Landmark exhibition marks a turning point

Photo of an actor dressed as a gladiator, fighting a fabricated tiger being manoeuvred by another actor.
ROYAL ARMOURIES

Royal Armouries

The challenge

The ‘Gladiators’ exhibition at the Royal Armouries was the first time it had shown anywhere in the UK, and the first use of the museum’s new exhibition space. Our aim was to capitalise on this to promote the Royal Armouries as a significant national museum and a crucial part of Leeds’ cultural renaissance, culminating in the museum’s redevelopment – Royal Armouries 700.

We wanted to generate excitement around the museum in the arts and culture sectors and remind Yorkshire families of the treasure trove on their doorsteps.

The work

The key to this campaign was to identify content hooks from amongst the globally significant artefacts on display. We highlighted incredible, ancient items with popular appeal to the media, such as the exhibition’s beautifully intricate gladiator helmets. To ensure press interest and reviews, we distributed exhibition information to a tailored media list, and showcased the museum’s related Roman Festival to attract local families.

Photo of a model of a Roman colosseum inside a glass museum case.
ROYAL ARMOURIES
Photo of a woman in a pink blazer and a man dressed as a gladiator smiling at the camera with biceps curled.
ROYAL ARMOURIES
Photo of two people wearing large, cardboard gladiator helmets.
ROYAL ARMOURIES
CGI image of the proposed development of the Royal Armouries in Leeds – a modern building by the river, with gardens stretching along its top level.
ROYAL ARMOURIES

The impact

Our coverage reached an audience of over 400 million, with features across national, regional and specialist publications. The State of the Arts named ‘Gladiators’ a “landmark exhibition”, while the BBC News celebrated the “perfectly preserved” items on display. The media attention drew the focus to the Royal Armouries 700 project in national and sector-specific titles, and the Roman Festival succeeded in bringing 33,000 visitors to the museum, many of whom were local families.

We had consolidated the Royal Armouries’ status as both a national institution and an iconic local attraction.

A collage of media coverage about a Roman gladiators exhibition at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. Images include two costumed gladiators in combat, ancient helmets and armour, and a museum spokesperson interviewed on TV. Headlines from The Yorkshire Post, The Art Newspaper, BBC News, BBC Radio Leeds, and Current Archaeology highlight rare Roman artefacts, gladiator history, and the exhibition bringing ancient warriors to life.

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