few months to figure this thing out and we will be ready to go. Torrie and I worked with such passion and excitement to bring this idea to fruition. When the day came to see our stencil (the first iteration) being pressure washed onto the sidewalk, we did a little happy dance. This was real. Clean Graffiti was a thing. A major brand was paying us to advertise on this untapped asset that Mother Nature created. It was all so thrilling.
No one tells you how tricky it is to start a business that is disruptive to the space. No one was doing what we were doing and it was a lot of trial and error to land where we did. To say we were green was an understatement. We went through so many iterations of the stencil, how we selected spots, how many spots to offer, and how to price this service no one knew they wanted. But selling this to clients was something that Torrie did have experience in. Her decade of media buying allowed us to know what a client would be looking for. It gave us insight into crafting these packages that could compete with billboard buys and other outdoor advertising opportunities.
So we kept going and focused on selling Clean Graffiti to clients. Along the way we have carved our own path and had the chance to really grow this industry. One of our European counterparts, Jim Bowes, happened to be in Nashville, TN early on and made a road trip from Charlotte, NC to chat with him on his experiences doing “Reverse Graffiti” (what he called it). It was so fun to talk shop with someone who got it and was dealing with similar hurdles. Read more about it in our blog from 2014. I never thought in a million years that Torrie and I would be strategically cleaning sidewalks for a living. Haha – it makes us laugh every time that we see dirty concrete, “Oh, thats a fantastic canvas!”
That was over ten years ago. Since then, we’ve completed work in 70+ cities across the US including Los Angeles, CA, Portland, OR, Vancouver, WA, New York, NY, Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Baltimore, MD, Austin, TX, Houston, TX, and countless other cities and towns across the country. We’ve worked with companies/brands like Diet Coke, The Rolling Stones, Carolina Panthers, Truist Bank, The ACC Tournament, Novant Health, county & state agencies and so many more.
Now you may be asking why do our clients use Clean Graffiti? There are a myriad of reasons, but a few to note:
Unexpected: In our overstimulated world, seeing a message on the ground is novel and captures attention.
Longevity: Spots can last from one month to over 6 months, depending on the type of dirt, weather, traffic, etc.
Creative: Using dirt to create a brand message is so far out of the norm that it doesn’t fit in a box.
It’s Just Water: Our medium is eco-friendly in that is is made just using water – no paint, acid, bleach or etching.
Temporary: Clients love it for an event-driven ad campaign where we remove the spots after the event date.
Impactful: The sidewalk is an untapped resource that allows for brand awareness, inspiration or event-driven info where it’s never been before.
We always love telling the story of how we brought Clean Graffiti to life. We believe in this medium and know that our innovation is sparking creative ideas and sending out inspiration all of the time. We’re ready when you are to clean some sidewalks!
We love all of the creative uses of Clean Graffiti that we can offer our clients. From general brand awareness campaigns to feel-good inspirational messages on the sidewalk, the possibilities are vast with this medium. We wanted to showcase a few of our favorite creative uses from over the years. Maybe this will inspire your next campaign with us.
For those that don’t know, Clean Graffiti is an advertising and messaging medium that The Savage Way has been offering for over 10 years now. We’ve been in 70+ markets across America and we continue to be the leaders in the U.S. in this space. Also known as Reverse Graffiti, Clean Graffiti is created using a stencil, pressure washer and naturally dirty sidewalks. We use high-pressure water to clean a message onto the sidewalk. We are not painting, spraying any chemicals or altering the integrity of the sidewalk in any way. It’s just water. 🙂 Check out some frequently asked questions here.
Now on to the creative uses of Clean Graffiti that we have loved over the years.
Tend Dentistry: New York City: The folks at Tend Dentistry in the Flatiron District in Manhattan came to us with this cheeky play-on-words that we could make into Clean Graffiti. The fact that we are both just cleaning away dirt (aka plaque) was just perfect. Love when brands can get playful and fun with their advertising.
OrthoCarolina: Multi-cities in North Carolina:OrthoCarolina had been a client of ours for a while and we had done tons of branding campaigns together (check out past project blogs for more details). However, as a group of private orthopedic surgeons who specialize in fixing broken bones, we thought of this clever “Watch Your Step” Clean Graffiti campaign. The idea was while we were out executing campaigns and we saw dangerous, broken sidewalks, we would put down this safety message for pedestrians or cyclists brought to you by OrthoCarolina. Just a subtle reminder that *if* you did need a bone specialist, you would know who to call.
(Left) Greenpeace #IStand4Solar in Charlotte, NC: The global non-profit, Greenpeace, asked us to create an impactful Clean Graffiti campaign for the Charlotte market. We wanted to do something that was not only a directive (stand here and notice) but told the passerby to use on social media (using the #). We saw great interaction with the Clean Graffiti which led users to learn more about the Greenpeace mission – to use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
(Right): NC Department of Transportation, Watch For Me Campaign in small beach towns in NC: This was a campaign that we ran for several years that focused on pedestrian and cyclist safety, Watch For Me NC. We put these down across coastal beach towns that saw a huge influx of tourists in the summer months. The NCDOT gave us specific data that pinpointed where vehicles crashed with pedestrians that either ended in an accident or fatality. There are such limited advertising opportunities in these small, rural towns, so Clean Graffiti was not only a viable option, but it was welcomed as an opportunity to actually make meaningful communication with the community.
