Finding fresh and innovative ways to inspire a city

The National Gallery

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#### In Brief

The National Gallery houses one of the finest collections of paintings in the world. Yet in comparison to some other London galleries, it lacked awareness and appeal amongst some of its key audiences, particularly Londoners.

When the Gallery asked us to raise awareness of the permanent collection, we knew the real challenge was not about communication, but relevance. We needed to find an innovative way to engage people who didn’t think going to the Gallery was for them. Partnering with Gallery sponsor Hewlett-Packard, our response was to turn the brief on its head.

#### What we did

Rather than trying to bring an audience to a gallery, we decided to take the Gallery to its audience. Reinventing it into an immersive experiential and viral treasure-hunt of culture, we hung framed replicas around the streets of Covent Garden, Piccadilly and Soho.

Highlighting the reproduction technology of Gallery sponsor Hewlett-Packard, we created 44 life-size, high-resolution prints of some of the most famous paintings in the collection. Every location was hand-selected to complement the painting and was accompanied by a plaque which highlighted details about the piece written in everyday language. 

We called the exhibition The Grand Tour – a playful reference to the 17th century cultural tour but reimagined with a route that could be curated and personalised online. With carefully considered curating, choosing framing and positions that were sympathetic to the paintings and subjects, we upheld the integrity of the paintings and credibility of the Gallery whilst encouraging new audiences to engage with the collection.

- 92% of people felt the Gallery would be an inspirational place to visit
- 66% of people who had never visited the Gallery felt motivated to do so
- 300 pieces of worldwide media coverage and a TV documentary

We stopped Londoners in their tracks and compelled them to connect with the paintings, so much so that 92% of audiences felt the Gallery would be an inspirational place to visit. With 28,000 tour maps picked up from the Gallery, another 24,000 downloaded from the website and over 300 pieces of worldwide media coverage, despite absolutely no paid media. 

The Grand Tour outdoor exhibition became London’s most talked about summer exhibition and was so successful that it was subsequently extended into a national tour, and the idea of the Grand Tour was replicated by several galleries and museums worldwide.

> "The best National Gallery exhibition I’ve ever seen."
>
> *– Maev Kennedy - The Guardian*

##### AWARDS


Cannes Lions  
*Gold*   
*Silver*

Graphis	  
*Platinum*

D&AD  
*Black Pencil*  
*Yellow Pencil*  
*Wood Pencil*  
*Wood Pencil*

LIA	 
*Gold*

ADC New York   
*Gold*  
*Silver*

New York Festivals	 
*Gold*

Design Week	 
*Winner*

Design Week	 
*Winner*




BRINGING THE GALLERY TO ITS AUDIENCE

Brand film

Image - half

Text - quarter

Pull stats - quarter

of people felt motivated to visit the Gallery

tour maps picked up from the Gallery

Image - quarter

Spacer - quarter

Pull stats

of people felt that the Gallery would be inspirational

pieces of worldwide unsponsored media coverage

300+

Image - three quarters

Quote

Bringing the gallery to the streets for all to see, this hugely successful brand activation reignited the imagination of London.

Superunion | The National Gallery

Superunion and Design Bridge come together to create Design Bridge and Partners. Redefining what design is and what design can do for brands, businesses, people and the planet. We are a revolutionary design partnership.

Design Bridge and Superunion come together to create Design Bridge and Partners. Redefining what design is and what design can do for brands, businesses, people and the planet. We are a revolutionary design partnership.