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Strategic Marketing Management of National Air and Space Museum - Essay Example

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This paper "Strategic Marketing Management of National Air and Space Museum" is a marketing plan that describes the characteristics, needs, and values of consumers for what drives influence in selecting museums for the fulfillment of their recreational needs…
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Market Report: The Smithsonian – National Air and Space Museum BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Word Count: 5,011 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVESUMMARY 1.0 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 2.0 Market and consumer analyses................................................................................ 2.1 PEST analysis.............................................................................................. 2.2 SWOT analysis............................................................................................ 3.0 Marketing plan......................................................................................................... 3.1 Marketing objectives.................................................................................... 3.2 Situational analysis....................................................................................... 4.0 The marketing strategy............................................................................................. 4.1 Psychographic research necessity................................................................. 4.2 Personalised service production – direct marketing...................................... 4.3 Enhanced promotional development............................................................. 4.4 Strategic alliances and partnerships............................................................... 4.5 Control systems.............................................................................................. 5.0 Recommendations..................................................................................................... 6.0 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. References EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The market environment, especially economically, is quite favourable for improving the revenue position of the National Air and Space Museum, a division of the Smithsonian Institute. Consumers have ample income availability after emerging from the 2008-2010 recession, domestic travel is on the increase, and this travel is expected to maintain this growth through 2018. This marketing plan describes the characteristics, needs and values of consumers for what drives influence in selecting museums for their recreational needs fulfilment. So much of what drive marketing strategy is driven by consumer attitudes and values associated with their own lifestyles and the museum brand, requiring the National Air and Space Museum to invest more in consumer research to gain valuable market information to develop integrated communications strategies that are relevant and attention-grabbing to consumers. This plan recommends a redesign and construction of a new and more modernised servicescape, the development of strategic alliances and sponsorships, procurement of new interactive technologies, a well-developed promotional campaign, and a new staffing model to improve customer interactivity and create an authentic customer experience. This plan will build a better brand reputation for the museum and change perceptions in disparate consumer markets about the nature of the 21st Century Smithsonian museum. The Smithsonian – National Air and Space Museum 1.0 Introduction Museum marketing is a dynamic and complicated task as most museums cater to mass market consumers with very disparate socio-economic backgrounds, educational level, resource availability, and lifestyles. Hence, it becomes difficult to create targeted advertising and other relevant promotional materials that will create interest and excitement for consumer segments. In the United States, the National Air and Space Museum, a part of the Smithsonian Institute, offers a variety of historical exhibits related to air and space travel which are relevant and stimulating for a variety wide variety of consumers. The National Air and Space Museum collects, displays and interprets objects related to the history of air and space travel. The longevity of this museum depends strongly on the possession of these collections (McLean 1994). The care of these collections are vital and have been recognised as fundamental museum obligations, however lack of public funding sources for museums pose risks to their viability. Even though the National Air and Space Museum receives a variety of government-supported grants and federal funding, it is not enough capital to ensure that the museum can guarantee longevity in the industry. As a result, marketing becomes a significant imperative for museums and is viewed as essential for securing permanence for the organisation (Kelly and Sas 1998). However, before a museum such as the National Air and Space Museum can create effective and revenue-building marketing strategies, the organisation must understand the dynamics of consumer behaviour, the external market conditions in which the museum operates, and the threats to continuing longevity in the market that will impact establishment of a solid brand personality. This report assesses the business environment and market forces that shape organisational marketing strategy development and further proposes a recommended marketing plan to meet a set of objectives (which will be highlighted later in the report) to secure the operating position of this division of the Smithsonian Institute in the United States. 