(Left) Not Just Coffee, Charlotte, NC:Not Just Coffee is a locally-owned coffee shop that came up the same time that The Savage Way did. We are friends with the owners and we pitched them the idea of Clean Graffiti with a play-on-words with their name. We know that everyone LOVES coffee and social media posts with anything coffee related always got great engagement, but NJC was so invested in the community that they were more than just a place to grab coffee. We came up with “Love People, Not Just Coffee.” Genius. We partnered with local artist, Matt Hooker, to help with the creative and this beautiful message was born!
(Right): #ExploreYour704 NoDa Brewing, OrthoCarolina in Charlotte, NC: #ExploreYour704 was an intricate idea that we came up with that included a Clean Graffiti “Scavenger Hunt,” huge mural on the side of a brewery, multiple vendors and a big launch party that encouraged walking. To say this was an unusual case study is an understatement. In fact, doing a Clean Graffiti scavenger hunt is not something we even offer, but we are obsessed with how we used dirty sidewalks to create a movement game, celebrate the city we live in and bring awareness to our clients at the same time. Read more about it in the blog.
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So that’s a quick snapshot of some of the creative uses of Clean Graffiti over the years. Check out our instagram for more examples. We look forward to creating more marketing magic using our eco-friendly advertising alternative.
Charlotte is now officially a soccer city, and we are here for it! Charlotte FC, our city’s first professional MLS team, has taken the Queen City by storm. Did you catch the last game against Nashville SC? Our guys electrified the arena with a 4-1 win! It was incredible.
THE CAMPAIGN
Here at The Savage Way, we had the opportunity to collaborate with Charlotte FC on a Clean Graffiti campaign. Our guerilla style of outdoor advertising was used to create some hype around the inaugural season and asked the important question, “Are You Ready to Party?!” We placed 18 Clean Graffiti spots in high foot-traffic areas to spread the word. Spots ended up in areas such as Plaza Midwood, NoDa, Elizabeth, Uptown, and Wesley Heights.
THE DESIGN
The design of the stencil for this reverse graffiti campaign consisted of a crown, along with the words “Are You Ready to Party?” and the Instagram handle; @charlottefc. The four-point crown represents the team’s logo, the tagline enhances the energy, and the handle is so you can connect with the team first hand. This eco-friendly medium is an innovative way to connect with the audience.
Clean Graffiti is created by making a contrast on the sidewalk using high pressure water over a custom stencil. (A Clean Message on a Dirty Sidewalk as we always say). Not only is reverse graffiti eco-friendly, but it’s an eye-catching message that can be used for brand awareness campaigns, events or a call-to-action. The spots can be placed anywhere a sidewalk is present making it not only creative, but accessible to everyone.
So yeah, we are ready to party! The energy that Charlotte FC is bringing to this city is palpable. Stoked to have another team to cheer for! Learn more about Charlotte FC and get game updates on their website & Instagram.
Who is one of the biggest rock bands of all time? The Rolling Stones definitely make the top of the list, and we just had the opportunity to do Clean Graffiti for them in Charlotte, NC. (Yeah.. the freaking Rolling Stones!)
We were contacted by the team at the Carolina Panthers to pull off a quick reverse graffiti campaign to help promote the announcement of a huge concert at Bank of America stadium. The goal, along with their other marketing tactics, was to tease the fact that the Rolling Stones were going back on tour. In several places around the city, including Clean Graffiti on the sidewalk, the famous Stones “mouth” appeared with phrases that hinted at a concert announcement. These “tease and reveals” also happened across the country where Mick Jagger and the Stones will soon play to sold out arenas.
This Clean Graffiti message was simple, on brand, and the PERFECT teaser to get the masses curious about what the Rolling Stones might be up to. We put our pressure washed images across popular walking areas including Uptown, South End, NoDa and Plaza Midwood. It has been fun to see passersby post the images to their Instagram stories and get excited for the concert.
The Rolling Stones use Clean Graffiti to promote their 2020 Concert Tour in Charlotte, NC.
The Rolling-Freaking-Stones use reverse graffiti!!
Walkers in Charlotte see a Clean Graffiti spot and post it to their Instagram Story. (via @summerjadyn)
Via Charlotte Agenda Instagram: The jumbo screen at the Bank of America Stadium showcases the Rolling Stones teaser campaign.
Via Charlotte Agenda’s Instagram: The Rolling Stones use the digital billboard at the EpiCentre to tease a 2020 Concert Tour date.
