Challenges and prospects of marketing in ethiopian museums; the case study of addis ababa city museum and jimma museum

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF MARKETING IN ETHIOPIAN MUSEUMS; THE CASE STUDY OF ADDIS ABABA CITY MUSEUM AND JIMMA... Addis Ababa, Eth

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF

GRADUATE STUDIES

CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF MARKETING

IN ETHIOPIAN MUSEUMS; THE CASE STUDY OF

ADDIS ABABA CITY MUSEUM AND JIMMA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June, 2017

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF

GRADUATE STUDIES

CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF MARKETING IN ETHIOPIAN MUSEUMS; THE CASE STUDY OF ADDIS ABABA CITY MUSEUM AND JIMMA MUSEUM

BY

TEGEGN SINTAYEHU DIRES

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

ARCHEOLOGY AND HERITAGE MANAGEMENT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ETHIOPIAN STUDIES (MUSEUM

STUDIES)

ADVISOR: TEMESGEN BURKA (PhD)

June, 2017

ADDIS ABABA

UNIVERSITY

Addis Ababa University

School of Graduate Studies

This is to certify that the thesis prepared by Tegegn Sintayehu Dires, entitled:

‘’Challenges and Prospects of Marketing Museums in Ethiopia; the Case Study of Addis Ababa City Museum and Jimma Museums’’ and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in Ethiopian Studies (Museum Studies) compiles with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality;

Signed by the Examining Committee

Date -

Examiner -Signature -

Date -

Advisor -Signature -

Declarations

I declare that the work in this thesis has not previously been submitted for any degree nor has it been submitted as part of the requirements for any other degree except as fully acknowledged within the text

TEGEGN SINTAYEHU DIRES

Signature _ Date _

Place: College of Social Science, Department of Archeology and Heritage

Management

Date of Submission: June, 2017

ABSTRACT

Museum marketing is a dynamic and complex field, typically considered less attractive to museum researchers in Ethiopia The goal of this paper is to discuss the challenges and prospects of marketing in two selected Ethiopian museums namely Addis Ababa City museum and Jimma Museums as case studies Hence, the purpose of this paper is to comprehensively discuss the concept of marketing in museums, its background at the first sight and investigate the marketing practices of two Ethiopian museums in particular Therefore, the main objective of this study is to explore, examine and analyze the role of marketing in museums in general and its practices with particular emphasis on two selected museums in Ethiopia Today, like all other cultural institutions’, museums in Ethiopia are under great pressure to change In particular, increasing competition for

limited funds and demands for greater accountability have meant that the museums can

no longer justify their existence principally in terms of the care of their collections and the serving of particular interests Consequently, this thesis examines the current

marketing practices of two case study museums by employing different data collection methodologies primarily Quantitative data collecting techniques, analysis and

interpretation were used and supported by qualitative which includes observation,

questionnaires and interviews The major finding of this thesis is that, marketing is not accepted and practiced as one the principal strategy in the two case study museums Throughout the data the absence of a substantial range of marketing activities,

promotion activities, the various advertising methods, and marketing to their publics are indicators of marketing being seen as unessential to the museums To implement, as it stands now, both of the case study museums are not ready to begin marketing Despite the survey results however, the two museums needs to embrace marketing as one of principal activity to achieve their missions and sustainability This thesis will be

substantial in minimizing the temporary marketing problems of Ethiopian museums Finally, this research diagnoses the major marketing challenges and it gives important suggestions through which the two museums overcome the numerous hurdles on the route

to truly achieving their missions

the course of this thesis And His effort in helping me is priceless My institution Bule Hora University deserves due acknowledgement for providing me a scholarship I would also like to offer my sincere and profound thanks to my friends and classmates for their encouragement and support, this thesis would not have been possible without their

complete and utter support

Finally, my profound gratitude goes to all of the participants in this thesis, without their support, this thesis could not have been finalized.

