Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum marked a major milestone for Royal Armouries and for Leeds, arriving in the UK for the first time after touring internationally. As the museum’s first paid exhibition, it played a key role in the wider Armouries 700 transformation and needed to demonstrate that Leeds could host world-class, ticketed cultural events.
Deliver a paid media campaign that positioned the exhibition as a globally significant, premium cultural experience. Drive visits from across the country, reach new and more diverse audiences, and help reinforce Royal Armouries' reputation as an organisation capable of staging exhibitions of international importance.
Gladiators achieved 98% of its commercial target and attracted families, students, and culturally engaged adults. The campaign delivered over 60,000 clicks and engagement well above benchmark across Meta and Teads. Crucially, the results validated Royal Armouries’ move into paid exhibitions and supported confidence in the organisation’s long-term transformation plans.
We ran a direct-response-led Meta campaign using an Advantage+ setup, allowing Meta’s AI to optimise delivery against ticket purchase behaviour via a tracked 'Book Now' conversion. This was supported by intent-driven Google search activity and Teads placements within premium editorial environments, reaching people as they were actively reading about culture, events, and things to do. Alongside digital, we used radio to build broad reach and scale across Yorkshire, helping establish the exhibition as a major cultural moment across the region.
"Thank you [Root Media] so much for your efforts. They definitely have made a huge difference to the success of the exhibition, and that in turn has helped give the organisation greater confidence in our temporary exhibition programme."
Maria Ballard, Marketing and Insight Officer at Royal Armouries
