Museum Strategy

Museum Strategy & Agenda wish you an exciting year 2011

Somewhere in between Christmas and New Year, Museum Strategy and Agenda agency for the Arts wish you a merry and rich year 2011.

This blog will continue dealing with branding, communication and marketing issues, making it a space for scholars, students, our conference's participants, professionals and all of our readers to discuss trends and bring your contribution to how the arts sector can be actively part of people's lives through communication and technological development.

It all starts with someone's amazement at an art somewhere in the world so as a window on year 2011, here is a quotation of actor, writer, blogger, TV host and film director Stephen Fry:

«To stand in front of an artwork can cause bursts of excitement and surges of pleasure and thumps of intense feeling that are not unlike those an adolescent experiences when glimpsing someone who stirs desire in them.»

 

Let's keep this never-fading feeling as a driving force to share the love with others.
Happy new year 2011!

(Cloud Gate, Anish Kapoor)

Sponsorship Debate - Unexpected - Part 2

How funny. I was about to delete the ongoing poll we submitted more than a year ago now on whether or not the Sisley advertising literally covering the Bridge of Sighs was an acceptable strategy in order to raise funds for badly needed restoration, but then an article on the digital edition of the Art Newspaper caught my attention.

The Sisley ad we showed almost entirely covering the Bridge of Sighs sparked a good deal of controversy, and generally garnered unfavourable and sometimes outraged-  reviews. Now a year later it just seems to be same script, different cast with quite a similarly huge, blue and brand-ish Coke ad.

"Ad of Sighs" extends the debate to the actual efficiency of "now also lit up by night" brand-dedicated huge ads. Says author Enrico Tantucci: " The price however, is not high; it costs about €40,000 a month for three years to cover part of Doge’s Palace overlooking the lagoon and connecting with the Bridge of Sighs—less than two pages of advertising in a daily paper. And even with this money coming in, the restoration is still €600,000 short of the €2.8m needed to finish the job."

The articles points out that while other as efficient and way more discrete options do exist, this display of brand is barely legal as it seriously damages the work of art itself.

What do you think? A naive art lover could easily bring themselves to believe that big companies do not have  centennial masterpieces' best interest at heart, and more worryingly, that neither do some people who are supposed to look after them.

 

The CultureBusiness aftermath

Hello everyone!

I am taking a minute to post on our forum CultureBusiness which took place last Thursday 10 December at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine in Paris. 130 participants from 12 different countries took part in a full day of questioning the future of the funding of culture in light of the rise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the making of budgets today. Don't do cocktail parties for your launchings anymore, bring in some meaning for your communities, the message seems to be as from now.

But what exactly is CSR? Is it unavoidable today and how can it really make a difference in your communication strategy? In building CSR-based projects, how do you gain world exposure but also get in competition with sports, environment or social solidarity organisations? Can culture compete and show it is as much a part of basic human development as any other area?

These are the questions which were raised during two fantastic keynote speeches,"CSR and Social Solidarity: the Next Positioning of culture"by Michelle Wright, Head of Culture at Four Communications and "The Changing face of Sponsorship: a Return to the Core Values of Brand and Social Responsibility" by Jane Marriott, Director of Development at the Royal Academy of Arts and Head of the RA Trust. Of course there will be blogposts  about these talks soon.

At  Culture Business we also debated along with sponsors and cultural organisations on what are the difficulties of as well as the ingredients for a successful partnership. There was also a workshop on how to negotiate a partnership  by Danish coach Malene Rix and it all ended with a "Speed-meeting" session, a succession of appointments between sponsors and arts organisations to build fruitful partnerships at the beautiful venue that is the Conciergerie in the heart of Paris. Here are some pictures of the day sessions, to show you what intense brainstorming we have been at! See you in a few days for more in depth analysis.  

Photos of CultureBusiness will be online on Flickr soon. Thank you to the people who followed us on Twitter on #culturebusiness, discussion continues on sponsorship issues anyway. The conference package, synthesis and presentations will be available soon and free for participants. For those of you who did not attend the conference, please contact me.

Talk to you soon.

Being a Fundraiser in Culture Today: 3 Questions to Elke Kristoffersen from BOZAR, Brussels

At the start of the new artistic season at BOZAR, we managed to catch Elke Kristoffersen a respected funding professional in between meetings.

Elke contributed to develop the image of the Center for fine Arts in Brussels  better known as BOZAR in Europe, having led the funding team for four years now. She attended the CultureBusiness  forum last year presenting the partnership she developed with Sony. She is one of the CultureBusiness committee members this year, unsurprisingly, as her focus is largely on strengthening cultural institutions internally and externally in the Funding area. 

Hello Elke. Could you tell us a little bit more about your job?