ii

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LISTS OF TABLES iv

1.4 Objective of the Study 5

1.5 Significance of the Study 6

1.6 Scope and Limitations 7

1.7 Research Methodology 7

1.8 Research Design

8

1.8.1 Sampling and Sampling Strategy

iii

1.8.2.2 Interview 10

1.10 Ethical Considerations 13

CHAPTER TWO

2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES

14

2.1 Introduction 14

2.2 Museums as ‘’Not For Profit Organizations’’ 15

2.3 The Conceptual Framework of Marketing 18

2.3.1 The Historical Dimension of Marketing 19

2.3.2 Historical Background of Marketing in Museum 20

2.4 The Debate in Marketing Museum 23

2.5 Criticism of Marketing Museums 28

2.6 Why Introducing Marketing to Museums? 30

2.7 How to Practice Marketing in Museums 33

2.8 Challenges of Marketing in African and Ethiopian Museums

3.1 The Collections of Addis Ababa Museum and their Marketing Potential……… 44

3.2 Data gathered from Respondents……… 54

3.2.1 General Background Information of Respondents by Age and Gender………… 54

3.2.2 General Background Information of Respondents by Country and

Academic Qualification……… 54

3.3 Data Collected from Domestic and Foreign visitors……… 55

3.3.1 Visitors’ Response Presentation……… 56

3.4 Data Gathered from Interview……… 59

3.4.1 The Museums Visitors in Years………

4.2 The Marketing Practice of the Case Study Museums……… 76

4.3 Elements of Marketing Museum……… 79

4.3.1 Product……… 80

4.3.2 Price……… 80

vi

4.3.3 Place……… 80

4.11 RECOMMENDATIONS ……… 102

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LISTS OF KEY INFORMANTS

APPENDIXES

Table 3.1: Domestic Visitors response classification by age, gender and Academic qualifications……… 54

Table 3.2: Foreign Respondents by Country, Gender, Age and Academic

ix

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background of the Study

The history of the museum is one of shifting purposes and changing ideals and they have been active in shaping knowledge over the last 600 years Yet what is their function within today’s society? At the present time, when funding is becoming increasingly scarce, difficult questions are being asked about the justification and survival of

museums (Greenhill, 1994)

Museums are today, like all other cultural institutions’, are under great pressure to change In particular, increasing competition for limited funds and demands for greater accountability have meant that museums can no longer justify their existence principally

in terms of the care of their collections and the serving of particular interests However, such proposals have been greeted with great hostility by those who perceive an inherent contradiction with the traditional perceptions and modern perspectives of museums

survival (Dr Kassaye, 2016)

The purpose of this paper is twofold First we discuss theoretical contributions about the role of marketing in museums and about the two different theories regarding the purpose

of marketing and the purpose of museums, in order to better understand contemporary role of marketing in museums and the need for the survival of museums and other

cultural institutions Secondly, I have focused on researching the role of marketing in two selected Ethiopian museums and offer an insight into the current state of practice in a context of a transitional market

Alcaraz, Hume and Mort (2009) emphasize the existence of great debate on the scope and practices of museums in the 21st century Museums are shifting toward the need for increased financial returns, which puts a lot of pressure on their everyday business Marketing has been in the centre of dispute Many museum professionals, has generated

an instructive debate about the role, purpose, and self-presentation of marketing in

museums

Thus, this paper has tried to present the different perspectives and connotations given by scholars and experts in the area According to sources, the connection between museums and marketing begins in the late 1970s, in Europe Since then museum marketing has had everything but an easy path Besides, there were historically rooted prejudices between museums and marketing The complexity of the contemporary marketing discipline has also led to much misunderstanding and criticism It is worth considering this criticism with regard to museums (Rentschler, R & Hede, A.M 2007)

As Rentschler (2002) has noted, over the last 25 years museums have responded to an

increased interest in their visitors by incorporating marketing into their organizational strategies During this period marketing moved from the periphery to take a more central role in museum management This is not to say that marketing has been universally accepted by the museum profession There is still some skepticism about the usefulness

of marketing in cultural organizations such as museums (Kolb, 2000), and confusion within the profession about the marketing concept itself Museums, though, are becoming much more receptive to marketing

In the annals of museum professionals’ journals, marketing is no longer a dirty word; it

is now accepted as a fundamental aspect of a museum’s organization However, the truth

is, marketing is an integral part of meeting the purpose of the museum and it is guided by that purpose Contrary to the above co-relations, the marketing trend have also been deterred by the connotations of the word ‘profitizing’ which smacks of jargon and a commercialism which is alien to the world of museums Interestingly, there are still a lot

of misconceptions about the role and practice of marketing within the profession itself, while there has been an academic backlash against the marketing concept in museums

