MARKETING
EXCELLENCE
AWARDS
2016
Entry form
CELEBRATING AND REWARDING
MARKETING EXCELLENCE IN WELSH
LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES AND MUSEUMS
#marketingawards
ENTRY FORM FOR CATEGORY 1: DEMONSTRATING MARKETING
EXCELLENCE AND CATEGORY 2: JOINT MARKETING PROJECT OF THE YEAR
Please complete this section if you are entering Categories 1 and/or 2 only. Please note these details
will be used for all future correspondence regarding this specific entry. All fields are compulsory. This
information will be used for publicity, therefore please ensure all sections are completed accurately.
Title
Mrs
Ms
Miss
Mr
First name
Elisabeth
Surname
Bennett
Job title
University Archivist
Organisation
name
Organisation
address
Dr
Other
Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University
Library and Information Centre, Swansea University, Singleton Park
Town
Swansea
Postcode
SA2 8PP
Email address
[email protected]
Twitter account
@
@swanuniarchives
Organisation profile/overview 100 words maximum
The Richard Burton Archives is the corporate memory and archive repository of Swansea
University. It holds material of local, regional and national significance and is an accredited archive
service. The Archives selects, preserves and makes accessible the records of historical value
created or acquired by the University. It actively supports the mission of the University to provide
an environment of research excellence, to deliver an outstanding student experience, and has a
wider mission to enrich the community and cultural life of Wales and beyond. The Archives are
open to all.
CATEGORY ENTERED (please tick):
Category 1 – Demonstrating Marketing Excellence
Public libraries
Further education libraries
Health libraries
 Archives
Category 2 – Joint Marketing Project of the Year
Joint Marketing Project of the Year
Higher education libraries
Museums
The total word count for the section below must not exceed 2500 words. A maximum of two
additional documents may be submitted to support your entry not exceeding 5MB in total or provided
as a ZIP file. Alternatively please provide relevant links.
Project title
Enter the title or name of the marketing project – this will be included in all relevant publicity.
‘The Archives Treasure Hoard’ entry in Research As Art, Swansea University competition
Context
Describe the background/reason for this project. What challenges or opportunities were you faced
with?
The Richard Burton Archives is a small service within Information Services & Systems (ISS) at
Swansea University, employing 3.5 FTE staff. In 2009 it moved into purpose-adapted
accommodation within the Library & Information Centre. The new facilities provided strongrooms,
staff offices and a search room. Since that time the service has worked to increase the use of the
Archives both for teaching and research within the University and by individuals and community
groups outside. The Archives now has regular visits from students from the College of Arts and
Humanities and of Human and Health Science. In the past year, groups from outside the University
have included Boys and Girls Club Wales and those attending the British Association for the History
of Science conference held at Swansea University.
We are aware that there is more work to do in terms of raising our profile and increasing
understanding about the Archives. In feedback we have received from student placements, reflection
on user groups carried out as part of our Archive Service Accreditation application and the anecdotal
evidence gathered from telephone enquiries, the key barrier to being used was the fact that our
existence was not known to the majority of people within the University, whether staff or students.
We discussed a marketing strategy with colleagues in the University Marketing Department and were
advised that we needed to find new ways to communicate with our audience. One of the actions we
took as a result of this was to set up a Twitter account for the Archives. We then looked for other
innovative ways to raise our profile and identified the Research as Art competition as an opportunity.
Research as Art has run since 2012. It is a unique competition for all researchers and those
supporting research at Swansea University to showcase their research to the world, by providing a
brief, captivating description and image. From our experience of working with the Marketing
Department at Swansea University we have learnt that images are a key element of press releases
and other forms of communication. We were aware that the exposure for winners could be huge (it
had previously achieved a reach of over 50 million people worldwide through press coverage of the
project).
In the first few years entries had tended to come from the sciences and we identified an opportunity
to show that visually striking images could come from other areas. A key motivation was that despite
having many collections relating to business, science and engineering it has been a challenge to get
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines to recognise that we exist
on campus and could be a useful resource for teaching and research. We wanted to make sure our
image broke down stereotypes and showed archives as relevant and forward thinking.
