Author: IT Team

Happy New Year! As we embark on another exciting and busy season of events to delight new and returning visitors, we wanted to share insight into the work that goes into deciding what we do and why.

We welcomed around 45,000 people to our events last year. Our events are an important revenue stream – almost 11% of our visitor generated income is from event ticket sales and on-site spend on the night. Don’t underestimate the importance of fish and chips!

When planning the following year, we look at a combination of ticket sales (and ease/speed of ticket sales) alongside an annual calendar that considers school holidays, Bank Holidays, popularity of and interest in particular nights of the week, clashes with other related big events and staffing capacity in order to set the programme.

There is a huge amount of feedback from visitors who attend our events. We receive this via our online survey and on social media and review websites. We now run post-event focus groups, too. Last year we commissioned some market research that gave insight into how people who’ve never attended the museum before see our events so we can look to future audiences with confidence.

You’ll notice lots of old favourites in the line-up: Events – Black Country Living Museum. Events up to and including Halloween Nights are on sale now. You’ll see some new events appear this year or next as a pilot. They are likely to be smaller events that use a limited part of site, thereby making them cheaper and easier to staff and being flexible enough to diversify income during the quieter periods. Of these we hope a Murder Mystery will make an appearance in 2025, the model of which could then be used by corporate groups as well.

A reminder that colleagues are all always invited to view the event overview on the intranet a week or more beforehand. And to give their feedback afterwards. You can find visitor feedback from events on the intranet posts as well. Visitor and colleague feedback is considered after every event, and is our starting point before planning for the year ahead. We really do take things on board.

And, finally, we get great feedback about our events and programmes. Visitors love them! We have an average 91% satisfaction rating with over half of the events consistently being rated 95% or more Excellent/Good. So, if you’re not working – come along! Bring the family or a group of pals. And remember, colleagues are entitled to a 50% discount on all event tickets. Just go and see the Ticketing team in Canalside offices Monday-Friday, 9-4pm.

None of this is possible without our bostin’ team of colleagues who work long days and evenings to make this happen and make sure our visitors have the best time, so thank you. We look forward to another successful year!

Janine Downes
Head of Public Programmes

Claire Packer
Head of Audiences & Communications

As part of our January Reset sessions, we’re creating a special video featuring memorable moments of Museum life shared by our colleagues.

We’d love for you to be part of it! If you have any fun team photos, snaps from the Bostin’ Bash celebration, or other cheerful moments with your colleagues at the Museum, please share them with us – only if you’re comfortable, of course.

Send your photos to [email protected] by Friday 3 January to be included.

Let’s start the new year by celebrating the amazing people and memories that make working here so special!

We’re delighted to share that we’ve been selected to participate in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Program, designed to support organisations like ours invest in essential digital infrastructure.

Over the past three years, the Digital Accelerator Program has been a catalyst for strengthening nearly 150 cultural organisations across the United States and the UK. To date, the 40 institutions that were part of the first cohort cumulatively grew an additional $20 million in new revenue including through fundraising, reached over 1 million new audience members, and engaged more than 4,000 new artists and partners.

The aim of our project, which is expected to start in May, is to develop a comprehensive ticketing, membership and customer management system. This will help us to establish a digital-first approach and make sure that our visitors have a seamless experience when interacting with us, strengthening our relationship with them and building loyalty.

Sam Davies will take on the role of our Bloomberg Tech Fellow and lead our project. Watch this space as we share more on what will be a transformative project for us!

IKEA Birmingham has unveiled a new room set inspired by our historic menswear shop, H. Morrall’s Gentlemen’s Outfitters. Open now, the room set showcases two products ranges and transports customers to the elegance and style of the 1920s and 1930s.

“Our collaboration celebrates local heritage and proudly roots our store within Birmingham and the Black Country,” said Sophie Hale, Store Sales Manager at IKEA Birmingham.

“H. Morrall’s Gentlemen’s Outfitters is a striking building and really enhanced our ideas. When we visited the Museum during our creative process, we saw real synergy between our products and the mood we wanted to create,” added Sanjana Choudhary, Interior Designer at IKEA Birmingham.

IKEA customers will be invited to dress in the style of the 1920s and 1930s and claim a free meal voucher on 11 and 18 January. Some of our historic characters will be stationed in the room set to meet, together with examples from our vehicle collection outside the main entrance.

If you’re planning a visit to IKEA Birmingham soon, be sure not to miss the room set – it is fantastic to see in-person!

Dear Colleague:

We kindly request your support in completing this anonymous survey: Click here to complete the survey online

Your participation will enable the Audience Agency to capture and report on the value of the training you have or have not received as result of the Forging Ahead project and its impact on your understanding of the Museum’s audiences.

The Audience Agency is an independent research and development non-profit consultancy focusing on the cultural sector who are delivering the survey on our behalf. Some of the questions at the end of the survey are necessary for understanding patterns within our colleague group and not any other purpose.

The output of this survey will form part of a wider evaluation of the Forging Ahead project the Museum is required to do.

If you have any problems accessing the survey, please email [email protected].