Aberdeen Maritime Museum Marketing Strategy and Expected Results - Business Plan Example

Aberdeen Maritime Museum Marketing Plan Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Assumptions with Regard to Increasing Visitors 3 Marketing Objectives 4 Marketing Strategy 6 Expected Results 7 Alternative Plans 8 Extended Marketing Mix 9 Budget year one 12 Implementation and Monitoring 12 Bibliography 13 Executive Summary Aberdeen Maritime Museum is the city’s award winning museum within Aberdeen city that keeps the history of North Sea among the people of Aberdeen. It is situated in the ancient Shiprow and integrates the Provost Ross’s House (Aberdeen City Council, 2014). The Museum has an assortment of artefacts that capture fantastic ancient moments of shipbuilding, fishing, fast sailing ships and the history of the port. The Museum gives the story of Aberdeen city’s lengthy bond with the Sea (Lamb, 123). It is home to a unique collection made up of fast sailing ships, port and fishing history (Burnett, 2006: 283). It is a unique site being the only place in Britain where one can see North Sea oil industry (Dennison et al. 2002: 51-2). Aberdeen Museum seeks to deepen its visitor base by increasing the number of its annual visitors. The Aberdeen Museum aims at establishing itself as one of the leading Maritime Museum destinations in Europe and beyond in the next five years. The strategy for implementing the marketing plan focuses on three main areas. These are product, promotion and pricing. The Museum intends to increase the quality of services it offers as well as employ a pricing technique that will attract more customers and be financially satisfying. Promotions and advertisements are crucial in any marketing plan and strategic approach shall be used to ensure this is done correctly (Aberdeen City Council, 2014). The marketing shall be done through mailings, internet and magazines. These three avenues are the most used information platforms and a budget subject to Board’s approval is drawn. Assumptions with Regard to Increasing Visitors This approach bases on the belief that increasing the number of visitors to Aberdeen Maritime Museum depends on a number of variant factors. These factors include increasing the satisfaction and pleasure that each visitor gains from the museum’s visit. This satisfaction is achievable regardless of the nature of the visits, which might be actual visit or online visit. It can only be achievable through understanding and meeting the various needs of the visitor’s. The increase in the number of visitors is also achievable if the basic marketing concepts are applied. These ideas include market segmentation and development of a clear, attractive unique brand for the museum. Another important factor is the providence of a clear offer that pleases the target markets built on exploration of the meaning and importance of the collections at the museum. The increase in the number of visitors is also achievable through promotion of the benefits of volunteers in the museum and maximizing the platform for volunteers to contribute to marketing initiatives, customer satisfaction and strengthening community participation (French & Runyard, 2011: 56-58). Finally, achieving an increased number of visitors would entail working in partnership with other museums and sectorial players such as tourism organizations and hotels, to raise the profile, accessibility and attractiveness of Aberdeen Maritime Museum to important markets. Marketing Objectives The primary objectives of Aberdeen Maritime Museum will entail communications and impact. i. Impact The rationale in creating impact is not only to attend to the needs of the customer but to create a backdrop in which the customer is willing to be dared to develop a range of reactions towards art. With this in mind, the Museum plans to increase the number of visitors by 50%. The Museum plans to increase the general public visits by 10percent, commercial tours by 15%, schools and colleges by 15%, business visitors by 10%. In order to directly impact procedures of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum’s achievement in educational efforts, the Museum aims to increase the number of college visitations by 20% and teen visitors by 30%. ii. Communications In addition to the objectives identified under impact, Aberdeen Maritime Museum, will seek to improve its target markets and the underserved market segments through increasing aided and unaided awareness of Aberdeen Maritime Museum (Hede, 2013), and increasing preference for the museum as a destination among the target markets (French & Runyard, 2011: 113). The other objectives include i. To challenge the outdated views about the museum and other perceptual obstacles that discourages a considerable proportion of locals and tourists from visiting Aberdeen Maritime museum, ii. To raise the profile of the museum and the benefits that it delivers to visitors from Scotland and beyond, iii. To improve the strengths and effective use of resources of all the messages and stories told by the museum directed to the different market segments, iv. To strengthen and extend partnerships with other museums so that it can increase its level of appreciation and value as important elements of the visitor economy. v. The other objectives of Aberdeen Maritime Museum include vi. Generate netted revenue from an amalgamation of membership and admission fees, retail sales, special events and programming. vii. Obtain new funding sources including government grants, foundation grants and corporate and private donations. The strategy also aims at broadening audiences and challenging outdated or negative perceptions of museums. It also aims at developing Aberdeen Maritime museums’ capacity for carrying out audience growth and marketing research and activities and developing the Museum’s affiliation to key partners and stakeholders who could help improve the market for the museum’s visits. Marketing Strategy The approach recognizes and builds on the rich variety of the museum sector in Scotland in terms of size, collections, and budgets, size of the workforce, location and governance. The strategy also focuses on the museums’ strengths and