There was a challenge to distil the various ideas into one powerful image. This was to be done with
limited time and resources. Entering the competition was one part of the process, but as our aim was
to use this to access a new and extensive audience our entry had to be good enough to win a prize
thereby enabling our name to reach those who hadn’t heard of us both within the University and
outside.
Aims and Objectives
State the aims and objectives that were set for this project – where possible these should be SMART
objectives – for example, how many new users or people attending the event were you hoping for?
If possible, include budget and timescale information.
What is a SMART objective? Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound
The aims and objectives of the project were
1. To submit a striking and memorable image with corresponding text to the Research as Art
competition, of sufficient standard to win a prize in order to harness the resources and publicity of
the competition. Specific requirements were for an image, title (maximum 10 words) and text
(maximum 150 words)
2.
To use the competition entry to raise awareness and get people talking about the Archives within
the University and the wider public, and particularly the STEM disciplines that we had identified as
potential new users.
3. To ensure the created image could have a range of promotional uses beyond the competition.
4. To complete the project within the deadline of the competition, with no budget and limited resources.
This was to be achieved by collaborating with Ian Vine, an IT Infrastructure Engineer within ISS who
had the photography and technical skills required to turn our ideas into reality.
Strategy & Planning
Outline the strategy taken to achieve your objectives and justify your marketing approach – did you
undertake any research for example; have your developed new or existing partnerships; did you
target a new audience or try a new approach to promoting your services?
Research:
During the original preparation for the application for archive service accreditation and as part of the
annual planning process staff have considered the audiences of the Archives. Information gathered
identified the following barriers to use of the Archives
 lack of knowledge about its existence by departments within Swansea University
 lack of understanding (at the University and beyond) about what an archive is or how it can be used
We had discussed a marketing strategy with colleagues in the University’s Marketing Department
and they had advised finding new ways to target the Swansea University audience. From reviewing
the results of press releases that had been issued about the Archives and through our experience
with social media, we knew that photographs are attractive to people and make it more likely that a
story will be taken up by the media and thereby reach a wider audience.
Partnerships:
As our resources are limited for marketing, we decided to take a collaborative approach to gather the
expertise required. We built on internal partnerships by working with Ian Vine who we knew had an
interest in photography and a technical background. Ian had worked with us before taking images for
use in our promotional leaflet. We strengthened our relationship with the University Marketing
department and with Research as Art colleagues, which could prove very useful in the future.
Audience:
We knew that Research as Art would get world-wide coverage and therefore our image would reach
a much wider audience. We strategically wanted to target the STEM departments as a new
audience, and knew that the competition attracted a great interest from these departments. This was
a significant consideration throughout the design stage, as we wanted to create something more
modern and dynamic which would appeal to engineers, scientists etc. We wanted our image to
challenge a stereotypical view of archives (dusty, dark, gloomy, just for historians).
Approach:
The approach we took was new as we were tapping in to the resources of an established
competition. We identified that this was an effective way of levering resources through relatively
small input and therefore good value for money.
Tactics and Implementation
Set out the plan of activities undertaken to implement the strategy and evidence these over time and
against budget. Include examples if appropriate – you may append or link to two additional pieces of
supporting evidence – if internet links are included please ensure these will remain live until March
2016. What promotional activity did you undertake; did you use social media and/or traditional
media?
In order to achieve our aims our initial approach was to brainstorm ideas as a team within the office.
We considered using elements from the ‘Tell Us Your Story’ entries (such as archives being the
‘DNA of thinking’ and the notion of landscape); referring to collections, items and themes in the
Archives.
Following this we broadened our discussions to involve the photographer and find out what would
work. At this stage the prominent themes were those of DNA/laboratory, landscape and mining. The
photographer considered how these ideas could be interpreted into photographic form and came
back to take trial photographs with various props, such as laboratory beakers. From the beginning
the same technique was used, individual photographs were shot in total darkness apart from the
illumination of individual shelves by torches. Post shoot editing created the visual effects. The raw
photographs were processed in DXO Optics and then assembled and individually adjusted in
Photoshop CC with final minor enhancements made back in DXO Optics.
