I think maybe one of the reasons it's been hard to give a straight answer
is that many museums do not really have a good handle on how much they
spend on becoming better known in their community.  Many of the things we
do serve dual (or triple) purposes.  

I used to apply for community grants (when we really weren't very well
known) just as much for the money as for the five people reading my
proposal who would say to themselves "I didn't know we had an Indian museum
in Evanston" and maybe visit.   PR is generally "cheaper" than advertising
(most of us can't afford advertising at all), but requires fairly
well-written copy, a good mailing list and time.  It's taken us three years
to build up our credibility in both the local press and national subject
specific magazines.   For each temporary exhibit (2 a year) we put up a big
banner on the side of the building.  And we STILL (after 4 years) get first
time community visitors that say "I didn't know you were open".   A well
worded website first page can be a draw too (thank heavens for whatever
inspired me to put Chicago and Indian in the first paragraph of ours, so
that we come out in the top 5 on most search engines under Indian Museum
Chicago).   As I say, all of these serve multiple purposes and it is hard
to put a dollar figure on most of them.

I chaired a session at AAM a couple of years ago called Painting the Door
Red (which I think was probably one of the hardest I've done personally)
that addressed some of issues.  When I showed my small group of slides, it
became apparent that the session title was NOT a metaphor: since one of the
main questions I had gotten in my early days as Director was "where's the
front door?" (we're on a corner lot) I had literally painted the door red. 
Should that go in my PR budget or my maintenance budget?

I know this still doesn't answer the question, but I hope it has helped
explain why many of us can't answer the question.

janice

Janice Klein
Director, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Kendall College
[log in to unmask]
www.mitchellmuseum.org


Original Message:
-----------------
From: Merri Pemberton [log in to unmask]
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 09:04:14 -0800
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Question on Publicity for Cultural institutions


Okay, forget I even ask the question. I now see that my purpose for
offering myself and services to museums to gain more community support is
even more grave than originally thought. I don't expect a quick answer. Any
help is appreciated.  My purpose is to help our cultural establishments
gain more community support and persuade the community that there is a very
good reason to support us with their dollars, especially in this horrible
economy, whether it is through improving education programs, outreach, or
savvy publicity.  Even though the museums are doing more for community,
they still have a long way to go. My thought is that there has to be a
serious want upon the community for our museums that they see it more as a
need/want than just a want. Disneyland is an extreme example, but no one
needs Disneyland, but so many people save up money to go. It is every
child's dream to go. The want to go to Disneyland and being a a part of the
experience is so great, that this want turns into a want/need. Museums will
have to find a way to get a little bit of that strategy, not to that
extreme, but with the same idea in mind. Smart public relations, marketing,
and advertising can help. Actually, I am already a part of that through my
monthly column in a local arts and culture magazine.   

If I can get an response to an innocent question that sounds more
patronizing than helpful, (sounds like you are trying to get a quick
answer), or (one should audit some classes), then the average community
member has a hard road to hold regarding museums actually being there for
them to learn, enjoy, and support, instead of sounding 'holier than thou".


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