Plague. Syphilis. Smallpox. Cholera. TB. Leprosy. Six of the contagions that devastated Scotland since a third of our population was wiped out by ‘The Black Death’ in 1350. Just the sort of thing that spurred the chroniclers of the day to put pen to paper. Those writers inevitably found their words (and images) immortalised at the National Library of Scotland - one of the largest and most important research libraries in the world.

For many people a library is still seen as a place of research, something that is “not for them.” They approached us to help them break down these perceptions. The objectives of Plague! were to give new and younger audiences an understanding of various cultural, medical, religious and social responses to outbreaks of contagious disease in Scotland.

It was important that the exhibition had both a physical life in the Library as well as a virtual (and archived) one beyond the building.That’s why the exhibition strategy included online content, community based educational marketing, and partnership marketing, as it needed to be seen outside the Library’s core user base.

We then looked at the creative approach. The final route centred around the red cross and short naming device 'Plague!' was to prove a versatile means by which to communicate the death, darkness and horrors that lay in wait!

We deployed limited but highly targeted posters, online web banners, social media
posts and boosts and Edinburgh city taxis. In addition, we commissioned projections on iconic Edinburgh landmarks (including the Library itself) which fed our social media strategy and were turned into a time lapse movie that on Facebook alone had 51,663 views and was played 21,768 times.

This represented a massively integrated brand experience and as a result the exhibition broke all records.

It attracted 63,413 visitors, representing an increase of 38% on the 2014/15 ‘Game
of Crowns’ winter exhibition and 53% higher than the 2013/14 ‘Wha’s Like us?’ that celebrated Scottish invention. Both ran for approximately the same time period. Notably Plague! attendances exceeded, by 13%, a topical flagship show celebrating Scotland’s contribution to WWI ‘Behind the Lines’ that ran for 21 weeks through the summer of 2014 during the peak tourist season.