When you study history, you're really studying yourself. – John Sedgwick
First?
Well... First, You Absolutely Must... Adjust Your Mindset.
Warning: Some “Tough Love” Ahead: As a non-profit you must give up any remaining “welfare” mentality” you're holding onto. Being “on welfare” is not the road to success. Nor is it empowering. In fact, it is dis-empowering and debilitating. It pulls you down into a “victim mentality.” Use what you learn from this reference manual to adjust your mindset as you explore new opportunities. Also, you must become proactive and strategic in how you market your services. Most importantly, of course: You must take action! Yes, this manual is packed with strategies and ideas. However, they will deliver absolutely no benefits if you don't apply them. So keep it handy. Browse through it when you're discouraged. Or when you're excited. Put a few of the ideas into action. Let them work their magic in the marketplace. Yes, you can be proud that you and your organization have something of value to offer the world.
Now, You Face an IMPORTANT DECISION: You need to decide whether you want to remain a small organization that meets the interests of a thousand people already interested in Southeast Ohio regional history and genealogy. Or... whether you want to grow into a thriving
organization that becomes a vibrant, relevant, and indispensable resource serving thousands of people throughout our region (and thousands more scattered across the country.) Do you want to “preach to the (small) choir”? Or do you want to become an evangelist who inspires masses of community members to appreciate and love history in general – and our region's cultural history, in particular? If you want to have Maximum Impact and extend your influence to countless more people... then you need to design exhibitions and offer services that create value for larger numbers of people. And you need to discover how to become more relevant to their lives in order to engage the community. Because the services you offer do have value, they should be respected. And funded. To achieve that... You first need to truly understand the value of what you have to offer. And then, you need to learn how to articulate – clearly – that value to others. Finally, to succeed, even as a non-profit, you need to adopt an ”entrepreneurial mindset.” Yes, entrepreneurs start businesses. But successful entrepreneurs start businesses that solve problems for crowds of people who already crave the value they offer. So Dream Big. OK? Let's get started... JM
dreams are the touchstones of our character. – henry david thoreau
make yourself necessary to somebody. – ralph waldo emerson
Table of Contents Chapter 0 an Introduction
1
Book 1: Discovering Comfort Marketing
5
What Is Marketing?
10
All Value is Perceived Value
35
Pain Killers vs Vitamins
42
Book 2: The Rules of Engagement Branding Ideas
59 73
Community Engagement Ideas
101
Exhibition Ideas
144
Gift Shop Ideas
212
Genealogy Ideas
250
Membership Ideas
255
Capital Campaign Ideas
278
Volunteer Ideas
289
Special Events Ideas
292
Newsletter Ideas
299
Website Ideas
305
Entrepreneurial Ideas
310
Closing Thoughts
328
Disclaimer: The author cannot guarantee that the ideas presented will be appropriate or effective, partly because he cannot know that the ideas are being implemented properly and proficiently or that they are even practical for the way they're being used. Also, the links to outside websites and resources do not constitute endorsements. Before implementing any ideas in this Action-Guide please understand that the marketplace is in a constant state of flux and therefore fairly unpredictable. There are no guarantees that the ideas presented will work as hoped. So use common sense and adapt them to your purposes and weigh the costs/benefits of implementing any ideas. Expect to learn as you go. Minimize your risk. Do not risk large amounts of money on any idea unless it makes sense and until you have tested it on a small scale. If an idea works, but not as well as expected, then make modifications. TEST it against a slightly modified version. Compare the results. Go with the winner. When in doubt or worried about anything, check with your attorneys. For a variety of reasons (budget, time constraints, lack of staff) some ideas may not be practical at the moment. Maybe they will be useful in the future (when you have a larger paid staff and more volunteers.)
So, just keep an open mind and use these ideas as a starting point. Figure out how you can make them better. Think of these 209 Ideas as 209 “seeds� which hold astonishing potential (if you give them what they need.) If you plant and nurture and tend them, most will grow. But some may not. There are just so many variables.
