Background

Due to the pandemic, the National Museum had to close its doors and radically alter its programming. The usual programming that encourages footfall and engagement was out of bounds due to social distancing and hygiene measures. At the same time, Singaporeans were still navigating the new boundaries and prioritising other activities that were open to them again (with the easing of lockdowns) instead of heading to the Museum for its permanent collections. NMS had to find a way to keep its offering top of mind and re-engage its core audience target (students, families with children) by finding a new way to present history and its artefacts.

Describe the strategy

During the pandemic, there had been a 65-fold increase in Zoom users in Singapore. 400 schools have started using it, which meant that our main target audience—students as well as families with young children—are familiar with the videoconferencing tool. A rise of this new platform meant also a new way of interacting with audiences. Instead of a usual webinar, we wanted to bring our insight to life: Museum objects have seen and experienced history. What if they could speak? What stories would they tell? But to really get people to care, the artefacts couldn't just do the talking, they also needed to talk back. By letting people engage in conversation with objects, fronted by well-known personalities, the barrier to what can be perceived as a boring and dry topic—history—is reduced.

Describe the execution

To truly bring each museum artefact to life, we carefully selected theatre practitioners, improv actors, and stand-up comics to get into the role. Each artist had to study extensively the background behind each object, and work in learning points into their script. They were also required to engage the audience and improvise on the spot, responding to questions and comments as it is a live event. A month prior to the 4-day event, people were able to sign up for the hour-long sessions on Peatix. Social media posts, website updates and PR stories went out to encourage people to sign up. The stream of the interactive sessions was then simultaneously broadcasted on Facebook live to allow for maximum participation and cross-engagement across the Museum’s channels.

List the results

The activation achieved media coverage worth S$1.2 million, with 65 pieces across broadcast (TV and radio), digital and print. The 4-day event garnered over 300,000 views and participants, with an average of 450 of individual live interactions per 60 minutes of live session. Far exceeding the equivalent of the 1457 average Museum attendance per day.