Digital Marketing Strategy for Venue Hire at Freud Museum London (FML)

Sponsor:	Freud Museum London (FML)
Sponsor Liaison:	Director Giuseppe Albano and Head of Operations Daniel Bento
Student Team:	Claire Desrosiers, Victoria Escuer, Jack Patten, and Ethan Wheelock
Abstract:	Museums in the venue hire industry give clients a unique place to hold events while earning supplemental revenue. The goal of this project was to develop a digital marketing strategy for Freud Museum London’s (FML) venue hire opportunities. To achieve this, we conducted client interviews and sent out a survey via email to members, patrons, and visitors. We also held interviews with employees at FML and conducted desktop research. We identified four key strengths for FML, defined client and event segments, and examined the digital marketing practices of comparable venues in England. Drawing on these insights, we recommended channels that FML can use to advertise its strengths, messaging strategies to attract clientele, and additional promotional strategies.
Link:	Freud Museum London C25 Final Report Freud Museum London C25 Final Presentation Freud Museum London C25 Client-Directed Brochure Freud Museum London C25 Floor Plans

Executive Summary

Project Introduction

Freud Museum London (FML), renowned as the final residence of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, and his daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer in child psychoanalysis, began offering its location for venue hire in 2014. The decision to offer museum spaces to private clients has led to a stream of income that now makes up 10% of the museum’s annual revenue (G. Albano, personal communication, January 28, 2025). Director Giuseppe Albano notes that the museum’s welcoming atmosphere and suitable facilities attract a diverse clientele, from families to corporate businesses. Many of FML’s clients return every year because they value the museum’s emphasis on forming personal relationships (D. Bento, personal communication, January 28, 2025).

Currently, the museum provides an enquiry box on its website for clients to reach out with any questions about the spaces offered. They also have a digital presence on six venue finder websites, with the most prominent one being Tagvenue. To build on these strategies, FML sought a digital marketing strategy to expand its audience for the venue hire program while preserving personal connections with clients.

Project Goal and Objectives

The goal of this project was to develop a digital marketing strategy for FML’s venue hire opportunities. To achieve this goal, we pursued the following objectives:

1. 1. Assess current and potential client perspectives. We aimed to understand current clients’ interests and perspectives of FML’s rental spaces, as well as identify the interests and needs of prospective clients. We interviewed six clients who had previously booked the spaces or had extensive experience with events at FML. We also sent out a survey via email to the museum’s subscribers and got eleven responses. Additionally, we analysed a list of 28 recurring clients and 32 events to determine key client and event segments.
   2. Assess current marketing strategies at FML and comparable venues. We conducted four employee interviews to understand the current marketing operations of venue hire at FML. Additionally, we researched how seven comparable venues leverage social media sites and their websites to attract clients.
   3. Craft a brand voice and key messages that convey relevant features and benefits of venue hire. We analysed the responses collected in the interviews and surveys by extracting key excerpts and coding them based on emerging patterns. Through this content analysis, we gained insights into how people generally perceive the venue hire program at FML. We also explored practical applications of brand voice strategies by studying other museums that offer venue hire.

Findings

Unique Strengths of Freud Museum London’s Venue Hire Program

Clients and visitors value the venue and setting, staff-generated atmosphere, cultural and historical significance, and efficiency of logistical operations at FML. Key strengths of the museum include:

Venue and setting. The excerpts connecting to this strength reflected the overall atmosphere FML provides, as well as its physical appeal and location in Hampstead.

Staff-generated atmosphere. Interviewees and survey respondents repeatedly mentioned the staff’s attentive attitude and behaviour during private hire events. The staff’s commitment to creating a personal touch to every booking experience did not go unnoticed.

Cultural and historical significance. Clients expressed their desire to learn more about Sigmund and Anna Freud’s legacy, as well as the field of psychoanalysis.

Logistics. Participants reflected on their positive experiences when utilising the technological equipment in the Video and Exhibition Room, as well as smooth event coordination with FML staff.