2.0 Market and consumer analyses As an industry whole, the U.S. museum industry has been experiencing problems with increasing the volume of visitors. Between 2008 and 2013, the U.S. industry has experienced a negative growth rate of 0.6 percent (IBIS World 2013), meaning that patronage to museums is in decline. The National Air and Space Museum, however, has experienced much higher declines in the volume of visits between 2010 and 2013. In 2010, the museum boasted 8.3 million visitors whilst in 2013, only 6.6 million visitors were recorded (Smithsonian 2013). This is a whopping 21 percent reduction in patronage in only three years. The National Air and Space Museum has totally free consumer admission rates, which is unique in an industry where only 37 percent of all museums in the United States do not charge admission fees (IBIS World 2013). Funding for this museum comes from the organisation’s own endowment funds, corporate donations, private donations, concession services, licensing and federal funding (Smithsonian 2013). This would seem to be more attractive to consumers, however even with free admission, a 21 percent reduction in patronage maintains the potential to seriously jeopardise important concession-related revenue. In 2008, all retail services of the institute, including stores, theatres and food services, gave the Smithsonian $14.7 million USD (Pogrebin 2008). A 21 percent drop in patronage would lead to revenue losses in concession and retail totalling $3.1 million. What, however, is driving an environment with significant visitor reductions in a market environment where consumers have to pay, literally, nothing to visit the museum? Growth in what is referred to as stay-at-home activities is changing the dynamics of leisure activities with many different market segments. Growth in gaming technologies and the availability of theatre on demand (i.e. movie rentals) and a variety of other at-home leisure activities have changed consumer attitudes (Kotler, Kotler and Kotler 2008). There is also a trend in the U.S. for increases in dining out and visiting shopping malls to satisfy leisure needs which is driven by economic recovery from the 2008 to 2010 recession where consumer disposable incomes were strapped. The types of preferred leisure activities favoured by consumers was highlighted in the 2009 U.S. Census Survey on Adult Participation in Selected Leisure Activities indicated that whilst 51 percent of consumers preferred dining out, only 14.5 percent of respondents indicated museums as a preferred activity (Chan 2011). Hence, museums are facing much higher levels of competition against at-home leisure activities which are supported through growth in various technologies. They are also facing competition from restaurants and other leisure-centric organisations as a result of rising consumer incomes and availability of disposable consumer capital. According to Michael Porter (2012) the threat of substitutes represents considerable market risks to an organisation. Substitutes represent any service or product that can be purchased by consumers to satisfy a need as an alternative to another product. The National Air and Space Museum faces risks associated with many substitutes, ranging from art museum patronage to other culturally-relevant organisations (e.g. libraries and theatres). Patronage to museums, in order to assess the entire collection, represents a significant time investment on behalf of many disparate markets. Other substitutes in the market environment do not mandate this level of commitment which appears to make them more attractive to leisure-seeking consumer segments. Yet another market-based risk to the museum is the level of rivalry occurring between competitors in this industry. Hill, Ireland and Hoskisson (2004) identifies that the competency of competitors that actively promote their businesses can seriously undermine the brand management strategies of other businesses. Restaurants and shopping malls in the United States are very adept in creating lifestyle-related, integrated marketing communications that build brand recognition and even brand preference with certain markets. In many ways, though these are not direct competitors for museums, the aforementioned leisure-centric organisations are able to attract consumers by targeting the most viable markets based on their needs, values, lifestyles or even price sensitivity. This gives restaurants and shopping malls much more marketing visibility than museums, thus posing a significant competitive risk to gaining more visitor interest. This is problematic for the National Air and Space Museum and requires a new competitive marketing strategy to build brand excitement and create incentives for consumers to choose the museum over other leisure activities. In the leisure travel industry, consumers are moving away from ostentatious expectations and are instead demanding authenticity in the travel experience (Horwath 2011). This is suggestive of a new demand for service excellence rather than opulence. This is also problematic for the museum as it is typically a self-service model whereby consumers direct their own engagements and activities that occur during the museum experience. According to theory, there is a positive correlation between service quality perceptions and the consumer willingness to recommend through word of mouth advertising (Boulding et al 1993). The National Air and Space Museum is not a service industry (the exception being concessions) and, therefore, the museum is unable to provide consumers with the authenticity they are demanding in travel. Lack of service availability could pose a tremendous problem