Can You Hear Me?
Today we visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Guggenheim. As I walked around MoMA, I was amazed at just how many people were listening to the audio tour. It has been my experience in local, smaller museums that people do not take advantage of the audio tours very often, so this was a nice surprise. It begged the question, what is it that MoMA is doing that leads to such a high audio tour user turnout? I think that it may come down to advertising.
Not only does MoMA include a section about the audio tour on their Floor Plan and Guide, they also include a page on their website explaining how to download the audio app. In addition, a booth is set up on the second floor for visitors to rent free audio devices courtesy of MoMA. Since there are at least three places MoMA advertises their audio tour, it is easy for visitors to hear about it and access it.
While the Guggenheim also provides an audio tour, I didn’t notice a single person using it while at the museum, nor was there a prominent booth set up for handing out devices. Instead, the Guggenheim advertises for the audio tour on their pamphlet. However, they do offer the full audio tour online on their website.
These audio tours are the main interactives in both the MoMA and Guggenheim so it is important that users take advantage of them. What is MoMA doing that is so successful? Do visitors use the audio tour more than I noticed at the Guggenheim? How can smaller museums without advertising budgets get the word out about their audio tours or similar interactives?