I am in charge of the BOZAR funding team at the Center for Fine Arts - BOZAR- in Brussels. This department was set up to raise funds to help finance the artistic projects as well as help find partners for what is called the Masterplan – the renovationproject of our Art Deco building.

We communicate on the crucial role played by culture as one of the pillars of our identity and development, which means that we conceive it as part of a wider process. By doing so, we create the conditions for lasting partnerships that are in line with the values that are shared by our sponsors and partners. We advocate coherence in support with respect for the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy defined by our partners. Punctual corporate partnerships are also set up through project sponsoring, corporate hospitalities as well as hall rental for conferences, seminars, ect,  all with the greatest respect for the artistic program and building. Last but not least, we also develop and nurture the support of private individuals who support the Centre for Fine Arts.

 Is there a specific way of becoming a fundraiser today?

It is a relatively new profession on our continent and mostly an import from the Anglo-Saxon society, but  it is at last starting to be fully recognized. I read that the study entitled Fundorama led by the French Fundraisers Association and the  CerPhi (French research center in philanthropy) found that only 5% of the fundraising professionals work in the cultural sector.

At BOZAR we have been developing it for several years now, the true success lies in the passion for the project you work for and the understanding of the partner’s needs as well as the possible synergies with your project. BOZAR is definitely an institution to be passionate about. 2002 was a turning point for The Center for Fine Arts: the  merging of the various artistic departments, the set up of an efficient governance model under one director general Paul Dujardin and the creation of the BOZAR brand, were the key ingredients for the success of BOZAR today. A small funding team was created, which I have had the chance to successfully develop for four years now.

As for myself, I studied in Toronto - Canada, then worked in media and advertising for 13 years, which was a thrilling experience, but not nurturing and substantial enough for me, which led me to work for the cultural sector, a passion since childhood. My past experience in media was definitely a plus, as the majority of corporate funding revenue today is closely connected to marketing and communication strategies. It is however my wish to further develop the individual and Maecenas support in line with the CSR strategy of many companies and foundations.

You occupy a key situation in a major Belgian institution. What are the challenges and the needs of your activity today,and why going to cultureBusiness represents strong added value for cultural institutions?

It really has become a daily renewed challenge to reach our objectives.  When it comes to the Center, the money we raise in our department is crucial to balance the final artistic budget. A lack of money from this side would quite simply jeopardize the existence of some events. It is also very important to have the support of the various artistic department directors, they are at the source of the projects and will bring extra insights that can make the difference as well as show an integrated approach to funding for BOZAR.

We need to privilege long lasting and strategic collaborations to ensure that our sector receives   continuous support, especially in the current economic reality. What’s more, we have to bear in    mind that for many businesses and firms, especially now, being able to measure precisely their    Return on Investment (ROI) on such partnerships, still is key, meaning that cultural institutions      have to be able to internally respond to this need. This of course doesn’t rule out  promoting the   institutions’ intangible, non monetary values which are also an important part in the partnership     and of course, an essential part of my job. It is all about keeping a subtle balance.

Taking part in CultureBusiness will help institutions develop their knowledge of Funding and Fundraising which has become key today for our sector and it will offer interesting cross border networking possibilities.  Exchanges of best practices and case studies during the conference create conditions to rethink the way we work, and could even lead to international collaborations, which is something BOZAR is very interested in, as a lot of our artistic productions (exhibitions for example) are hosted abroad and international collaborations are an intrinsic part of our artistic programming. There are relatively few platforms of this kind able to reach out to people on an international level. 

BOZAR is on Twitter

>> http://twitter.com/BOZARbrussels

Interview by Claire Solery

Sponsorship Debate: Venice's "The Bridge of Sisley"

After quite a bit of social media in museums coverage on the blog lately after the recent Communicating the Museum conference, today we are turning our attention to cultural sponsorship and partnerships.

Corinne Estrada, founder and director of Agenda, was recently in Venice and took some interesting photos of the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. They are not your average tourist photos though, as large parts of the sights are currently covered by enormous Sisley billboards advertising their latest collections. These type of billboards are becoming more and more common in European capitals; recently an enormous H&M advertising campaign adorned one entire side of the Palais de Justice in Paris and a Veolia campaign has covered a prominent tower in Prague for several months now.

This is a type of cultural sponsorship where companies pay for this priviledged visibility and the money goes towards renovating these important cultural monuments, many of which need expensive and vital repair work. The projects are always controversial; tourists do not expect to visit a renowned monument such as the Bridge of Sighs and instead be confronted with a thirty foot model adorning every available surface. Just take a look at a couple of quotes I found on some online forums:

>> “I hate this company for the offensive advertising in venice on doges palace. i decided never to buy products of this company. signed, angry customer”

>> “If you think those ads look dreadful during the day, you should see them lit up after dark - absolutely heart-breaking.”

>> “It would be more heartbreaking to see the buildings crumble.”

