Company: The National World War I Museum
Agency: Fleishman-Hillard & O'Neill Communications
Timeframe: 2006
For most people today (archivists and historians notwithstanding), the events of World War I, which transpired nearly a century ago, is an abstraction from a textbook, a remote
event that very few people have a personal connection to. This raises an important question: How do you make such a seemingly long ago event relevant to modern audiences? It's a
conundrum that the organizers of the Kansas City-based The National World War I Museum, which opened last December, had to wrestle with during the planning and logistics stage. The
apprehensions of the team players, coupled with the agencies that worked on it, were banished once the numbers of attendance for the museum in early 2007 were reported.
Bringing History Home
Choosing Kansas City as the home base for the National World War I Museum was logical given that it is also the locale for the Liberty Memorial dedicated to the fallen heroes of
World War I. In 1918, shortly after the end of the war, Kansas City residents were so intent on the creation of the Liberty Memorial, they raised $2.5 million in 10 days; it would
take eight years for the structure to be completed.
But in 2004, Kansas Citians decided it was time to add to the Liberty Memorial with the National World War I Museum and approved a city bond issue to build it. Ralph Appelbaum, a
prominent museum designer who also worked on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, was enlisted to design the National World War I Museum. His involvement boosted the profile
and prestige of the project.
From January to December 2006, the National World War I Museum PR program was conducted. Total budget for the program was $460,000, which included $100,000 for media relations,
$30,000 for branding activities and $330,000 for event planning and execution.
Building Parnerships
Before the project was even crystallized into reality, longtime Kansas City resident Pat O'Neill, president of the local boutique agency, O'Neill Communications, was already
familiar with it. "I managed the campaign to pass the bond to build the museum," he says.
After the bond was passed, O'Neill's company, which specializes in project management and event planning, was brought in to plan the opening for the museum. Because his company
was small -- only five employees -- and this project was mammoth, it was important to partner with a large agency that had the resources to fulfill its main objectives, which were
garnering national and international attention as well as communicate to the public that there was still a lot to learn from World War I.
For their expertise in media relations and branding capabilities, O'Neill Communications approached the Kansas City office of Fleishman-Hillard to work with them on the campaign.
Fleishman execs were very interested and the partnership was a complimentary union, although the financial rewards were hardly forthcoming.
"We just divvied up duties," says O'Neill. "It was largely pro bono. But we made a commitment with Fleishman to put this museum on an historical map. There's no way we could fail
after that because no matter how many extra unbillable hours it took, we were going to get this done."
Fighting Battles To Win A War
In March 2006, shortly after the project got underway, it was clear to the team players that despite the prestigious involvement of Appelbaum, the museum lacked a brand identity.
To remedy this, Fleishman-Hillard Kansas City teamed up with a local market research firm to identify target audiences and form key messages. Starting in March 2006, they conducted
online surveys to find out what would be the museum's key attractions. They discovered it would be twofold: its premier collection of artifacts, and telling the story of the war
from the perspective of those who experienced it.
From this, three main themes emerged--experience, learn and honor. It became the basis of the media relations campaign and the grand opening events later that year. The message
developed was understanding the World War I experience and learning America's role in it, as well as that of the 36 countries that were involved. Then, the new National World War I
Museum would do just that courtesy of interactive state-of-the-art technology.
Finding a logo was also challenging. From a total of seven possibilities, research participants were asked to pick which logo they considered to be "most appropriate" and their
"favorite." In addition to Kansas City-area residents, the logo options were also tested among 270 Fleishman-Hillard staffers around the world. Both groups overwhelmingly favored a
trench logo to be the "most appropriate" and "favorite" in the survey.
Aside from not having "a lot of dollars," another hurdle for the project team was having to work without a prototype of the museum at hand. "There were some evolutionary
renderings, but only Ralph Appelbaum knew what it was going to look like when it was done," says O'Neill. "So we worked on the good faith and reputation of Ralph Appelbaum, but we
didn't know how engaging the design would be. It all came together in the last 30 days."
Alex Wendel, managing supervisor for Fleishman-Hillard Kansas City, echoes O'Neill's frustration: "I remember going to the museum space in March 2006 and there was nothing more
than a concrete space. And here we are trying to pitch a story to something that doesn't exist yet."
Getting people interested in something they most likely knew little about was also a difficult task, as was finding out who would be most likely to visit the museum on a regular
basis. Research conducted by Fleishman homed in on two key audience segments: "Empty-nester" men in one or two-person households, who would visit the museum for personal education,
and younger, family-oriented women who would visit with family and children for entertainment purposes.
History In The Making
Components of the project's execution were varied. After the logo design and message was developed, the museum's designer Ralph Appelbaum made a visit to Kansas City in May 2006,
which included interviews with local media, as well as presentations to civic and community groups. A 6-minute promotional video consisting of interviews with Appelbaum and the
museum's Executive Director Brig. Gen. Steve Berkheiser, USMC (Ret.), was developed. Also included were museum renderings and WWI archival footage. An electronic media kit
consisting of press materials and visual elements of the museum was created.
In July, an initial media tour to local, regional, national and international outlets was launched, followed by a second round in October and November.
As the opening of the museum loomed near, three distinct grand opening events were staged:
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On November 30, a joint forum with Ralph Appelbaum and eminent historian, Sir John Keegan, was held. The premise was to provide an historical perspective of WWI, while
placing the modern relevance and importance of the museum in context. The event was sold out with more than 250 people.
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On Friday December 1, there was a black-tie fundraiser at the museum where 350 guests, including donors, friends of the museum, civic, political and business leaders, were in
attendance. It raised more than $200,000 for the museum; and
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On Saturday December 2, the museum officially opened. To honor the occasion, local, state, national and international dignitaries held speeches. Also incorporated were
elements of the 1926 Liberty Memorial dedication, including period color guard, a rose petal drop from a WWI-era biplane and a ceremonial release of doves. More than 750 people were
in attendance for the grand opening.
Counting Results
The media coverage was extensive. Overall print coverage, including play in national publications, added up to more than 153 million media impressions, and total broadcast
coverage was more than 18.5 million media impressions.
As an added bonus, the team won the he 2007 Silver-Anvil Award, which was given out by the Public Relations Society of America, in the category of Marketing Consumer
Services/Travel and Tourism/Hospitality.
Thus far, the return on investment has been positive for the museum as well. In December 2006 and January 2007, the museum reported that 32,637 people had visited the museum,
more than the total number of visitors to the Liberty Memorial in the previous 12 months combined. Also, the total merchandise sales and admissions revenue (with a general
admissions ticket price being $8) for December 2006 was $184,780, more than the previous 12 months combined for the Liberty Museum. Ninety-six percent of visitors surveyed in
December 2006 and January 2007 said they would return to the museum, while 97.7% said they would recommend it to friends, family and colleagues.
For O'Neill, the lessons learned from working on this project were simple but potent: "You have better luck with the media, whether it's local, national or international, if you
understand your audience, who they are, what they're interested in and this was clearly a case of that."
But ultimately, it was a labor of love for all the team players. "There's nothing better than going to work and really getting into your subject," notes O'Neill. "Not too many
agencies have that blessing to be able to match their tasks with their passions. We worked ungodly hours but we had fun doing it."
Wendel concurs. "I've been at Fleishman-Hillard for three years and this was the most special project I've ever worked on," he says. "There was no ego involved with this. We were
emotionally invested because we knew what it meant for our community."
CONTACTS:
Pat O'Neill, [email protected]; Alex Wendel, [email protected]