CASE STUDY: MUSEUM OF FREEMASONRY EXHIBITION AND PR CAMPAIGN 2018


BRIEF

The first campaign I executed at Museum of Freemasonry, before the rebrand and introduction of new website and communication channels was a  temporary exhibition called Bejewelled: Badges, Brotherhood and Identity. It focused on the traditions and meanings of the badges of the freemasons, which they call ‘jewels’. With plans already afoot there were three months until launch. With just one Twitter account, an outdated website and no CRM, the focus would be on high-impact local advertising and publicity.

CAMPAIGN
Of the little audience data we had, we knew that Egyptology is a recognisable cross-over interest in the museum going public. Therefore, as the lead item I chose a 19th-century Egyptian-inspired Authors Lodge jewel to reflect the Art Deco style of the exhibition design. This instantly recognisable historical artefact with mysterious symbols made it the perfect attention-grabbing image.

The strategy for this campaign was to get museum goers with an interest in decorative arts to visit by demonstrating the diverse and mysterious quality of the objects on display.

The London-based agency Midas PR were recruited to manage the publicity for the exhibition, using a suite of luxurious object photography from the exhibition. This collection represented that diversity, rarity and mysterious nature of the freemasons’ unique treasures.


A plan was arranged with Global for a London Underground poster campaign. Being based in Covent Garden we would focus on this station, as well as Holborn and along the connecting routes to other relevant museums. We used 4-sheet, 6-sheet, 12-sheet, escalator and elevator posters.

To support the PR and OOH posters a print advert was placed in the Evening Standard going out section of the Thursday edition. This would reach the targeted 25-55 year-old commutors going to and from London. There were also regular listings placed in BBC History magazine and several online listings sites like Time Out, reaching both the affinity and activity segments.

Following a hugely successful photo call, images of the exhibition flooded the wire with Reuters, AP and others spreading the word across the globe. The story was picked up regionally in the UK as well as in The Telegraph and I paper, and internationally in Singapore, Mexico, Spain, France, and more. 

RESULT

Number of visitors walking through the doors: Up 27%

The exhibition activity saw a jump and diversification of visitors having reached a wider audience through the OOH and media publicity. This helped introduce the museum brand to a new market and gathered new insights for future strategies.

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