To appreciate the issues involved, it is worth considering where museum marketing lies

in the overall history of marketing

There is no denying that marketing can be corrupt and unethical It cajoles, manipulates, distorts, and even deceives Marketing is equally uncertain of its credentials There is no one definition of marketing: its concepts being slotted in to comply with the requirements

of differing situations Thus, some the scholars argue that the real purpose of marketing is

unthinkable to apply within museums Kotler and Levy (1969), inquire, ’Why would the hallowed halls of museums want to have anything to do with this corrupt and corrupting concept? What has marketing got to do with conservation, preservation, research, and education? The concept of marketing in the museum context is a recent one

On the other hand, there were handful of scholars initiating museums to embrace

marketing in proper way in a way that keeps the original meaning and purposes of

museums In fact, most of the scholars supporting this new trend has correlate the

economic challenges museums facing nowadays and believe that marketing can play a significant role in ensuring their survival Hence, generally, this paper has made an effort

to briefly discuss the two distinctive argumentative approaches of both sides and I

believe that the two entities must come into reconciliation and the myths about marketing need to be dispelled Fundamental to this paper is the belief that marketing is a process that seeks to achieve the museum’s purpose in relation to its survival, expansion and development

This paper does this by introducing the context of museums and marketing first,

addressing the various issues that impact on marketing in museums, and by discussing contemporary interpretations It proceeds to provide insight into the role of marketing and specifically the marketing practice of Ethiopian museums using two Ethiopian museums sited at Addis Ababa and Jimma as case studies This study is ideal in the ways

in which museums can overcome the numerous hurdles on the route to truly achieving

marketing practices It provides some practical guidelines to Ethiopian museums in specific ways in which marketing can be tailored to the needs of museums and become a useful as well as an acceptable part of museums in fulfilling their ultimate purpose in sustainability and serving the community.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Some researchers have conducted researches on museums and galleries in Ethiopia However, their marketing practices and the challenges they were facing was not given an attention or been studied Thus, as an abandoned part of the museum management

process, I have decided to conduct a research on this area and fill the following gaps; first

as a non-profit organization museums in Ethiopia were practically not updating and inventive, very slow to embrace new technologies and lack a vision about their future sustainability Second, in Ethiopia like most of other cultural institutions, museums were given little attention and the public’s understanding was highly distant and altered Third,

in the face of changing world, museums in Ethiopia were doing little mostly in the area of sustainability, economic stability and accessibility

To answer and fill the above mentioned challenges and gaps, the researcher has

attempted to investigate, analyze and give some practicable recommendations to

museums in Ethiopia to enable them practice marking in best possible way and ensure their contribution in terms of social, political and economic significances This study is also ideal in the ways in which museums in Ethiopia can overcome the numerous hurdles

on the route to truly achieving marketing practices In addition, it provides some practical

recommendations which help marketing to be tailored to the needs of museums and become a useful as well as an acceptable part of museums in fulfilling their ultimate purpose in sustainability and serving the community.

1.3 Research Questions

This thesis tries to address the following research questions:

- What does ‘Marketing’ mean in Museum sense?

 Is marketing compatible with the purpose of museums as non-profit making institution?

 What are the roles and impacts of marketing on museums?

 What are the challenges and prospects museums in Ethiopia facing?

 Do museums in Ethiopia really need marketing?

 Are marketing really necessary? If so, how can marketing be effectively used in museums in Ethiopia and in what terms are they advisable?

1.4 Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study was to explore, examine and analyze the role of marketing on museums in general and its practices with particular emphasis on two selected museums in Ethiopia namely the Addis Ababa City Museum and Jimma

Museum

The Specific Objectives were to:

 Explore the nature, significance, impacts and purposes of marketing in museum

 Assess the different arguments and theories in the marketing area and how to adjust it with the very nature of museum purposes

 Analyze the ideal and theoretical approach of the two case study Ethiopian museums in marketing and their purposes

 Explain the marketing practices and the experiences of the selected museums

 Discuss the challenges and prospects of the two museums

1.5 Significance of the study

This study has significance in the sense that it strives to delve in to controversial issue of the marketing practices and importance By exploring the real impacts of marketing on museums and cultural institutions worldwide, this thesis have add insights to the stock of knowledge in the area It also provides information which would be used by policy makers and academicians who are interested in this area