associated with the aforesaid 21 percent drop in annual visitors at the museum between 2010 and 2013. Drawing on 60 years of research literature in the museum industry, Hood (1983) identified that consumers demand the challenges of having new experiences and the ability to actively participate in the leisure activity as two important criteria for visiting museums. The National Air and Space Museum consists of exhibits and information, but has not established systems by which consumers can interact and engage with exhibitions (hence no experiential benefits). More contemporary literature on service industries supports Hood’s evaluation of the drivers for museum patronage criteria, suggesting that personalisation of leisure experiences serves as a significant motivator for re-patronage and willingness to recommend (Schiffman and Kanuk 2010). The National Air and Space Museum maintains no service-oriented workers to provide such personalisation and social interaction, again posing a potential problem that has, year-on-year, led to dramatic declines in visitor ratios. From a financial perspective, the National Air and Space Museum requires considerable financial capital investment to maintain the facility, its grounds, improve exhibition relevance, and tangible reconstruction of the facility. Maintenance projects at the Smithsonian between 2007 and 2013 cost the museum $2.5 billion (GAO 2007). Renovations and recurring construction projects on an aging museum facility infrastructure pose significant financial risks that impact the ability of the National Air and Space Museum to procure new collections under strapped yearly budgets. This impacts making the brand appear exciting to consumer segments and also influences re-patronage behaviours. The constant costs of necessary renovations and reconstructions, exceeding billions of dollars, poses a significant threat to making the brand appear more relevant, contemporary and stimulating. However, in an environment where federal funding is limited and the volume of donations from private and corporate donors being reduced, marketing becomes a substantial and fundamental practice to ensure revenue production. Consumer behaviour as an externally-driven influence on marketing strategy for the museum is important to scrutinise in more depth. According to consumer behaviour theory, the memory encoding process is critical to understanding why consumers might not be as attracted to museums as in historical years. Consumers rely on their previous experiences with a service or product which dictates whether memories are stored positively or negatively, a phenomenon known as elaborative encoding. If a consumer is given a brand of beverage that is consumed in an environment with crying children, they are likely to develop unfavourable memories about the brand. Conversely, if the consumer is given the same branded drink in a positive social environment with good friends, their perception of brand quality increases (Cameron 1999). Why is this relevant for the National Air and Space Museum? This museum does not maintain social-centric business models that promote social engagement and the concessions environment is rather sterile and lacklustre (See Figure 1). Contemporary literature in marketing teaches the business world that the servicescape, the tangibles of service industry environment and landscape, has tremendous influences on consumer behaviour and re-patronage intentions. The physical properties of the facility provide important physical evidence by which consumers base their quality judgments (Hoffman and Bateson 2009). As shown by Figure 1, there are servicescape issues at the National Air and Space Museum that could have tremendous influence on why consumers are not revisiting the museum after a patronage experience. Figure 1: Concession Service at the Museum Source:Brownie Bites. (2013). Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum [online] Available at: http://www.browniebites.net/photos/2012/washingtondc/smithsonian-nationial-air-and-space-museum-15.jpg 2.1 PEST Analysis The political environment is one that offers continuing financial and research support for many divisions of the Smithsonian Institute. The National Air and Space Museum, in 2011, received 52 percent of its operating capital from federal appropriations (Smithsonian 2013). An additional 1.42 percent of working financial capital was procured from government grants (Smithsonian 2013). This is a tremendous volume of available capital, creating a political environment that is highly sustainable for growth and expansion of exhibits and new methodologies of satisfying disparate market segments. The economic environment for travel and tourism in the United States is quite favourable. It is estimated that by 2018, the volume of domestic trips that will be taken by consumers within the United States will rise by 1.7 percent (IBIS World 2013). Domestic tourism provides the U.S. economy with $910 billion (IBIS World 2013). Consumers are taking more domestic trips due to the rising costs of airline fees, making it more affordable to utilise automobile transportation for local travel itineraries. In 2012, there were 408 million consumers taking domestic trips within the United States (US Travel Association 2013). There is, therefore, an ample market of domestic travellers that could be targeted to lure them to Washington D.C. to visit the National Air and Space Museum who also maintain adequate resources for such a travel adventure. The social environment for museums is rather undefined. Not all consumers with disparate socio-economic standings desire the same outcomes and experiences through this type of cultural exploration in tourism. This makes segmentation and targeting through