While some rage against these kinds of adverts, The Art Newspaper recently recommended a huge billboard for the Wladimir Klitschko Curator exhibition on the facade of the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice as the "best advertisement of the entire Venice Biennale". Nicole Newman who is Head of Development at Somerset House (and President of the upcoming CultureBusiness forum) was impressed by the Sisley campaign and Michelle Wright, Head of Arts at London-based PR firm Four Communications thought it was “great”.

We’re going to have an on-going poll in the right-hand column of the blog to see what you all think about this issue, feel free to cast your vote! The Sisley advertising campaign in Venice: an unwanted eyesore which is ruining the city’s cultural beauty? Or a clever sponsorhip project which can facilitate much-needed renovations? Is it polluting the landscape? Or is it an inspired method of communicating a brand's message? This will hopefully form the basis for a debate we conduct at the CultureBusiness forum in Paris in December. So, over to you! We'd love to hear your thoughts.

James Chung at the ICOM AGM - demographics, challenges and bright spots for museums during the crisis

Last week a couple of us from AGENDA helped with ICOM’s (the International Council of Museum’s) Annual General Meeting in Paris. It was a four-day event during which ICOM delegates bashed out new resolutions, voted on the location for future meetings and played host to some fascinating speakers. 

My job was to take notes during the sessions and write up a synthèse later. I was lucky enough to be designated the conference’s best session – a panel debate between James Chung, Jacques Attali and Alan Riding entitled “What is the global economic crisis changing for museums?”

James Chung’s presentation was especially interesting. Introduced as a “futurologist” from Reach Advisors, he was pretty quick to dismiss this title. His talk focused on concrete social and demographic trends developing around the financial crisis and what they mean for museums.

Chung described the financial crisis as a “cyclical external shift” but said that museums are currently undergoing a “fundamental shift” in terms of visitor engagement. His outlook for museum funding was pretty bleak. He drew a comparison between the current crisis in the US and the situation in the 1990s in Japan where, after huge museum expansion in the 80s, the 90s saw a drastic drop in governmental and corporate support with budget cuts of up to 40% and widespread closures as Japan entered a 10 year deflationary economy. 

According to Chung, US museums are currently facing a huge number of challenges, the biggest being that museums rely heavily on corporate and individual philanthropy with 40% of all contributions coming from the (collapsing) financial and real estate industries. The days of extraordinary windfall are over and there is no doubt that museums will suffer as a result.

However, he found a surprising number of positives in the current situation. The first bright spot was that admissions and membership revenue are still mostly holding up, especially for “hyper-local” museums, children’s museums and science centres. On the other hand, larger art and history museums are struggling more because of their higher reliance on endowement.

The second was the opportunity that current demographic changes can give to museums in terms of attracting visitors:

1. Women – Women are now more likely to earn college degrees by 1.5% and are already out-earning men in the USA (due to male income growth being heavily reliant on the financial industries). This generation of women will be the key economic driver in reshaping consumer markets in the 2010s   
2. Age Shift – One eighth of the current US population is over 65 but within 25 years this figure will rise to one fifth in the USA (and one quarter in France, UK, Canada and one third in Italy, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong). Older visitors means more visitors. And these older visitors will be baby boomers, a demographic which has changed every era it’s moved through fairly dramatically – now is the chance for museums to change their approach to this group.      

In fact, this was the key message of Chung’s lecture and one we’ve seen over and over since we started blogging (in our podcast with Nicole Newman for example) – the USA is currently in a “jump-ball economy” (great basketball analogy, everything is up in the air) which makes this a really good time to shake things up and change exsiting practices and patterns. 

Alan Riding made quite a thought-provoking comment in his closing remarks – during the Great Depression, governments across the board imagined culture to be part of the solution to the economic problems and many funded cultural programmes. This is not the case anymore, there is hardly anyone advocating for museums, and cultural institutions were all but shut out from the recent US stimulus package. He said that in Britain there has always been a distracting belief that culture must have some “social engineering” aspect or economic reward whereas in fact we should all really be enjoying “culture just as culture”.

You can read more of James Chung’s findings through his work at Reach Advisors on his blog, Museum Audience Insight, definitely worth a read.

Image: Jumpball by bsheets

Culture, the underappreciated business asset

You can read this article in French by clicking here.

In the current climate where cultural sponsorship is suffering due to lack of funds among businesses which were once keen to support the arts, I found an article recently published in French economics paper Les Echos really pertinent. The article, entitled “Cultured Employees, Blooming Business”, is about the important link between culture and business and definitely supports the argument for investing in the arts today.

Sometimes, we tend to forget that the growth of a business is deeply rooted in a history, a corporate philosophy and sense of continuity. One further element is the notion of culture, which is key to the way businesses function and not, as a cynical view would have us believe, just a pleasant element of social life.

