Museum Branding: Leaving Your Mark on Horizons Far and Near

The designer buildings are not growth, of course, but the result of growth, signatures in the skyline of a need for more exhibition galleries, more administrative space, more education rooms, and more public accessways. Museums that have earned so many new visitors, donors, acquisitions and staff have done so because so many stakeholders bought into their mission. They have the loyalty of those who know them, and the clear-cut identity of those who want to know them. In short, they have a brand. They distinguish themselves from all competitive cultural institutions, and a good number of leisure competitors as well. A museum neednt be big or rich to expand; any museum with a strong brand will find growth a consequence. And building a structure that reflects the brand makes sense.

Whether one cheers or jeers the new Museum of Modern Art in New York, the jagged addition to the Denver Art Museum, or the power-plant vastness of Tate Modern in London, there is no denying that the designs reflect the mission and brand personality of their respective museums. The uber-brand, the progenitor of all identity buildings, is, of course, Guggenheim Bilbao. It established once and for all the concept of museum as brand, and all museums have benefited from this bold new presence in our universe.

Turning from glamour to gutsiness, branding works mightily in the service of any museum that is searching for funds, developing audiences, multi-tasking employees and serving their communities. It is branding that keeps them afloat.

Many money problems are met by adhering to the brand and its mission. Museums can retain the loyalty of their low-paid staff only because their vision is so palpable. Funders will seriously consider a grant proposal when they understand the mission of a museum and ascertain that the proposed project is on brand. Individual donors will support an organization year after year when they trust the brand.

From a pure budgetary perspective, carefully branded museums stay in business because they never waste resources of time and staff on projects that dilute or detract from their mission. An example of how a brand-unconscious museum can squander its money is described by a Midwest institution that did just that. The museum staged an elegant fundraiser, a mother-daughter tea that raised both money and awareness. Good marketing, yes. Good branding, no. The event did not reflect the museums personality as a family museum and its high cost, in dollars and staff time, was seen as a poor investment in the long term.

Investing in a brand takes courage and doggedness, both traits that prepare well for the challenges museums face in every department, not just those in facilities management and finance. In the museum conferences and online forums I regularly attend, subjects of significance ranging from podcasting to board member recruitment can all be viewed through the lens of branding. Branding is everyones responsibility, and all members of the museum family should be charged with keeping their efforts on brand.

Author: Margot Wallace
Professor of marketing communication at Columbia College Chicago; Advisory for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Winnetka (Illinois) Public Library.
http://www.museumbranding.com