Besides, it informs museums and other cultural institutions to reach their goal, justify their existence and command a sustainable development and be contributive to the development of culture and economy of Ethiopia Additionally, it informs them to design

and implement marketing policies and strategies based on the situations, the nature of the global market, the existing museum conditions and the cultural policies of the country in general This study was also tried to explore and recommend ways to effectively apply marketing practice in museum Therefore, conducting research on the marketing

challenges of the aforementioned Ethiopian museums is very crucial and timely one

1.6 Scope and Limitations

Museum marketing is a dynamic and complex field, usually (mistakenly) considered less attractive to researchers The goal of this thesis was to discuss current role of marketing

in museums and market trends which are affecting their business This thesis makes two contributions to the field First, it offers a concise and critical overview of current state of museum marketing as an academic discipline, pointing to the new environment and trends affecting museum business Second the study was conducted in Ethiopian

museums, where research on museum marketing is rather neglected Due to

manageability, finances, availability of relevant data and time constraint the research restricts itself to the two aforementioned museums

1.7 Research Methodology

A descriptive qualitative research was carried out In this research, the researcher

employed a standard descriptive method using qualitative, however, quantitative method

was also used to supplement the qualitative one The Annual data from the selected Museums will be used for the purpose of sampling Out of the many registered active museums in Ethiopia, a convenient sample of two museums located in the capital city of Addis Ababa and Jimma were chosen Although the interviewing method relies heavily

on the opinions, perspectives and recollections of respondents, it allows an in-depth examination of phenomena (Snow & Thomas, 1994)

To obtain the data, combined approach of open-ended and structured interviews was chosen The aim was to interview marketing managers (if an employee had that job description) or museum directors Each interview consisted of two parts The first set of questions was related to the role of marketing in museums and the second to the previous practices and trends In addition, printed marketing materials relating to the museum in general, annual reports and official websites were viewed The field visits were supported

by the taking of comprehensive notes and photographs, which documented elements of the museum experience

1.8 Research Design

This study has followed investigative and descriptive research method to clearly identify the challenges and marketing practices of the selected museums from their establishment till now My study predominantly employed qualitative research method, nevertheless if

it is demanded to facilitate the research’s work sometimes quantitative data will be used (Kothari, 2004) This is because; mostly the necessary data for the research were

gathered from the museum itself Either the researcher used various data collection

instruments like questionnaire, interview which can be structured or semi-structured approaches were used properly.

1.8.1 Sampling and Sampling Strategy

It is very difficult to include all the studied population of the area in the research work

As a result, purposive and random sampling techniques will be employed to come up with manageable sample size (Latham, 2007) Hence, the researcher has taken sample representatives from the study population, such as the director of the museums,

marketing managers, visitors, and some scholars in the area The rationale why the

researcher has forced to use this sampling technique is that, in order to secure the

sampling technique and to include the representatives of various stakeholders of the study area in the research work as well as to make manageable the population size of the study area

1.8.1.1 Delimitation of the study

This study attempt to study the status of the challenges and marketing practices with the particular emphasis on two selected museums found at Addis Ababa and Jimma Those museums were selected on the basis of their locations, their long year establishments, their organizational structure and sustainability Both of the aforementioned museums however have their own distinctive challenges and features

1.8.1.2 Population size and Selection

For the data collection the marketing managers and directors of the two selected

museums and experts within academia were initially proposed; and all of them were included in this study Therefore, the study has considered, the Addis Ababa City

Museum and Jimma Museum staffs and experts within academia were main targets to collect primary data especially

For propose of this study, non-probability sampling method was used in order to collect data from concerned population who are relatively convenient in terms of availability and proximity (Latham, 2007) Specifically, purposive sampling employed in order to reach

at individuals who are expert in the area of the study

1.8.2 Data gathering technique

Hence, for conducting this research, the researcher has employed the following major data gathering tools These are including: Questionnaire, Interview and Observation The necessary data has collected from both primary and secondary sources The primary data was obtained from interview, questionnaires and personal observation, while the

secondary data was collected from relevant books, journals, articles, thesis’s,

dissertations, reports, magazines, manuals, internet and etc

1.8.2.1 Questionnaires

The questionnaire was developed in pre-coded format The questionnaires were prepared

in English language To assess the relevance of the instrument, its clarity, logical and having preliminary understanding of the problem, the prepared questionnaires were pre

tested with some respondents Depending on the pilot study, the necessary modifications were done The qualitative data was collected based on the both closed ended and open-ended items The questionnaires were addressed to museum Directors, staff members of the marketing department, the marketing manager, experts and scholars in the field and as well as various visitors of the museums The questionnaires were dispatched only for the concerned bodies and those who were able and willing to respond them.

