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).