Reinventing an icon

With Will Dallimore

CHALLENGE

2018 was a massive year for London’s Royal Academy of Arts (RA). Not only did it celebrate its 250th anniversary, but it completed the most ambitious redevelopment in its history. The new campus space and the brand strategy were tasked with shifting the organisation’s identity away from kunsthalle and towards a ‘living academy’ – a place that is as much about the practice of art as it is about exhibitions.

ACTION

It’s not like the RA was an invisible feature of London’s cultural landscape – housed in Burlington House in the heart of Mayfair, it’s hard to miss – but aside from temporary exhibitions, much of what made the RA unique were hidden features – entire arms of the organisation were literally behind closed doors.

The RA is unique because…

  • it is led by artists (the Academicians)

  • it is home to Britain’s first art school, one of the highest regarded in the country

  • it has a significant collection

Spotlighting these hidden features became the bedrock of the new Academy’s strategy, including:

  • Breaking down the physical walls e.g. moving the school out from the basement and into public view

  • Consistent content creation featuring the Academicians and collections

  • Social media showing the “happenings” within the RA, e.g. visiting artists, installations, classes

  • Engaging digital offers e.g. immersive collection exploration tool, live streamed life drawing classes

  • Delivering on the promise even when it might seem “tricky”, e.g. continuing to stand up for artists and art education despite the risk to relations with government

  • Reaching out to new audiences by throwing a free birthday ‘art party’ for the

250th anniversary reopening and plastering artists’ work and the organisation’s brand across four of central London’s main thoroughfares

KEY LEARNINGS

  • Create urgency and build momentum (a 250th anniversary helps)

  • Surface your difference wherever you can (it can be as simple as showcasing old exhibition posters in the café)

  • Audiences respect a sense of purpose

  • Origin stories can be very powerful

  • Acknowledge your inglorious past

  • It helps to come back to a “unifying thought”

  • Deliver on your promises

  • Don’t forget what it means for visitors

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Resetting your communication department

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