Museums and marketing in an electronic age Kim Lehman, BA (TSIT), BLitt (Hons) (Deakin) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania July 2008
We have all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. Robert Wilensky (b. 1951) ii
Declaration of originality This thesis does not contain any material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University of Tasmania or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, or to the best of the candidate s knowledge and belief, any material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis............................ Kim Lehman........................... Date iii
Authority of access This thesis may be available for loan. Copying any part is prohibited for two years from the date this statement was signed. After that time limited copying is permitted in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments............................ Kim Lehman........................... Date iv
Abstract It is widely acknowledged that the days of museums solely being places of contemplation for the educated, with a concentration on collecting, conservation and research, have now passed. The challenge for the modern museum is that, in addition to these traditional roles which still remain, they are now also expected to inform, educate and entertain, and to provide a value museum experience within a competitive marketplace. Central to this challenge is the changing nature of the public, and how their expectations as informed and technologically aware consumers can shape museum activities. There are, then, significant social, economic and cultural changes that have affected the way museums need to operate and how they see themselves and their audiences. One response to this can be seen in the rise of marketing as a vital component of museum management. Such a marketing emphasis means museums actively seek to communicate with their publics. In order to do this, given the changes in the dynamics of the museums marketplace, there is now the necessity to use electronic media within integrated marketing communication strategies. This use of electronic marketing as a strategy within the museum sector has received little attention in the academic literature. The position taken here is that the developments seen in the museum sector are best viewed by adopting a narrative approach to the structure of the thesis. Each chapter builds on the preceding, but each then carries the narrative forward, from the genesis of the modern museum, to the subsequent analysis of Australia s state museums. Within this context, this study takes a qualitative and interpretivist approach to the overall research aim, which is to investigate the factors that influence the extent to which the Australian state museums incorporate electronic marketing strategies into their overall marketing activities. It uses a multi-case method, with data drawn from interviews with operational- and strategic-level staff, extensive field visits and analysis of annual reports, marketing collateral and websites from the six Australian state museums. The thesis subsequently analyses the case study museums from a marketing perspective, using secondary data to compare and contrast each v
museum s strategies. It also seeks to reveal a museum perspective by reporting and critically analysing the data drawn from interviews with staff from the Australian state museums. These perspectives are synthesised in a concluding chapter which also considers the research questions in light of the findings. In addition, this chapter addresses the extent to which the research has provided insight into the overall research aim. The thesis makes a significant contribution to museum marketing research by suggesting likely relationships between the use of electronic marketing in Australia s state museums, and the various internal factors and external forces evident both in the literature and in the findings presented here. vi
Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to gratefully acknowledge the substantial role my supervisors played in the production of this research. Dr Rob Hecker took me on as a candidate, I suspect, not certain if I could string two words together. I hope I subsequently proved I could, but also hope that I was not one of those troublesome candidates that went their own way despite better advice. There were times when I thought I knew best, and took some time to realise that I did not. Rob certainly exhibited patience on these occasions and provided sound, strategic advice and guidance. Dr John Byrom came later to the supervisory team, and with an office near mine, was subjected to more of a candidate s angst than he deserved. Nonetheless, John exhibited considerable resolve, and provided a clarity of thought that I certainly valued, particularly through the later stages. To both, my heartfelt thanks I would also like to extend a vote of thanks to supportive colleagues from within the University of Tasmania, and without, as well as to the Faculty of Business and the School of Management generally. Two persons, in particular, have generously shared the fruits of their own labours: Linda Hall and Dr Melina Parker. My greatest thanks go to my wife, Fiona. There is no doubt that surviving PhD candidature with my psyche intact would have been much harder without her. Why? There is support, and then there is that certain something else. At the risk of being overly philosophical, it is probably love vii
