Case Study: Lewis Latimer House Museum

 
 

The Challenge

The Lewis Latimer House Museum resides in the landmarked historic home of Lewis Howard Latimer, the Black inventor who helped to develop and improve the incandescent light bulb for mass production, provided drawings that were crucial to securing the patent for the telephone, and is responsible for many other inventions and technological advancements. With a mandate to bring overdue recognition to Latimer and his legacy and to nurture community interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM), the Museum provides in-person and online activities, events, and programming that inspire the next generation of inventors and artists.

Since 2021 Asibey Consulting has partnered with the Museum on several efforts to raise its visibility and brand awareness, increase public knowledge and interest in Lewis Latimer, and drive more visitors to the Museum in Queens, NY.

 

 Our Work & Results

2021: Laying the digital foundation

We began working with the Museum in 2021, when we helped to lay a digital foundation that better established their online presence and made it easier for interested audiences to find them. This work included helping them:

  • Define their audiences

  • Migrate to a more flexible website management system

  • Improve their in-person and digital email signup

  • Develop and market lesson plans for teachers to conduct STEAM education activities in the classroom

  • Ensure the Museum was well represented on major social media platforms as well as map listings such as Google Maps, Yelp, and Apple Maps

Once we helped the Museum migrate their website to a more flexible platform and update their content, we implemented tactics to improve the website’s search engine optimization (SEO) and set up Google Ads. These actions made the Museum easier to find through search results when people search for Black historical figures such as Latimer, especially during times when interest peaks such as Black History Month and Juneteenth. 

Results

This work resulted in:

  • An influx of website traffic, including nearly 20,000 visits from Google Search (the most they have ever received) during Black History Month 2024. It represented a 175% increase from the same month the year before these changes were made.

  • A 24% increase in online traffic from search in just one year (from 2022 to 2023).

  • Growth in Google Maps traffic with a 44% increase in interactions from 2021 to 2023.

2023: Celebrating Lewis Latimer

In the summer of 2023, we partnered with Minerva Strategies to re-engage with the Museum as they sought to gain more visibility and drive attendance to Lewis Latimer’s 175th birthday celebration that took place on the Museum grounds in Queens, NY on September 16, 2023. 

We worked with the Museum’s team to expand on the digital updates from 2021; develop a social media campaign to activate their current audiences; and pitch the media to increase visibility among new audiences. We also supported the Museum as they invited local and federal elected officials and cultivated relationships with influencers.

  • Along with promotional work leading up to the birthday celebration, we produced content that was broadcasted live on Instagram and as an event recap on TikTok that enabled more people to engage with the celebration online.

  • We ensured the client’s readiness to take on incoming media attention. We then secured several media placements, most notably a radio interview on New York Public Radio (WNYC) days before the event that contributed to a surge of walk-ins. 

    • The celebration saw over 200 attendees—the most the Museum had received at once. Further recognition came as the Queens Congressional District officially commemorated Lewis Latimer Day.

  • In advance of the birthday, we helped the Museum revamp its ‘About’ page on the website with more robust information about Latimer, and conducted additional SEO enhancements. As a result: 

    • The ‘About’ page has become the most popular page on the site in terms of incoming traffic from search engines.

    • When users are searching for "Lewis Latimer" on Google, the Museum's website is now ranked top two in the search results.

2024: A new, interactive exhibit illuminates Latimer’s life

Our Asibey/Minerva work continued in preparation for the Museum’s grand reopening in June 2024, after closing for a few months for renovations. The new exhibit features five interactive galleries that travel through time to tell the story of Lewis Latimer, his family, his inventions and their impact on contemporary life.

We provided messaging support, digital advertising, and community and media outreach to increase visibility and drive foot traffic to the reopening celebration on June 15, 2024.

Results

Our collaboration resulted in:

To learn more about Lewis Latimer and the Museum, visit their website.