CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
OVERVIEW
The UK has a number of world famous cultural institutions. Some are UNESCO World Heritage sites, like the Royal Museums Greenwich. Others have a scientific presence with a global impact like the Natural History Museum in South Kensington.
CHALLENGE
Cultural institutions aren’t commercial ventures. Much of their revenue depends on attracting patrons. Establishing links with major commercial organizations. Or attracting people to paid-for events. So how do you do that effectively?
INSIGHTS
People - rich or poor, corporate or visitor - like to be part of something meaningful and monumental. To unlock engagement you need to establish personal relevance - just as keenly as you do when selling a consumer product.
STRATEGY & CREATIVE
Here are three projects for major cultural institutions. In each, we establish how engagement will help our target better align with their own interests and goals. As well as helping them emotionally engage with a higher purpose.
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM. DARWIN CENTRE FUNDRAISING
“Where all the Past is Present” campaign
The vision was for a new Darwin Centre. Where visitors could interact with millions of species from throughout the planets history.
Our campaign to high-worth donors promised a chance of being part of something monumental. So they’re not just “someone” now - but for centuries to come. Delivering a grand vision where all the planet’s past becomes present.
Outcomes: The campaign raised £8m and led to the construction of the largest purpose-built structure of its kind in Europe.
“Infinity” Campaign for the Royal Observatory Greenwich
Planetariums have been around for a while. But how do you successfully launch one on a world heritage site?
You make it less a visitor attraction - and more a monument to humanity’s historic struggle with the infinite. Evidenced in the planetarium’s unique architecture based on symbolic angles used in ancient structures focused on star study, ritual, religion and the afterlife. The building also features a 51.5% degree horizontal tilt which maps to the precise latitude of Greenwich, the home of GMT.
So as a visitor - you get not simply a planetarium, but history, art, religion, culture and time and space - for the cost of admission. Our collateral featured irregular angle cuts mirroring the symbolic angles in the building. To reinforce our message and echo the uniqueness of the structure.
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM. BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS
“The Leading Choice” campaign
Modern public institutions need major corporate sponsorship. But how do you prove the relevance of a museum of the sea in our technological age?
We reframed our museum of the sea as a “museum of leadership”. With the kings, queens, naval leaders, innovators and explorers in it as proof points of our proposition. Making the NNM an invaluable resource of the ideas, innovations and methodologies of leaders who helped Britain not just rule the oceans, but global trade and scientific advance for centuries.
IMPACT AND RESULTS
In each case, our campaigns produced strong outcomes.
The Darwin Center campaign for the Natural History Museum raised £8m and led to the construction of the largest purpose-built structure of its kind in Europe.
The Peter Harrison Planetarium launch was a success for the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Visitor numbers keep on growing. And now stand at 800,000 people a year.
And the National Maritime Museum B2B campaign’s focus on leadership brought in partnerships with leading companies across multiple sectors. Including Boeing. HSBC and BAE Systems.
Agencies: Curio, Virtuality