1.8.2.2 Interview

Semi-structured interview and a depth interview were conducted with some key

informants in order to extract their knowledge, feeling and view about the topic

understudy A semi- structured interview has employed to collect the necessary data through a loosely conversation like approach, then the then carefully taken field notes were critically examined (Snow & Thomas, 1994) To gather the necessary data from the selected key informants as intended I was prepared ahead the necessary field materials like camera, notebook, tape recorder and other means

1.8.2.3 Observation

The researcher has employed this data collection technique in order to triangulate the data that was collected from both the informants and respondents This triangulation method helped to check the validity of the data collected from both questionnaires and interviews

1.8.3 Pre-field data collection

In order to gather the necessary data concerning the study area, documentary sources such as books, articles, journals, unpublished materials with regard to the selected

museums were thoroughly consulted before the actual field work has began

1.8.4 Data collection during the field work

Semi-structured self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the necessary data from the study area’s population During the fieldwork, the essential data was collected via dispatching the prepared questionnaires for the carefully selected respondents Here three assistants were employed to help the researcher in the data collection process during the actual fieldwork Then for the sake of consolidating the collected data,

carefully taken field notes were carefully examined by the researcher

1.8.5 Methods of data Analysis/ interpretation

The document analysis of this research includes books, magazines, bulletins, newspapers, articles, and journals, published and unpublished sources such as reports, brochures, proclamations, directives, pamphlets, and office documents of the museums

The carefully collected qualitative data through various means was recorded, edited, coded, transcribed and some internal consistencies were made to assess the quality of data (Bhattacherjee, 2012) In addition to this carefully collected, the qualitative data was also properly analyzed and interpreted

1.9 Organization of the Thesis

This study was organized into four chapters as following:

The first chapter deals with introductory parts of the study It gives general information about the topic of the study, which includes the purpose of the study, the significance of the study, research questions, the scope of the study and the methodology that will be employed

Chapter two is dedicated to review related literatures on the issue under study and

attempts to build conceptual and theoretical framework This chapter conceptualizes: Marketing, the arguments, its roles, its impacts on museum in general It also reviews different literatures on historical perspectives of marketing, and the background

introduction of the marketing practice in museum

Chapter three analyzes the challenges Ethiopian museums facing in marketing sector, and the practice of marketing in Ethiopian museums by using data obtained from primary and secondary sources such as from different written documents, observation and interviews Chapter four is dedicated for the discussion of the practical dimension of marketing in the selected Ethiopian museums It analyzes the roles and impacts of devising the marketing practice into museum management by using data obtained from primary and secondary sources And finally, an attempt will made to draw some conclusions and forwards

recommendations based on the findings of the study

1.10 Ethical Considerations

Some of the expected view of ethical behavior that were used within the study are as follows For the purpose of data collection through interview key informants have been assured: voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality The study also followed the code of conducts not to engage in ethical violations (such as plagiarism and falsification of data) by using data published by others without

acknowledgement and paraphrasing (Bhattacherjee, 2012) Generally, the study has been conducted within the confines of the necessary regulations prohibiting plagiarism and adherence to copyright obligations

museum administrators to increase visitation, nor is there any reason for the government

to increase funding Museums perform a number of functions, in both the local

community and the larger societies they serve Education, custodianship of the collection, cultural development, and encouragement of cultural democracy are among those

functions There is some divergent view in the museum field about the mission of

museums and engaging marketing activities in its management That debate, however, will be much argumentative and engaging

This chapter examines a number of relevant factors that have played a role in

developments of marketing in museums Specifically, it examines changes to the role of marketing within the organizational structures of museums Consequently, the first section looks at the rise of marketing within the museum sector The next section

discusses major issues that are directly related and contributed to marketing functions

within the museums sector and these include: the concept of marketing, the need to introduce marketing for museums and the debate gaze at the need to incorporate

marketing in museum This chapter will also demonstrate the multifaceted problems museums are facing nowadays, especially the financial difficulties facing museums which have created a need for marketing The ability of museums to generate income is crucial to their survival In order to examine the important ways in which museums must become their own financiers, we must examine the funding issues facing museums today