The article’s author believes that curiosity, open-mindedness, general knowledge are all essential qualities for employees who can look outside the box and find original strategies. Basically, culture represents that extra little bit of soul (“supplément d’âme”) which helps professionals both internally and externally.

What is currently emerging in studies is that general “culturedness” and, as a result, open-mindedness, are starting to disappear among professionals, especially young ones. One study carried out by Institute Entreprises/Les Echos found that considerable gaps in knowledge as far as religion, politics and art are concerned cannot be compensated for by high technical skills. What’s more, the study shows that lack of general knowledge can lead to a lesser understanding of other cultures which becomes a problem for managers in this globalised society.

The survey also found that lack of general knowledge tends to become a serious handicap later in professional life. For those aged 30-35 years, “those who can prove that they are able to think out of the box are more valued (…) culture gives people this ability to ‘dissent’. A cultured collaborator will have a sharper understanding of complex phenomena than others.”

On a subject which is more particularly dear to this blog, general knowledge and culture are a way of sharing life experiences within a business structure. As far as sponsorship goes, this idea of cultivating an appreciation for culture in the work place can certainly be achieved through sponsorship projects, where a business supports a cultural institution and in return gets to use this partnership internally for cohesion purposes. One more bonus point for cultural sponsorship!!

Picture: Vicki's Pics (some rights reserved)

Picture: Vicki's Pics (some rights reserved)

Podcast with Nicole Newman, Head of Development at Somerset House

Download Museum Strategy Podcasts - Nicole Newman, Head of Development at Somerset House

Click on the link above to listen to the first installment in our new series of Museum Strategy Podcasts. We recently travelled to London to talk to Nicole Newman, Head of Development at Somerset House. We started off by discussing how the search for sponsorship has changed in the last year for Somerset House and for other cultural institutions. It’s something we’re hearing time and time again from the leading professionals in cultural sponsorship; the crisis should be seen as an opportunity to improve current practice and find innovative new ways of building long-lasting and fruitful relationships. We also got onto the topic of the annual CultureBusiness Forum which Agenda organises and for which Nicole heads the organising committee. We hope you enjoy listening! Make sure you stay tuned, there’ll be more along soon. 

Bouncing back thanks to the crisis

You can read this post in French by clicking here

CultureBusiness is an international forum that brings together people from the cultural and the corporate world. It first took place last year and gathered 200 professionals from 10 different countries. Last year, the crisis was already in the back of everyone’s minds at the forum during which we were trying to draw the outlines of the future of cultural sponsorship. 

A few days before the recent committee meeting for this year’s CultureBusiness conference, I read the results of a survey conducted by Admical entitled “What is the impact of the Crisis on Sponsorship?” The survey discusses the French corporate response to the crisis and I have been fascinated to discover a lot of similarities between what was said during our committee meeting and what was said in the survey. It questioned 300 businesses of all sizes, whether they engage in sponsorship activity or not. Three points especially struck me as being central ones.

The first is that culture is being hit hard by the crisis, but now is an excellent opportunity to reshape its image. According to the figures published by the survey, 73% of sponsorship budgets remain the same. In 91% of cases where there is a reduction in sponsorship budget, the reason is the current financial context as opposed to a larger long-term sponsorship reorientation. But in theses cases, culture will definitely be the sector that will be the most affected by cuts, with a decrease of 22% in budget, compared to 4% for relief-related projects and 11% for environment. We can assume that this is partly due to the image of culture, linked, whether right or wrong, to prestige and luxury. But culture is definitely more than a simple added value; it is actually one of the main pillars of human development. Cultural sponsorship needs to be perceived as about more than just exclusive VIP events.

The second important point is that “transfer of skills” sponsorship will definitely grow much more important during and in the aftermath of the crisis. Transfer of skills mainly refers to partnerships based on the sharing of human resources and know-how rather than a simple financial arrangement. Last year at CultureBusiness, it was said that this mutation in sponsorship would be accelerated by the crisis. Those impressions were definitely proven correct by the figure provided by ADMICAL, stating that while only 37% of sponsorship activities can currently be considered as “transfer of skills”, this will increase by 37% in 2009, compared to just an 11% increase for classic logo and money-based sponsorship.

And last but not least, sponsorship represents a unique opportunity for corporate businesses during the crisis. It is perhaps a fact which is widely known but too often ignored that right now in France, 87% of businesses that have some sponsorship activities consider it to be an internal factor of cohesion and 83% believe that it creates meaning and added value for their corporate communication strategies. Those facts and figures, we believe, should dissuade the corporate world from cancelling partnerships with the cultural sphere, as businesses are at the heart of social development and this doesn’t stop in tough times but should be an ongoing process. Here in France, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we believe, is going to be as relevant and meaningful as ever in the months to come.

Picture: pbo31 (some rights reserved)