objectives, the communities it serves, audiences it seeks to reach, experience it seeks to offer and the variety of its collections (French & Runyard, 2011: 121). This approach recognizes the particular role that museums play for communities in Scotland, maintaining collections and the stories they tell. The other Museums occupy and care for listed buildings and sit in well-loved natural landscapes and, therefore, seen as a rather related attraction by visitors. The strategy will entail providing the quality experience for an ever increasing diverse range of people (Hoffman & Bateson, 2011: 61). The Museum shall ensure proper Sustenance of the collections and keeping up with technological advances. The management shall also ensure that human resource skills are shared and developed for efficient delivery and public value. There shall be an increase in efforts put on promotions of exhibitions and events. The management shall broaden the network through its members who will be required to refer potential new members through a member get member exercise. The existing data on users and non-users of Aberdeen Maritime Museum is sparse, but it indicates that the museum enjoys some loyal and passionate support in the schools, tourist and family markets. However, a good number of people do not view museums as an interesting place particularly for family groups. The marketing strategy shall be split into specific plans aimed at meeting the objectives. In order to ensure that the customers achieve the highest quality services, employees shall be trained on customer service. The training shall be done from June 2014 in partnership with Aberdeen University. Employees shall have an opportunity to learn from experience experts and in the process gain more insights into quality service delivery. These programmes shall be co-ordinated by the human resource department. More funds will be allocated to the marketing department to ensure proper promotions of events are done. This shall be done from the start of next financial period and is expected to increase the attendance numbers and in process increase revenue. Current members shall be encouraged to mobilize new members. This shall be done from May 2014 and it will involve giving each member a token of £5 as appreciation for every member successfully referred. Expected Results The overall purpose of this strategy is to increase the numbers and range of those visiting Aberdeen Maritime Museum. However, the strategy’s purpose is not just about increasing numbers but it also seeks to help promote the quality and enthusiasm of what Maritime museum as a whole can offer and to heighten awareness of the social, cultural and economic benefits of increased engagement with the museum and its collections for everyone who lives in or visits Scotland. If well implemented and closely monitored, this marketing strategy is expected to yield successful results to Aberdeen Maritime Museum by defining the market niche for the Museum and what can be done to get the best out of it (Hede, 2013: 115), and introducing the Museum to new people and engage them as Friends of Aberdeen Maritime Museum (Hoffman & Bateson, 2011: 72). Lastly, this strategy is expected to build sustainability, accountability and reduce the risk. Alternative Plans The need for a wide range of marketing and advocacy approaches presents a challenge to Aberdeen Maritime museum despite the efforts put in the user and non-user research. The Museum lacks the capacity and resources to develop an ultra-modern approach to museum marketing. This would involve not just promoting the collections and facilities in Museum but also identifying and addressing diverse public sections and their wants, needs, and attitudes. The Museum would also have to develop a marketing function that does not revolve around data gathering and advertising, but which is entrenched on communal philosophy where everyone is involved and assimilated into its strategic expansion and delivery. There is also a need to recognize how the experience of the museum visit can be bettered for the variety of visitors through increasing visitor’s direct engagement with the collections (Rentschler, 2007: 157). Implementation of a capacity-building programme aimed at both paid staff and volunteers with the purpose of improving and developing public research and marketing skills and practices and setting the basis for maintainable development of marketing in the future (Luttervelt, 2006: 176). The Museum can also engage in a profile-raising support programme with purpose of raising awareness of the value of its collections, socio-cultural values and the exciting and stimulating atmosphere they can offer. Given the current market situation and funds constraints, this challenging role can only be performed through proper planning and financing as well as effective resource utilization. Extended Marketing Mix a. The product The product of Aberdeen Maritime Museum remains to be the Museum galleries, permanent collections, exhibitions, and miscellaneous items (Aberdeen City Council, 2014). The Museum houses an outstanding assortment of fast sailing ships, shipbuilding, port and fishing history (Dennison et al., 2002). It also offers exceptional galleries of the North Sea gas and oil industry. The Museum will stress on products and services offered in order to achieve the social and educational outcomes. Aberdeen Maritime Museum offers an excellent assortment of maritime paintings and objects that are exploited to the full within the Museum, with touch screen consoles, education room, computer visual database, and practical showcases and brings the production of the North Sea industries. b. Price Admission to Aberdeen Maritime Museum and interactive resources will remain to be free. c. Place Aberdeen Maritime Museum is located off Union Street and opposite Adelphi Lane. It is located along a ramped pavement joining the Adelphi lane in the end. There is much space available for parking. d. Promotion The products and services of Maritime Museum will be promoted through advertising and publicity. i. Publicity The overall objective of public relations will be to heighten the frequency, quality and the number of media mentions