Prepared for PRAM Mid-Atlantic Summit

May 31, 2012

Research Methods for Museums

Research MethodsGoals Method

Branding/Image Focus groups

Building membership Focus groups, IDIs, Mail, Online

Interest in upcoming exhibitions Online

Profile of current visitors Onsite intercepts

Looking for potential visitors Phone/Online panels

Tomorrow’s visitors Facebook

Economic Impact Visitor and institutional data gathering

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National Museum of American Jewish History

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Branding/Image

• Prior to the visioning sessions (MetStrategies; Tsang/Seymour), ARA conducted focus groups in Philadelphia and New York to understand the identity and image of the museum.

• The overall objective was to see how the museum was perceived by Jewish and non-Jewish audiences locally and nationally.

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Methodology• Six groups were conducted with nine

respondents in each two-hour group.

• NYC chosen because it was the #1 feeder market; two million Jews living in the New York Metropolitan Area

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Philadelphia New York City

NMAJH Members Jewish visitors to Philadelphia who had not visited NMAJH and were active NY museumgoers

NMAJH Non-Member Visitors Non-Jewish visitors to Philadelphia who had not visited NMAJH and were active NY museumgoers

Jewish Non-Visitors

Non-Jewish Non-Visitors

Research Objectives• Members and Visitors: Explore reasons for visiting /

becoming a member and understanding the Museum experience

• Among non-Visitors: Understand awareness/ familiarity of the Museum, gauge perceptions of the Museum as well as who the typical visitor is, assess interest in attending and why

• All groups: understand equity value of current Freedom identify, review response to the current mission statement and marketing materials, and gauge awareness of and interest in public programs

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Findings to Build Upon

• Museum had universal appeal, not just Jews• Story of Jews in America was largely unknown• Drill down on which exhibits resonated • Identified with stories of everyday life • More than one visit required to see everything• Good place to take out of town guests• Challenge to get the word out to other cities

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92nd Street Y

• Understand perceptions and images of the 92nd Street Y and its Westside facility Makor.

• Explore the strength of the brand.• Learn if the name Makor had brand equity, and if its

new downtown home should be branded as part of the 92nd Street Y.

• Eight groups, one patron and one non-patron in each of four categories– Young families– Younger boomers– 20s & 30s– Older boomers

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92nd Street Y and Makor became

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Membership• Focus groups to explore:

– Preferred format for publications– Desired benefits– Motivations of new members

• Online/mail questionnaires to test findings– Motivations for joining– Membership benefits– Evaluate experience, service, value

• IDIs among patrons

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Interest in Upcoming Exhibitions

• In-person: intercept current visitors to show descriptions and images.

• Online: more time to show multiple images.• Use rating scales to test interest.• Analyze results among members, frequent

visitors, age, gender, geography.

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Testing a Museum Concept• Theatre Museum Canada currently exists only in

virtual form. www.theatremuseumcanda.ca • After a Visioning session (John Vollmer

Associates), we arrived at three possible scenarios for a physical space.

• Used online panel to show descriptions and images for each concept.

• We used a ten-point rating scale to test interest in visiting.

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Question asked:

• Theatre Museum Canada is considering different concepts for the design and operation of a permanent facility in the entertainment area of the Toronto Theatre District. Please read each description and view the accompanying images. Then rate how likely you would be in visiting on a scale from “1” to “10” where “1” means not at all likely and “10” means extremely likely.

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Traditional Museum

• A museum with an emphasis on theatre collections and related programming. Permanent exhibitions would survey Canada’s theatre heritage from the 17th century to the present. Temporary exhibitions might feature in-depth examinations of playwrights, actors, designers, and theatre companies. Some exhibitions would focus on other aspects of performing arts. All exhibitions would include two and three dimensional archival and contemporary materials, as well as multimedia and interactive media.

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Temporary Exhibition

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Experience Centre• An experience centre with programs and activities that

emphasize audience interaction and learning by doing. Activities would recreate the experience of being on stage, backstage, and in the wings. It would feature demonstrations and participation in direction and blocking, and equipment such as a computer light board. Programmed activities would include readings, panel discussions, interviews, and demonstrations of make-up, costuming and wigs.

