Recently, I had the opportunity to work with the team at The Valentine Museum in getting the word out about an exhibit telling the oral histories of the Latino population in Richmond, VA called, Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond. Here are the highlights of this fun and successful project.

 

Objectives

  • Drive attendance to the Nuestras Historias exhibit, especially for the free opening on Saturday, July 29, sponsored by CarMax
  • Organize an especially fun opening day party so as to create word-of-mouth marketing and drive on-going attendance after the exhibit’s opening.
  • Encourage social media conversations about the exhibit

 

About the Exhibit

There are approximately 100,000 Latinos in the Richmond metropolitan area who represent a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. As Latinos immigrate to Richmond, they establish permanent ties to their new home and begin to transform its culture. Through interviews, objects and images, Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond documents the region’s diverse Latino experience.

The exhibit ran from July 27, 2017 to April 15, 2018.

The opening party included amazing performances by Bio Ritmo, Claves Unidos, Clara Toro of Salsa4Life, the Latin Ballet of Virginia, and the Sacred Heart Dancers plus a meet and greet with two players from the Richmond Kickers soccer team.

 

About the Museum

Located in the heart of historic downtown Richmond, The Valentine is a place for residents and tourists to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of this important region. The museum offers a comprehensive program of exhibitions, tours, special events, research opportunities, and school programs to engage attendees in an ongoing dialogue about the significance and relevance of the city’s 400-year-old history.

 

Target Audiences

  1. Members of The Valentine Museum
  2. Latino families in Richmond who may not normally go to museums
  3. Richmonders interested in Latino culture

 

Public Relations Strategy

  • Utilize the Facebook event feature to drive word-of-mouth conversations about the FREE opening day party
  • Write and adapt press release for Latino and general market editors and journalists
  • Work with our Spanish-language media partner, Radio Poder, to host 15-minute on-air interviews with Latinos featured in the exhibit
  • Encourage influencers to post about the exhibit. See below for Clara Toro, who gave salsa lessons during the opening party, talking about the exhibit’s opening party on YouTube.
  • Work with our media partner Telemundo Richmond to develop a colorful commercial about the exhibit

Clara Toro’s Video

Telemundo Commercial for Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond

 

The Team

Joe Kutchera, Hispanic PR and Marketing Advisor

Pryor Green, Freelance PR Advisor

Wanda Hernandez, Exhibit Curator

Ashley Burch, Event Organizer (aka Development Coordinator)

Sarah Kim, Deputy Director

Eric Steigleder, Public Relations & Marketing Director

 

Results

We had a tremendous turnout for the opening party of Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond. Even with the rain that day, we surpassed our attendance goals for the opening party by 50%.

This video of attendees dancing captures the incredible energy that day:

See this Flickr album for some of the photos that I captured:

 

Media Coverage

We received extensive media coverage from both general market and Latino media sources. Some of those highlights include:

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Front page of the culture section)

‘Nuestras Historias’ tells the story of Richmond’s Latino community

 

Style Weekly

Event Pick: “Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond” Street Party at the Valentine

 

Las Americas Newspaper

Inauguran la primera exhibición bilingüe de historia latina en Virginia

 

El Tiempo Latino

La creación de “Nuestras Historias” – Interview with Wanda Hernández

 

El Tiempo Latino

Se inaugura la primera exhibición bilingüe de historia oral latina en Virginia

 

WRIC TV ABC 8

Bilingual Latino oral history exhibit opens at the Valentine

 

WTVR TV CBS 6

Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond

 

WCVE Public Radio 

Nuestras Historias Exhibit Documents and Celebrates Richmond’s Latino Residents

 

Plus, front-page mentions and full-length articles appeared in both Nuevas Raices and Tidewater Hispanic Newspapers (print editions only).

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