TOURISM

British Museum Company Limited



Table of Contents

Introduction3

Overview of the Museums in U.K.3

British Museum4

Potential Market5

A Modern Approach to Museum Marketing6

Specialized Cultural Marketing7

Critical Analysis of Marketing Strategies8

E-Marketing Strategies8

Viral Marketing9

Guerilla Marketing Strategies9

Role and Effectiveness of Public Relations Activities9

Recommendations10

Corporate Identity10

Institutional Identity10

Museum Branding11

Conclusion11

References13

British Museum Company Limited

Introduction

The international tourism industry is the movement of travellers and the reception and entertainment of travellers away from their home country. Whereas, the hospitality industry, refers to the wide category of companies that fall under the service industry, it includes restaurants, hotels, event planning, museums, motels, cruise line, theme parks, and additional areas within the tourism industry. This industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that largely depends on the availability of disposable income and leisure time. People leave their home, neighbourhood, work and routine to experience something new and worthy of their money. All these points have loaded the hospitality industry with attractive and numerous opportunities. At the same time, it is bombarded with a number of challenges posed in availing those opportunities. The key to success lies in the efficient and effective marketing strategies.

Museums are one important segment of the tourism industry. Tourists from all over the world visit museums for different purposes. They are explored by artists, scholars, students and researchers. These places address numerous needs of the visitors including educational, entertainment, leisure, investment in valuables, charity, exhibitions, etc. British Museum is one of the most renowned, classical, ancient yet modern museums of all times.

Overview of the Museums in U.K.

Like the forums of ancient Rome, museums are places where communities gather to learn, debate, share their experience, socialize, and get entertainment. They no longer simply present objects; they actively engage their audiences in experiences in looking at art, and they are places where artists, scholars, and the public engage in learning and can be challenged by new ideas and images.

The above statement gracefully summarizes the transformation of the British art museum over the last century. Art museums have a history of being created by and for the elite class, as monuments to wealthy members of society and their excellent taste. When art museums were first developed in London, they were primarily supported by individual philanthropists seeking to display their own collections of art. The museums, and countless other public places dedicated to the aesthetic experience, were built upon the collections and interests of a selected group of patrons (Herve, 1838, p.225). The most extensive and celebrated collections of art held by museums in London were developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as members of uppers class families and self-made millionaires amassing fabulous collections before giving them to the institution of their choice. Thus, many British art museums originated from a combination of private wealth and public recognition, which makes U.K. art museums, a unique form of institution.

The change in priorities for the museum field had become fully apparent in a 1992 report from a specially convened a task force. Excellence and Equity: Museums and the Public Dimension placed education as its ...