Ulster Museum has launched a new brand campaign that turns the familiar put-down “You Belong in A Museum” into an open invitation to audiences across Northern Ireland.

The campaign was created by the Belfast and Dublin-based agency Big+Bold for National Museums NI. The campaign also introduces the new positioning “Ulster Museum. Your Museum”, and it is running across television, VoD, YouTube, Meta, out-of-home and within the museum itself.

The campaign was developed in response to research which found that while awareness of Ulster Museum was high, this was not always translating into a sense of personal relevance, particularly among younger adults, first-time visitors and under-represented groups.

At the heart of the campaign is the line “Your space to…”, a flexible creative device that allows the museum to tailor the message around different audiences, exhibitions, moods and seasons, including “your space to play”, “debate”, “explore”, “create” and “reflect”.

The hero film is soundtracked by Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman”.

Aaron Ward, director of public engagement at National Museums NI, said the campaign was designed to address the gap between awareness of the museum and a genuine sense of belonging.

“We’re not measuring this campaign in footfall alone — we’re measuring whether people who never felt museums were for them now feel a personal connection to this one,” he said.

“Our museums exist to open up culture, not just preserve it, and ‘You Belong In A Museum’ says that to every visitor directly: this is your museum, your space to play, debate, explore, create and reflect.”

The campaign has been designed as a long-term brand platform rather than a one-off burst of activity. A single hero shoot has been used to create the master film, channel-specific cut-downs, campaign stills and signage and wayfinding within the museum.

Accessibility has also been built into the creative system from the outset, with new colour contrast rules, plain-language copy and prominent use of text across film executions.

David Nurse, managing director at Big+Bold, said the idea came from reclaiming a phrase already familiar in popular culture.

“You belong in a museum’ has been a comedic put-down — a way of calling something old and out of touch — but the research showed people saw the Ulster Museum as a fantastic institution, just not perceived as somewhere for them,” he said.

“Reclaiming that phrase let us speak to the individual, not the crowd: the whole idea lives in a single word — you.”

The first phase of the campaign runs from July 2026, with a second phase planned for January and February 2027.

The campaign will be measured against brand awareness, visit intent, personal relevance, audience diversity and digital and social engagement.

Credits

Client: National Museums NI / Ulster Museum

Director Of Public Engagement: Aaron Ward

Head Of Audience Development: Cathy Law

Marketing And Communications Manager: LesleyAnn Diffin

Agency: Big+Bold

Managing Director: David Nurse

Creative Director: Darren Davison

Strategy Director: Dearbhla Boyle

Client Director: David Kernaghan

Content Director: Colm Laverty

Editorial Director: Ben Spencer

Music: Nina Simone — “Sinnerman”