Insight
Chelmsford Museum, Oaklands Park, Essex, presents artefacts and interactive displays from Chelmsford’s industrial heritage. Chelmsford Museums also owns Sandford Mill in Chelmsford, which is home to a large collection of radio and TV artefacts from Marconi.
The brief: “We are looking for a PR campaign to raise awareness about what we do, and increase visitor figures. The PR editorial angle of our events and exhibitions has been neglected, so there are many opportunities. It’s also important to us to raise our profile in advance of lottery bids.”
Implementation
We took a lot of time getting to know Chelmsford Museum, finding out more about its collections and events. A series of interesting angles and stories behind much of the collection was put together and shared with media contacts.
A media relations campaign was devised to centre around an anniversary of Marconi’s first broadcast in the city and promote Chelmsford’s historical connections with Marconi and broadcast. Tactical releases were also distributed to highlight events, and new items on show at the Museum.
We set up a ‘back in time’ weekly feature in the Essex Chronicle and drafted all content for the piece.
Impact
In the first four months, we generated 120 cuttings for the Chelmsford Museum, including in-depth features on Chelmsford Museum and Marconi in regional glossy magazines.
We set up a regular slot on BBC Essex for experts at the museum. We maximised coverage in a wide range of regional press, online and broadcast listings to ensure awareness of their busy events programme.
We doubled attendance at their open days and their National Lottery bid was successful.
“Big Wave PR took the time to really understand what goes on at Chelmsford Museum and has quickly created a very large splash of publicity, which is really helping us attract a larger and wider audience. We would recommend their PR services.”
If you need help with your PR and marketing, please contact us.
