MISSOURI
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
Founded in 1866 “for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state,” the Missouri Historical Society has been leading a tireless crusade to enrich our community and remind us of our shared past with its three monumental locations of learning spread across the St. Louis area: the Missouri History Museum, the Library & Research Center and Soldiers Memorial Military Museum.
Star of the Show
To inform the St. Louis community that these three locations are all maintained and operated by the same organization, we created a cohesive look and feel for the Missouri Historical Society and its locations, and developed a new, common identity for the brand as a whole. This identity included the use of a shared “star” icon, a symbol of MHS, where individuals, events and stories radiate.
“I wanted to let you all know that we’re still so appreciative of your work and it’s continuing to make a difference for us. Our proposal on museum rebrands was selected for presentation at the American Alliance of Museum conference in New Orleans. I heard nothing but great feedback about the rebrand from colleagues all over the country.”
-Leigh Walters, Director of Marketing & Communications
Find Yourself Here
“Find Yourself Here” serves as an expression of the ultimate benefit of the brand, that history is literally all around you if you take the time to look. This tagline became the slogan of a multi-channel creative campaign developed and produced to reintroduce MHS to the region.
13%
Increase in first-time visitors
Demographic shift from 45+ to
18-44
Renovating the Past
With a new tagline and identity in tow, the MHS website needed an overhaul to better reflect the brand. We had three goals for everything featured on the site: Simplify. Connect. Explore.
The site was re-designed with different types of users in mind, giving each natural UX paths to get visitors, donors, educators, researchers and more the most relevant information for each of their specific needs.
14%
Drop in bounce rate
45%
Increase in average session duration
We also helped bring light to items filling the archives of MHS, building an immersive and extensive online collection to make it easier than ever to uncover the history of the region and its people. This included cross-linking and connecting countless related items to give proper historical context to the entire collection.
More Than A Place
For over two years, Soldiers Memorial Military Museum had been closed for renovations. But in November of 2018, its doors finally opened once again. We developed digital assets in addition to spots for radio and the web. Then we integrated that spot into a larger 90-second video that featuring all three MHS locations.
Results for the whole family
The rebrand brought additional measurable benefits, such as increased public awareness of MHS’s lesser known locations: the Library & Research Center and Soldiers Memorial. The organization saw a significant increase in social media followings for both locations and Soldiers Memorial attendance increased greatly; it surpassed previous annual attendance in the first two months after reopening.