Just remember that Dumbo didn't need the feather; the magic was in him. – Stephen King Yes. You can do this. You can apply just a few of the ideas in this book to change the future... the future of the Southeast Ohio History Center, the future of your patrons, and the future of our community and region. Already, the magic is in you. Yes. Trust me: It's there. To bring it out, all you need do is believe... and then... carefully choose just a single, simple, small idea... take a small action... and follow through to its completion. But, of course, that very first step...? That's the hardest one. From there, it gets easier. And easier. For once you see even the tiniest of results you will feel empowered to take the next step, with another idea. And then another. Trust me: The addiction will come. But also trust yourself... by taking that very first, tiny step. JM
The Southeast Ohio History Center Your own, personal sanctuary for solitude, reflection, renewal and self-discovery filled with STORIES of struggle, romance, inspiration, encouragement, generosity, determination, duty, disillusionment, sacrifice, anger, tragedy, betrayal, injustice, murder, revenge, regret, forgiveness, joy, hope, love, courage, and compassion.
Come. Step Back Across Time... and Wonder!
Give People What They REALLY Want!
Chapter 0 (An Introduction)
So, What Is the Purpose of This Book? The real purpose of this book is to make you feel more “grounded” in marketing and to inspire you with 209 splendid possibilities for making the new Southeast Ohio History Center incredibly successful, financially stable, and – over time – an absolutely indispensable asset to our region. To achieve that, it is arranged into two books:
Book 1: Discover Comfort Marketing – a marketing primer This portion of the book includes an overview and some thoughts about a style of marketing which you should feel comfortable applying. But it also is a style of marketing that should prove to be comforting for your patrons, clients, and donors. This chapter will provide you with a simple marketing framework based on communication. Once you understand the simple and gentle philosophy behind Comfort Marketing, you can use it to help guide you toward the right choices to be a success. - Page 1 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Book 2: The Rules of Engagement This book is a collection of 209 “What If...” ideas, suggestions, and recommendations which will provide you with specific, concrete strategies and techniques you can use to engage your public, your patrons, your members and your community. When you have sufficiently engaged the community and woven yourself tightly into its fabric, then you will become an indispensable part of its identity. Everyone will wonder: “How did we ever manage before, without the History Center?”
How Is This Publication Organized? Book 1 is best read straight through. It should make you more confident about your understanding of marketing. Book 2 is really a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book containing 209 ideas which are loosely grouped under categories (such as Gift Shop, Membership, Exhibitions, Capital Campaigns.) Remember, some ideas will be appropriate for other categories as well. So, read through the section that seems to apply to you but also scan through the entire book to see which ideas may interest you from other categories. The numbered ideas are not ranked or prioritized. The numbers simply make it easy for you to make notes, or to refer someone else to that idea. “Hey, Check out #45. Would this be helpful for Membership? The PRINTED VERSION vs The online VERSION: The password-protected online version is available for use by staff, volunteers, and board members at:
- Page 2 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! http://EmersonThoreau.com/maximum-impact-book/ PASSWORD: SEOHC
The Online Version will usually be more useful because it includes clickable links to outside resources. Remember that, with time – and the Internet being what it is – some of these links may no longer work. A Google search may get you back on track (or lead you to something far more interesting.) Also, the online version is searchable so that you can find something more quickly and easily (e. g. “membership” or “volunteers” or “Facebook” or “hot air balloons.”) And, of course, the online version saves trees and such. And it's with you always and everywhere if you have access to the Internet. The Printed Version is nice for paging through when you're grazing for ideas. It's also good for making notes in the margins. So mark it up. Use it like a workbook. Unfortunately, the printed version is harder to navigate. There's no index and it's not searchable. You'll just have to jot down the numbers of the ideas you like. Or... keep a pad of sticky notes handy for bookmarking those ideas that interest you, and which seem to have potential. CAUTION: To read the book straight-through would be a heroic effort and – very likely – counter-productive. You would probably feel paralyzed with opportunity. Overwhelmed with possibilities. Remember: This is a reference book. It is meant to provide you with ideas for the next 5-years – at least until the year 2021. So keep it handy. Just as you do with other reference books, refer to it often. - Page 3 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Some (most) of the ideas will never be implemented. And, no, you may never even read all the ideas. And, of course, not all of them will appeal to you. However, imagine: if you set out to implement just one idea each month, in 5 years you will have launched 60 ideas. Any one of those 60 ideas might significantly impact the organization's success. How? By helping you to engage the community through the creation and delivery of value that is relevant to their lives. Please remember: only a few of the ideas need to be successful for you to accomplish your secret mission (whatever that may be.) And you need to make only one idea work to build confidence. • Let these 2 books inspire and empower you. • Let them guide you into a world of new possibilities. • Let them help you shed the “impoverished victim” mentality held by so many struggling non-profits who don't understand the true value of the services they provide. Think of the ideas in this book as 209 “whispered invitations” to step across the threshold into a world of success.
