Museums 101 by Mark Walhimer

Author:Mark Walhimer [Walhimer, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2015-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Museum Marketing

Museum marketing is the public communication of the integrated museum approach (IMA). Marketing is a form of sales. Visitors require a “need” to visit your museum. A museum may have the world’s best collection or a world-class facility, and it may still not attract many visitors. That is not to say that museum attendance is the only measure of success, but for many museums, attracting visitors is the primary way that the institution sustains itself financially. I am firm believer in the power of “wow”: creating a spectacle, a need, and a sense of urgency for people to visit a museum. For this reason, I believe in both traditional marketing (radio, television, print, and online advertising) and word-of-mouth for sharing your “wow.”

In a city of three hundred thousand people, it might be a reasonable target to attract sixty thousand visitors per year. But to consistently reach an annual goal of sixty thousand visitors, you will need to attract an audience from a greater area than just the immediate population. This is the power of word-of-mouth marketing.1,2 If every visitor to your museum has a positive experience and tells his or her friends, the potential for growth is exponential. I often tell clients that smiling and helpful floor staff are your best marketing tools. Online social media is another form of word-of-mouth marketing and is vital to the success of a marketing campaign.

The key components of museum marketing are consistent messaging of your museum’s IMA approach and having a strong vernacular, or “museum voice,” for the museum. At the best museums, the museum’s approach is consistent from every angle: the collection, the customer service, the exhibitions, and the marketing are all in unison. When all these elements are aligned, the staff and audience know what to expect from the museum. I am a fan of El Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) in Mexico City. MUAC is part of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, a public university in Mexico City. It is the largest university in Latin America.3 From the playful colors, fun photos of their website, and print marketing, the museum has a fun, youthful attitude. MUAC’s text panels are written in a scholarly fashion that is still friendly and easy to read, with an approachable and welcoming contemporary art attitude. “Become a Friend of MUAC!” is their marketing slogan for donations and membership—casual yet enthusiastic.

Most museum marketing budgets are small. Every dollar needs to make the largest impact. I love the City Museum of St. Louis, Missouri.4 It has a strong IMA. The museum communicates its IMA in a consistent manner and builds enthusiasts. The City Museum’s tagline encapsulates a six hundred thousand-square-foot museum in two words: “Always building.”

Opened in 1997, the City Museum was founded by artist Bob Cassilly and his wife Gail Cassilly. From the outset, the museum was created with the intention of never being complete. “Always building”: the museum, its IMA, and the marketing are aligned. Anyone who has ever visited the museum can sense the dynamism and energy.

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