Art credit to Amoako Boafo
Midas secured over 200+ pieces of coverage for ART X Lagos, positioning it as the premier international art fair in West Africa, as well as exceeding the amount of coverage from the previous year.
The Brief
Midas was hired to implement a PR campaign for ART X Lagos 2021 – a hybrid physical/digital fair in November 2021. The 12.5 week campaign was designed to build awareness of and appreciation for ART X Lagos’ unique contribution to the international art market and its dedication to promoting art and artists from the African continent and its diaspora.
The Work
Midas worked in two phases to promote ART X Lagos’ sixth edition. We announced the art fair’s digital and physical dates in early June in order to pitch for longer lead titles such as Condé Nast Traveller (UK and USA editions), and Aesthetica magazine print issue. We kicked off phase two of the campaign in September, focussing on shorter lead publications with interview opportunities, feature ideas and listings. Over the course of the campaign we approached international media across print, broadcast and digital platforms, positioning CEO and Founder Tokini Peterside as a leading voice on African art, ART X Lagos as the premier international art fair in West Africa and the only physical art fair to take place on the African continent in 2021.
The Results
Midas secured 219 pieces of coverage about ART X Lagos 2021. This is more than 5 times the coverage from 2020. When added together, the possible readership of all pieces of coverage could total over 9 billion.
The international PR campaign secured stories in 32 countries – 17% of the 195 countries and territories worldwide. National newspapers in 15 different countries (from China to France and USA to Spain) ran stories online and in print.
46 articles ran in art-specific publications including Apollo, artnet, The Art Newspaper, Ocula, Aesthetica, Flash Art, and Widewalls.
The fair’s NFT collaboration proved extremely newsworthy and around 60% of coverage included the NFT art market.
Media Quotes
“ART X Lagos has played a massive role in empowering the country’s artists and small galleries”. – Condé Nast Traveller (UK) and Condé Nast Traveler (USA)
“[It] showcases the best and most innovative contemporary and modern art from Africa and beyond” – Radio France Internationale
“The premier Nigerian contemporary art fair that has quickly become one of Africa’s foremost marketplaces for the sale of modern and contemporary art” – Flash Art
“West Africa’s biggest international art fair” – BBC Africa
“ART X Lagos has become known for its ambitious programme” – Arts & Collections
More campaign highlights:
- PRINT – secured The Financial Times (UK and USA editions), Apollo Magazine, Aesthetica, Condé Nast Traveller, Arts & Collections, Daily Dispatch (South Africa), Oman Daily Observer, Iran Daily, The Mercury (South Africa), Southern African News, Viet Nam News, Caijing News (China) and Il Sole 24 Ore (Italy).
- NATIONAL – The Financial Times UK and USA, Daily Mail Online (UK), Il Sole 24 Ore – Art Economy (Italy), Oman Daily, Daily Dispatch (South Africa), The Mercury (South Africa), Vietnam News, Iran Daily, Gulf Daily News (Bahrain), Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden), Haaretz (Israel), The Indian Express, National Post (Canada), La Vanguardia (Spain), Today (Singapore), Malay Mail.
- COUNTRIES – Bahrain, Belarus, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Martinique, Nigeria, Oman, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, UK, USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