JM Athens, Ohio July, 2016
- Page 4 -
Gently Surround People with the Familiar!
Copyright 2016 by James Murray All Rights Reserved.
Discover Comfort Marketing...
Comfort (verb) To
soothe, console, or reassure, bring cheer to.
To make physically comfortable obsolete: to aid; support or encourage
Comfort (noun) a state of ease of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety. FROM: Middle English and Old French and Latin: to strengthen; a derivative of 'strong.' Dictionary.com)
But What Is “Comfort” Marketing? It is a comforting conversation which shows your clients that your services are valuable – and relevant – to their lives because you can help solve their problem, take away their emotional pain, and move them closer to their dreams. Because it's non-aggressive, it's a marketing approach both you and your clients should find comfortable. Comfort Marketing is Not So Much a Marketing System As It Is a Gentle Mindset Based on Empathy, Integrity, and Generosity. Once you understand and then apply empathy to your marketing communications, greater success becomes... inevitable. Along the way, you will become more confident about using marketing to achieve success. (Yes. You will.) But first... it's helpful to know that most non-profits don't understand the basic concept of value. They never think about it. - Page 6 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! So, it's no surprise that the people they serve often don't value their services. This is partly because the service has no price tag attached to it (and a dollar-value is the way we've been taught our whole lives to value things in America). And it's partly because no one has explained the benefits to them or ever asked them to place a value the services. Hopefully, after reading this book, you will have greater clarity about creating value, communicating that value, and engaging with the public. Your new-found clarity and understanding will help you be more successful at serving the public. And once you show them how to value and appreciate your services, your public will reap greater benefits from what you offer. Mostly, This Book is Filled with “Marketing” Ideas. I try not to use that word too much because... 1. Many people (even big ad agencies and marketing companies) don't know or understand what marketing is or how it works. 2. Many people consider marketing to be crass or maybe dishonest or manipulative or somehow ethically sketchy. 3. Many non-profits and small businesses think marketing is just for big commercial businesses with huge budgets and that it doesn't apply to them because they're not “selling” anything. First, here's something to consider from a former client...
- Page 7 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... "It is difficult to convince both the board and staff of a mission-driven non-profit like Planned Parenthood that we have to aggressively market our services in order to survive. I invited Jim Murray to help us look at ways we could better market our services and make our story and services better known. His ideas were both creative and practical and we are in the process of implementing many of the things he suggested. Jim was able to help us think about marketing in some entirely new ways that are appropriate for our particular situation." Mary Anne Flournoy, Former Board Chair Planned Parenthood of Southeast Ohio
Thanks to Mary Anne for this generous testimonial. It's included here as a reminder of the importance of marketing to non-profits. (I figured it would have more impact to hear it from Mary Anne than just to take my word for it.) Yes. If you actually implement them – these ideas do work. Of course, action is the key. If you don't implement them, they are powerless to help you. “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” – Darth Vader Keep in mind that not everyone on your team is ready to embrace “marketing.” Because of their prejudices against marketing and its links to the world of profit, it may take some effort to convince and educate your volunteers, your board, or your staff members to understand the value of marketing so that they can use it as a tool for success. - Page 8 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! However, spending time with this manual should arm you with what you need to win over the skeptics. Or, just go ahead and show them: pick one small, practical, profitable idea, put it into operation, and make it work.