demographics very difficult unless the museum directors are willing to spend a considerable amount of financial capital on multiple niche market campaigns. In 2011, the National Air and Space Museum spent 19.61 percent of its budget on research, the highest expenditure of all budgeted categories (Smithsonian 2013). When attempting to determine how to best market the museum, there are so many variables associated with social attitudes and demands for recreational travel that consumers must be targeted utilising a psychographic methodology. This complicates the process of creating lifestyle-relevant promotional materials and truly being able to identify which segments will represent the most viable revenue-producing opportunities. The technological environment is also supportive of museum operations and providing consumers with a quality experience at the museum. The National Air and Space Museum maintains a 3D IMAX theatre allowing consumers to “journey through distant galaxies and explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings” (Smithsonian 2013, p.1). The museum is regularly procuring new technologies and software packages that can enhance the consumer experience in a market environment where procurement of innovative technologies can easily be accomplished if the organisation maintains adequate financial capital. 2.2 SWOT Analysis Strengths Relevant and culturally-important exhibitions and collections Competent governance and directorship Educational activities and learning programs gain youth market interest Weaknesses Aging facility infrastructure needed recurring repairs and maintenance Collections activity makes up 18.32 percent of entire annual budget Over-reliance of the Smithsonian name for brand recognition instead of utilising a separate and unique brand personality model of brand management. Opportunities Create more strategic alliances and partnerships with educational organisations and associated institutes of higher learning Utilisation of social media to better engage consumer segments Digital marketing Threats Competitive promotional effectiveness Very high operational costs Consumer behaviour changes in the tourism sector High salaries paid to directors and managers in this industry 3.0 Marketing plan Based on all of the externally-driven threats and implications for the National Air and Space Museum, a competent marketing plan to improve revenue position and brand standing in the United States can be proposed. 3.1 Marketing objectives Increase patronage levels by 20 percent by the end of 2014. Improve services availability within the operational model to better satisfy and excite consumers Improve revenues through services and retail by 30 percent through effective promotional strategy 3.2 Situational analysis There are key factors associated with the current operational and business models of the National Air and Space Museum that require a more effective approach to marketing and service development. The services and retail servicescape require redevelopment and promotion in order to gain consumer interest and build excitement. Secondly, the business should focus its research processes toward understanding the real-time attitudes, needs and lifestyles of consumers through psychographic segmentation and analysis of consumer behaviours. There requires more interactivity between the exhibitions, staff and consumers to provide a more authentic service experience. There also requires better promotional development in order to build a solid brand for the museum (with less reliance on the Smithsonian name) that gives it a distinct and unique brand personality. 4.0 The marketing strategy The first part of the plan for improving the revenues position of the museum is to invest financial capital into remodelling and redesigning the food concessions services. As illustrated previously in Figure 1, the concessions environment is unexciting and rather drab as far as decor. Many other museums in the United States have social-centric food courts and eateries that promote socialisation with important peer networks and provide relevant food offerings that are considered viable for contemporary target consumers. Figure 2 illustrates the anticipated expenditures necessary to achieve a more positive servicescape environment. Figure 2: Expected expenditures for servicescape improvement Expenditure Benefit Menu redevelopment and reorganisation of supply chain - $100,000 Satisfied consumers, better concessions reputation, promotion of social inclusion and engagement. Physical reconstruction and remodelling of concession areas - $1.5 million Better physical environment for foods consumption, modernising the traditional brand for the museum At an expected cost investment of $1.6 million, the organisation can establish more modernised retail and food concessions areas. When consumers are travelling, they prefer dining out and want a high quality service experience. Currently, the National Air and Space Museum offers such branded products as McDonald’s and Subway which does not give the organisation the type of unique and exclusive brand identity that it requires. The museum, once redevelopment has occurred, should offer full-service, high quality restaurant services that will significantly improve the customers’ relationships with the museum brand. Consumers that dine out when travelling will prefer the ability to sit and socialise whilst also consuming very high quality food products. Goodson (2011) strongly iterates that organisations must build relationships with customers in order to gain their loyalty. The key is to stop telling consumers what products and services they provide, but instead indicate what the organisation believes in and values (Goodson). This is something that the