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