Since 1995, the Kennedy Library Foundation has benefited from an extraordinary partnership with the Martin Agency of Richmond, Virginia which has provided creative advertising and marketing services on a
pro bono basis.
The Martin Agency is consistently ranked as one of the top ten most-awarded creative agencies in the country, and currently is ranked
Ad Age's "#3 Best Agency in America." According to the trade journal
Graphis, "The Martin Agency has maintained a level of creative quality that's hard to find anywhere else in the ad business."
Its clients currently include: Alliance for Climate Protection, Alltel, Barely There, BFGoodrich, Cruzan, Discover Card, ESPN X Games, Free Credit Report, FUZE, GEICO, Genworth, Hanes, Johnson Automotive, JFK Presidential Library and Museum, NASCAR, NEWSEUM, Newspaper Association of America, PING golf equipment, SIRIUS, UPS, and Wal-Mart.
Since the beginning of its partnership with the Martin Agency the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has enjoyed the full-support and attention of John Adams, Chairman and CEO, Mike Hughes, President and Creative Director, and the hands-on stewardship of Joe Alexander, Creative Director.
In addition to providing all creative staff time on a pro bono basis, an annual contribution that averages $100,000 a year, the Martin Agency has secured several million dollars in free ad placement from national publications.
Among the national publications that have carried full page ads promoting the Museum at the Kennedy Presidential Library or the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award are: Esquire, Golf,
Sports Illustrated (pdf),
Travel and Leisure Golf, TIME, Food and Wine, InStyle, Travel and Leisure, Town and Country, Country Living, Country Home, This Old House, Newsweek, Advocate, US News and World Report, New York Magazine, USA Today, Atlantic Monthly, Business Week, Scientific American, LIFE, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, American Heritage, Brides, Bon Appetit, Civilization, Vogue, George.
2007-2008 Ad Campaign 
The “Admit One” or “Tickets” ad campaign launched in 2007 highlights 7 different aspects of the Kennedy administration and promotes general museum visitation. In creating the ad campaign, the Martin Agency wanted to show that a ticket to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum offers more than any other admission ticket in Boston -- it is not simply a ticket to a museum, but a ticket to living, breathing and understanding what it was like to be John F. Kennedy. The ad campaign won the 2008 Kelly Award from the Magazine Publishers of America for Best Full Page Magazine Entry.
The Martin Agency also launched the "Recharge" campaign in 2007, which, in the current era of political cynicism, promises that a trip to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum will recharge one’s faith in politics and public service. With a strong creative message and a timely topic this election year, high-profile publications including TIME, BusinessWeek, The Advocate and more have donated valuable media space to show their support of the campaign.
WeChooseTheMoon.org On Thursday, July 16, 2009,the Kennedy Presidential Library launched a new, interactive website to mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission and Moon Landing. More than 1.3 million individuals logged on to the special website during the five-day journey to the moon. The Martin Agency, the Library's pro bono ad agency, created the new website which was physically hosted by AOL and underwritten by AOL for $150,000. Using archival footage, images and recordings from NASA, the Martin Agency contracted with the Domani Production Company to create a real-time web experience that took web visitors from the launch on July 16, 1969 to the landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Each stage of the mission also allowed visitors to explore archival photos and footage of President Kennedy’s own space efforts.
The Kennedy Library’s interactive website
www.wechoosethemoon.org recreated Apollo 11’s flight, minute by minute, using archival audio, video, photos and “real-time” transmissions both on the site and via Twitter. The Kennedy Library’s primary website, received over 75,000 hits over the course of the five-day simulated journey. Press coverage of the site reached a total audience of more than 146 million people. It was featured throughout the blogosphere and on major news outlets including ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and The
New York Times.
To view a short view video describing the website and its development,
click here.