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At 18:08 17/02/2004 -0800, David Taylor wrote:
>         One point of warning.  Make sure that the people you are
>trying to attract to the museum can build a picture of who you
>are and what you are about.  Most people know what an art
>museum is... what  children's museums and natural history
>museums are... and what a performing arts center is about...
>but often when we create new concepts, our audiences don't
>have a mental image of what they are getting into.   I have seen
>a number of very creative places fail, because they couldn't
>build an audience.  No one could clearly describe what they
>were.  Word of mouth is important... when someone leaves
>your facility and talks to a friend or neighbor they should be able
>to sum up their experience in a sentence or two that paints a
>picture for the other person and builds an expectation.

I agree. And, it is equally essential to MEET the expectation you have built.

I could name (but won't) various "interactive" visitor attractions that
have opened with a great fanfare and powerful marketing, then quickly begun
to struggle with failing visitor numbers.

My advice would also be to "earth" any theoretical, conceptual discussions
by referring to specific EXAMPLES of REAL visitor-experiences wherever
possible. There are real dangers at the first "arm-waving" stage of
describing any project, (A) that different team members are actually
thinking of quite different exhibits, (B) that it is not really PRACTICAL
to produce exhibits of the kind being assumed, and (C) that the target
audience may not find actual exhibits of this kind sufficiently engaging
for more than a second or two.

(C) is what really determines the crucial level of repeat visits and the
operational viability of the project.

A project team's enthusiasm for the subject of a new exhibition is
something precious. But also dangerous, because it so easily overlooks the
fact that most visitors will not be arriving with the same enthusiasm...

By focusing on real examples of real exhibit nuts-and-bolts, right from the
earliest arm-waving talks, it is easier to keep the most wonderful
high-flying concepts tethered to solid, testable reality.

[log in to unmask] * http://www.interactives.co.uk
*
Give people facts and you feed their minds for an hour.
Awaken curiosity and they feed their own minds for a lifetime.
*
Ian Russell

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