2.2 Museums as ‘’Not For Profit Organizations’’

The definition of a museum has evolved, in line with developments in society Since its creation in 1946, ICOM updates this definition in accordance with the realities of the global museum community However, among the basic terms, collecting, preservation and the non-profit themes were the core of museum definition From the first official definition in 1946 to the latest conventional definition, the museums ‘not for profit’ status was clearly stated and has been fully accepted by museum peoples and international community

According to the most latest ICOM Statutes, adopted by the 22nd General

Assembly 2007: ‘’A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment’’ (ICOM, Article 3, 2007)

A not-for-profit (hereafter “nonprofit”) status is conferred on a corporation by

governmental authority which usually provides exemption from federal, state, property and sales tax The theory is that these organizations deserve relief from taxation because they perform services beneficial to the society that supplement those of the government Therefore, the government encourages their public support Nonprofit corporations, such

as museums, issue no stock and have no capital investors Their surpluses, large or small, will not be taxed as long as the organization operates within its stated and approved tax exempt field and the surplus is spent on related activities (Anheier, H & Toepler, S 1998)

In many respects, museums’ beginnings have affected the ways they have been perceived both internally and externally, and consequently the language and behaviors that have guided their strategies The early museums were originally collections assembled by private individuals with a view to displaying them to elites and scholars Then, in the nineteenth century museums were perceived both by government and the public as places

of education (McLean, 1997), with government also considering museums as a method of social control, and to promote national pride Subsequently, there has been a significant shift in focus as museums; firstly, have evolved from institutions available only to

cultural elite to institutions aimed at educating the general public

Discussing the major talking point of the topic the ‘non-profit’ theme of museums,

Temesgen (2004, p 27-28), clearly explained what it was meant to say by ‘a non- profit permanent institution’ According to him museums are not oriented towards profit

making in the sense of business Therefore, the term has no inherent problem as such Some would argue that if they were nonprofit institutions permanently existing without generating income, the question of funding them and assuring their expansion and

development demands an answer He added, museums should not be founded with primary objectives of profit making in the sense of business in mind However, they need

to generate as much money as possible that they use them to develop and strengthen themselves Collections in the museums are properties and heritages of the society The society has to care about them and fund them This could probably address the issue of a

‘non-profit permanent institutions’

In the financial terms, the organizational goals in relation to revenue for not for profit organizations are inherently different compared to profit-making organizations

Supporting the above premises Weil (2000, p.29 ) has noted: no matter how like’ a museum may legitimately be called upon to operate—it is still not a business, and

‘business-to produce a positive financial outcome is not its goal… in a museum, money is not an end in itself—it is only a means

Museums, as not for profit organizations, measure their performance against the

organizational objectives framed in their mission statements, as opposed to the purely financial This is, of course, not to say that financial performance is not important in the not for profit sector In the case of museum funding, the government, foundations, and corporations have preferred to support special activities such as exhibitions and outreach programs, or specific acquisitions rather the providing museums with undesignated

operating funds (Anheier and Toepler,1998, p 233) In fact, most nonprofit organizations have had to find ways to generate income for general operation by themselves.

Stephen Weil’(2000), considers how powerful forces of change have radically reshaped the museum from an organization principally focused on collections, preservation and scholarly research to one that must now also be concerned with audiences, education, public service and broader social change The transformation Weil describes not only illustrates the far-reaching effects of change, but also usefully offers a way to understand the circumstances which have led to the widespread adoption and growing prominence

of marketing within museums

Weil’s consider the implications that growing competition, shifting attitudes to leisure time and evolving patterns of leisure consumption might hold for museums today and in the future Their thought-provoking analysis blends theoretical perspectives from

marketing and related disciplines with in-depth empirical investigation in enabling

museums to anticipate and adapt to change.( Sandell and Janes 2007, p.18)

2.3 The Conceptual Framework of Marketing

It is time to consider what is actually meant by marketing There are various definitions which could be found from a perusal of the marketing textbooks For many people

marketing is traditionally seen as the technique which a business employs to sell its products or services to consumers, mainly by means of advertising This initial response

is notwithstanding the fact that marketing itself has experienced a twofold transformation

of which the people who use the technical vocabulary are not always fully aware (Kotler,

P Brown, L., Adam, S & Armstrong, G 2004).