List of tables Table 2.1 Establishment dates for selected Australian and international museums... 22 Table 2.2 The museum sector s competitors from different types of leisure activities... 35 Table 3.1 State, Commonwealth and local government grants as a percentage of total revenue... 53 Table 3.2 A resource conversion model of museum s publics... 64 Table 5.1 Australian state museum staff interviewed... 107 viii
List of figures Figure 5.1 Hierarchical theme structure within NVivo 7.0... 114 Figure 5.2 Summary theme structure within NVivo 7.0... 115 ix
Table of contents Page Declaration of originality... iii Authority of access...iv Abstract... v Acknowledgements...vii List of tables...viii List of figures...ix Chapter 1 Overview of the thesis... 1 Background to the research... 1 Research problem and methodology... 5 Methodology... 7 Significance and implications of the research... 7 Structure of the thesis... 8 Conclusion... 10 Chapter 2 Museum history and development... 11 Introduction... 11 The museum sector: Definitions and context... 12 A brief history of museums... 15 The Australian setting... 20 The changing role of the general public... 30 Conclusion... 38 Chapter 3 Museum management and marketing... 40 Introduction... 40 The rise of a business philosophy... 41 Museums as not for profit organisations... 42 Professionalism in the sector... 45 Managers vs curators... 47 New museum income models... 49 The development of the marketing function... 53 Marketing management orientations... 55 The orientations evolution... 60 Marketing to the museums publics... 62 Conclusion... 66 x
Chapter 4 Marketing communications and electronic media... 68 Introduction... 68 An integrated approach to marketing communications... 69 The status of IMC... 69 Developing a definition of IMC... 71 Marketing communications and branding in the museum context... 75 Communicating to museums publics... 76 Integrating communication tools in the museum sector... 77 Branding and branding museums... 79 Electronic marketing... 84 Defining electronic marketing... 85 Public use of the Internet... 88 Museums and electronic media... 89 Museum Internet activities... 91 Conclusion... 94 Chapter 5 Research methodology and design... 97 Introduction... 97 Research philosophy... 97 Qualitative research... 99 Rationale for the research design... 101 Unit of analysis... 101 The case study as a research approach... 103 Multiple cases... 104 Data collection within the case study approach... 105 Interviews... 106 Field visits... 108 Secondary sources... 110 Data analysis methods... 111 Computer assisted data analysis... 112 Analysis of secondary sources... 113 Limitations... 116 Ethical considerations... 117 Conclusion... 118 Chapter 6 The case study museums: Marketing perspectives... 121 Introduction... 121 Australian Museum... 122 History and governance... 122 xi
Vision and aims... 123 Look and feel... 125 Summary... 127 Museum Victoria... 127 History and governance... 128 Vision and aims... 128 Look and feel... 130 Summary... 131 Queensland Museum... 132 History and governance... 132 Vision and aims... 133 Look and feel... 134 Summary... 136 South Australian Museum... 137 History and governance... 137 Vision and aims... 138 Look and feel... 139 Summary... 140 Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery... 141 History and governance... 142 Vision and aims... 142 Look and feel... 144 Summary... 146 Western Australian Museum... 147 History and governance... 147 Vision and aims... 148 Look and feel... 149 Summary... 151 Summary analysis... 152 Conclusion... 158 Chapter 7 Findings and discussion: Museum perspectives... 160 Introduction... 160 Drivers of change... 161 A business focus... 162 Competition for visitors... 164 The changing public... 166 Summary... 169 The role of marketing... 170 xii
Marketing activities... 171 Organisational structures... 174 The significance of marketing... 177 Summary... 180 Electronic marketing as a strategy... 181 Electronic media and their use... 182 Responsibilities and direction... 186 The significance of electronic marketing... 188 Summary... 191 Summary analysis... 193 External forces... 195 Internal factors... 198 Museum responses... 202 Conclusion... 206 Chapter 8 Conclusion and implications... 208 Introduction... 208 Synthesis of perspectives... 209 Research question 1... 209 Research question 2... 211 Research question 3... 212 Research question 4... 213 Research question 5... 215 The overall research aim... 216 Implications... 218 Theory... 219 Practice... 220 Future research... 220 Concluding statement... 222 References... 224 Appendices... 243 Appendix A: Publications drawn from the research for this thesis... 244 Appendix B: Interview schedule... 245 Appendix C: Colour plates: Case study museum fieldwork visits... 246 Appendix D: Ethics Committee documents... 259 xiii