museum has been unable to accomplish in historical years and, through the development of full service restaurant services, the organisation can become known for its new service philosophy that provides an authentic and rich customer experience. It will also improve the revenue stream of the organisation, especially where admission rates to the museum are non-existent, thereby enhancing the revenue production objective identified in the plan. 4.1 Psychographic research necessity Prowess into the research process will provide the National Air and Space Museum with critical consumer behaviour knowledge and attitudes (both social and psychological) as it pertains to museum patronage and the travel experience. The organisation will be utilising a blend of qualitative and quantitative research that targets disparate consumer segments in an effort to correlate specific attitudes with known lifestyles and behaviours of certain consumer segments. The company should be developing an online survey that allows consumers to give their sentiment and opinion about their experiences with the brand. Utilising digital marketing by sending invitations to consumers via email who have signed up at the website or directly in-museum during their trips will provide better customer relationship management and also let consumers believe they are valued constituents for the museum. The organisation will also be recruiting professionals in the scientific research process to undertake a study involving a very large sample of national consumers (3,000 to 5,000) to identify the factors that drive an individual to decide to patronise museums. The market environment for museums appears to be rather undefined and fractured with so many disparate consumer market segments having unique needs and values associated with what drive their patronage decision-making to the museum. According to marketing theory, consumers are more apt to develop strong attachments and loyalty to a brand if the brand is, somehow, able to provide opportunities for self-improvement and growth (Zhang and Chan 2009). Unfortunately, under the current marketing model, these behaviours are unknown to the museum which impacts the ability to establish important relationship connections. The data achieved through the study can provide important qualitative knowledge about consumer attitudes and needs related to museum patronage and their social environments which will allow the organisation to develop integrated marketing communications to indicate how the brand can improve their lifestyles. Either through education, learning, cultural development or social status improvements, the brand can begin identifying its largest, potential target markets and develop relevant promotional messages that make the brand appear interesting and capable of providing value to the consumers. The aforementioned large-scale research study on unrelated consumer segments will also provide a new metric by which to measure the effectiveness of advertising. Correlations discovered with certain market segments upon comparing their demographic characteristics with specific, identified sets of values can assist the museum in achieving a positive return on investment for the labour and capital expenditures into the research process. Fortunately for the museum, values are enduring beliefs that are not generally subject to change over time (Tam 2004). Once the museum fully understands how to properly target and communicate with the most viable markets, the promotional campaigns developed should be sustainable for an elongated period which has benefits for marketing cost controls, especially in areas of promotion. The organisation will be able to effectively position the brand in terms of the most valuable conception illustrated by the large sample of consumers so as to develop a solid brand personality for the National Air and Space Museum. 4.2 Personalised service production – direct marketing The museum should be creating more interactive features and exhibits that add more quality to an experiential experience at the museum. Many science centres, which act as national competitors, utilise technologies and a variety of virtual reality and 3D systems to enhance the experience. The museum should be consulting with information technology experts and launching executive-level consultations to determine how to better create interactivity between museum and the patrons. It is recommended that the National Air and Space Museum begin an organisation restructuring and recruitment process to identify key actors that can serve as interactive representatives of the exhibits and the museum brand. Experts in historical air and space travel sciences can lead engaging tours of the facility, allowing the organisation, in this process, to develop the important relationships needed to build consumer loyalty and brand preference. Knowledge experts in science can also facilitate teaching for youths in an academic setting and inspire adults to become more engaged with exhibits and air travel history. Figure 3: Expenditures for recruitment and reorganisation Costs Benefits Public relations-centric staffing - $90,000 annually. Better relationship development, brand building, development of consumer loyalty for word-of-mouth advertising Tour guides - $90,000 annually Interactivity in the customer experience and customer satisfaction Part-time experts for exhibits - $70,000 annually Customer satisfaction and brand reputation improvement. A total annual expenditure of $250,000 can easily be offset by increasing revenues associated with retail products and the new full service restaurant. It is absolutely critical that the museum stand out over that of other international museum competition by giving consumers the authenticity they require as well as establishing a brand personality that illustrates the brand cares about the needs and social values of consumers. 