The Old Operating Theatre Museum has embarked on an eye-catching marketing campaign. Pic courtesy Old Operating Theatre Museum
Of all the rare gems shoppers scouring Southwark’s bustling Borough Market might expect to stumble upon, one of London’s best-kept secrets chronicling the painful rituals of medical incisions in an age before anaesthetic might not be on the list.
Set in the roof space of an English Baroque church, former surgical ward of horror The Old Operating Theatre Museum displays some of the brutal instruments used to operate on patients within its walls in the early 19th century.
Timeout London called it “a very special place, soaked in atmosphere and lovingly maintained by a small and dedicated staff,” and now the organisers who won such lavish praise have been given the chance to embark on a marketing campaign to attract a wider audience thanks to a £2,500 grant and free advertising advice from the Geffrye Museum.
Timeout London reckon the Museum is a better bet than Madame Tussaud's. Pic courtesy Old Operating Theatre Museum
“The idea for the campaign is that many people come to Southwark because of Borough Market, and there is surely some synergy between people who like good food and the Herb Garret part of the Museum’s offer,” muses the Museum’s Kevin Flude.
He’s referring to the unusually large space at the top of the building, where a number of poppies were found when the building was restored, a relic of the herbal remedies kept there by the hospital attached to it in the early 18th century.
“We originally had two audiences in mind – Guy’s visitors and staff and Borough Market visitors, but it became apparent we could not afford both so we decided to concentrate on Borough Market,” adds Flude, who has installed a series of eye-catching banners around the area in a £2,000, 12-week campaign led by PR Officer Nancy Loader.
“We had a couple of walks around the local area and Nancy suggested the idea of having banners made to hang from lampposts,” recalls Flude. “Using images I sent her she mocked up a banner. She also contacted the Guy’s magazine and encouraged me to write them an article so that we could at least make some inroads in that market.”
Life-saving surgery was carried out in the building, which is attached to a hospital. Pic courtesy Old Operating Theatre Museum
30,000 leaflets were produced, and a business card exalting museum and market on either side is also being planned. “We have mainly relied on free marketing and the internet – surprisingly, it is the first time for a few years that we have had our own printed leaflet, and it will be useful to see if this affects our visitor numbers,” says Flude.
Last year was one of the strongest in the museum’s history, welcoming 25,000 visitors to the operating tables, but Flude acknowledges that the financial difficulties of the day mean audiences need to be enticed.
“Walking around the market shows that the seven banners are pretty well-sited,” he adds. “A couple came in on the first day and said they had found the banners useful for encouraging them to continue to the museum. The money and the involvement of Nancy has been very useful in helping us actually do something we had been thinking about for some years.”
Opium poppies dating from centuries ago were found in the Garret at the top of the building. Pic courtesy Old Operating Theatre Museum
It’s also inspired the team to instigate a programme of lectures at weekends. A live demonstration of surgery before anaesthesia is held every Saturday, echoing the procedures students would watch from the theatre almost 200 years ago, and a talk on the gruesome history of the museum and its medical heritage takes place on Sundays.
Wax sculptures, poems, etchings and an animated film on the physical process of dying also feature. “For the leaflet I had to insist that we had a lecture every weekend,” says Flude.
“It has been a fillip to staff and Trustees to actually get a pro-active marketing campaign in place. Often we find our events programme peters out, but now we always have one.”
Visit The Old Operating Theatre Museum online for full programme details.}
