6th International Communicating the Museum Conference
Building Partnerships : How to enlarge audiences

CONCLUSIONS OF THE 2006 CONFERENCE


This 6th Communicating the Museum Conference held in Rotterdam highlighted three important trends in the development of museums:

  • The audience expertise and high marketing skills of museum staff
  • The commitment of curatorial and communication staff to work together
  • The openness to thinking differently and working with new partners

Day 1

The keynote speeches and case studies focused on partners outside the museums sector. Agenda invited marketing managers of well-known international brands to explain their strategies for building partnerships. Speakers came from a variety of sectors, including: Banking, with Rabobank and ING Direct; the car industry with BMW; Railways with Thalys; Media with The Guardian; and Government with the Rembrandt 400.

It was very instructive for museum professionals to understand the different expectations of these marketing-driven experts and to learn how to work with them, how to adapt and fulfil their requirements. A common learning point was that outside partners are looking for added value. They want recognition, to improve their image, to raise their profile, to boost their identity and reinforce their brand. They expect partnerships with museums and galleries to contribute to their market leadership. The arts are very valuable to them, strong and positive because they involve creativity. BMW even said that big businesses want "to buy a cultural identity".

Business partners tend to be very sophisticated strategically and consequently can contribute positively to the marketing expertise within museums. Once they decide to build a partnership, partners expect museums:

  • to explain and share values and goals
  • to build commitment and trust
  • to establish long term relationships
  • to offer a unique package, with an element of exclusivity
  • to offer premium events and/or controversial artists
  • to involve the curatorial teams
  • to develop a tailor made approach

Big businesses offer a lot more than money to museums: they offer expertise and access to new audiences. Expertise in terms of excellent marketing practices, and new audiences because they can reach a huge public that may never have come to the museum before. Businesses are usually extremely strong on audience analysis - they know their existing audiences very precisely and develop worldwide marketing strategies to reach them. Therefore, they can help museums to reach new audiences.

Day 2

The case studies and debates focused on inside the museums sector. Agenda invited museum experts from Spain, Australia, France, the Netherlands and the UK to share their best marketing practices and it was very instructive to learn what worked and what did not from the prospective of the different museums. The speakers focused on two main steps for building partnerships:

  • The first step is to do an in-house exercise to define the museum's identity, to find unique selling points and competitive marketing advantages. All departments within a museum, including the curatorial teams, need to be clear on the brand. This first step of defining an identity is vital for any museum and makes it easier to find suitable partners. It is also important not to loose that identity when working with strong global brands. If the initial branding exercise is done well, the museum's brand should be strong enough to work in equal partnership with other brands.
  • The second step is to build a strong relationship with the partner. As museums and big businesses can think very differently, it is not always easy to work together. It takes time to understand, share and collaborate. According to Will Gompertz from the Tate, there are three main phases to building a strong relationship with a partner:
    • Agree on objectives and the different partners' roles
    • Agree on strategy
    • Agree on messaging
    Each phase builds on the previous one. The preliminary discussions set the crucial ground rules; defining the strategy spells out how the brands will work together and how each partner will benefit; the messaging ensures that communication is consistent and effective with target audiences.

A partnership today is so much more energetic and creative than simply printing logos on marketing materials. It is a dynamic process which develops as partners understand each other better and work on fresh, innovative ideas. As Damien Whitmore and Nicole Newman explained, the partnership between the V&A museum and Habitat for the Modernism exhibition was an excellent example of a co-branding exercise where benefits were maximised for both partners.

In conclusion, in a business environment where we have to do "more for less", partnerships are vital if museums are to reach new audiences and larger numbers of people. Partnerships with business can help museums by bringing market expertise and confidence, and through joint marketing, provide new ways to reach audiences.