4.3 Enhanced promotional development The National Air and Space Museum will be developing an integrated marketing communications promotional campaign that will endure for six months, advertised nationally in many different market environments. The first portion of the campaign is to create a new logo for the museum, one that is modern and contemporary, to illustrate that the organisation is re-launching from its traditional roots. The first stage of the campaign is to create a catch phrase that encompasses the personality of the new, modernised establishment. Such phrases as “We’re not up in the air when it comes to you” or “A brand new face” will clearly indicate the values of the organisation and its intention for servicing the needs of the 21st Century consumer. The campaign should consist of magazine advertising in such popular media sources as Popular Science, Better Homes and Gardens, and a variety of other lifestyle and science-related magazines. This will give the brand more exposure and this represents a rather low-cost advertising strategy with the ability to carry the new brand personality nationwide. This promotional campaign will endure for four months at the time of launch. The second stage of the campaign is to create scripted radio advertisements in a variety of disparate markets across the United States to engage consumers about upgrades and changes at the museum. Highlighting the full service, high quality restaurant facilities, the architectural changes to the servicescape, and even pricing promotions offering incentives for discounted meals at the restaurant will provide the motivation for consumers to consider travelling to the National Air and Space Museum. The radio portion of the campaign will endure for three months. The third stage of the campaign is to provide billboard advertisements in the Washington D.C. region highlighting a variety of aspirational actors and celebrities to build excitement in the new brand concept. There are sociological and psychological factors that drive decision-making in travel consumption and, once these are identified through the qualitative and quantitative research studies, the endorsements from celebrities can provide more lifestyle relevance. These billboards will target only the local population and surrounding Washington D.C. regions, however this portion of the integrated communications campaign will clearly illustrate benefit, pricing and excitement (associated with brand personality) that gives consumer segments a unique and modernised perception of the brand as one that evolves with changing technologies and social characteristics in the social environment. The final stage of the advertising campaign is to launch nationwide television commercials that illustrate the physical improvements to the facility architecture, illustrates consumers enjoying a socially-relevant experience in a high quality restaurant, and the new technologies that have been procured to improve engagement with consumers. Showing scripted images of in-house representatives laughing and engaging with patrons will show that the brand is sincere and socially relevant, making it appear that the museum experience will be fun and interesting rather than just an educational experience. These television advertisements should be run in key urban markets across the United States for a duration of three weeks. By the end of the campaign, consumers should have brand recognition and find favourable brand impressions about the museum that will translate into more intention to schedule a visit. 4.4 Strategic alliances and partnerships There needs to be incentive if consumers are going to choose the National Air and Space Museum over that of competition and substitutes. The executive governing bodies at the museum should be seeking out opportunities for sponsorship, including airline companies, car rental companies, and hotels. Co-branding strategies will improve brand visibility nationwide and through strategic alliance development, discounts for hotel stays can be offered to consumers that visit the museum. Guarantees of showing ticket stubs or other proof of visitorship for pre-established discounts will incentivise travel decision-making by consumer segments and also enhance revenue production by sharing profits that have been gleaned as a result of the alliances. This will avoid having to simply target local Washington D.C. consumers and the surrounding region, but also provide opportunities for cost savings associated with domestic travel expenditures. 4.5 Control systems There needs to be a measurement system in place to ensure that the campaign is providing the expected return on investment demanded. Of course, daily counts of visitor traffic will indicate, over time, whether the campaign has brought more consumer interest in the museum. However, the company can create an online metrics system, at low cost, by incentivising consumers to sign up to take the online survey about their experiences. The Smithsonian should be establishing a sweepstakes campaign that provides a first prize and a second prize to those who engage with the online research instrument. The first prize could be an all-inclusive travel package to the Smithsonian and a luxury hotel in the region, whilst second prize being a variety of branded Smithsonian promotional merchandise delivered to the winner. Sweepstakes are very engaging and interesting to most consumer groups and have a tendency to increase participation and involvement with the brand. This would be an ideal method of changing the brand identity of the National Air and Space Museum and giving consumers the motivation to provide the organisation with highly valuable consumer attitude and behavioural data. Management should also be conducting performance audits of the new tour guides and knowledge experts to ensure that the brand is being properly represented by the new staff. Face-to-face, short questionnaires about real-time consumer experiences with the staff representatives will supplement known marketing data about consumer sentiment and attitude about the brand and also whether or not the strategy is working to better satisfy consumers. 