Place branding and museums

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Permalink Reply by nick sherrard on December 17, 2009 at 4:00am

There's an old model the thinktank Demos (Uk based) came up with for the value of a cultural organisation; there's the intrinsic, the instrumental, and the institutional. I think it holds in this context too.

Visitors recognise the instrinsic value of the collection of the Louvre, or the antiquities of Egypt and this is powerful in shaping the destination's brand.

At the same time the instrumental value of a museum can be powerful - for instance, the activity of creative organisations during European Capital of Culture years has impacted on the perception of Glasgow and Bilbao, the actions of Versailles in improving their visitor experience impacts on the perception of the city as a destination.

I think there is also an institutional value in museums as part of place branding. They are incredibly powerful communicators of an aspect of a place's brand - the British Museum, or SFMOMA could both be shorthands for core values of their city's cultural identities. And everytime they are reported or talked about they help grow that brand. Moreover, in a crowded market the institutional value of a great Museum is as clear differentiators between city x and city y - both may have great cultural brnads, but one needs to claim the edge. Plus as well all know museums are hubs to a whole range of other activity that becomes the vibrancy destination marketers are so keen for visitors to experience.

I think though that Museums need to be used in smarter ways when people try to change or grow their destination's brand. Is promoting a new museum a silver bullet for changing the reputation of a place? I guess over time we will see what happens in Abu Dhabi.

Conversely, what happens if a long-famed museum falls on hard times? I fear we may have a few examples of that in the coming years too as funding cuts bite.