Marketing Museums

WA Museum History Department collection.

WA Museum History Department collection.
Image copyright WA Museum 

Image from the Dwyer and McKay photograph collection of the Western Australian Museum History Department. 

Marketing helps museums meet their goals and objectives. It helps attract visitors, and by identifying and meeting their needs, ensures they have a satisfying experience.

Consider the museum’s ‘marketing mix’

The ‘five Ps’
  1. Product - What the museum offers: building; collection; public programs; shop; the visit itself
  2. Price - What is charged. Ask: is this a fair price?
  3. Place - Location, accessibility, parking facilities etc
  4. Promotion -  How the museum informs the public; how it tries to influence their attitude and behaviour
  5. People - Management, staff, volunteers, sponsors, friends

Know thyself and the audience

  • A clear mission statement, supported by staff is the first step. Understand the museum’s goals and objectives.
  • Carry out visitor research to find out about the museum’s audience. What segment of the public does the museum want to target? What are their needs as museum visitors?

SWOT Analysis

  • Strengths and Weaknesses -  these are internal matters that affect whether a museum is able to meet its goals and objectives eg. Staffing levels, facilities, funds
  • Opportunities and Threats -  outside influences such as funding, competition, changing demographics.

Think of ways to exploit strengths and opportunities, and overcome threats and weaknesses.

Identify what is to be promoted

Decide what will be promoted and how this will meet the needs of the target audience. It may be a new exhibition or public program; an education program targeted at local schools; a publication. A marketing plan will help with coordination and timing of marketing activities to promote these.

Reaching the target audience

Once the target audience is identified, the information can be packaged in a way that is accessible to them.

  • Public relations - this is unpaid promotion. Eg. A press release, newsletter, media publicity. Through communication with various groups, the museum can manage its image. Note: this does not mean it can control public opinion! Public relations is a positive campaign of building public awareness and support. (see information sheets ‘Public Relations’ and ‘Liaising with the Media’)
  • Advertising - Paid promotion through various mediums to deliver a message. Eg a museum may pay for an advertisement in a newspaper or associated publication, or on radio.

Action Plan

This outlines the museum’s marketing activities over a set period.

  • What will be achieved
  • The resources required (including budget)
  • Responsibilities
  • Target market
  • Marketing tools
  • Deadline

Evaluation

Plan on evaluating the marketing plan. Decide on time frames for evaluation, what will be measured and how. This will help judge success and plan for the next period.

References and further reading:

Museums Australia Inc (NSW). Museum Methods: A practical manual for managing small museums. Section 2.3 Marketing your museum

Koe, Frank T., ‘Small Museum, Big Plans’, Museum News, Vol 70, No 1, 1991

Kotler, Neil and Kotler, Philip (1998), Museum Strategy and Marketing: Designing Missions, Building Audiences, Generating Revenue and Resources