COVID-19

7 Reasons to Launch Digital Memberships During COVID-19 (and Closures!)

The COVID-19 pandemic has been full of stops and starts for cultural institutions. Depending on their location, public health guidelines, and the type of organization, museums, zoos, aquariums, and gardens may be facing difficulties like capacity limitations, intermittent closures, operations challenges, and more. Membership and development departments have been hit particularly hard. From keeping up with membership card fulfillment during extended remote work, struggling with tight budgets and staff cuts, declining renewal rates, managing membership extensions, maintaining communication with members, to facilitating a positive onsite experience, membership departments have faced no shortage of setbacks throughout the pandemic.

Whether your museum is fully reopened, yet to reopen, or anywhere in between, Digital Membership Cards can help. Read on to discover 7 ways digital memberships are helping organizations adapt their membership program in the age of COVID-19:

Cuseum’s CEO & Founder Featured on Blooloop’s 2020 “50 Museum Influencers” List

Cuseum’s CEO & Founder, Brendan Ciecko, was recently featured on Blooloop’s premiere “50 Museum Influencers” list, and we couldn’t be more proud. Blooloop’s 2020 list is designed to “shine a spotlight on 50 people whose innovation and creativity are helping museums through this uniquely challenging time.”

Webinar Transcript: Succeeding With Timed Ticketing As A Cultural Organization

As museums and cultural institutions work to reopen, many are taking important steps to facilitate physical distancing, contract tracing, and enable contactless entry. One key way organizations are doing this is by introducing timed ticketing for visitors, which has the benefit of managing capacity, reducing admissions lines, and limiting interactions between staff and guests. However, timed ticketing is new territory for most museums. Many are looking for best practices and wondering how to roll this out to their visitors to ensure a successful reopening.

Join Brendan Ciecko (CEO & Founder @ Cuseum), Kate Porter (Communications and Development Manager @ Las Vegas Natural History Museum), Laura McArthur (Database Operations Manager @ Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art) & Stephanie Cabezas (Visitor Relations Manager @ Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens) for a discussion about all things timed ticketing! Each of these panelists has introduced timed ticketing (some very recently), and they will be available to share best practices and answer questions in this dialogue.

Watch the recording here.

Read the full transcript below.

Webinar Transcript: Membership Lightning Talks: Launching New Initiatives & Benefits in Museum Membership

Over a month ago, we were thrilled to host a webinar on virtual memberships, which explored ways to create virtual value for members through exclusive digital programming, virtual membership levels, and more. Over the past month, we’ve seen a surge of new and exciting initiatives launched in membership programs at museums of all kinds, which add value for members, as well as help solve new challenges around engagement, membership extensions, and more. To showcase some of these new initiatives, we’re excited to pilot a “Membership Lightning Talks” session.

Join Dan Sullivan (Head of Growth & Partnership @ Cuseum) with special guests Heather Wilson (Deputy Director @ Cameron Art Museum), Sarah Burgess (Senior Donor Relations Coordinator @ Virginia Museum of Fine Arts), Cat Clark (Corporate & Foundation Relations Manager @ Mattatuck Museum), Laura Hacker (Manager of Visitor and Membership Services @ Concord Museum), Laura Conte (Membership and Patron Services Coordinator @ Taubman Museum of Art) & Amanda Ackermann (Membership Coordinator @ Museum of Discovery and Science) for this special session. Each panelist will share a new initiative they’ve launched to create value for members, which will be followed by a discussion, feedback session, and Q&A among these membership professionals!

Watch the recording here.

Read below for the full transcript:

Webinar Highlights: Small But Mighty: Navigating The New Normal As A Small Or Mid-Sized Museum

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.

Webinar Transcript: Re-Opening Museums & Cultural Attractions: Succeeding in the Post-COVID Era with Digital Tools

As museums and cultural attractions begin to re-open, or move into the next phases of their reopening plans, many are facing new challenges, managing shifting customer expectations, rethinking the visitor journey, and adapting to a future of contactless experiences. In light of these new circumstances, organizations are seeking out new solutions that can facilitate safe and engaging experiences for visitors and members. What steps can be taken to ensure your guests feel safe and satisfied as they're welcomed back to your museum, post-COVID? What tools and solutions are available to help address new challenges? These questions are top of mind for many.

