National Army Museum Communications Project

Tender description

The National Army Museum is currently undergoing a major transformation to create an exciting new visitor attraction, located in the heart of Chelsea, opening in Spring 2017. The new modern, 21st century museum has ambitions visitor targets, (up from 250,000 pre closure to 340.00 in opening year and growing to over 400,000 by 2025/26). In addition NAM seeks to diversify and develop its audiences and become more commercially focused (NAM aims to generate in the region of £2M in the first year of opening, £1.5M of which, is to be achieved as a result of footfall to the Museum). We are seeking to partner with communications agencies (creative, media and PR) to help us achieve these goals. The brand new museum will feature five state-of-the-art gallery spaces taking visitors on an interactive journey exploring the role of the Army, the stories of the men and women who served, and the Army’s influence on society and popular culture. The popular play space for children aged 7 and under has been revamped and rebranded as Play Base. This is a separate admission-charged space with its own commercial objectives. There will also be a new, improved café, shop and learning facilities. This exciting new offer is underpinned by a new brand identity and approach to visual communications positioning NAM as ‘inspiring more than just questions and answers.’ The new NAM is stimulating, relevant, insightful, conversational, sharing and real, it seeks to spark conversations not simply disseminate information. We are a Museum whose story is both historic and of the moment. Not a day goes by without our story being in the press or on television; this is a very unique and special position and one that we want to maximise to grow engagement with our work. One of the key tasks for the appointed agency/ies will be to engage UK audiences in the new NAM offer and brand, with a particular focus on families and those who do not identify as having a specialist interest in the subject matter. Creating a positive and exciting new proposition will be essential to overcome any historical (and potentially negative) perceptions associated with the Army and the Museum. The campaign spend budget for the project is c£200K - £250K.