The client
In Balboa Park, the San Diego Automotive Museum is more than a row of cars. Its mission is the past, present, and future of motorized vehicles—on the floor, in the archive, and in programs such as IGNITE, the tuition-free student academy that uses the shop as a classroom.
Flagship public moments include the Shifting Gears Rally, the golf tournament that supports the same mission, and rotating exhibitions (among them The Power of Porsche). When those moments work, they fund the museum and put new people in the building.
The challenge
The first call was a site in trouble: Drupal core and modules behind, functionality fading, the digital equivalent of an engine run without oil. A White Screen of Death is not a brand problem until the museum cannot publish an exhibition or take a registration.
Fixing that only exposed the larger need. The museum had events to fill, a student program to explain, exhibitions worth eight figures on the floor, and a public face that had to match the cars. They needed a partner who could start in the CMS and stay through brand, fundraising, and the weekend of the rally.
What we did
From emergency to platform
We stabilized the Drupal site, restored updates, and improved how collections, exhibitions, and education are published. A later contract focused on accessibility—making the experience usable for more visitors and reducing friction on the public and point-of-sale sides.
Brand that can travel
As the brief grew, so did the visual system. We built a brand style book, refined the primary mark, and gave major fundraisers their own identity—including the Shifting Gears Rally logo and a tightened golf-tournament mark—so print, web, and video no longer looked like separate vendors.
Events, development, and the channel
Promotional video and an active YouTube channel became part of how the museum shows up. We worked with the Director of Development on sweepstakes and the flash contests inside them. That included credentialed photography and video at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on the race’s 50th anniversary—trackside assets for a contest that sent the winner to the following year’s race.
Exhibitions with the executive team
We built campaigns with the CEO, COO, and staff—not thrown over a wall. For exhibitions, we wrote press materials and produced long-form gallery films so a show could live after opening night. The Power of Porsche campaign is the public example: rare cars, a short runway to opening, and a mix of social, print, and local television around a single story.
What the museum already reports
On the events and education side, the museum has seen stronger rally registration, higher golf-tournament attendance, a larger social audience, and more interest in IGNITE—including new community partnerships. Those outcomes sit on top of a site that stays up and a brand that can be reused the next time the calendar turns.
The result
Intrepid Network did not remain “the Drupal vendor.” The museum gained a through-line from CMS to style book to rally weekend to exhibition film—one partner who already knows the cars, the staff, and what “opening night” looks like on a phone.
Services
Drupal recovery and accessibility · Brand style book and identity · Event and exhibition marketing · Video production and YouTube · Photography (museum, library, track) · Sweepstakes and development campaigns · Press and executive-level consulting