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Case Study: The Footsteps of Giants Festival
Engaging new audiences through a celebration of the heritage of the West Midlands
Area of expertise: Museums, galleries and heritage
Client: Renaissance West Midlands
Project: The Footsteps of Giants Festival
The brief
Renaissance West Midlands staged a region-wide public festival in 2006, celebrating the 'giant' individuals, inventions and ideas that have shaped the West Midlands, from industrialist Abraham Darby and footballer Sir Stanley Matthews to jet engine inventor Sir Frank Whittle and author JRR Tolkien.
Held during Museums and Galleries Month (MGM), the festival consisted of over 100 exhibitions, activities and events on offer across more than 40 regional cultural venues. The exciting and varied programme included a giant sleepover, discovery trails, historical re-enactments, interactive workshops and bangra dancing - all aimed at celebrating the scientific, technological, artistic, cultural and sporting achievements of the West Midlands.
Jane and her team were retained by Renaissance West Midlands on a three year basis in 2004 to support their Family Friendly campaign and the Footsteps of Giants festival. Jane led the implementation of the PR strategy for Footsteps of Giants as well as the co-ordination of the festival. Jane continues to work with Renaissance West Midlands on a project basis.
Objectives
- To engage new audiences
- To raise the profile, and build the reputation, of the Renaissance West Midlands museum partners
- To celebrate museum collections
- To share information, skills and expertise among the sector's workforce
Strategy and plan
A programme of events and communications activities was developed to maximise PR opportunities for Footsteps of Giants, including:
- media relations
- a high profile news angle for the festival consisting of a world record-breaking attempt
- a specially-commissioned bespoke travelling art performance
- a VIP launch at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
- testimonials from regional MPs and celebrities
- collaboration with Giant partners, a wider partnership of 11 West Midlands cultural venues
Evaluation and measurement
- 226 items of media coverage were generated, including:
- national newspaper coverage in The Times and The Guardian
- national radio coverage on Go4It!, BBC Radio 4 children's radio programme
- ten regional TV news bulletins, including two separate features on BBC Midlands Today
- 41 regional radio interviews
- The festival was featured in 46 articles on 39 different websites, including BBC Online
- An amazing 20,107 footprints were collected during the world record attempt, exceeding the previous record of 15,200 by over a mile!
- Jane and Susannah collaborated with the Campaign for Museums to present at a national MGM seminar and to produce a toolkit for the sector on how to create a festival of ideas and innovation
- Footsteps of Giants has been used as an example of best practice by other organisations, such as museums and galleries in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
Read online coverage of the Footsteps of Giants festival on children's website, Show Me
PR Services provided
Successes
- Extensive media exposure
- New audiences visiting West Midlands museums and galleries
- Relationships forged with stakeholders, including MPs, funders, local communities, and other cultural institutions
- World record attempt to create the longest line of footprints
Testimonial
"I've sat through so many pitches when the Chief Executive of a PR agency promises you the earth; six months later the only thing harder to find than the Chief Executive is the coverage in the press. Fortunately this was not the case when we appointed Jane and her team to support our Family Friendly campaign and Footsteps of Giants. Anyone looking for someone with an intelligent approach to PR, with boundless energy and the ability to deal with both strategic and operational details, should look no further."
Paul Gossage
Head of Marketing, Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust