By combining the film with programming and activities in the museum we allow the visitor to dive even deeper into the themes of the film

Museon-Omniversum won a 2023 GSCA Achievement Award for Best Film Launch by a Theater for this launch of Secrets of the Sea. The judges noted the effectiveness of the many layers of programming that combined the film with activities and interactive experiences. Every department of the museum was invested in ensuring the film’s success and raising awareness of ocean conversation. Here’s how they did it.

Context

Museon-Omniversum consists of a 2D Dome theatre merged with a science museum. The merger took place in January 2022. The theatre and museum are two separate buildings with separate entrances, not connected by a corridor and one ticket price.

Museon-Omniversum presents itself as a science museum and a large format dome theatre with a program that inspires, educates, and activates the audience for a better and sustainable world. We provide solutions for the challenges of our planet: We Are One Planet.

Museon-Omniversum is located in The Hague, which has a population of 562,501. The Hague is located by the North Sea, so it has beautiful beaches and great beach life. The Pier is a great (free) location that attracts a diverse crowd.

The operation area of Museon-Omniversum has a population of 1 million. The leisure market in this region is highly competitive, with 20 top attractions, of which 3 have over a million visitors a year. There are 30 museums in The Hague alone.

The theatre is located outside the city center in the international zone among major international institutions (OPCW, Europol) and a modern art museum. Museon-Omniversum has a ‘Vrienden Vereniging”, an association with 547 members with an average age of 65+.

Strategy

Develop a long-term program around Secrets of the Sea to raise awareness around the new film and its message, featuring the museum collection, activities, and exhibits. By combining the film with programming and activities in the museum we allow the visitor to dive even deeper into the themes of the film. Cross-referencing the photo exhibition, the film, and the museum’s collection allows us to tell a more in-depth story about the importance of sea preservation and take action on a larger scale. Connecting with a diverse group of partners enables us to make actual impact and respond to the actuality of the topic.

Making it Happen

There were 14 steps to make this happen.

1. Combine the launch of the film with a new photo exhibition and collection items.

2. Organize a Blue Carpet Premiere Event for press, relations, and stakeholders.

3. Develop a themed program for marketing to attract attendance to film and museum: Dive into the Deep (“Duik in de diepte”).

4. For extra publicity: the Dutch narration was done by a national theatre and tv-talent, stand up comedian Claudia de Breij. She presented the New Year's Eve conference 2022 on live TV.

5. Create an interactive family-tour so both locations (museum and film theatre) will be visited and the collection will be integrated in the program.

6. Fold two fish, one for yourself and one to fill up the ocean and donate € 0,50 for the North Sea Foundation for a healthy sea.

7. Create a photo opportunity to share on social media.

8. Funny Fish Quiz before the start of the film.

A daily interactive Funny Fish Quiz with collection items in the foyer just before the Secrets of the Sea. Additional benefit: visitors are on time for the film, and the flow of visitors is spread between the 2 buildings.

9. Highlight the Future Food Lab and the Algae Bar.

During the activity you donate your breath to grow algae, learn all about algae, and mix them together (by bicycle) with other tasty nutrients into a tasty algae shake. Algae are full of important nutrients and may therefore be one of the meat substitutes of the future.

10. During the May and summer holiday: a daily Science Show to attract new audience.

How come sperm whales can dive so deep? What are they eating? And why is sperm whale poop so important? How come that the sea flows? Do you know what water pressure is? How does a submarine actually work? And why does a squid move so fast?

11. Exhibition from designer Happy van der Heiden, who makes clothes under the brand SeaTrash Fashion.

12. An exhibit about the car named Luca, made from plastic waste from the ocean.

New exhibit in May: Students of the University of Technology Eindhoven focus on the sustainable future of mobility. They show how the car industry can become more sustainable. Building this car gives waste a second life.

13. Eye-catcher at the entrance of the museum.

The stomach of the sperm whale in the lobby was filled up with a plastic to demonstrate the problem of too much pollution in our oceans and seas. It’s another way to give attention to our mission to inspire people to keep our Oceans and Seas healthy and to help keep the planet sustainable.

14. Celebrating World Oceans Weekend 3 & 4 of June with lots of activities.

We invited visitors to bring their catch from the beaches and hear the background story of their findings from marine experts (like the Antique Roadshow). Coast Defending simulation with Lego. Crafting with old materials to make sea creatures. Extra exhibition about clean beach and city.

Implementation

The long-term program lasted for 6 months, with 3 highlights:

  1. February Holiday: Launch of Secrets of the Sea with the themed healthy oceans and seas program
  2. The April-May Holiday, we launched new activities like the Science Show and the Plastic Car Luca
  3. World Oceans Weekend (June 3 and 4)

Marketing Tools

  1. Free Publicity: we hired a publicity agent who actively reaches out to the national online and offline press, starting 6 months in advance (€4.000);
  2. Communication: active sending out local press releases for every highlight, weekly newsletters and social media posts (no budget);
  3. Outdoor campaign with posters along the roads and digital posters in the metro (€ 7.000);
  4. SEA display and online advertising (€ 3.150);
  5. Social media advertising: (€ 2.500);
  6. Advertising on websites and newsletters as Fabulous Mama, Kidsproof.nl and Go-Kids (€1.300).

Total Budget: € 17.950 = $19.615

Outcomes

  • Exceeded attendance goal by 62% in February, 55% in March, 19% in April, and 23% in May.
  • The film scored 8.8 in audience surveys, the highest in the theater’s history.
  • The Return of Investment of a payed publicity agent is high! It pays itself 27 times back! The commercial value of the 68 articles was € 147,000 ( $106,155) and has reached 15 million people (!)
  • Increase in website traffic varying from  72-147% over the course of the campaign.
  • Increased social media reach: Facebook +454% and Instagram +520%.
  • Facebook campaign advertising results: 3,254 clicks with a 2.78% click through rate.

Most successful part of the campaign

After COVID and the merge we had to re-invent ourselves and get our audience back. The new concept of a film theatre and museum with one ticket price was very challenging. But working with a project team and putting the film release within a themed program and focus on the message, makes it very successful. The family tour in multiple languages (Dutch, English and Turkish) gives the visitors a guide during their stay alongside the collection of the museum, the exhibits, the activities and the film, so their visit is more regulated. Parents really loved to be taken by the hand in this way.

Congratulations to the Museon-Omniversum marketing team for their successful campaign and GSCA marketing award:

  • Alexandra van der Zee, program manager & marketing
  • Esther van Amstel, marketing
  • Simone Marchetti, design
  • Judith Aartsen, curator
  • Masja Brouwer, communication
  • Fanny van der Vorst, activities