This was such a beautiful use of our eco-friendly medium. Since the Rolling Stones are so iconic and everyone associates the “mouth” with this band, the stencil could be kept clean and simple. No words, no call to action – just a teaser that also acts as brand awareness. And to utilize the sidewalks where potential concert-goers are walking everyday is the perfect new way to reach their audience.
The concert is scheduled for July 1, 2020 at Bank of America Stadium. Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday, Feb. 14. More information can be found at rollingstones.com.
At #thesavageway, we are proud to work with ALL of our clients. They see the value in doing something different and are not afraid to push the line when it comes to their marketing. However, this campaign in particular is pretty high up on the list of favorite campaigns. The Rolling Stones, one of the biggest rock bands to ever grace this earth, used Clean Graffiti to promote their concert. (mind blown!). It is a great reminder to us that anything is possible and to keep reaching for the moon when it comes to our business.
2018 was a big year for us, and 2019 is going to be even bigger. In case you need an update on what exactly #thesavageway is up to these days, here is a little about us.
Torrie Savage (left) and Paula Bartlett (right) are the owners of #thesavageway, a creative marketing company based in Charlotte, NC.
ELEVATOR PITCH
#thesavageway is the brainchild of two women: Torrie Savage and Paula Bartlett. Established in 2012, this creative duo has grown a business that flourishes on the unexpected in the marketing world. From Clean Graffiti to Moss Art, #thesavageway is anything but ordinary. Positive attitudes, earth-friendly and fun, this team will make your business standout.
We call ourselves a creative agency because what we do is highly creative. We love pushing ourselves to approach marketing in a different way. Our goal is to always create partnerships with our clients and to create fun, eye-catching campaigns or art that will create a buzz.
SERVICES
CLEAN GRAFFITI
If you live in or around Charlotte, you’ve definitely seen our Clean Graffiti work on the sidewalks. Using a stencil and a pressure washer, we create targeted marketing campaigns for clients in an untapped location – the sidewalk. These creative messages are made using only water – no bleach, no acid, no paint – It’s. Just. Water.
Here are some fast facts:
We have worked in over 55 cities including New York City, Boston, Portland, OR, New Orleans, and many more.
We work in a variety of industries, but have seen huge success in the healthcare, public communication and development realms.
We are the leaders in the United States for reverse graffiti. Our duel marketing background allows us to create a fresh campaign from start to finish that correlates with other brand advertising initiatives and creates a full-circle plan.
Will travel anywhere in the USA!
A sampling of 2018 Clean Graffiti jobs by #thesavageway.A variety of reverse graffiti campaigns from #thesavageway in 2018 including jobs for OrthoCarolina, Carolina Hurricanes, NCDOT, Novel NoDa and LGA.
MOSS ART
Moss Art is made by using preserved plants to bring a company logo or design element to life. And what we consistently hear from our clients is that they love that our product requires absolutely zero maintenance. That’s right…no watering, drainage or sunlight required!
Our Moss Art work spans both the corporate and residential realm, however, we find that the corporate side is our primary focus. We hold our clients’ hands from the beginning and guide them to what will be the best decision for their space.
Fast Facts:
We’ve created pieces for restaurants, hotels, law firms, finance firms, apartment complexes, CBD shops, coworking spaces, and events.
We’ve sent our work to New York, Texas, Wisconsin, Colorado, Alabama, Connecticut, Ohio and all over North Carolina.
Moss Art is maintenance-free – meaning it requires no water, light, drainage or ongoing care.
Moss is a natural humidity indicator.
All of our moss is handpicked and harvested.
GoTriangle of Durham, NC, UNC Charlotte, TEDx Charlotte and SouthPark Interiors all used Moss Art by #thesavageway in 2018.More Moss Art jobs by #thesavageway.Moss Art for local Charlotte restaurants Zeppelin and Graham St. Pub and two custom wedding signs in 2018.
CREATIVE MARKETING
What does Creative Marketing mean to us? Anything and everything. We are the people that you call when you have a crazy idea and you need someone to bring it to life. We LOVE when we get a random phone call that starts with… “#thesavageway was the first team that came to mind.”
We help with staffing promo teams, street teams, creating brand ambassadors, conceptualizing guerilla marketing tactics for large corporations, and developing robust out-of-the-box pitch ideas.
Fast Facts:
We have a fully staffed team ready to hit the streets at your event.
Our highly trained brand ambassadors are great representatives for your company.
We have worked with Atrium Health (formerly Carolinas Healthcare System) on a month-long Cardiovascular outreach campaign.
Various Creative Marketing efforts by #thesavageway.
We are #thesavageway. We’re not your typical creative house. We constantly push ourselves to think differently. We approach campaigns with different lenses. We are excited about what we do. And we want to work with companies that push the line. Brands that are looking to stand out, create a social buzz, and break out of the same-ole-same-ole are exactly who were are looking to partner with in 2019.
We’re jazzed up about our current projects. But more importantly, we’re ready for you!
