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.”

With the escalation and continued risks of COVID-19, the traditional process of visiting museums and cultural attractions has transformed in many ways. As visitor-facing sites are beginning to reopen, many are finding that they have to rethink the visitor journey end-to-end in order to facilitate a seamless, contactless experience.

In the pre-visit phase, guests may be doing significantly more research and preparation for their visit, even reserving tickets and parking passes in advance to avoid onsite contact. Once onsite, previous experiences, like touch screens interactives, shared audio guides, and hands-on activities, now pose high risks, and guests are seeking contactless alternatives. Post-visit, the need to follow up with visitors, solicit feedback, and convert them into members and donors is more pressing than ever.

In thinking through the evolving visitor journey in the era of Coronavirus, there are a number of challenges and potential solutions to consider. Here, we will explore how you can reimagine every phase of the visitor journey to adapt to changes and set your organization up for success when re-welcoming guests.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of alumni relations, sparking new questions and concerns, as well as opportunities for alumni associations. Since the escalation of Coronavirus, traditional methods for alumni engagement, such as class reunions, sporting events, tailgates, homecoming, in-person social events, alumni chapter meetups, and networking opportunities have been cancelled. In response, alumni associations are pivoting to digital and virtual strategies to keep alumni engaged and actively involved.

Join Dan Sullivan (Head of Growth and Partnerships @ Cuseum), Jennifer Chambers (Assistant Vice President, Lifelong Learning @ Duke Alumni), Veronica Dominguez (Associate Director of Alumni Engagement @ UTSA Alumni Association), & Serena Bettis (Coordinator of Alumni and Parent Relations @ Southwestern University Alumni) as they do a deep dive into shifting alumni engagement tactics. This webinar will explore many aspects of digital engagement, including virtual events, programs, and networking opportunities, as well as digital communications.

View the full recording here.

Here are the main takeaways:

In response to the challenges and changes related to COVID-19, museum closures, and, now, museum reopenings, one of the greatest challenges membership and visitor relations leaders have faced is preparing their teams for the new normal. From reorganizing teams to meet new demands, training frontline staff, and preparing staff for new protocols onsite, managing a team amidst a pandemic is no small task!

Join Dan Sullivan (Head of Growth and Partnerships @ Cuseum), Usha Subramanian (Senior Director of Membership and Visitor Services @ Field Museum), Jill Hammons, Director of Membership @ USS Midway Museum), and Kelsey Enderle (Director of Guest Services @ Cincinnati Museum Center) as they talk through successes, challenges, and strategies for preparing your team for this “new normal.” This webinar will be particularly focused on membership and visitor services.

View the full recording here.

Here are the main takeaways.

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.

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.

Join 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 talk 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 recording here.

View the full transcript below.

COVID-19 brought much of the world to a standstill. As the government implemented stay at home orders, museums and tourist attractions dutifully closed their doors. After the initial days and weeks of closures, what seemed like a temporary situation began to set in as a new reality, and new concerns seized the attention of the entire cultural industry – what will the future hold?

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.

In the past few weeks, we’ve examined tips and strategies for planning for reopening, how to create a “contactless” museum experience, and how leveraging a mobile app can help museums engage their visitors in a safe way upon reopening. Although there still isn’t any one-size-fits-all approach, by learning from the triumphs and challenges of organizations that have already reopened, museums can equip themselves to initiate smooth reopenings.

Read on to get the latest tips on reopening:

After almost two months of coronavirus closures, many museums and cultural organizations are preparing to welcome visitors and members back. However, while organizations may be reopening, many are doing so in a graduated way and facing new challenges. In particular, many are realizing that tourism will be down for quite some time, which has the potential to profoundly affect admissions and membership revenue. At the same time, cultural organizations may have renewed appeal to local audiences as the world embraces a “stay local” or “staycation” mentality for the foreseeable future.

Last Monday, 1,600 people joined Dan Sullivan (Head of Growth and Partnerships @ Cuseum), Tim O’Connell (Director of Membership & Annual Giving @ North Carolina Museum of Art), Julie Knight (Director of Membership @ San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), Sewon Barrera (Digital Marketing Manager @ Exploratorium) & Daniel Vincent (Director of Membership @ Trustees of Reservations) as they discussed shifts in audiences and membership marketing strategy in light of coronavirus. The webinar addressed how organizations can reorient the value propositions of membership and double down on local audience development to survive and thrive in the coronavirus era.

Watch the full recording here.

Read the full transcript below.