Join Brendan Ciecko (CEO & Founder @ Cuseum) & Dan Sullivan (Head of Partnerships @ Cuseum) as they discuss the new visitor journey and how the museum experience can be optimized in light of this “new normal.” This webinar will examine ways to reduce physical touchpoints, introduce safe and engaging new service design, and leverage digital tools to ensure a comfortable and positive experience for visitors.

View the full recording or presentation slides here.

Read the full transcript below.

Webinar Transcript: The "Contactless" Future: Reimagining The Visitor Experience In The Era of Coronavirus

Before the vast majority of the world’s museums and attractions were forced to temporarily close due the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting a museum was often an interactive, tactile, and social experience, involving many person-to-person interactions. From exchanges at the admissions and membership desks, interactions with fellow patrons, and special experiences involving touch screens or hands-on activities, the visitor experience has historically been filled with physical touchpoints. Now, as museums prepare to reopen in an era of social distancing, many are imagining a “contactless” future.

Last Wednesday, over 4,400 people joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO and Founder @ Cuseum), Atiba Edwards (Executive VP & COO @ Brooklyn Children’s Museum), Andrea Montiel de Shuman (Digital Experience Designer @ Detroit Institute of Arts), & Don Undeen (Former Senior Manager of MediaLab @ Metropolitan Museum of Art) as they explored the evolving “visitor experience” and what the “contactless” future may hold. This webinar examined the merits of digital media, emerging technologies, and more!

Here, you can also view and add to the Coronavirus Preparedness Community Document. This is a living document for organizations to share their best practices.

View the video recording here.

Read the full transcript below.

Webinar Transcript: Exploring the Future of Museums in the Era of Coronavirus

Two months ago, the escalation of the coronavirus crisis forced many museums and cultural institutions to close their doors to visitors. In response, many organizations shifted their efforts to engaging visitors through digital platforms, many making impressive pivots and accelerating their digital transformations. Now, as museums prepare to reopen and plan for the near and long term future, new concerns are seizing the attention of the entire cultural industry – what will the future hold? Will there be new business and engagement models? And what does the physically-distanced museum experience look like?

Last Wednesday, more than 3,600 people joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO and Founder @ Cuseum), Franklin Sirmans (Director @ Pérez Art Museum Miami), Karen Wong (Deputy Director @ New Museum) & Lath Carlson (Executive Director @ Museum of the Future) as they evaluated the profound impacts of coronavirus and offered insights about what the future will hold for museums.

View the video recording here.

Read the full transcript below.

Webinar Highlights: Membership Mondays: Planning For Reopening After Coronavirus

Over the past several months, museums have been occupied with adapting to widespread coronavirus closures. Membership professionals have worked hard to adjust their communication, messaging, and membership fulfillment strategies, while continuing to reinforce the value of membership while physical sites are closed. Now, approaching two months into closures, many cultural organizations are beginning to think about plans for reopening, and some have already begun. What strategies, workflows, and policies can help facilitate a safe and successful reopening?

On May 4, 2020, over 2,000 guests joined Dan Sullivan (Head of Growth and Partnerships @ Cuseum), Meghan McCauley (Director of Membership and Visitor Services @ Perez Art Museum Miami), Aidan Vega (Director of Membership @ Philadelphia Museum of Art), Laura Schmid (Membership Manager @ Cincinnati Nature Center), & Kristi Masterson (Director of Engagement and Operations @ Cincinnati Nature Center) as they discussed the steps and process of reopening. This conversation included voices from organizations that have already opened to members, as well as those planning to do so in the coming weeks and months!

Webinar Transcript: Membership Mondays: Planning For Reopening After Coronavirus

Over the past several months, museums have been occupied with adapting to widespread coronavirus closures. Membership professionals have worked hard to adjust their communication, messaging, and membership fulfillment strategies, while continuing to reinforce the value of membership while physical sites are closed. Now, approaching two months into closures, many cultural organizations are beginning to think about plans for reopening, and some have already begun. What strategies, workflows, and policies can help facilitate a safe and successful reopening?

