Marketing Materials Table of Contents Page Welcome to the Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China tour! Introduction 1 Contact Information for Boston Children’s Museum 2 PR, Marketing and Sponsorship Requirements What You Should Track: Reporting back to Boston before, during and after the exhibit. 3 PR & Marketing Strategies to Consider 4 Guiding Visitor Expectations: please share with your Visitor Services Division! Public Relations: Press Releases and Photography Choices Marketing: Suggested Angles, TV Promos and Website Trade Marking and Production Credit Requirements 7 Graphic Design: Use of Images 8 Approval Process 9 Sponsorship Topics: Local and National 10 Appendices Where to buy Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China materials for Appendix A activities and workshops, or for Retail Sale in your Museum Shop PR, Marketing & Online Styleguide Contents Appendix B Introduction Welcome to the national tour of Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China! Through hosting the Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China exhibit, your visitors will discover that Chinese life today mixes ancient traditions with modern lifestyles, and that life in China is both similar to and different from life in North America. The young Chinese in the exhibit will be a bridge to learning about China and building cross-cultural understanding. The exhibit features original artwork created to present a unique Chinese aesthetic that delivers an immediate and unmistakable impression: You are in China. The exhibition is organized into several components: Bus Stop, where visitors “enter” Hangzhou, China and meet the four children; Wu Lin Apartment, where visitors meet Weicheng and his family in their apartment, and learn to cook a birthday meal for Weicheng’s grandmother; Yellow Dragon Theater, where visitors meet Qianyun, who is studying Chinese opera, and can join in a performance of White Snake Lady or play traditional instruments; Bao Chu Ta Middle School, where visitors meet Gangzheng and follow him through a day at school. Learn about Chinese history and the Great Wall, and the First Emperor of China. Three Lanterns Reflecting the Moon Pavilion, where visitors can play traditional Chinese games, and learn some martial arts moves from a Tai Chi master. Huang Tian Fan Village, Meet Dou Dou and help her plant rice seedlings with her grandfather. Learn how two thirds of people in China live – on the land. This Marketing Manual is intended to give you information about PR, marketing, graphic design and presentation issues you may encounter. Please feel free to call if you have any questions. Enjoy! Kate Marciniec Director of Exhibits 308 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210-1034 617.426.6500 ext. 370 [email protected] 1 Contact information for Boston Children’s Museum For any questions regarding the PR, Design or Marketing Materials, or for marketing approvals, please contact: Kate Marciniec Director of Exhibits Best Way Email:[email protected] Phone: (617) 426-6500, ext. 370 Fax: (617) 426-1944 Mailing Address: Boston Children’s Museum 308 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210 2 What you need to report back to Boston Children’s Museum Before and during the exhibit run: Please keep us posted on your PR, Marketing, Hospitality and Community Outreach Opportunities. A list of your plans prior to opening, and another in the middle of your run is required. This will be important for us to share with the national sponsors. It may also help us help you spot any further special opportunities you might have. In particular, we are interested in: The full retail value of the various avenues of advertising support that you are putting behind the exhibit, whether paid, discounted or donated. The press coverage that you are getting for the exhibit. At the end of your Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China exhibit run: Please report back to Kate Marciniec at Boston Children’s Museum with the following: 1. Your comments about your experience with the exhibit overall. Nice words are always appreciated, but your honest assessment is most important. 2. Your overall admission numbers during the exhibit run, including: How these numbers differed, if at all, from your previous two year’s numbers for that period; Any notable statistics you gathered, i.e. specific exhibit programming that drove attendance Anything else you think we should know about your visitors. 3. Listed overviews of the following: Any paid, discounted or free media you ran, and an estimate of its retail dollar value; Any press coverage you received, and an estimate of its readership/impact if you can; Any other marketing/promotion activities along with pertinent audience impact information; Any special programming you hosted, and estimate of attendance. 4. Two final copies of samples of all materials you created: Press releases, advertisements, PSA scripts, invitations, brochures, newsletters, photos of building banners, etc. Press photos: Copies of any good shots we might be able to use again (we’ll talk to your photographer about permission before we actually use them) and copies of any shots that demonstrate that Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China came to YOUR museum. 5. Info about and/or photos of anything you did to supplement the exhibit or activities 6. Any ideas you’d like to offer for improving the exhibit or manuals 3 PR & Marketing Strategies to Consider Guiding Visitor Expectations Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China is an interactive 850 - 1200 s.f. exhibit that explores contemporary Chinese life and culture through children in the city of Hangzhou. In immersive environments, children ages 3-12 years old and their families will engage in culturally relevant, inherently interesting activities that will encourage curiosity and exploration of Chinese life and culture. Four children serve as hosts through the exhibition, introducing visitors to important elements and settings of their daily lives. Through these children, visitors will explore the main messages of the exhibition. Within the last two decades, China’s modernization has made a tremendous economic, social, political, and environmental impact on the United States and the world. Consider: Every fifth person in the world is Chinese. More people speak Chinese than any other language in the world. Within the next decade, China will be the largest economy, surpassing the US. China’s policy decisions affect the whole world. Yet, the level of knowledge and understanding of China in North America has not kept pace with China’s development. School curricula offer little on China and most adults have only a superficial understanding of China. In the absence of any serious education about China, stereotypes and misconceptions control the popular imagination. Through quality educational and public programs along with the strong representation in the local media, Children of Hangzhou will help to address this gap and promote understanding of the following principles: Promote understanding and appreciation of China Demystify China and dispel stereotypes Encourage children and families to learn about China and Chinese people Provide opportunities for families to talk about their own culture and traditions 4 Public Relations: Press Releases and Photography Choices We assume you have a usual repertoire of such tools as: Press releases/kits Media event/photo ops VIP/member opening event Advertising Website promotion Etc. Here are a few further ideas that will help position the exhibit in the public eye: Host a Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China Day or Weekend with extra activities and programming. Offer children in school groups something to take home that invites their parents to bring them back for a return visit. If your museum does not already have a relationship with local Chinese community organizations, Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China can present an excellent opportunity to do so. A list of local community resources can be found in the Educator’s Programming guide. Templates in online Styleguide To aid you in writing your press release and media fact sheet, we are providing you with templates for a starting point. Templates can be found in the online styleguide. Link and password will be provided to you. In these templates, you’ll find helpful quotes, statistics, and all the legal language you should be sure to include in your final press pieces. If you need any more information, please contact the Director of Exhibits at BCM (see page 4 for contact info). Photography considerations Boston Children’s Museum will provide you with several suitable promotional photos. The photos will include kids and families enjoying the exhibit. Should you wish to take more photos of visitors to your Museum, please submit those photos to BCM for approval before incorporating them into marketing materials. 5 Marketing: Suggested Angles, TV Promos and Website How to portray the Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China Exhibit: Focus on the highly interactive exhibit aimed at helping children, parents and educators gain a better understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture and contemporary life. Exhibition experiences engage children in learning how: Chinese life today mixes ancient traditions with modern lifestyles; life for Chinese is both similar to and different from life in North America Chinese children are a bridge to learning about China and building cross-cultural understanding. Some phrases to consider: Explore (instead of the milder