Brunel’s ss Great Britain: Rebrand & re-launch
From ‘worthy’ to world-class (2005)
The challenge:
Historic ship, the ss Great Britain, forms the centrepiece of a museum which had become tired. The team had already secured funding for a £11.3 million project when I joined the Trust in January 2004. My role was to ensure the marketing and PR reflected the transformation to reposition it from ‘worthy’ to ‘world-class’.
Approach:
Using integrated marketing communications I worked with the CEO and marketing agency BCLO (Bray Leino) to rebrand the museum attraction as Brunel’s ss Great Britain. I introduced a new suite of adverts (TV, radio, outdoor and print), stunning photography from Mandy Reynolds and Luke Salaman, and ran a PR campaign which attracted national TV and print media coverage, extensive regional and local media, with the image of the ship on the front cover of the region’s life-style magazines.
Results:
Annual visitor numbers rose to 30,000 above projected figures. Working closely with Destination Bristol and Visit England, the museum attraction became the go-to venue for film locations. The museum attraction has subsequently received more than 30 awards (of which I drafted 21) including the prestigious ‘Gulbenkian Prize’ and Visit England’s ‘Vistor Attraction of the Year’.