In this episode, Amy takes listeners "into the trenches" to share her step-by-step process for managing successful exhibit openings during busy seasons. She discusses the logistical "mayhem" of back-to-back launches and provides a practical checklist to ensure that museum exhibits receive the public and media attention they deserve.

More Free Resources for Museums:

• Getting Visitors Through Your Museum’s Doors: Building Connection in a Noisy World ebook
• Museum Planning Calendar
• Museum Metrics Template

About the host:

Amy Kehs is a brand strategist and communications expert for museums. She has owned Kehs Communications since 2000 and has worked for the most renowned and well-loved museums in Washington, D.C. Her goal is to ensure that museums thrive into the next century and she hopes people will come to love museums as much as she does. Her proven process sets up proactive communication habits for museums, cultivating relationships with visitors who will want to return and bring a friend. Want to talk more? Click this link to book a call.

The exhibit is beautiful, but if no one shows up, did it even happen?

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Today, we're doing a step-by-step

walkthrough of all the things I

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do as a communications contractor

before an exhibit opening.

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Let's get started.

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Hello and welcome to the

Love My Museum podcast.

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I'm your host, Amy Kehs

and I love museums.

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I'm also a brand strategist and

communications expert from museums,

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and I help you turn your first

time visitor into a lifelong fan.

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Today's episode is coming to

you right from the trenches.

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Looking at my calendar for this

month, I have a lot of big exhibit

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openings that are hitting back to back.

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It's also graduation season.

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I have two kids graduating and

as a Naval Academy sponsor, mom.

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I have a midshipman graduating as well.

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There isn't a lot of white space on

my calendar, and I completely agree

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with what my assistant calls may I.

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Mayhem because I am

neck deep in logistics.

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I thought it was the perfect time to

share the work I do behind the scenes

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to make an opening successful instead

of just talking about PR in a general

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sense, which is what we usually do here.

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I'm going to walk you through my

actual to-do list timeline and

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some specific steps that I take to

get ready for an exhibit opening.

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And to get that exhibit ready

for the public and the media.

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I guess this is a Get Ready With Me

episode, museum Communications edition.

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Maybe to survive a month like this.

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I rely heavily on my calendar.

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I time block everything I.

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I time block my week from Monday through

Friday, so I know exactly what I'm going

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to be working on and when, and this

prevents that feeling of being stuck

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or not knowing what to work on next.

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I block out time every Monday

for planning, and I try to avoid

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meetings entirely if I can.

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Research suggests that avoiding.

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Monday meetings gives people time to

actually do their work and figure out

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what they need from their colleagues.

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I try to move meetings to Tuesdays.

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Statistically, more people will attend

your meeting on a Tuesday, and they

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usually will come better prepared.

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I also block out time at the end

of the week for a full review

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to see what I accomplished.

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Now, the first thing that I do when

I'm getting ready for any project

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is I write a communications plan.

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When you have a lot going on, this

really is a must, and this communications

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plan becomes our team's North Star.

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It's a working document that

doesn't just sit on a digital shelf.

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We look at it, we revisit it,

we change it if we have to.

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And a few of the elements

that are included in the

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communications plans that I write.

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Uh, the first thing is key messages.

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What does the public need to know?

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What do we want them to

learn or walk away with?

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After they've seen this

exhibit or attended a program.

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The next element is positioning.

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All of the communications plans that I

write have a section on positioning, and

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that's defining the museum and the exhibit

clearly to keep everyone on the same page.

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There's also a timeline in every

communications plan, mapping out

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who is doing what, when they're

doing it, There are also separate

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sections focused on different.

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Communications goals.

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So there's a area for

social media content.

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There's one for media relations.

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If by chance you have a marketing

budget and you're doing ad buys,

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there's a section for that.

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Without having all of this written

down, people can get off track fast.

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So this is a really important step.

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The next thing that I do is I sort

of dive into the exhibit script.

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I want to use the messages and the

documentation that have already been

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done to make sure that my messaging

and the work that I'm doing is

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piggybacking on the team's work.

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This is especially important if I'm kind

of coming into the process a little late.

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Um, and like I said, that could

be looking at an exhibit script.

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It could also be any other sort

of documentation that the team has

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used to get ready for this exhibit.

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And all of that.

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The main thing that I'm using

that for is to write the press

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release once it's written.

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I guide it through whatever

approval process to get the

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necessary feedback and sign offs.

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And then at the same time, I'm

gathering high resolution photos, uh,

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bios for the director and the curator.

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I started working on all of this

really early I, I get asked a lot

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about what images should be included

in a press kit, and the truth is it

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sort of evolves in the early stage.

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We start with images of artifacts or

maybe archival images that are used in

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the exhibit, and then as soon as we can.

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Hopefully pre-opening.

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We add photos of the empty

gallery and then post opening.

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Once the exhibit is open, we add images of

people interacting in the gallery space.

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Always make sure you include a

caption sheet so that journalists

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have the correct caption and

photo credits for these images.

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And all of that goes into an electronic

press kit, and I use Dropbox for this.

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I created a Dropbox folder, and

that is the electronic press kit.

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Journalists are used to using Dropbox.

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It allows me to send a single

link instead of clogging their

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inboxes with big attachments.

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It also.

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Just makes it easier on me.

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It creates sort of a, a process.

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I also will include in the electronic

press kit, sometimes a q and a.

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so commonly ask questions.

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that we've gotten in the process.

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Also, this doesn't go in the press

kit, but I also create an internal

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version for staff of the q and a.

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So once all the assets are ready,

we post the press release on the

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museum's, press page if they have one.

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Hopefully they do, and I start sending it.

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Out to the media list.

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I try to send personalized

pitches whenever possible.

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Often we will also host a press preview,

and I use that email to both share

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the electronic press kit, but also

to invite reporters to that event if

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there are opening weekend activities.

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I also, during this time, want to

make sure that they are on all of

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the local calendar listings and so.

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Now we're in the home stretch

and one of the last things that

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happens is I do media training.

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I sit down with the spokespeople,

usually the director and the

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curator to practice the key messages

and the talking points, and.

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I always ask them, I

started this probably, hmm,

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probably about 10 years ago.

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I always ask, is there any question

that you're worried about getting?

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that really alleviates a lot of fear.

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It also opens up conversations between

the staff, uh, and, and we kind of

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workshop some of those questions.

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We also practice the pivot technique.

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This is where we teach them how to

acknowledge a reporter's questions and

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answer that question, but also pivot

to one of our key messages so that

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the interview stays on track and so

that we get our key message out there.

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and that's, that's media training.

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the last thing is, after all of that is

ready, I move into making follow up calls

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and fielding incoming interview requests.

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And once the gallery is full on opening

day and the press coverage is rolling in.

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It is a great feeling to know

that your strategy worked, but

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the work doesn't just stop there.

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I spend some time collecting clips,

tracking all the coverage we received.

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All of those clips are combined into

a media report, and this is a really

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important document that shows the impact

of the work and the reach of the exhibit.

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It's a great document to use when

you are talking to potential donors.

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and also a great thing

to add to your archives.

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So if you are staring down a busy season,

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You can follow this little

checklist that we just went through

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and just remember to breathe.

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Thank you so much for joining me

today on the Love My Museum podcast.

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I'm actually off to make some pitch calls.

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I'll see you next time.