Save All Museums: The Basic Case for Data Analytics
Written by Magnus Allan (LinkedIn|Portfolio), reprinted with permission.
The Current Situation
Museums are the lifeblood of cultural preservation. Safeguarding the relics of human civilization, museums provide society with unparalleled insight into the past. This insight frequently serves as a point of reference for future development and innovation. Despite their importance, museums are struggling to stay relevant within society’s shifting cultural landscape. As attendance falls, funding stagnates and costs rise, museums are being forced to confront the notion of economic infeasibility. At the very least, a scenario in which they must curtail their current efforts significantly. In an effort to postpone their demise, many museums have invested in digital technologies designed to increase engagement, yet, if not perfectly executed, these technologies only serve to band-aid the structural wounds of disinterest. Consequently, museum management worldwide is returning to the drawing room to discuss the best practices for overcoming this unfortunate slump.
Enter data science. Existing at the intersection of science, technology and business strategy — data science leverages algorithmic development, inference and creativity to extract knowledge and insights from human-generated information in order to generate community value. For many organizations, the addition of a data science solution paves the way for data-driven museum operations, which redistributes the decision-making process from personal anecdotes and traditional methods to targeted and bespoke data analytics capable of acting on near-perfect information. For museums, this transition is especially important, as it has the potential to unlock valuable insights into their respective audiences and optimize life-or-death business decisions.
The Museum Data Challenge
The gradual encroachment of digital technologies on society’s realms of cultural history is often a contentious topic among museum directors and museum-goers alike. Directors are tasked with maintaining and, of course, boosting engagement levels in an increasingly digital world, while naturally seeking to preserve the intimate sense of connection to the past that museums exist to foster. Meanwhile, museum-goers are segmenting according to their varying beliefs on the role of technology in museums, while still universally demanding the same unalloyed museum experience. In this polarizing climate, it is worthwhile weighing the broader pros and cons of bringing digital technologies into museums, as some do have the potential to collect data from museum audiences.
While many are still undecided, there is a wealth of literature that suggests museums that incorporate technology into their site experience more engaged audiences, particularly by capturing the attention of the millennial demographic whose lives broadly revolve around technology. Moreover, recent reports also claim that technology is already increasing attendance, as it serves as a vehicle for art to enter low-income areas (e.g., through iPads in public parks, taxis, or laundromats). For museums that prioritize serving the broadest audience possible, this is especially important as technology can foster engagement from groups that are historically underrepresented when it comes to museum participation and attendance. The founder and chief executive of Artsy, Carter Cleveland, likens the experience of art to relationships and online dating, which, although ultimately manifests in a physical experience, is often and increasingly cultivated through online platforms. Similarly, Jane Alexander, chief information officer at the Cleveland Museum of Art, contends that, “The best use of digital is not to make you aware of the technology, but to make you aware of the art.”
On the other hand, many editorials claim that digital novelties “strip museums of their innate wonder” and are frequently perceived as a desperate attempt to “push a medicinal dose of art history down young people’s throats.” Though certainly opinionated, these excerpts give voice to museum purists who see no place for technology in the art world and often disdain over its complication of the viewing experience. The sentiment of this group is shared by many 55–74-year-olds, who, together with the museum purists, comprise a majority share of museum attendance. Introducing technology into a sphere dominated by these subgroups risks alienating them, which is, of course, counterintuitive and potentially costly for any museum management team.
Given the controversial nature of the topic, many advocate non-intrusive data collection and data-driven operations as the neutral ‘technology’ that can unite both factions and transform the museum’s understanding of its audience.
The Power of Museum Data Analytics
If museums are the lifeblood of cultural preservation, then visitors are the lifeblood of museums. So, what are museums to do if their visitors ambiguously direct their patronage elsewhere? In what Ford Bell, former president and chief executive of the American Association of Museums, likes to call the “water-park phenomenon,” museums are just one of many other organizations competing for a slice of society’s leisure time. This means gathering data about museum visitors has never been as crucial as it is today, especially when it comes to better understanding what their visitors (and non-visitors) want to see. In the words of Penn Museum Director, Julian Siggers, “You can’t just program for an audience without their involvement.” Only through data can museums truly begin to understand, retain and grow their audiences.
Although museums have been collecting data using paper-and-clipboard methods for decades, the deployment of cutting-edge data science in the art world has only just begun. Surveys — usually issued upon exit — are the primary data collection tools for museums. An additional 30–45 seconds per attendee can immediately generate a wealth of data on audience demographics, motivations for attending, and proportions of repeat visitors. If conducted at the end of the museum experience, surveys also allow visitors to reflect on what they have seen and provide valuable feedback that can inform the museum’s programming decisions.
In addition to surveys, museums can also realize customer insights through analyzing their institution’s social media presence, which is increasingly popular in today’s visual, media-centered culture. Through social media, museums can track engagement over time, what sort of content resonates with its viewers, and overall sentiment surrounding the institution. Social media also serves as many museums’ most valuable marketing tool, particularly through visual channels where artistic and creative content can be dispersed en masse with the click of a button.
Perhaps one of the most pioneering data collection tools for museums is the use of beacon indoor positioning technology. In 2013, Apple announced their new iBeacon, which tracks indoor smartphone users via their Bluetooth signals with unparalleled accuracy. The technology relies on Bluetooth low energy proximity sensing, which transmits a ‘universally unique identifier’ that can be picked up and interpreted by a compatible app or operating system. This enables smartphones, tablets, and other devices to perform specific actions when in close proximity to an iBeacon, such as receive a push notification, track users, or automatically check someone into the site on social media. As an indoor positioning system more specifically, iBeacons can serve to help navigate museum visitors and analyze their movement throughout the site. While Apple’s iBeacon technology functions with Bluetooth, connecting to a museum’s Wi-Fi can also allow for similar indoor positioning and tracking.
For small to mid-sized museums, further customer insights can be realized through gathering online reviews, collecting ticket sales information, and analyzing consumer trends and behavior on museum (e-) shops.
Next Steps
As museums struggle with attendance, engagement and funding in a shifting cultural landscape rife with distractions, applied data analytics emerges as a solution to these problems. By processing complex amounts of data on audience trends, leading global museums are revitalizing their programming and restoring their deserved share of society’s leisure time. Based on macro societal and technological trends, it is clear that transitioning from anecdotal decision-making to data-driven operations is the only way to preserve the museum and to further develop its mission of engaging modern audiences.
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