What it had to solve
The Strong — home of the National Toy Hall of Fame and the world's largest collection of historical play materials — had a major new expansion to fill in Rochester, NY, drawing families from across the Northeast and Canada.
The idea
Wayfinding billboards along the whole drive from Toronto and Northeast cities to Rochester turn the road trip itself into play — the journey is half the fun.
How it works
High-impact billboards dotted the route from Toronto and other Northeast cities, backed by mobile map and geo-targeted advertising, aerial banner ads, sports and radio sponsorships along the billboard path, plus connected TV, YouTube, social and digital.
What it did
The expansion was built for nearly 1M annual visitors by 2026, up from a previous high of 600,000; no campaign-specific results were reported.
Background
In July 2023 The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY launched 'Path to Play', a campaign by its creative and media AOR Partners + Napier aimed at travellers on the road from Toronto and across the Northeast. The idea: billboards that bring the museum's collection of classic toys and modern gaming to life along the route, positioning The Strong as 'the ultimate play destination' and making the journey itself part of the fun.
The campaign supported the museum's recently completed 90,000 sq ft expansion — immersive exhibits for all ages featuring the world's largest playable Donkey Kong arcade game, gaming areas with personalised avatars and puzzle quests, a larger-than-life Hasbro Game Park, and a whimsical parking garage built for the nearly one million annual visitors anticipated by 2026, up from a previous high of 600,000 before the pandemic.
Media stretched beyond billboards: mobile map and geo-targeted advertising, aerial banners, sports and radio sponsorships along the path, plus connected TV, YouTube, social and digital. 'Play is universal,' said Rob Kottkamp, CCO of Partners + Napier, framing the campaign as nostalgia that invites people 'to reconnect with their inner child at the ultimate play destination, not more than a couple of hours away.'
Why it lands
The museum had just doubled its experiential footprint and needed a funnel of families from drive-in markets, not just locals.
Rochester sits within a couple of hours of large populations in Toronto and the Northeast, making the drive the natural media canvas.
Sara Poe, The Strong's VP of marketing, said the campaign helps 'usher in a new era' for a destination 'unlike anything else in the world'.
Layered media along the same route — billboards, banners, map ads, radio — kept one story in front of travellers for the whole trip.
What you can take
When your destination is a drive away, advertise the drive: making the journey part of the product turns distance into an asset.
Since then
The campaign ran as the museum's expansion opened, with the garage and exhibits sized for roughly one million annual visitors anticipated by 2026, up from 600,000 pre-pandemic. LBB's report carried no visit figures attributable to the campaign itself.
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