The Archives team reviewed the results with the photographer. The shelves illuminated in the
darkness had begun to create the sort of striking image we were aiming for. Whilst all the light used
had been white, post shoot editing had been used to create coloured effects and this was particularly
eye-catching. It appeared that a simpler image would work better and we therefore decided to
remove the laboratory objects and the superimposed landscape. Further tests were carried out on
this basis and confirmed what we had thought.
The bright, jewel like colours in the image were the starting point for the text to accompany the
image, which would be judged alongside it for its impact. We used the jewel imagery to connect with
mining and the collections we hold. It was a challenge to fit all our ideas into 150 words but all staff
reviewed and contributed to the development of the text. We were also able to make a point of
challenging the stereotype of archives, highlighting the expertise of staff and the fact that archives
can be used by many disciplines. This was the final text which accompanied the image:
“Researchers are looking for that hidden gem, that precious nugget of information. More than 50
individual photographs were overlaid to create this image of the Richard Burton Archives as a
treasure trove filled with gems of ideas and information to be mined, polished and presented to the
world.
The image challenges stereotypes of archives as dusty, inaccessible places. Our state of the art
facilities, preserving unique collections, are highlighted with jewel coloured illumination; just as
archives throw light on the past.
Archive staff map out the collections through catalogues, helping in the hunt for research riches. This
could be about mining accidents in the South Wales Coalfield, copper smelting for global trade, or
the purchase of diamonds in ‘The Richard Burton Diaries’. Our collections have multi-disciplinary
potential and we work with researchers to ensure that these priceless items can add to the wealth of
knowledge.”
We kept in touch with the photographer throughout this period, consulting over the text and making
adjustments to the image so that the two fitted together.
The final task before submission was to come up with a name for the entry that would bring together
our image, the text and the message we wished to get over. We wanted to convey the idea of riches
to be discovered and after much discussion ‘The Archives Treasure Hoard’ was agreed upon.
The entry was submitted by the deadline in early May. In the run up to submission and after we used
social media to talk about our entry.
Results/Measurements/Outcomes
Present the results of the project, state whether your aims and objectives were achieved and if they
were delivered on time and within budget. Evaluate the project using measurements where possible,
such as number of new members/visitors, added value to the organisation and digital marketing
metrics where applicable (Google Analytics, Facebook insights, Tweetreach). Reflect on what could
have been done better; is the project sustainable, could it be rolled out to other user groups or
organisations?
We produced an attractive, memorable image that won a prize of ‘Highly Commended’ when the
results were announced in June. The success of the image we produced has exceeded our
expectations and what might have been expected from a ‘Highly Commended’ winner. It has
regularly appeared on news stories alongside the five overall winners.
All of our aims and objectives were achieved:
1. The prize-winning image was produced within the timescale of the competition, using internal
resources through a collaborative approach. The benefits of winning a prize were seen immediately.
We were presented with our prize by a Pro Vice Chancellor at a high profile event attended by a
large number of University staff. An exhibition was created for the award ceremony showing all
entries, but with the prize winning entries displayed as larger images.
2. Our image and text has certainly been widely viewed and talked about. At the prize-giving event,
which was attended by staff from across the University, Dr Richard Johnston, a Senior Lecturer in
Engineering, spoke about how the image showed a different side to archives. Research as Art is
seen as an important marketing opportunity and is fully supported by the University Marketing
Department in terms of issuing press releases, seeking press coverage and adding the images to the
University’s Flickr site. It is difficult to collate the data which related specifically to our entry but we do
have figures which give an idea of the audience figures for the competition as a whole, and our
image was included in most of this coverage.

Media: there have been articles and online galleries featuring our image on BBC Online, BBC
Cymru Fyw, Wales Online, Western Mail and several others. Our image was used on the front cover
of WHELF 2014-15 annual report. Internally, it has appeared in Momentum, the University’s
research magazine, which goes out to approx. 5600 people.

