Funding the local museum ecology
Most of what we discussed falls within the remit of mainstream business diversification, particularly with regards to alternative consumers for museum expertise. Pay-per-use is informed by the basics of what is generally described as mass customisation. What about predictive content?
Predictive content is a marketing and manufacturing technique which combines the flexibility and personalisation of custom-made products with the low unit costs associated with mass production. When seen through this particular lens, the pay-per-use may be customised with personalised visits providing educational and experiential content according to the knowledge luggage of the single visitor. We can envisage a pay-per-use, customised visit revolving around a highlight in the museum experience that can also be packaged in 10-minute slots or more. The best analogy I can think of is when reading a book. In my case, I would rarely read a book from cover to cover at one go. Instead, I would read a chapter at a time, perhaps also reading more than one book simultaneously. I would not purchase the book with the obligation to read it from cover to cover at one go, and have never felt obliged to do so.
Museums are yet to explore the full potential of predictive content where the experience is customised for each and every visitor – be it a visit to the museum building, an online visit or both combined. By personalising the museum content across media platforms, be they physical or virtual, museums might be more comfortable answering the question – Where shall the money come from?
Sandro Debono PhD (Lond.) is a museum thinker and culture strategist. He is the brains behind MUŻA, the Malta NationalCommunity Art Museum, which he lead as project leader and first
senior curator and for which he developed the bespoke original vision and concept. He is the national representative at the European Museum Academy and advisory board member at We Are Museums, the international platform of museum change-makers and innovators. Sandro is a regular contributor to Italian art journal ‘Finestre sull’Arte and Museumnext’, the online platform for museum leaders,
makers and innovators.