Carol, you are right.  Actually, we said the same thing, but differently.
The marketing and the mission should be indistinguishable.  It is about
respect, not money.

I had a very good marketing prof in undergrad who once said that "sales was
convincing people to buy what you have to offer, marketing was finding out
what people want and then letting them know you can provide it".  For a long
time, museums sold what they had (elitism) and as a result, we have a bad
rep to certain segments of the society.  Now we have found out what the
community wants and we have to let them know we can provide it.  I am not
talking about taking the Picassos and Pollocks down and hanging kitch.
People don't want kitsch in their museums.  They expect us to educate them,
but in an informal, non-threatening, and entertaining way.  We can do that,
and we need to let them know it.  We need to let them know that they are ALL
welcome and that this is a fun, exciting and entertaining place.

From what I see in a lot of museums, there is a fundamental loss/lack of
respect: for the public, ourselves and the objects.  Maybe that is what you
mean.  These people have lost their passion.  Perhaps they are still
elitist.  Either way, the mission is no longer driving.  In any good
business, the mission does the driving.  Look at Starbucks or Microsoft.
Ok, sometimes they make decisions based more on profit than on public good,
but for the most part, their missions have made them successful because they
believed in something and then made the decisions to make it a reality.  And
when you have something that is better and improves the quality of life,
people respond positively.  We are no different.

Call it passion, respect, or whatever, it is all the same.  Keep the faith.
:)

Lori Allen,
Grad Student, UMSL


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of William Maurer
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 7:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: TOPIC ONE: Top Ten Challenges


  Carol, you really hit the nail on the head. Nice answer.
And I think that's the challenge - to get the money, without the whole thing
being ABOUT the money. To remember the passion for the knowledge and the
aesthetics and the stuff and the people and to let that truly drive the
programming and planning for the Museum - in a dynamic, committed, and,
well....sexy, kind of way. To remember what got YOU going in the first
place. I've seen passionate and imaginative Museum directors and Board
members do miracles because they believed, and didn't let the marketing run
the mission. How to keep the spark alive, despite the constant grubbing for
bucks, that's what I see as the top challenge.

Carol Ely
Louisville

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