5.0 Recommendations The most primary method of gaining consumer attention and establishing incentives to visit the museum is to build a solid brand identity and personality for the museum. If the organisation follows the recommended marketing campaign, moving appropriate through the stages and timeframes identified, not only will consumers have more incentive to select the museum for their travel needs, but the organisation will be more equipped to respond appropriately to the consumer characteristics that drive consumption in this industry. Knowledge is power in marketing and, through this marketing plan, the museum will be better positioned to create relevant consumer communications strategies and promote the more up-to-date brand identity that is necessary in an environment where substitute products and services create a very competitive environment. Therefore, brand management is the most significant method of meeting objectives through promotional development, strategic alliance building, conducting market research, and direct marketing which are all part of brand development; the key factor for success for the museum. 6.0 Conclusion The marketing plan described, including servicescape redevelopment, recruitment of knowledge and PR-centric representatives for interactivity in the experience, strategic alliance development, and more effective promotional campaign development, is based on the findings about market conditions and consumer behaviour. Museum marketing is more difficult than retail marketing because market needs, values and preferences are disparate which makes it hard to justify what strategy would bring the most return on investment. This marketing plan encompasses the most probable direction by which the company can increase revenues, improve the operational model, and increase visitor ratios by the end of 2014. References Boulding, W., Kalara, A., Staelin, R. and Ziethaml, V. (1993). A dynamic process model of service quality: from expectations to behavioural intentions, Journal of Marketing Research, 30(1), pp.7-27. Cameron, A. (1999). Recognising the power of hidden memories, Admap, 34 (October), pp.S21-S23. Chan, W.L. (2011). A marketing plan for the Sacramento History Museum, California State University. [online] Available at: http://csus-dspace.calstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10211.9/1220/A%20MARKETING%20PLAN%20FOR%20THE%20SACRAMENTO%20HISTORY%20MUSEUM.pdf?sequence=1 (accessed 5 December 2013). GAO. (2007). Smithsonian Institution: Funding challenges affect facilities’ conditions and security, endangering collections, United States General Accountability Office. [online] Available at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071127.pdf (accessed 4 December 2013). Goodson, S. (2011). Is brand loyalty the core to apple’s success?, Forbes. [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2011/11/27/is-brand-loyalty-the-core-to-apples-success-2/ (accessed 4 December 2013). Hill, M.A., Ireland, D. and Hoskisson, R.E. (2004). Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalisation, 6th edn. South Western College Publications. Hoffman, K.D. and Bateson, J.E.G. (2009). Services marketing: concepts, strategies and cases, 4th edn. Mason: South Western Cengage. Hood, M.G. (1983). Staying away: why people choose not to visit museums, Museum News, 61(4), pp.50-57. Horwath. (2011). The future of luxury travel. [online] Available at:http://www.iltm.net/files/the_future_of_luxury_travel_report.pdf (accessed 3 December 2013). IBIS World. (2013). Museums in the US: Market research report. [online] Available at: http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=1640 (accessed 8 December 2013). IBIS World. (2013). Tourism in the US: Market research report. [online] Available at: http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=2002 (accessed 6 December 2013). Kelly, L., and J. Sas. 1998. Separate or Inseparable? Marketing and Visitor Studies. Paper presented at ICOM Conference: Marketing and Public Relations, Melbourne, Australia, 12-14 October, cited in Altinbasak, I. (2007). City image and museums: the case of Istanbul, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 4(3). Kotler, N.G., Kotler, P. and Kotler, W.I. (2008). Museum marketing and strategy: designing missions, building audiences and generating revenue & resources. Jossey-Bass. McLean, F. (1994). Services marketing: the case of museums, The Service Industries Journal, 14(2), pp.190-199. Pogrebin, R. (2008). Report details Smithsonian business unit problems, The New York Times. [online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/us/29smith.html?_r=1& (accessed 4 December 2013). Porter, M. (2012). Porter’s Five Forces: a model for industry analysis [online] Available at: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml (accessed 5 December 2013). Schiffman, L. and Kanuk, L. (2010). Consumer Behaviour, 10th edn. Prentice Hall International. Smithsonian. (2013). Visitor statistics, Newsroom of the Smithsonian. [online] Available at: http://newsdesk.si.edu/about/stats (accessed 7 December 2013). Smithsonian. (2013). About Us. [online] Available at: http://www.si.edu/about/ (accessed 4 December 2013). Smithsonian. (2013). Hubble 3D. [online] Available at: http://www.si.edu/Imax/movie/3 (accessed 3 December 2013). Smithsonian. (2013). National Air and Space Museum Financial Report – Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2011. [online] Available at: http://airandspace.si.edu/about/governance/annualreport2011/financial.cfm (accessed 6 December 2013). Tam, J.M. (2004). Customer satisfaction, service quality and perceived value: an integrative model, Journal of Marketing Management, 20, pp.897-916. US Travel Association. (2013). Travel facts and statistics. [online] Available at: http://www.ustravel.org/news/press-kit/travel-facts-and-statistics (accessed on 2 December 2013) Zhang, H. and Chan, D. (2009). Self-esteem as a source of evaluative conditioning, European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, pp.1065-1073. Read More
