CLEVELAND.- Brokaw, an independent advertising agency known for helping brands “rise above the blah blah,” today announced that it has been appointed advertising agency of record for the Cleveland Museum of Art after a formal agency review.

During the first phase of the one-year engagement, Brokaw will develop a new advertising campaign to promote the much-anticipated June 29, 2008, reopening of 19 spectacularly renovated galleries on the second floor of the museum’s historic 1916 building. The galleries have been closed for the past three years due to an expansive renovation and building project.

The campaign, scheduled to launch June 1, 2008, will include non-traditional advertising as well as radio, outdoor, bus wraps, TV billboards and online ads targeted at Cleveland-area art enthusiasts. The aim is to draw visitors to the newly renovated galleries and bolster the museum’s image as one of the world’s most distinguished comprehensive art museums.

“This is an exciting time for the museum and the entire Cleveland cultural community,” Cindy Fink, director of marketing and communications for the Cleveland Museum of Art, said. “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Brokaw and leveraging their expertise to grow our brand and create excitement for the museum’s reopening.”

The June 29, 2008, reopening will mark completion of the first phase of the building and renovation project designed by New York architect Rafael Viñoly. The next milestone arrives on October 19, 2008, when the special exhibition space of the newly constructed East Wing opens with Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique

Brokaw will expand the original campaign to promote the exhibit during the holiday season, when schools are on break and visitors come into town. The next series of ads will roll out in the spring of 2009, when the museum plans to open the galleries on the main level of the East Wing, which will trace the rise of Modernism from 19th-century Europe to contemporary art from around the globe. The entire project, which also includes renovations to the first floor of the 1916 building; an entirely new west wing, and a new restaurant and café; is scheduled for completion in 2012.

“Working with a world class institution like the Cleveland Museum of Art is truly an honor,” said Bill Brokaw, agency president and CEO. “The museum represents a multitude of experiences, and we look forward to collaborating with the museum to invite art fans of all ages to celebrate the symbolic rebirth of one of the world’s best museums that just happens to be in our backyard.”