CASE STUDY: MUSEUM OF FREEMASONRY EXHIBITION AND PR CAMPAIGN 2018


BRIEF

The very first project to manage upon my arrival at Museum of Freemasonry in 2018 was the promotion of 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’. My Director asked me to work out a plan with an eye to opening within three months. The museum had very few existing channels at this point: one Twitter account and an outdated website with no CRM. However the subject was accessible and unexpected so my goal was to focus on high-impact ATL activity in the form of targeted PR, London Underground posters and advertising in targeted press to get visitors through the doors.

CAMPAIGN
To get things started, and while procuring a PR agency, I used my training in photography to create a selection of professional standard press images for sending with the future press release. As the lead item I chose a 19th-century Egyptian-inspired Authors Lodge jewel to reflect the Art Deco style of the exhibition design. More over, the general public remain fascinated by Egyptian treasure and as an instantly recognisable historical artefact with mysterious symbols it made the perfect attention-grabbing image.


While Midas PR were working on getting coverage I got in contact with Global to plan a London Underground poster campaign. Being based in Covent Garden we would focus on this station, Holborn and along the connecting routes to other relevant museums. We used 4 sheet, 6 sheet, 12 sheet, escalator and elevator posters. Using my imagery the exhibition designers created the final artwork for the posters.

In addition to the PR and OOH posters I used a contact from a previous position to secure an Evening Standard quarter page ad in the A List section of the Thursday edition. I created the artwork for this myself. There were also regular listings placed in BBC History magazine and several online listings sites like Time Out.

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 (which included my own press images) and I paper, and internationally in Singapore, Mexico, Spain, France, and more. Stakeholders were delighted to see positive press coverage and a growing sense of interest in the organisation.

RESULT

Number of visitors walking through the doors: Up 27%


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