Christi/Merri --

I think it is commonly thought that publicity is free advertising (hence
the elephant example -- if the incident is written up in the local
newspaper, it is creating an awareness of the circus, at no cost to the
circus.) Once you start paying for placement, it is advertising.
[Publicity can indeed cost loads of money, but this is just one way of
looking at it, to attempt to explain the elephant.]

Public relations/publicity can involve a wide variety of things.
Consider these:
* A speech given to your local junior league meeting about the museum's
objects
* A window display at the local library
* A donation of an item from the gift shop as a prize in a school
drawing

You may be getting no actual monetary gain for the museum, but you are
gaining, perhaps, support for the museum -- you are generating "good
will" toward the museum. Obviously, this can have a variety of positive
outcomes for the museum.

At the museum where I used to work, each purchase of advertising was
approved by the Board. Prior to the hard economic times, there was a
strict advertising budget. It was a particular person's job to set up
advertising, displays, PR, talks. With an annual budget of $350,000,
this museum would not pay a consultant to set these up. That's why it
hired a director. Public relations is also a common function of museum
boards.

I think it is hard to realize the cost of PR, especially in small
museums, which might have no earmarked budget for it. Other museums may
have a budget for it, such as the one respondent who indicated that 2.5%
was spent on publicity. In addition, as was mentioned some museums may
split these costs among various departments. The cost for an exhibition
opening may come from the curatorial budget, while the marketing
department might pay for advertising and brochures. If you want more of
this kind of information, you might consider making a more detailed (and
scientific) survey, with closed-ended responses, or at least, as Jay
suggested, make your questions here more specific. This is something
that would require a bit of thought so that you get information that is
useful to you.

--Vicki


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki Meehan
Curator (Myers-Lenahan Archivist)
Medical Heritage Center
The Ohio State University

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).