OK, so let's get started... With Comfort Marketing, the most important thing to remember (and this may be a difficult concept to grasp) is that your marketing is not about you and it's not even about the History Center...
It's ALL about Your Client. Their Comfort. Their Well-Being. And Their Happiness. - Page 9 -
Discover Comfort Marketing...
What IS Marketing? (Thanks, I'm glad you asked.) Understandably, the term marketing is confusing to people because “marketing” is really an abstract, umbrella term which includes all kinds of things like paid advertising, free publicity, news releases, public relations, your product or service, pricing, customer satisfaction, testimonials, building trust, your guarantee, and your brand image (which may include your logo and name and tagline.) Some people define marketing as anything that moves the customer closer to buying your product or service. That includes how you answer the phone, your hours, whether or not you have free parking spots available, your ad in the newspaper, your posts on Facebook, your articles on your website, and how relevant your service is to people's life. So, whether you know it or not, you're always marketing with everything you do. The question is: are you doing “good marketing” or “bad marketing”? Good marketing is anything that moves people closer to purchasing your product (perhaps sending them a list of benefits to renting the sanctuary for their wedding, or sending someone a thank you note.) Bad marketing pushes people away. It could include a surly volunteer, a boring exhibition, or a gift from the gift shop that turned out to be of shoddy quality. All of these things are, indeed, marketing.
But for me, it's easiest to think of marketing simply as communication. A simple conversation. - Page 10 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Everything you do, including your pricing and how you answer the phone, “send a message” and communicate something to the public. There's litter outside the front door? The time on the clock tower is always reliably correct? The chimes are too loud and wake up your neighbors? Your events always start on time? Your exhibitions are well-researched and informative yet entertaining? The Athens Block shaped cake at the reception was delicious and made from natural ingredients? All of these things make people feel a certain way about the History Center. They are all a part of your marketing (as well as a part of your “brand.”)
Think of Marketing As a Comforting Conversation. Really, marketing is just a simple, ongoing dialogue between you and your clients, patrons, visitors, donors, or volunteers. And what is this marketing “conversation” about? It's about making your client happier by taking away some of their pain or helping solve their problem. The words “dialogue”and “conversation” are being used here mostly as a metaphor. Yes, while there are some people you may actually talk to, and while you could always host a group focus session with some members to find out what their problems are, most of these “dialogues” are not real, face-to-face encounters – except when people are in the gift shop or talking to a staff member in the genealogy library or in the museum. Sometimes, these “conversations” are just a series of actions and reactions. You try things out and notice how people respond. It's sort of the way people have an ongoing “conversation” with their cat by bringing home one cat-food option after another until they finally find one the cat will eat. - Page 11 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... At the History Center, maybe you install a mirror in the gift shop and notice that jewelry and scarf sales go up. But also, you notice that people waiting to meet their friends in the lobby will use it to check their appearance. And that eases a bit of their anxiety. Just a simple thing. But all those little things add up. By providing a mirror, you've met their need – even before they thought about it. Through gestures, an unspoken dialogue has taken place: You offer up the service of the mirror. Your guest accepts. They feel better. Providing a well-maintained (and beautiful) clock tower at a busy intersection can ease people's stress if they're uncertain about the time. And, checking the time each morning to see if they're ahead or behind schedule can become a comforting ritual. You're providing a “feel good” service to the community. Dialogue implies, of course, that it's “two-way.” It's better if your marketing is not a pronouncement, monologue or soliloquy about you and your services. That's egocentric marketing. Always, you want to be “customer-centered.” (Always.) Wrap yourself in the mantle of humble servant, anticipating and satisfying your master's wishes even before they've thought to ask. Of course, most all good conversations start with listening. And they often start with asking questions. “Hey, what have you been up to? How are you doing?” So what do you listen for? What questions do you ask? Listen to the “marketplace” to find out... What are their problems? What do they want? What are their dreams, hopes, and fears? Let them do most of the talking. Remember: When you do say something, you want to talk about them (not about yourself and not explicitly about the History Center.) - Page 12 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! And when you eventually do talk about yourself, you want to do so in reference to them – by reminding them of their long-term interest in the Adena culture and mentioning that the History Center is putting together a new exhibit about that. Generally, the only things you say about yourself should be things that address their interests or things that can be framed as a solution to their problems. If If If If
you you you you
have content that they are interested in... have a solution to their problems... can take away their pain... can make them happier...
