I. BRIEF
In 2024, the Lichfield Cathedral loaned one of their most valuable artifacts - the Lichfield Angel, an 8th Century stone sculpture - to the British Museum as part of their Silk Roads exhibition.
To coincide with the loan, exhibition curator Dr. Sue Brunning hosted a talk at the Cathedral in January 2025. The talk explored the relationship between Offa’s Dinar (a gold coin minted in Mercia around the same period) and the Lichfield Angel, highlighting Mercia’s role in the global trade networks of the early medieval Silk Roads.
I was tasked with marketing the event, and employed a targeted content strategy that combined academic outreach, collaborative media, and organic promotion to drive interest and ticket sales.
II. STRATEGY
The event was a midweek, ticketed academic talk (£10, 14:00 on a Wednesday), which posed a challenge for audience acquisition compared to typically free academic lectures.
To overcome this, I implemented a targeted outreach strategy focused on history students and academics at the University of Birmingham. The direct rail link to Lichfield made attendance logistically easy, while the subject matter aligned closely with medieval history curricula.
I leveraged existing relationships within the University’s Arts & Humanities department to drive promotion through highly targeted and trusted academic channels.
This included a collaborative social media piece with Dr Katharine Sykes, Associate Professor in Medieval History at the University and direct circulation of the event to the associated Staffordshire Archaeological & Historical Society (SAHS).
To maximise exposure, I also positioned the talk within the Cathedral’s Hidden Gems winter content series, creating a natural thematic fit and increasing reach through campaign synergy.
III. DESIGN
Visual content was designed with precision and restraint, following British Museum brand guidelines to establish institutional trust and credibility, while also maintaining Lichfield Cathedral’s own visual identity.
I continued a short-form video editing style I had developed during the winter campaign - using pacing, rhythm, and graphic overlays to create smooth, engaging transitions to cover edits and the absence of extensive B-roll.
This approach helped ensure the content remained clean, dynamic, and audience-friendly across platforms.
IV. DELIVERY & RESULTS
Deliverables included a series of organic social media assets tailored for Instagram and Facebook, a short-form piece provided by Dr Brunning and edited by myself, the aforementioned piece provided by Dr Sykes, and print materials distributed on-site.
The campaign delivered strong results: the University of Birmingham collaboration outperformed benchmark engagement rates by 1.5×, while the Lichfield Angel “Hidden Gems” carousel ranked as the third highest-performing post of the month by reach. Ticket sales exceeded the original target by 2.5×, and the event attracted coverage from local media outlets, enhancing its regional impact.
