Now, more than three months after lockdown began, museums are gradually beginning to reopen their doors to visitors. While cultural organizations face many common hurdles, small and mid-sized institutions, with fewer staff and resources, may be facing unique challenges around this “new normal”. Many may be concerned that they lack the budgets and bandwidth needed to implement necessary changes, like contactless experience design and new digital initiatives.
This Wednesday, around 800 people joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO & Founder @ Cuseum), John Echeveste (CEO @ LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes), Maryam Nabi (Director of Marketing & Communications @ Conservatory of Flowers), & Rich Bradway (Director of Digital Learning and Engagement @ Norman Rockwell Museum) as they talked through strategies to navigate the new normal as a smaller cultural institution, doing a deep dive into the unique challenges that small to mid-sized organizations face.
Watch the full recording here.
Here are some of the main takeaways.
Create a Safe and Positive Onsite Experience
After months of being closed, many museums are beginning to reopen with new protocols and changes in place. During this time, transparency and clear messaging are key to ensuring that guests have a safe and welcoming experience. Moving forward, museums should expect questions and concerns about new procedures and rules, such as mandatory masks, temperature checks, and more. This being the case, communication with your visitors is key.
“We are working to make sure that our communications are very clear so that people are inspired to make the trip. Given the circumstances, we are being more deliberate and intense about our communication so there is no ambiguity on what is going on.”
– Rich Bradway
John Echeveste at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes also emphasized how important it is to focus on staff training, so that your museum is equipped to provide excellent customer service and prepared for a variety of potential issues. Due to the new protocols, staff may encounter unexpected situations with guests, and they have to be prepared to de-escalate challenging situations.
To leave a lasting impression, you may also consider adding something special for guests. As a smaller institution, even little details can create a meaningful connection with the visitors. Maryam Nabi at the Conservatory of Flowers noted that she hopes to convey their appreciation towards members by offering a free orchid or early member access to their conservatory.
Cultivate Partnerships to Reach Your Maximum Potential
Now, more than ever, small and mid-sized museums may be finding themselves with limited time, staff, and budgets. Given the constraints, it is crucial to evaluate what is going to have the biggest impact with the least amount of resources. One way to utilize existing resources efficiently is by looking to the potential of partnerships.
Rich, as the sole dedicated digital staff person within the Norman Rockwell Museum, wanted to find a way to engage with people in a virtual setting through partnerships. He found that digital agencies were out of their price range at the Norman Rockwell Museum, so he shifted the focus to colleges and universities. They partnered with the Academy of Art University in San Francisco to create a digital agency program to create solutions for the museum. This program also benefited the students as they were able to add to their portfolio. He also has been utilizing partnerships with local lodging establishments through affiliate programs to support the community.
Maryam mentioned that she was also looking at past events that the public really enjoyed to create virtual value through partnerships. For example, the Conservatory of Flowers held a beer garden event with local breweries many years ago, which featured brews inspired by their plant collection.
“We’re looking back at some of the breweries we worked with in the past and we’re in talks to see how we can bring back some of those drinks that we did and where it makes sense to work together again. Partnerships like that will be crucial to the programs we are adapting to today and the upcoming months.”
– Maryam Nabi
Additionally, John has been partnering with other Latino art institutions in LA County to create a new organization to support and market each other as a group. He has been also talking to other cultural institutions in the area to develop creative ways to engage the public.
Experiment with New Digital Revenue Streams
Even as museums reopen, digital engagement remains important, as events, programs, and museums capacity are still restricted. Digital can also be a means to generate revenue, and many smaller organizations in particular have found great success in turning to digital revenue streams. Indeed, at a smaller institution, projects may be carried to the finish line more quickly and may see more of an impact on the community.
John, for example, has launched virtual events called En Casa Con La Plaza, which include cooking demonstrations, celebrity-oriented shows, and author talks, three times a week. Afterwards, he sends the attendees a follow-up email to remind them on upcoming programs and includes a link for membership and donations. He found that this has been a great way to steadily increase revenue. He has also been planning other potential events, such as Zoom sessions with an artist, for a fee.
“Digital programming has worked well for us. We’re reaching more people than when we do the events inside the museum. We’re also finding that we’re getting a bigger audience nationally and internationally. I’m very hopeful that we’re bringing in new people who were not aware of us who would want to visit us too.”
– John Echeveste
Rich has also tried out various programming. They have held Sketch and Sip or National Board talk sessions for a Pay-What-You-Wish pricing model. These events exceeded their expectations and hundreds of people would sign up for an average of $20 per person. As his last takeaway, he emphasized that the digital and physical aspects should be working together and should not be viewed as competing parts of your museum.
“Do not think for one moment that putting content online digitally will dilute the messaging, effectiveness, or experience people will have when they visit the museum. They complement each other and actually in my opinion, the more content you put online, the more likely they are going to come to the museum and experience it first hand.”
– Rich Bradway
Online programming is a great way to engage audiences that may not be able to access your museum that can also bring in some revenue. Extending monetized virtual events even if your organization has reopened is an important consideration that can be extremely beneficial.
Going forward, play to your advantages as a smaller organization. Although the pandemic has created various challenges, use the resources that you have to the full extent. Even small details can leave a lasting impression to the public and every small gesture will count in the upcoming months. To maintain engagement, look to past partners and create new innovative virtual events to keep members engaged. Lastly, don’t forget that digital is there to complement the physical reopenings, and can be a great benefit to your organization.
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