Museums Libraries and Archives Case Study
Challenge:
The Finder of the Year was a national competition organised by the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council for the under 16s, as part of Fabulous Finds Day, which took place on April 30 2005 K+R was faced with the challenge of achieving maximum exposure for the competition in a minimal time frame – just two months The MLA had big ideas but a very tight budget, so we needed to be extra creative, both in use of time and resources Fabulous Finds Day was also a new concept – a day when people of all ages were invited to take their favourite finds to a local museum to be examined by experts. Up until our appointment there had been little or no coverage in either the national or regional media and therefore minimal awareness among the general public
Strategy:
Due to the short time-frame, we had to ensure that the media with the shortest lead times were a priority, as they would be able to disseminate information quickly about the competition and Fabulous Finds Primarily this meant broadcast media (television and radio), national daily and Sunday press, and regional daily and weekly press
Tactics:
K+R researched and contacted well-known children’s celebrities – TV and radio presenters, pop stars etc. to ask for their help, and Peter Duncan (ex Blue Peter presented and Chief Scout) and CBBC presenters Angelica Bell and Matt Edmonson agreed to participate To make the competition more attractive, we secured some great prizes including an Olympus digital camera, goody bags from WH Smith, Encarta Premium Suite 2005, and children’s books and partnered with the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and the Funday Times to secure additional exposure
Results:
Coverage was achieved across a wide spectrum of national and regional press, broadcast media, on-line publications and trade media including the Funday Times, CBBC’s Xchange programme and BBC 7’s Big Toe Radio Show