Then they will see the value of what you offer and they will be interested in your service. Also, they will begin to trust and like you. Often, if you can accurately describe someone's pain or their problem – if you can empathize with them – they automatically assume that you have a solution. Of course, you don't always get to talk to your visitors in this way. Most people would be a little freaked out if you're asking about their problems and pain and hopes and dreams and secret desires. But interestingly... even if they did talk to you about those things, many people do not really know what they want. People are confused. Overwhelmed. Unhappy. And anxious. Often, they don't know why they feel miserable. And even if they did, they would never admit to these “weaknesses.” That would make them feel even more vulnerable. So you will need to base many of your marketing messages on your basic understanding of human nature. - Page 13 -
Discover Comfort Marketing...
“Won't somebody help me 'cause I don't feel too strong.” – Daniel Powter “Best of Me”
What's the Most Important Trait You Can Have as a Marketer? Empathy. Feeling other people's pain, understanding why people are stressed, or why they have low self-esteem – and then knowing what they need to feel better... these are qualities that will make you an excellent marketer. But even if you don't have great natural empathy, just know that.. • Everybody wants to feel more important. • Everyone would like to feel proud about themselves and to be acknowledged for what they have done. • Everyone wants to feel significant. • Everyone wants to feel influential. Everyone would appreciate feeling these things. So deliver them. NOTE: Often, introverts are better at marketing than extroverts. While extroverts feel comfortable being the center-of-attention, introverts are used to deflecting the spotlight onto others. That gives them more opportunity to listen “beyond the words”of what others are really saying. - Page 14 -
Give People What They REALLY Want!
“Please notice me and make me feel important.�
So hone your empathy skills to relate to others and feel their pain. Then, offer them whatever they really yearn for to be happy.
Your purpose is to serve the community. Ask yourself: What stories might our exhibitions tell to inspire our guests to feel more strong? More hopeful? More connected? More secure? More confident? More capable? More significant? More joyful? And what can we say through our exhibitions that can make others feel that they belong? That this History Center feels like home?
An Important Marketing Concept: In Every BUSINESS TRANSACTION There Should ALWAYS Be Some Sort of Two-Way EXCHANGE of VALUE. Unfortunately... - Page 15 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Many non-profits can provide “free” services to their clients because they are funded by a grant or a tax levy or some other source. Someone gives the organization funding. The organization gives something to the client. The client gives nothing in return. It's a one-way transfer of value. But it's always better if there is an actual two-way transfer of value between the organization and the end-client who is using your services. Why? Because people don't value free stuff. There should be some measurable“sacrifice” on the recipient's part so that they attach a measurable value to the benefits they're receiving. For example: We all know that, often, the college students whose parents are funding their education are less likely to value the education they're getting. Yet those students who are funding their own education by working two part-time jobs are far less likely to miss classes. They usually take college more seriously and get better grades. And they don't squander their hard-earned money at the bars. Another example: The public library loans out movie DVDs and music CDs for free. They don't even charge overdue fines. The problem is that many of them are all hopelessly scratched. It looks as if someone used them to scrape the ice off their windshields. - Page 16 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Why? You already know the answer: Because people don't respect free stuff. They don't take care of stuff that's not theirs. So, if you really want to “engage” the public, one of the best ways to do that is to charge admission to your exhibitions (or at least request a suggested donation.) The higher the admission fee, the more people will respect the exhibition, the service, and the quality of your services. And most importantly, when they value it, when they have to sacrifice a few dollars to get in to see your exhibition, then – just like the self-supporting college student – they take the experience more seriously and get more from it. This means that simply by charging admission – and making no other changes – you can actually help your visitors get more out of your exhibits. Quickly: Which of these is the better-curated exhibition...?
