national focus, local impact
national museum will feature African American's impact on music recapturing the essence of Music City
Client:
National Museum of African American Music
Challenge:
Community members were saddened to hear that the Museum, slated to open in 2019, was moving from historic Jefferson Street to 5th and Broadway. Furthering the frustration was the change of the front door from prominently signed Broadway to a side street, 5th Avenue.
Solution:
Our team was brought in to develop a comprehensive campaign around community engagement, media relations, and reputation management. Specifically, we were key in developing inroads with city leadership, the faith community, African American media, and other interested parties. We had a few key goals:
- to provide updates on the Museum's progress - giving a sneak peek at the planned exhibits,
- capture feedback through continuous listening sessions,
- build consensus within the community,
- change the narrative regarding the placement of the front door, which would now be significantly placed at the center of the arts district on 5th Avenue.
To accomplish these goals we engaged a variety of platforms such as weekly community meetings at libraries, faith institutions, and community spaces; draft and distribution of op-eds from stakeholders; continued media outreach; and one-on-one meetings with key city leadership.
Result:
We garnered several, ongoing media stories with Fox 17, the Nashville Business Journal, and the Tennessean. Additionally, we were able to change the community narrative of concern to excitement and support of a national museum, right in our back yard, celebrating African American's contribution to music.
Client Testimonial.
“Working with the MEPR team significantly relieved my stress. They’re professional, proactive, creative, results-oriented and organized. MEPR was an extension of our team so it didn’t feel like it was a disconnected relationship, instead it was like we’d expanded our existing team because they were such an incredible partner. Sometimes response time as well as the ability to remain on task and feel like a priority can be a challenge when with working with consultants, but this is definitely not the case with MEPR. I would unequivocally recommend MEPR because they have clearly demonstrated their proficiency in managing crisis, routine and special event public relations.”
“Working with MEPR was a life saver during a crisis management situation our company was in. Kia and her team jumped in with only a few hours noticed and worked non-stop to help remediate the situation and also implemented steps to set us up for success months down the road.”