Social media: Our image has had 728 recorded views on the University’s Flickr site. News about the
competition has been tweeted by accounts with large followings including Wales Online, BBC Wales
News, Royal Institution and Swansea University. Our image was also included in the competition’s
You Tube video. Research, Engagement & Innovation Services (REIS) at Swansea University have
even decided to use our image as their Twitter profile picture and webpage header.

Exhibitions: The exhibition remained on view at the Singleton campus and was subsequently shown
at the new University Bay Campus. It was shown at the Grand Theatre in Swansea from 21
September to 2 October. As a prize winner, our image will now reach wider audiences being shown
at the Royal Institution in London, an organisation which specialises in scientific education and
research http://www.rigb.org/about/news/spring-2016/research-as-art-exhibition
3. Since the competition, we have put the image to good use in a variety of ways, some of which we
hadn’t originally anticipated. The organisers of Research as Art had postcards printed for all entries,
showing image and text together. These have been displayed alongside exhibitions and supplies
made available to entrants. We have used these postcards as widely as possible: in student packs;
to visiting VIPs; as complement slips in outgoing mail.
We now have a current, eye-catching image which is instantly available for us to use for future
promotional activities. We’ve used it as our Twitter picture, on our website and we are having a copy
framed to put in our Reading Room. It was used in the marketing material for the Welsh Explore Your
Archives campaign. The image itself is sustainable because it will not date, and has relevance
beyond the competition. A surprising outcome has been several requests from other departments for
copies of the image to hang on their wall. Recently a Pro VC revealed to us that he uses it as his
laptop desktop background!
4. We were happy with what we achieved given the resources available. As we don’t have a budget for
marketing we need to be opportunistic with our approach, look for partnerships and utilise the
strengths within our department and the wider university. Turning our thoughts to the future, we
would definitely aim to enter this competition again, taking a slightly different approach by
collaborating with a research department or individual researcher.
Date of Project
Provide the start and (if appropriate) finish dates of the project.
March 2015-to date
Summary
Provide a brief summary of your project (approx. 150 words) to be used for promotional purposes on
the website, social media, etc.
The hugely successful Research as Art competition at Swansea University had caught our eye in
previous years. By entering, we hoped that winning a prize would enable us to promote the Archives
to new audiences particularly as the competition had a strong multi-disciplinary emphasis. The
Archives have no budget for marketing so we recognised that we could utilise the popularity, success
and resources behind a bigger project, to provide us with fantastic opportunities.
Our entry ‘The Archives Treasure Hoard’ was awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ prize and has since
featured in national media stories (including BBC, Western Mail), University magazine and websites,
postcards, Explore your Archives campaign and on various social media outlets. Our image will now
reach wider audiences being shown at the Royal Institution in London, which specialises in scientific
education and research.
Through a partnership with a talented photographer we turned our original idea into not only a
prizewinning entry, but a great marketing tool.
ENTRY FORM FOR CATEGORY 3 – MARKETING CHAMPION OF THE YEAR
Please complete this section if you are entering Category 3. Entries must be nominated by a manager or
equivalent – you cannot self-nominate. The nominee must give consent to be nominated.
Please tick the relevant box below
Library Marketing Champion
Archives Marketing Champion
Museum Marketing Champion
Name of
nominator
Job title
Organisation
name
Organisation
address
Town
Postcode
Email address
Twitter account
@
Why are you nominating this person?
The total word count for the section below must not exceed 1000 words. A maximum of two
additional documents may be submitted to support your entry not exceeding 5MB in total or provided
as a ZIP file.
Alternatively please provide relevant links.
Notable achievements
Differences made to the service
Examples of innovative or creative working
marketing
Challenges and barriers overcome
New partnerships
Examples of engaging colleagues in
Contact details of nominee
Name of
nominee
Job title
Organisation
name
Organisation
address
Town
Postcode
Email address
Twitter account
@
Please submit the entry form and any additional documents to [email protected] and
[email protected] by 29th January 2016.
Thanks for entering the Marketing Excellence Awards 2016.