The Book
Museum Branding — How to create and maintain image, loyalty and support
Museum Branding shows how museums can reinforce their image at every touchpoint, every encounter with their many constituencies: visitors, members, donors, sponsors, educators, community, staff, and volunteers.
In each of its 18 chapters, Museum Branding focuses on a different aspect of the museum and explains the responsibilities of each in strengthening the museum’s brand.
Chapter 1 — Exhibitions A museum’s collection is, of course, acquired according to the guidelines of the mission, and thus reflects the formal identity of the museum. Every time a museum exhibits an object, it brands itself. Nothing so perfectly identifies a museum as its exhibitions, and it is with these that the branding process begins.
Chapter 2 — Carrying the Banner: a guide for museum boards on guardianship of the museum’s brand Branding starts at the top. Trustees are accountable for the museum’s mission and message consistency, whether they are approving funds, hiring a director, attending a fund-raising or promotional event, or speaking informally for the museum.
Chapter 3 — Education Department: teaching the museum This chapter speaks primarily to the branding opportunities in student field trips and adult tours, but it’s important to note that teachers and families are also learners, and should be folded into the branding process.
Chapter 4 — Volunteers: your face to the public Volunteers are frequently the first human being a visitor encounters, so they need to be carefully recruited, trained, and appreciated. When volunteers understand a museum’s mission and image, they are invaluable messengers from the institution to the public.
Chapter 5 — Membership: converting visitors to loyalists There are two ways to look at membership — acquisition and retention — and converting visitors all the way up the support ladder to member, donor, and patron is one of the major benefits of branding. Ultimately, what a museum wants is a loyal member, one who relates to the brand image and feels kinship with the museum.
Chapter 6 — Fundraising: raised on loyalty People give money to an institution they feel comfortable with, one that shares their values. Also, individuals, corporations, foundations and governmental grantors need to know what distinguishes one institution from another. Branding accomplishes both goals.
Chapter 7 — Corporate partnerships: shoulder to shoulder with business When and how to collaborate with corporate America can be examined as a business decision, but it also must be considered from a branding perspective. Will the alliance enhance the museum’s mission and image?
Chapter 8 — Marketing and graphics: the watchdog department Mission, strategy and, ultimately, brand communication reside in every museum marketing piece—brochure, newsletter, mailing or ad. Every marketing and graphics professional needs to be reminded of this.
Chapter 9 — Museum Store: extension of education Research shows an unexpected depth of attachment to museum store purchases. These souvenirs truly imprint the memories and the image of the museum in the visitor’s mind. Importantly, the atmosphere of the store also contributes to the image setting process.
Chapter 10 — Branding museum Websites: new media, old truths For many visitors, the museum’s Website is their first visit, an introduction that might develop into a lasting relationship. Consider all the people who visit a website besides visitors: prospective members and donors, scholars, job-hunting curators and managers, educators, and the media. Websites might be big and changeable; all the more reason to focus securely on the brand.
Chapter 11 — The Golden Shopping Cart: how museums’ online stores add luster to their brand So overwhelmingly seductive and convenient are online treasures that the e-store could overwhelm the brand image of a museum. It can also significantly buttress a museum brand.
Chapter 12 — Publications Newsletters and magazines engage and involve readers, month after month, bringing a sense of the museum into the home. They are potent tools for keeping museums’ names in front of the public, strengthening the brand and forging lasting bonds.
Chapter 13 — Audio tours: branding by script The carefully scripted audio tour functions impressively as a both tour guide and brand builder. As museum hours increase, and volunteers decrease, wands and headsets are worth a listen.
Chapter 14 — The lobby: first impression and lasting impression The experience at the very start of one’s visit, and at the end, affect the visitor’s enjoyment, retention of experiences, and inclination to recommend and revisit a museum. The information desk, signage, seats, and, often, the museum store and restaurant are all powerful visual and experiential clues and brand reminders.
Chapter 15 — Loyalty eating: how museums reinforce brand image at the dining table If a museum experience is to take hold and endure, visitors need time, space and quiet to contemplate their visit. They need to talk about it with friends. The museum restaurant serves this need admirably.
Chapter 16 — Your building: how museums build their brands brick by brick The growing popularity of museums, plus the ravages of age and use, are resulting in a boom of building, and not just in high-profile museums. Any new construction project represents the museum to the world and can be as singular as the exhibits inside. New buildings, and renovations, too, become symbols not only for the museum but also for the community whose pride is invested in it.
Chapter 17 — University Museums: children of strong parents When a museum is part of a university, foundation or corporation, the parent’s name can dilute the meaning of the museum’s name. How these museums maintain their identity calls for particularly alert brand vigilance.
Chapter 18 — Future members: identifying with young audiences Everyone knows young people are the hope of the future. So why do museums treat them as children and forget about them after the yellow school bus drives away? By treating youngsters as down-the-road members, museums will reinforce their brand with this important consumer segment.
Museum Branding is published by AltaMira Press, a division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
For orders and information, please contact:
www.altamirapress.com
1-800-462-6420
or
www.amazon.com
