Iconic Chicago scenes are featured on a series of posters supporting Chicago small businesses, launched recently by Chicago marketing agency c|change. The program, titled Lifted Heads, Lifting Voices, is designed to help consumers discover or rediscover local businesses that are struggling during the COVID-19 restrictions.
A new limited-edition poster is being introduced every two weeks for sale on the agency’s
ecommerce website. Proceeds from sale of the posters goes to the businesses shown on the posters. The first featured businesses are river tour company Shoreline Sightseeing and Madison Street Books; both are for sale now, priced at $20 each, including tax and shipping. The 11x17 posters are signed by the artists and suitable for framing
The Shoreline Sightseeing poster was created by Robert Kerr and the Madison Street Books poster by Maggie Suter.
The program title, Lifted Heads, Lifting Voices is inspired by Carl Sandburg’s poem,
“Chicago”: “Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.” This seemed right for this city and its hard-working people, the agency says.
“Chicago’s businesses deserve to be recognized and elevated—particularly when so many are facing historic headwinds as a result of COVID,” says Hugh Schulze, CEO at c|change. They expect to create posters for about 10 businesses and to continue the program into the early part of 2021. If they see a lot of interest, they may continue it.
The businesses that participate receive free marketing exposure and press coverage as well as all of the proceeds raised from the sale of the posters.
c|change is a Chicago-based marketing strategy and design agency that works with businesses on sales and marketing challenges across a variety of media. The name is pronounced sea-change, a reference to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, in which Ariel sings:
Full fathom five thy father lies:
Of his bones are coral made:
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