Segments of Recurring Clients and Events

We used a three-pronged approach for categorising recurring clients and the events they have hosted in the past three years based on the following:

Type of event. Approximately 72% of events hosted by recurring clients have a social element, whether it is solely a social gathering or an event combining professional and social elements.

Connection to Freud. Over 50% of clients were categorised as booking the venue for Freud-related purposes, whether it is a connection to Sigmund and Anna Freud’s legacy or an interest in psychoanalysis.

Type of client. Approximately 80% of the museum’s recurring clients represent organisations since clients with an individual designation are less likely to return unless they have a connection to Sigmund and Anna Freud, or the psychoanalytic world.

Table I provides a brief description of these segments, their corresponding labels, and their respective frequencies.

Table I: Client and Event Segments, Descriptions, and Frequencies

This analysis of recurring clients and events over the past three years revealed that the largest segment combination FML attracts are organisations that host events with a social aspect and have a Freud-related reason for booking the venue.

Notable Practices of Comparable Venue Spaces in England

Comparable organisations we studied use social media, their websites, and printed materials to promote venue hire opportunities.

Instagram is the most used social media platform among the museums we studied. This promotion can be done in the following three ways:

Integrating venue hire posts into their general museum account. The data showed venue hire posts alongside traditional museum content on average once per month from November 2024 to February 2025. This strategy did not seem to overshadow museum-related content.

Creating a separate venue hire account. The three museums that employed this strategy have significantly fewer followers in their venue hire accounts compared to their general accounts. Having separate accounts ensures clear distinctions between the museum-related content and venue hire-related content.

Utilising the highlight feature. This practice allows the museums to group venue hire content at the top of the profile, separate from their feed of posts. The highlights remain indefinitely, allowing the content creators to curate their feeds with museum content while still having a consistent form of venue hire promotion.

Additionally, we found each museum’s website highlights its venue hire program by showcasing its unique selling points in a personalised way. Most museums provided contact information for venue hire employees and catering recommendations, while some unique strategies included a calendar with availability, suggested event itineraries, event-specific brochures, floor plans, and an in-depth video tour.

Venue spaces also use printed materials such as brochures to promote their venue hire programs. This included a free physical magazine-style brochure allowing the viewer to see photos of the venue with details about its special features. Other logistical details like floor plans, room rates, event capacities, and contact information were included to help prospective clients make an informed decision.

Recommendations

Channels and Messages

We recommend that FML target specific client segments through the digital channels each segment is most likely already using. Figure I suggests effective channels for each segment, denoting where the museum should focus its messaging efforts.

Figure I: Client Segments Mapped to Digital Channels

When posting to social media, the museum could integrate venue hire content within its general social media accounts. An example of recommended phrases for each respective channel can be found in Table II.

Table II: Examples of Messaging Key Marketable Strengths

Website Enhancements

For the FML venue hire website page, we recommend:

Adding floor plans for each room and floor. This will clearly display space layouts and capacities, helping clients discern whether the venue meets their needs while booking through FML’s website.

Offering a downloadable brochure. Integrating downloadable brochures on the website would allow yet another way for clients to see all the information relevant to venue hire in one space without having to search for information on the website.

Including a contact section for employees. This will not only make the process more personable from the outset but also enhance the museum’s credibility as a professional venue.

Adding a video tour. A video tour can display customisable features and the aesthetics of each of the venue spaces.

Other Promotional Strategies

We recommend some other add-ons that could streamline venue hire growth, including:

Offering virtual consultations during the venue hire booking process. This small gesture may encourage clients who feel overwhelmed when choosing a venue to reach out and discuss their options in a more personal and interactive manner.

Increasing catering support. Clients expressed a desire for upgraded catering. One way FML could offer this is by handling the communications with the external catering companies while the clients merely choose the menu.

Having volunteers at psychoanalytic events. Volunteers could answer any specific questions clients might have about Sigmund and Anna Freud’s legacy, as well as address any potential congestion problems within the museum during events.

Establishing a formal discount structure. Member discounts could be implemented in a tiered structure, such as offering members a 10% discount and patrons a 15% discount. Additionally, seasonal discounts at strategic times throughout the year could incentivise more prospective clients to book the venue for their events.