If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A
Agency: Hope&Glory
The V&A has an issue. While its name is well-known, there is less understanding about what the Kensington-based museum actually stands for. Or indeed what it exhibits – particularly among 18 to 35-year-olds, who the V&A are keen to attract.
Yet with more than 2.27 million objects in its collection, there should be something that appeals to everyone.
Using the slogan ‘If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A,’ as its campaign tagline, creative agency Hope&Glory worked with the museum’s curators to identify subjects that captured the cultural zeitgeist and, hopefully, would attract a new audience to the V&A.
Initially, job descriptions were drawn up for four special advisers on Toby Jugs, Gorpcore (a fashion trend incorporating functional outdoor clothing into everyday urban wear), Pokémon Cards and LEGO.
After these were recruited, the V&A launched a new round of job descriptions to find experts to cover the cultural aspects of life today, which were identified as ‘an encyclopaedia of Emojis’, ‘a connoisseur of Crocs’, ‘a tufting trailblazer’, a ‘’Drag devotee’ and finally a ‘Superfan advisor’ on pop icon Taylor Swift.
There was no formal contract, but successful applicants – who would get the chance to meet curatorial experts and go behind the scenes to explore the V&A’s existing collections – were offered annual membership and ‘reasonable travel costs’.
They simply had to share details of their own collections and explain what qualified them as the ‘ultimate superfan’. The V&A hoped successful advisors would help it understand more about its current collection ‘whilst acting as cultural trendspotters on what to collect next’.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, the advisory roles captured the imagination of the media. The Times, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail all dedicated full pages to the initiative, while celebrating the fact that the V&A was moving with the times and embracing Swifties.
The story was covered by every national media title, online and in print, and, in some cases, twice. It was hourly news on major radio stations, as well as television pieces on BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, This Morning and Channel 5 News.
But coverage also moved beyond traditional V&A titles to lifestyle news outlets, such as NME, Rolling Stone, Variety and ELLE.
The initiative also sparked dozens of pieces of commentary on the need to attract new audiences to culture. Far from accusations of dumbing down, the V&A was celebrated for its creativity and inclusivity. It has since been approached to produce a factual entertainment series as the advisors took up their roles.
In total, more than 350 items of editorial coverage were published and 50 national broadcasting pieces. Almost all – 95% - carried the application call to action via the V&A website, leading to a 2,000% increase in traffic, and 92% covered the other advisory roles – not just the Swiftie one.
Research revealed that the campaign had reached 87% of its target audience – London-dwelling Gen Z and Millennials with an interest in culture. Of these, 76% said it made them think more positively about the museum. And 40% of non-V&A visitors said that the campaign made them think the museum was more relevant to them.
In total, the cultural advisory roles generated more than 1,000 entries, while the Taylor Swift one closed early due to the sheer volume of applications. (The V&A ultimately recruited four Taylor Swift advisors.)
The judges just loved the campaign, praising both the creativity and how it captured the media’s attention.