SJI jumped at the opportunity to work on the campaign for Downton Abbey: The Exhibition, with NBCU and Imagine Exhibitions. SJI has a long history with Downton, from producing key art and digital campaigns for almost every season, to designing the style guide for the beloved show, to being diehard fans.
The creative for the campaign was designed to inspire excitement for this immersive exhibition, while distinguishing it from the television series. A toolkit was developed to allow widespread use of the branded materials.
The exhibition needed an easily updatable website to provide information for customers and fans. SJI’s elegant design complemented the brand while offering a user-friendly site for people to learn about the exhibition, contact staff for more information, and most of all, to purchase tickets. SJI worked closely with the hosting company to ensure that the site had zero downtime while 500,000 customers visited the site in the first month. View Site
A huge digital and out-of-home campaign was produced, broadening awareness for fans, tourists and everyone interested in the Downton phenomenon. Special ads were also created targeting the holiday gift-giving season.
The SJI team was thrilled to sip champagne and rub elbows with cast members including Michelle Dockery, at a gala reception to celebrate the opening of the exhibit.
Though Downton Abbey ended its final season in 2015, interest in the show is still going strong. Due to unprecedented demand, NBCUniversal extended the run of the New York City exhibition by two months.