This document discusses the evolution of museum marketing from a product-focused approach in the 1970s to a more audience-focused approach today. It highlights three experiments by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis to engage audiences: participatory exhibitions inside the museum, an "Open Field" outdoor space for public programming, and increased online content for the museum website. While these efforts faced challenges, preliminary results showed increased visitor experiences and engagement both onsite and online. The document argues that truly embracing audience engagement requires changes in how museums are organized and a long-term institutional commitment.

1. 21st Century Museum Marketing:
Engaging Audiences, Creating Relevancy,
and Boosting Earned Income
The Entrepreneurial Museum
November 2012

2. 600,000 annual visitors to
galleries, performances, fi
lm screenings, public
programs, and the
Minneapolis Sculpture
Garden.

3. Walker Campus

4. The Future of Museum Marketing
Shifting from Marketing Programs
to Audience Engagement

5. Evolution of Museum Marketing
Adapted from Andrew McIntyre
1970s 1980s 1990s TODAY
Product-Focused Selling-Focused Marketing-Focused Audience-Focused
Source: Andrew McIntyre, Understanding audiences. Building audiences. Morris Hargraeve McIntyre Consultancy and Research. Adapted by Ryan French.

6. Evolution of Museum Marketing
Adapted from Andrew McIntyre
1970s 1980s 1990s TODAY
Product-Focused Selling-Focused Marketing-Focused Audience-Focused
Source: Andrew McIntyre, Understanding audiences. Building audiences. Morris Hargraeve McIntyre Consultancy and Research. Adapted by Ryan French.

7. Evolution of Museum Marketing
Adapted from Andrew McIntyre
1970s 1980s 1990s TODAY
Product-Focused Selling-Focused Marketing-Focused Audience-Focused
Source: Andrew McIntyre, Understanding audiences. Building audiences. Morris Hargraeve McIntyre Consultancy and Research. Adapted by Ryan French.

8. Evolution of Museum Marketing
Adapted from Andrew McIntyre
1970s 1980s 1990s TODAY
Product-Focused Selling-Focused Marketing-Focused Audience-Focused
Source: Andrew McIntyre, Understanding audiences. Building audiences. Morris Hargraeve McIntyre Consultancy and Research. Adapted by Ryan French.

9. Evolution of Museum Marketing
Adapted from Andrew McIntyre
1970s 1980s 1990s TODAY
PRODUCT-LED VISION-LED
Product-Focused Selling-Focused Marketing-Focused Audience-Focused
Source: Andrew McIntyre, Understanding audiences. Building audiences. Morris Hargraeve McIntyre Consultancy and Research. Adapted by Ryan French.

10. Evolution of Museum Marketing
Adapted from Andrew McIntyre
1970s 1980s 1990s TODAY
PRODUCT-LED VISION-LED
Product-Focused Selling-Focused Marketing-Focused Audience-Focused
Walker Art Center
Source: Andrew McIntyre, Understanding audiences. Building audiences. Morris Hargraeve McIntyre Consultancy and Research. Adapted by Ryan French.

11. Why engagement? Why now?
• Changes in:
o Artist-as-sole-creator
o Audience-as-sole-receiver
o Curator-as-institutional-gatekeeper
• These changes align with cultural
shifts in the practice of art making
and in society at large.
• A desire to shift in the Walker’s
interactions with audiences from
“transactional” to “relational.”

12. Three Experiments in Engagement
1. Inside: Participatory
Exhibitions
2. Outside: Open Field
3. Online: Walker website

13. Inside: Participatory Exhibitions

14. Benches and Binoculars

15. 50/50: Audience and Experts Curate
the Paper Collection

16. Outside: Open Field

17. In summer 2009 we
imagined how the Public
Walker’s large adjacent
green space could be a
setting for new ways of
working with artists Institution Artists
and the public.

18. Open Field
Design Charrette
• Identified
steps to
construct a
social space.

19. Before
Spring 2010
construction

20. After
Food, shade, and seating…
…and a large Open Field

21. Open Field
Tool Shed and Drawing Club

22. The public is invited to
program their own
activities

26. Online: Walker Website

29. Content, content, content

30. Is it working?
• Inside
o Visitor experience changes (e.g., photo policy, guard’s
choice, scavenger hunts, free Wi-Fi)
o Curators and educators are changing practices
• Outside
o Animated campus
o Engaged artist community and neighborhood
• Online
o 40% more online visitors since launch
o Referrals from social media up 150%
o 21% more “engagement” (3+ minutes, 3+ pageviews)

31. Challenges remain
• Bringing the magic of outdoors to the indoors:
Truly embracing the spirit of engagement with
our internal programming.
• From free to paid: Converting people from
outside to the inside.
• Content, content, content or “feeding the
beast”: How can we continue to create content
for the website?

32. Making real institutional change
• Control v ownership
o Organizational charts are not as important as working
styles.
o Open-minded and broad skilled staff members needed—
create a spirit of collaboration.
• Experiment, learn, adapt… repeat
o There are already a lot of variables once the audience is
engaged, don’t be afraid to make a mistake.
• Commitment from the top is critical
o Audience engagement is sometimes difficult to measure.
Institutional leaders need to be committed to your efforts
for the long term.

33. Thank you!
Ryan French
@french_r
linkedin.com/in/ryanfrench