The first phenomenon to be addressed is the evolution of marketing from

product-centered to consumer-product-centered, since in the beginning it was the product intended for the market place which was the focus for those in business responsible for marketing In a second phase, emphasis was placed on the rationalization of the production process Today’s marketing situation is characterized by the importance accorded to the individual consumer – to the analysis of his needs, characteristics, perceptions, and aspirations –thus differing quite profoundly from its original conception (Kotler and Andreasen 2003, p.296)

We can distinguish between a social and a managerial definition of marketing A social definition shows the role marketing plays in society; here is a social definition that serves our purpose: Marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and

services of value with others.(Ibid)

Managers sometimes think of marketing as “the art of selling products,” but many people are surprised when they hear that selling is not the most important part of marketing! Selling is only the tip of the marketing Mclean (1994) discussed this issue by citing Peter Drucker, a leading management theorist, puts it this way: There will always, one can assume, be need for some selling But the aim of marketing is to make selling

superfluous The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself Ideally, marketing should result in a

customer who is ready to buy All that should be needed then is to make the product or service available.

Marketing is the management function that most explicitly links an organization to its external environment—not only to its current and prospective customers, but also to its funding sources and other relevant constituencies (Sandell and Janes 2007, p.113) The American Marketing Association offers the following formal definition: ‘’Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large’’

This last definition refers to non-profit organizations in particular more specifically for museums: Marketing is the management process which confirms the mission of a

museum or gallery and is then responsible for the efficient identification, anticipation and satisfaction of its users (Lewis 1986, p.26) Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs

2.3.1 The Historical Dimension of Marketing

Although marketing has probably existed since the days of Ancient Greece and was being studied in American and German universities in the early 1900s (Jones and Monieson 1990), the marketing era came into its own in 1950s Historically, marketing is

principally concerned with the exchange of goods in trade As a surplus of goods is produced, they are traded for other goods that satisfy a need or want of both parties in the exchange In modern exchange transactions, money is the usual medium of exchange, but

the concept remains the same.

The earliest concept of marketing is centered on the product At the turn of the twentieth century many innovations and inventions provided an increased range of goods available for purchase In addition the general public had a higher amount of disposable income with which to purchase The product orientation dominated business thinking from the beginning of capitalism to the mid 1950s, with business concerning itself primarily with production, manufacturing, and efficiency issues A product orientation means that an organization need only to produce a product that offers quality, performance or features,

be that a good or a service, for it to sell—the ‘build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door’ argument (Kotler & Kotler P 1998)

However, there has been something of an evolutionary process, with market orientation having replaced the previous sales orientation that was prevalent between the mid 1950s and the early 1970s, and the production orientation that went before it That is, the way business organizations have viewed marketing has changed over the last hundred years

2.3.2 Historical Background of Marketing in Museum

The concept of marketing in the museum context is a recent one An examination of the available literature shows that one of the earliest references to museum marketing is contained in ‘Broadening the Concept of Marketing’ (Kotler and Levy 1969)

Kotler and Levy (1969) comment that, ‘for many people museums are cold marble

mausoleums that house miles of relics that soon give way to yawns and tired feet’; and

that, ‘a large number of citizens are uninterested in museums’ They then go on to pose the question: ‘Is this indifference due to failure in the manner of presenting what

museums have to offer?’, implying marketing was the answer Of course, as McLean (1997) has noted, this article was written at a time when museums were largely immune

to market forces Perhaps it would be fair to say that even now, many museums would not be adopting marketing techniques if they had not been persuaded (forced) to do so, by various stakeholders

Museum marketing has been academically conceptualized as falling into three main periods, each building on the previous—the foundation period, the professionalization period and the entrepreneurial period (Rentschler, 1998) Research on the foundation period (1975–1983) has found that articles on museum marketing were dominated by issues of educating visitors; raising staff awareness of the benefits of visitor studies; and, occasionally, the economic impact of the arts on the community The articles in the first two groups have a data-collection focus rather than a strategic action-oriented focus Museums became more democratized in the professionalization period (1988– 1993) These changes forced the recognition of the applicability of marketing to non-profit arts organizations and marketing departments were added to museums Marketing in

museums is in transition, heralding the beginning of an entrepreneurial period (1994–present) (Radbourne, 1997) In tandem with this shift, has been increased focus on identifying the nature of the relationship between the visitor, the museum and the market (McLean, 1997)