Welsh Museums Festival
Overall Summary
January 2015
The first Welsh Museums Festival took place from 4-12 October 2014 to coincide
with the MA Conference 9-10 October. It provided the opportunity for museums in
every corner of Wales to work together to promote the sector.
The Festival was organised by a working group comprising of the All-Wales
Marketing Team, members of The Federation of Museums and Art Galleries Wales
(FMAGW), Amgueddfa Cymru and other museum professionals.
What were the key objectives of the campaign?
 Communicate the breadth of the work being done by museums in every
corner of Wales, and the positive impact this is having on the citizens of
Wales
 Encourage as many people as possible to visit a museum in Wales
 Increase the online presence and engagement via social media of Welsh
museums
 Bring economic benefit to Wales from delegate expenditure (MA Conference)
Who took part?
 All Accredited (or working towards) museums in Wales were invited to take
part in the Festival.
 41 Accredited (or working towards) organised events however others may
have taken part e.g. via social media.
 The following museums participated – 7 Nationals (All), 17 Local Authority, 8
Independent, 2 National Trust, 2 University Museums, 1 Regimental Museum,
4 Working Towards Accreditation
How many events were included in the Festival?
 100 events in total which included existing and new events/exhibitions aimed
at a range of target audiences (see Appendix 1 for breakdown of events)
Did it generate press coverage?
 Press coverage was achieved in print media, online, radio and television (see
Appendix 2 for full list of press coverage)
 English and welsh language media covered stories about the Festival
Did it increase digital engagement?
 Generated over 600 mentions on Twitter about #welshmuseumsfest and over
450 mentions of #gwylamgueddfeydd (see Appendix 3 for full social media
overview)
 Daily hashtags were most effective at the start of the week and some worked
better than others e.g. #musmemories generated 101 total mentions
 61 Accredited museums on Twitter and out of those 34 participated
 Some museums reported that their profile on social media had increased as a
result of participating in the campaign

@welshmuseums account increased dramatically as a result of the Festival
Was the campaign website successful?
 A total of 435 visitors to the website during the Festival with the average
session time being just under 2 minutes (see Appendix 4 for website statistics
and partner website coverage)
 There was a noticeable spike in the number of visitors to the website when
the Festival started in early October
 The most popular pages were the homepage, the events page and find a
museum page
What did museum staff have to say about the Festival?
 A total of 47 surveys were completed by museum staff with 36 participating in
the Festival and 11 who didn’t take part
 Questions were asked about different aspects of the Festival e.g. how
museums took part, visitor numbers and feedback, digital statistics, PR
coverage, grants, branding, staff communication, timing (see Appendix 5 for
summary of staff feedback)
Did the MA Conference bring economic benefits to Wales?
 The economic benefit of hosting the MA conference in Cardiff was in the
region of £660,000
 Most well attended conference to date with 652 paid delegates attending
 It was also the most International conference, with 70 delegates travelling
from all over the world
Did the Festival have a ‘showcase project’?
 The pop-up museum created in the foyer of the Wales Millennium Centre from
9-12 October was the showcase project
 The project was a partnership between Amgueddfa Cymru, Cardiff Story
Museum and the Heritage Lottery Fund
 The Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport visited the #popupmuseum and
donated an object, along with about 120 members of the public
 The pop-up museum generated a great deal of television and radio coverage
Conclusions / Recommendations
1. Timing wise - school holidays e.g. May half-term, Summer or October halfterm may offer more opportunities to target different audiences e.g. family
market
2. Combining the Festival to link with other high profile events could prove
effective and achieve more impact e.g. Museums at Night, Open Doors
3. Early announcement of Festival dates to the sector is key to ensure
integration into museums planning
4. Keeping with one overall hashtag for the Festival is recommended e.g.
#welshmuseumsfest / #gwylamgueddfeydd however themes/topics could be
suggested to generate ideas for content. The hashtag #beamazed could be
used where relevant.
5. A Facebook page promoting the Festival may stimulate more public
engagement
6. Strengthen media relationships as well as using sector resources to maximise
impact e.g. Marketing Team to work closer with Amgueddfa Cymru press
office
7. Working with key partners with shared goals and clearly identified roles will be
integral to the success of the Festival
8. The Festival working group to be reviewed and new members sought with a
variety of skills
9. In order to ensure the Festival is fully bilingual; Welsh speaker/s will be
identified to lead on key tasks
10. The #popupmuseum proved that a ‘showcase project’ is essential to create
interest particularly from the media
11. Overall the branding was well received and will continue to be used with new
promotional materials developed as required and circulated to the sector well
in advance
12. Short, snappy, bilingual staff updates to be used to communicate the Festival
to staff
13. Use evaluation and case studies to attract more museums to participate in
2015 and encourage participation in the Festival as early as possible
14. Build on the successes of the first Festival to create stronger partnerships with
key stakeholders and advocates
15. The grant guidelines (via Federation) to be reviewed with a focus on allocation
of funding to events/projects set up specifically for the purposes of
participating in the Festival
16. Review Festival website and rectify glitches