On May 4, 2020, over 2,000 guests joined Dan Sullivan (Head of Growth and Partnerships @ Cuseum), Meghan McCauley (Director of Membership and Visitor Services @ Perez Art Museum Miami), Aidan Vega (Director of Membership @ Philadelphia Museum of Art), Laura Schmid (Membership Manager @ Cincinnati Nature Center), & Kristi Masterson (Director of Engagement and Operations @ Cincinnati Nature Center) as they discussed the steps and process of reopening. This conversation included voices from organizations that have already opened to members, as well as those planning to do so in the coming weeks and months!

Webinar Highlights: How to Manage a Remote Internship Program at Your Museum

Many museums across the country pride themselves on their robust internship programs. Internships are a chance for students to learn about the cultural industry, gain valuable skills, and, for students of Museum Studies, earn credit towards their degrees. Stimulating and dynamic internships are also essential to ensuring that the cultural sector is cultivating top talent and attracting young professionals who are prepared to make an impact.

With the ongoing coronavirus closures, however, the state of many museum internship programs is uncertain. Many museums expect to be closed into the summer, potentially disrupting the ability to bring interns on site. As a result, museums may be considering initiating remote internship programs, which can be beneficial students while providing museums much-needed extra help. However, this is completely new territory for many organizations across the country.

On April 30, 2020 over 1,500 people joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO @ Founder @ Cuseum), Ahva Sadeghi (CEO & Co-Founder @ Symba), Phyllis Hecht (Director, M.A. in Museum Studies @ Johns Hopkins University), Sierra Van Ryck deGroot (Education Programs Manager @ Poster House), & Meagan Mahaffy (Education Associate & Internship Coordinator @ Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum) as they discussed how museums can successfully launch and manage remote internship programs in the age of coronavirus.

Webinar Transcript: How to Manage a Remote Internship Program at Your Museum

Many museums across the country pride themselves on their robust internship programs. Internships are a chance for students to learn about the cultural industry, gain valuable skills, and, for students of Museum Studies, earn credit towards their degrees. Stimulating and dynamic internships are also essential to ensuring that the cultural sector is cultivating top talent and attracting young professionals who are prepared to make an impact.

With the ongoing coronavirus closures, however, the state of many museum internship programs is uncertain. Many museums expect to be closed into the summer, potentially disrupting the ability to bring interns on-site. As a result, museums may be considering initiating remote internship programs, which can be beneficial students while providing museums much-needed extra help. However, this is completely new territory for many organizations across the country.

On April 30, 2020 over 1,500 people joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO @ Founder @ Cuseum), Ahva Sadeghi (CEO & Co-Founder @ Symba), Phyllis Hecht (Director, M.A. in Museum Studies @ Johns Hopkins University), Sierra Van Ryck deGroot (Education Programs Manager @ Poster House), & Meagan Mahaffy (Education Associate & Internship Coordinator @ Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum) as they discussed how museums can successfully launch and manage remote internship programs in the age of coronavirus.

Webinar Transcript: Preparing to Reopen: Strategy, Planning & Process on the Road to Reopening Museums

For nearly two months, museums across the country have been physically closed due to the coronavirus. In response, cultural professionals have developed and delivered exciting new content across a range of platforms to keep their audiences engaged during these unprecedented times. Now, as some states lift their stay-at-home orders and the world prepares to slowly reopen, museums are thinking about what reopening is going to look like.

On May 6, 2020, over 4,700 guests joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO and Founder @ Cuseum), Mark Sabb (Senior Director of Innovation, Marketing & Engagement @ Museum of the African Diaspora), Holly Shen (Deputy Director @ San Jose Museum of Art) & Ellen Busch (Director of Historic Sites Operations @ Texas Historical Commission) as they talked through the strategy, operations, process, and planning involved in reopening your museum successfully. This webinar will explore strategic planning, design thinking, and innovative approaches to welcoming your audiences back.

Tips & Strategies for Reopening Museums After COVID-19 Closures

As museums make the transition to reopening, many organizations are looking for guidance on what this process will look like, what policies they should enact to ensure the safety of their staff and visitors, and how to facilitate a gradual reopening.

Whether you’re an art or history museum, children’s museum, science center, aquarium, zoo, botanical garden, or nature center will affect what specific policies and guidelines you follow, since every organization is facing different challenges. Some organizations may already be in the process of reopening, while others may be planning for a “soft reopening” months from now.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reopening, the following guidelines offer up some of the best practices for museums and cultural organizations as they begin to plan and execute smooth and safe transitions into reopening.

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