of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum in Aberdeen city, United Kingdom and the global media, leading to a varied blend of articles, stories and features in consumer magazines, newspapers, broadcast news programs, radio talk shows and online sources (Ritcher, 2012: 145, Morrison, 2013: 156-65). In order to accomplish these goals, various publicity programs will be designed to elicit positive media coverage. These include aggressive media relations (Lamb et al., 2012:287) within Aberdeen Media market, and across primary markets within United Kingdom and creative publicity programs to provoke positive media coverage of Aberdeen Maritime Museum (Runyard, 2004: 278, Ritcher, 2012: 178) ii. Advertising Aberdeen Maritime Museum plans to use print, audio and visual, and internet advertising. a. Print Advertising Print advertising will involve the use of billboards (Hoffman & Bateson, 2011: 342) that will be located in certain places, in Aberdeen City. Print advertising will also be used in magazines and newspapers where a full page colour advert will be displayed. Both the newspaper and magazine adverts will be similar to the billboard since they will all have the same images. The primary newspapers to be used will include Evening Express, City Life, and the Press and Journal Newspapers. b. Audio and Visual Aberdeen Maritime Museum plans to use the local radio and TV stations to increase awareness among the public on its products and services. The local radio stations to be used will be the NorthSound 1, Northsound 2, North East Community Radio, Slick FM and Stations House Media Unit. On the other hand, Aberdeen Maritime Museum will use Grampian Television, STV and BBC. c. Online Advertising Aberdeen Maritime Museum recognizes that its presence on the internet is an opening to spread its market reach in a way that is coherent with its mission. The Museum will add more features to its existing website (Lamb et al., 2012: 301) such as an interaction section to make it more vibrant and informative website, while passing on the message to a huge audience. The Museum will also carry out adverts through social media platforms. Resources Required The resources required for this market plan include mailing fees, funds to facilitate training, Advertisement funds and Remunerations for the human Resource. Budget year one Item Cost Mailing (printing and Postage) £1,000 Training and Workshops £20,000 Advertisement and Promotions £20,000 Remunerations £200,000 Miscellaneous £5,000 Total £246,000 Implementation and Monitoring The plan will be implemented under the guidelines of the legal framework and relevant Maritime regulations. The approach will only be effectual if the museum’s marketing team has the active support of the sector and key stakeholders. The museum should first build a partnership with all the relevant stakeholders on the basis of a two-way traffic relationship (Wood, 2013: 247). This will help establish a rapport and the parties involved motivated by the benefits of working together are clear to both or all parties involved. Outlining and working towards equally, beneficial outcomes will lay the grounds for partnership work to continue past the relatively short period covered by this approach. These partnership initiatives should be set rolling within the first month of the implementation period. The next step will be to build the capacity and sustainability of the museum’s market. Training should begin in this time. Training will help make marketing effective. Other key initiatives during this phase will include promotion of contributions made by volunteers and support of skill development. The phase of implementation will focus on promotion and profile rising of the Museum across Scotland and beyond. Among the many activities during this time will be promoting high profile Aberdeen Museum Awards and promotion of selective engagements in a range of initiatives. Media relations will develop from this period. The implementation will be in three phases as explained. However, implementation initiatives of a particular stage can spill over and run concurrently with initiatives of the next phase of implementation. This will be determined by exogenous factors such as how the market will respond to these initiatives and the amount of resources needed. Bibliography Aberdeen City Council. 2014. Aberdeen: Aberdeen City Council, Arts & Recreation. Burnett, J. 2006. National collections of objects and museum information in 19th-century Scotland. Museum Management and Curatorship, 281-285. Dennison, E. P., Ditchburn, D., & Lynch, M. (2002). Aberdeen before 1800: A new history. East Linton, East Lothian: Tuckwell Press. French, Y., & Runyard, S. (2011). Marketing and public relations for museums, galleries, cultural and heritage attractions. Abingdon, Oxon [U.K.: Routledge. Hede, A. (2013). Museum Marketing. Routledge. Hoffman, K. D., & Bateson, J. E. (2011). Services marketing: Concepts, strategies, & cases. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. In the pipeline--: the new Aberdeen Maritime Museum. 2008. Aberdeen: Aberdeen City Council, Arts & Recreation Dept. Lamb, C. W., & Hair, J. F. 2013. Marketing 12th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning. Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. D. (2012). Essentials of marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Luttervelt, R. V. 2006. Maritime museums. Museum International, 102-110. Morrison, A. M. (2013). Marketing and managing tourism destinations. Rentschler, R. 2007. Museum marketing: competing in the global marketplace. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. Richter, T. (2012). International marketing mix management: Theoretical framework, contingency factors and empirical findings from world-markets. Berlin: Logos-Verl. Runyard, S. 2004. The museum marketing handbook. London: H.M.S.O. Runyard, S., & French, Y. 2009. The marketing and public relations handbook for museums, galleries and heritage attractions. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Altamira Press. Wood, M. B. 2013. Marketing Plan Handbook: Pearson New International Edition 5 ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Read More