The Brief
Saatchi Gallery asked Midas PR to launch their 2017 blockbuster exhibition From Selfie to Self-Expression to UK and international press. Midas PR was charged with securing high profile media coverage for the exhibition, including previews, listings, features, interviews, reviews and diary stories across digital, print and broadcast media. In addition, Midas was tasked with running a series of high profile announcements for the gallery’s #SaatchiSelfie competition as well as running an international press view the day before the exhibition opened.
The Work
Midas brokered a media partnership with The Sunday Times who agreed to an exclusive announcement of the From Selfie to Self-Expression exhibition and the #SaatchiSelfie competition on January 22nd 2017 – two months ahead of the exhibition opening on 30th March. The Sunday Times ran a front cover six page feature in the magazine. To coincide with this Midas set up announcement coverage with the Press Association which was picked up by all of the national newspapers including The Guardian, Times, i newspaper and Telegraph. Midas also secured broadcast coverage for the announcement including Sky News, ITV, BBC Radio 2, LBC and Talk Radio. The media coverage Midas secured for the announcement resulted in the gallery’s decision to double the size of the exhibition.
Throughout the campaign Midas secured additional coverage for the announcement of the judges of the #SaatchiSelfie competition and the announcement of the winner of the competition.
In the lead up to the exhibition opening on 30th March, Midas set up artist interviews, curator interviews, exhibition features, listings and news stories as well as liaised with key art critics to secure coverage for the exhibition. The day before the exhibition opened, Midas ran a press view, which was attended by over 100 media including over ten international film crews and international newswires. The press view was also attended by art critics from UK national newspapers and several international newspapers from countries including China, Russia, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
Midas also invited diarists and photographers to attend the private view in the evening, to run diary stories in the press the following day.
The Results
Midas PR’s campaign for From Selfie to Self-Expression resulted in the exhibition becoming Saatchi Gallery’s most visited exhibition in the past five years, with a 15% increase on daily visitor numbers up to 5,000 people per day. The PR campaign was so successful that the exhibition was extended for a further 3 months and “Selfie” was named the 3rd most visited exhibition in the world in 2017 by The Art NewspaperThe coverage secured by Midas lead to the gallery extending the exhibition for a further three months.
The campaign had a total AVE of 3.19 million, with a UK media reach of 60.28million and total page impressions of 154.63million from 1203 individual pieces of coverage.
These results do not include figures for international print and broadcast media which included Reuters, BBC World, Al Jazeera, Euronews, ZDF TV (Germany), NTV (Russia), C News (France), CCTV China, Televisa’s TV (MEXICO), Al Ghad (Egypt), Globo TV (Brazil), CTV (Canada) as well as Vogue France, Vanity Fair Italy, Harper’s Bazaar Spain and Grazia France.