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What happens to the design object when it becomes a museum object

The museum is a place where different historical objects, which may help in describing lots of different stories of the past that could otherwise have been destroyed or remain untold if the related objects were not placed in museum.... What happens to the design object when it becomes a museum object?... In addition to this, how the meaning of the design object changes by placing the object in the museum?... The answer to these questions lies in the development of cognizant regarding the museum and how it impacts the value of the object Concept of museum The museum, as described above, is a place which is not only an artistically design building of different historical objects, but it may also have profound impacts on the people, who have interest in the history hidden behind the object2....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Business Proposal for Canal and River Trust

The management of waterways to the trust took place on July, 2nd 2012.... A substantial property endowment would be underwritten under the trust more readily than would be if the waterways management was under the management of a government corporation.... the trust has an impressive foundation for financial management.... This was a shift of management from the government-owned British Waterways.... A change of management was necessary to avoid shortfalls of short-termism and little grants from charitable institutions and well-wishers the previous statutory corporation faced....
19 Pages (4750 words) Coursework

Management Accounting and Finance in U.K. museums and music organisations

This particular dissertation based assignment aims to discuss about the finance as well as management accounting aspects of the museums and music organizations located in the UK.... In the following sections we will discuss about the historical background of the UK, the economy of the country, the political factors related to the overall administration of the country, the various social factors, the cultural aspects, the leisure activities and the financial aspects of both music organizations and museums....
36 Pages (9000 words) Dissertation

Destination Management: London

There is a team responsible for development planning, marketing and management of London as a destination of tourism.... London has many galleries, museums, sporting events, libraries, and other cultural institutions, comprising the National gallery, British museum, 40 West End theatres and British Library.... System of governance London is home for two levels of government the local and national government.... Destination management: Case study of London Name: Course: Professor: Institution: City and State: Date: 1....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Marketing Strategy: Burke Museum

The main aim of this report 'Marketing Strategy: Burke museum' is to undertake the analyses of the Burke museum and the opportunities for the museum in the Australian market still remained unexplored.... The report will also undertake the evaluation of the opportunities for the museum.... The report contains a Marketing Plan for the next year which needs to be introduced by the museum in order to achieve its objectives....
16 Pages (4000 words) Case Study

The IKEA Marketing Strategy

First, it captures the current state of play in the known market space.... This case study "The Red Ocean marketing Strategy" highlights that business strategy is basically a plan of action is which helps companies achieve its long-term or short-term objectives.... The companies which have succeeded in today's globalized corporate world have a sound corporate strategy in place....
25 Pages (6250 words) Case Study

Similarities and Differences in the Use of Objects in Films and Exhibitions

The collections' physical care may be overseen by the museum's collections managers or conservators.... From the paper "Similarities and Differences in the Use of Objects in Films and Exhibitions" it is clear that the film director selects people to take various film characters in the best possible way to deliver his message....
8 Pages (2000 words) Coursework

Marketing Communication - Consumer Culture and Behaviour

This paper "Marketing Communication - Consumer Culture and Behaviour" focuses on the Newport House museum and The New Walk museum that are situated in Leicester, the UK.... Not only the people of Leicester are benefited by these museums as people from different regions of UK and the world who come to visit the museum.... The Newark museum and garden includes the museum of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.... The Skeffington and Wygston's Chantry House are the two historic houses that make Newark museum....
16 Pages (4000 words) Assignment
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