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Learning by Doing

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Social Centre• A theatre arts hub that would be an actual and virtual

interactive hub for the performing arts in Canada. One area would function as an evening club where there might be readings of new works and current productions, short interviews, and music, as well as a place to exchange ideas and meet people. At other times, the space would be programmed for groups and targeted audiences featuring behind the scenes access to processes in the performing arts, panel discussions, interviews and events. There would also be an information centre and resource people.

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Pub-like Atmosphere

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Profile of Current Visitors

• Onsite intercepts are comprehensive• Incentive recommended• Translations where appropriate• Cover representative hours and days• Seasonal waves• Link entrance and exit questionnaires to tie

experience to visitor profile

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Topics for Incoming Questionnaire

• Demographics and geography• Sources of information• Are they reading newspapers in print or online• Visiting with including children under 18• Have they visited your website? How have

they used it?• Using social media? Following you?• Media habits, prior visits, frequency, etc.

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Topics for Exit Questionnaire

• Exhibits visited• Other activities participated in• Satisfaction with staff, services, store, café • Did they share experience on social media• Likelihood to recommend to others

– Why?/Why not?

• Rate the value received from your visit• Duration of visit (time stamp incoming & exit)

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Useful Findings

• At one major art museum, we found that ¾ of the visitors did not live in the NY Metro Area.

• At another, 75% knew the exhibit sponsor.• We found that 60% needed to ask for help during

their visit at one large museum.• For a museum needing to relocate, we identified

preferences for different neighborhoods.• While 5 out of 6 knew about the special exhibitions,

only 1 in 7 were aware of family programs.

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Looking for New VisitorsQuantitative Research

• Need to go beyond pool of current visitors• Short-cut: conduct intercepts at other similar

types of museums– Assess awareness of your museum– Gauge prior attendance– Evaluate interest among non-visitors

• Market studies– Telephone samples– Online panels

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Telephone Study

• Kimbell Museum of Art– Surveyed 500 museumgoers in six North Texas

counties in anticipation of Renzo Piano expansion to Louis Kahn building

– Qualified by visiting at least one museum in past 12 months (31% qualified; mean age of 47; 62% female)

– Included landline and cell phone numbers– Identified person in household who made decision

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Evaluating Data

Museum (2009)

(Percent Museumgoers)

Visited Past

12 Months

Visited

Previously

Heard of

Only

Not

Heard of

Dallas Museum of Art 57 18 20 5

Dallas Museum of Natural History 23 34 31 12

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Online Study

• Newark Museum Signature Project: used a panel of residents in northern NJ counties/Manhattan – Far more cost-effective than phone– Large metropolitan area with more panel members– Qualified in NJ by visiting at least one major NY/NJ

museum in past 12 months• 28% incidence in NJ• 33% in Manhattan based on at least two museum visits

and recent travel to NJ

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If We Build It, Will They Come

• Three target groups– Current visitors – increase in frequency– Former visitors – would they return and how often– New visitors

• Aware of Newark Museum but never visited• Not aware of Newark Museum• Beyond N. NJ (Manhattan)

• Projected total future visitor count based on likelihood to visit and expected frequency

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Good NewsTraveling to Newark Compared to Five Years Ago (2008)(Percent non-Newark residents)

Six Core NJ Counties

13-County NJ Area

Manhattan

Just as comfortable 53 56 66

More 28 24 21

Less 18 20 13

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Younger Visitors

• More ethnically diverse• Far more likely to read publications online• More likely to be first time visitors• More likely to:

– Visit the museum website– Use a social media network– Follow the museum on a social media channel– Share experience on a smartphone

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Facebook Wisdom*

• Web built around people instead of content• The online world catching up with offline• People have consistent conversations with

between 7 and 15 people– Most conversations are with 5 strongest ties– These small groups of friends are more influential

than “opinion-leaders”

• Move from interruption to permission model

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From “Grouped” by Paul Adams

Facebook Audience

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Incidence of Museum Interest

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Preliminary Findings for Whitney Museum FB Survey

• After submitting their answers, 93% shared that they took the survey on their newsfeed

• 74% said FB was the main way they received information about the Whitney

• 75% said following content on the FB page inspired them to visit the museum

• 71% had visited the Whitney in-person• 88% followed other museums on FB

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Economic Impact• Measures the impact your institution and its

visitors has on the local economy• Includes all local spending of the museum and

non-local visitors whose primary reason for being there was to come to the museum

• Study for MoMA in 1998 estimated $2 billion impact from the expansion

• ARA is currently conducting an economic impact study of the 9/11 Memorial

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