01-10-2012, 10:27 AM
COMPARATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES OF MUSEUMS IN CANADA
AND THE UNITED STATES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY
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ABSTRACT
implemented by museums in Canada and the United States to meet the needs of
visitors. A census of all the museums in three contiguous regions of Quebec,
Northern Vermont and Northern New York State was visited. Systematic
observations using a detailed grid of variables were compiled for each
establishment. More similarities than differences were found.
Introduction
“Museums have never had it so good. New ones are being built all over the place, and
existing ones are expanding; fund-raising campaigns have never been so successful, and visitor
numbers have never been higher. Last year, for the first time ever, American museums attracted
more than a billion visitors.” (The Economist, April 21, 2001). Museum attendance is also
increasing in Canada. The most recent figures from Statistics Canada indicate that attendance at
all types of museums reached over twenty-six million visitors in 1998, up approximately twelve
percent in five years. Museums are pushing to appeal to broader audiences, not just with
blockbuster shows of impressionist paintings, but with a whole new category of populist fare.
And new architecture plays a role in delivering museums from their past of elitism; the new
designs are meant to be open and inviting to the public. At the forefront of forward-thinking
museums is the Guggenheim: it is expanding with a global franchise to reach far more people and
generate money from new sources (Newsweek, March 26, 2001).
Museum marketing research
An extensive review of the literature on the role of marketing in museums and
performing arts organizations was recently conducted by Rentschler (1998). Her content analysis
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of 128 articles in seven key international journals was classified thematically to reflect the
changing role of marketing.
Thematic classification is based on Webster’s (1992) three marketing thrusts as
applicable to small and large organizations. The first thematic category is “Marketing as Culture”.
It relates to the values and beliefs about the importance of the customer that guide an organization
(e.g., ability of an organization to assess market attractiveness by analyzing customer needs and
segmenting fund-raising). The second thematic category, “Marketing as Strategy”, focuses on
positioning and defining how an organization is to compete in its chosen businesses. And studies
in the “Marketing as Tactics” category focus on attributes of the marketing mix, commonly
referred to as the four Ps (Product, Price, Promotion, Place). Added to these four elements are
Persistence (the management of the organization/customer interface that results in income), and
People (meeting the needs of people such as visitors).
Canada-U.S. comparative tourism research
Decades ago, marketers often assumed that Canadian and American consumers were
similar enough that successful marketing strategies used in the United States could be employed
effectively in Canada. The current attitude in marketing, however, is that there are sufficient
differences between the Canadian and American markets that different marketing efforts should
be developed for each target market. Although numerous studies have compared Canadian and
American consumers (Ferley et al., 1999), insufficient research has been conducted to allow
tourism marketers to distinguish between the two markets in order to differentiate their marketing
programs.
Only one comparative tourism study focused on museums. When comparing Canadian
and American museum marketing strategies, each was found to have its own distinct way of
attracting the customer (Daw, 1997). Canadian museums have focused their marketing strategy
on all forms of advertising to get their name known in the community (e.g., posters, bus shelters,
bus boards, murals, brochures, newspaper ads, and placemats. American museums, on the other
hand, are leaning towards new interactive and exciting ways to attract customers. They want to
make museums a place for entertainment and education rather than just looking at works of art.
Some American museums have promoted this new strategy through sponsoring special events
such as motorcycle shows, car shows, movies, and fashion shows (The Economist, April 21,
2001).
Methodology
This exploratory study, using 24 case studies, was undertaken in the spring of 2001 in the
contiguous regions of southwestern Quebec, northern Vermont and northeastern New York.
There is substantial economic integration and cross-border traffic between the two countries in
this region, and the hospitality industry targets business and leisure travellers of both nationalities
(Church and Heroux, 1999). A census of the museums in this cross-border region was selected for
inclusion in this research. Of the 24 selected establishments, 12 were from Quebec and 12 were
from New York/Vermont. International marketing students conducted the observational research.
Product Variety
The majority of Canadian and American museums held a wide breadth of exhibits,
although more Canadian than U.S. museums specialized in one narrow field of interest.
Approximately two-thirds of Canadian museums presented high quality exhibits, while half of
U.S. museums had high quality exhibits and half had good quality exhibits. None of the museums
visited in either region was perceived as offering low quality exhibits. Half of the Canadian
museums displayed works by well-known artists, either nationally or internationally, while the
rest offered exhibits of local artists, or antiques from a particular period. In contrast, only 25% of
U.S. museums presented works by well-known artists (e.g., Remington), another 25% of the
museums held works by locally known artists, and the rest focused on antiques from a particular
period. Canadian museums tended to be larger than U.S. museums in the region under study.
Two-thirds of the museums in both regions offered an assortment of supporting products/services
to the exhibits. Most had a gift/book shop, and a few had a coffee shop.
Promotion
In both regions, the majority of museums advertise in the local newspapers. One half of
U.S. and one third of Canadian museums advertise in magazines. One half of U.S. museums place
ads in trade publications/tourism guidebooks, compared to one sixth of Canadian museums. In
both regions, 25% advertise on television and 50% advertise on the radio. The most popular type
of advertising appeal in both regions appears to be historical/informative. Although telemarketing
efforts are non-existent in both regions, two-thirds of Canadian and one half of U.S. museums
promote themselves on the Internet. Direct mail is used by few, whereas outdoor media are used
by the majority of museums. Sales promotions such as coupons and contests are not popular in
general, with the exception of Open House. Due to the large amount of repeat business, many
museums rely on past client experience for future business, school field trips, as well as walk-ins.
As a result, not all museums promote their establishment actively.