the academy journal
Media & Marketing Coverage
Social media platforms such as Facebook
and the Estate’s recently launched profile on
Instagram continue to be a dynamic source
of outreach. The Cairnwood Facebook page
is trending favorably with 4,368 “likes” and
899 new followers this past calendar year. The
Cairnwood website, along with social media,
have been used as the primary marketing av-
enues for the Special Events and have increased
net income by reducing print and postage costs.
“sister” tree for the PERT, which is located in front
of their Visitor’s Center. Although Sourwoods
tend to be difficult to establish, it is doing well.
David is pleased with the handsome marker and
maintains interest in Cairnwood’s progress with
planting and tagging trees on the property.
The Cairnwood Historic Tree Walk continues
to be a focal point of the landscape restoration
effort. Ongoing plans include a prioritized list of
trees to plant each year as funds allow. Tags for 18
trees and woody shrubs were installed around the
Cairnwood grounds during the Summer of 2016.
A Sugar Maple was planted in November along
Huntingdon Pike in a location close to where the
original plans called for a variety of maple trees.
A collection of “Cairnwood Hats” were donated
to the Estate by Pitcairn family descendant Joan
Pendleton Lynch. Joan has generously donated ad-
ditional funds to provide the resources to evaluate,
store, and exhibit the collection in the Cairnwood
sewing room and during future Christmastime
exhibitions. In January 2017, Jennifer Nieling, a
graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology
with working experience in costume and textile
collections in the region, including the Philadel-
phia Museum of Art and Drexel University, evalu-
ated the collection and created catalog entries for
each of the hats including recommendations for
storage and conservation. A few of the oldest hats
are candidates for further conservation should we
desire to include them in a future exhibition.
WHYY invited their members to attend a spe-
cial tea event at Cairnwood. The event included a
sneak peek viewing of the new PBS Masterpiece
series Victoria and self-guided tours of Cairnwood
and Glencairn. The partnership with WHYY in-
cluded a special rental rate for use of the venue in
exchange for television and radio marketing expo-
sure. A promotional commercial showcasing the
event and images of Cairnwood was televised on
WHYY during the first two weeks of December
2016 along with radio reads. WHYY also listed the
event on their website (225,000 active views each
month), included it in their E-Newsletter (30,000
subscribers), and posted information on their so-
cial media platforms (47,000 followers on Face-
book and Twitter).
Cairnwood was featured in two 2017 Fall/Win-
ter edition wedding publications. The Knot Wed-
dings Magazine included a reception at Cairn-
wood in their “real weddings” section which hit
stands on Memorial Day weekend. Cairnwood
was also selected as a primary photo shoot loca-
tion by Philadelphia Weddings Magazine. Images
from this shoot were on the cover of Philadelphia
Weddings Magazine along with a 12-page spread
featuring striking bridal silhouettes.
Cairnwood continued to engage prospective
rental clients through online marketing includ-
ing: theknot.com, weddingwire.com, mywedding.
com, and marthastewart.com. The Estate was in-
cluded in a Venue Report Blog article as one of
the 25 Wedding Venues In Pennsylvania To Put On
Your Radar. Other sites that were listed included
the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
in Pittsburgh, Reading Art Works, and the Horti-
culture Center in Fairmount Park.
The Barnyard to Beaux Arts fundraising event
provided an opportunity to revive interest in
the farming aspects of Cairnwood’s history, an
area deserving of more research in the future.
Drawing on an exhibit presented by archivist
Greg Jackson in 2008 for the Bryn Athyn His-
toric District National Historic Landmark Celebra-
tion, the Barnyard to Beaux Arts event included
a small exhibition in the Carriage House high-
lighting photos, ledgers, and records from the
John and Gertrude Pitcairn Papers Collection
that are housed in the Glencairn Museum Ar-
chives. During the event, patrons had the op-
portunity to visit the popular Cairnwood Dairy
wagon and learn from visuals and label copy
about the farm operation. Materials created for
this event will enhance the interpretation of the
Cairnwood Farm in the future.
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