Museum of London overhauls comms for visitor drive

The organisation has reshuffled its team, brought in two agency figures and set a target of increasing media coverage by 33 per cent this year.

Director of comms Antony Robbins said the new agenda was about ‘trying to think more like a consumer brand’ and called for others in the arts sector to do likewise.

‘We have to compete with other consumer brands for the attention of our visitors, and this is a change we’re going to have to see more widely.

‘Museums across the sector are sharpening their focusand thinking about sustain-able forms of funding, as well as demonstrating their value to their stakeholders.’

The changes follow the recent arrival of CEO Sharon Ament, whose comms background includes work as director of public engagement at the Natural History Museum.

Burson-Marsteller’s Andrew Scott and Edelman’s Laura Mitchell have been appointed media officers, while PR manager Andrew Marcus has been promoted to deputy head of comms.

Research has also been commissioned from Morris Hargreaves McIntyre to pinpoint target audiences.

The efforts are part of a broader target of doubling visitors to both the Museum of London and Museum of London Docklands by 2018.

Robbins said the rethink extended to stakeholder engagement, with moves to bring in investment from big-name backers. ‘It’s private business that has largely built the city the museum is in the heart of, so we want to reach out there too,’ he added.  

This article was first published on prweek.com