- Page 17 -
Discover Comfort Marketing...
What's Your Most Valuable Marketing Tool?
STORIES.
People will listen to what you say if it's wrapped inside a story. When you're conveying a persuasive message (as you are with the capital campaign,) you can use stories to “tunnel under someone's resistance.” Use stories to entertain, to enlighten, to educate, and to persuade. You have consumed tens of thousands of stories – in books, in songs, in movies, in the news, and in commercials. So their pattern is ingrained in you. As you know... Good stories work because they make us curious and keep us curious until the very end. Stories have main characters (usually the hero – someone we can identify with or empathize with.) The hero has a goal or dream they're pursuing. Or, they find themselves in a predicament and we're curious how they will get out of it. Along the way, all kinds of obstacles slow them down from getting to their goal. Their struggle with those obstacles creates conflict. Conflict is the source of all drama. It creates the tension and suspense (emotions) we feel in the storyline. And, it raises the curiosity level – we want to see how the conflict will be resolved. The storyline is arranged to create a varied pacing which keeps us interested. And, the best stories have a theme that we can take away with us. - Page 18 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! By identifying with the hero, we can enter the story and live vicariously through their actions. When they're in danger, we feel anxious. When they succeed, we feel victorious. Our heart rate and blood chemistry actually change along the way. So your marketing messages (and also your exhibitions) can be far more powerful, more effective, and more popular simply by telling stories. Why? Because stories evoke feelings. But guess what! These stories – especially the persuasive ones where you're asking for money – should not be about you. You, the History Center, should never the hero of the story. The hero in the story serves as a “stand-in” for your client or visitor or donor, who can identify in some way with the the struggle, the situation, the problem and the obstacles which the story's hero is trying to overcome to reach their goal. Your role in the story is to serve as the wise mentor (the role of Obi Wan Kenobi or Yoda) who provides assistance or resources or training to help the unskilled hero resolve their problem and get to where they want to go. You are there to coach them; to show them to overcome their obstacles. You are there to assist them in finding the path they must take to change their life. So, become a student of stories. When you read a good book or see a good movie, figure out how it made you feel. Then figure out how it made that happen. Can you use the same techniques to design exhibitions or create workshops or re-enactments that are more “story-like”? Yes. - Page 19 -
Discover Comfort Marketing...
What if You Started Thinking Like an Entrepreneur? Yes, you're a non-profit. And that mentality is standing in your way of providing more value to your visitors and clients and community. You don't have to become a profit-making entity but you will be more successful if you adopt the mentality of a start-up business. Entrepreneurs, because they create value, are the driving force behind the American economy. (Not major corporations.) Entrepreneurs are the ones who can change the world and (hopefully) save our planet. Of course, not all entrepreneurs are successful. Successful entrepreneurs solve problems for others. (By creating either a product or a service.) Think: Elon Musk and his Tesla Motors electric car company, SpaceX rockets and spacecraft program, and his home storage unit for electricity – the PowerWall. The former PayPal-owner and serial entrepreneur, Elon Musk, is disrupting major industries by offering the public what it really wants: beautiful electric cars; trips to Mars; and freedom from the major fossil-fuel utilities – Oh! And a solution to global warming. If they're savvy marketers, entrepreneurs can explain to customers the value of what they're offering and how it's relevant to their life.
The Biggest Mistake. The biggest mistake most small businesses make is that they come up with a “great idea” for a product or service and sink all their resources into it and – then – discover that there's no “market” for it. - Page 20 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! No one wants what they're offering (or maybe not at that price tag.) Or people don't understand the product or what it has to offer. Maybe the product doesn't solve any burning problem for people. Maybe it's too unfamiliar, scary, complicated, or high-tech. Or, maybe lots of customers do like it but are too geographically scattered for the company to deliver the product to them (and to service it) cost-effectively. For whatever reason, not enough of the right people want the product to make the business profitable. The right way to be successful is to... 1. Start out not with a product idea but with a “starving market” – a big crowd of people who all want relief from a similar pain. 2. Create a product that promises to take away their pain. 3. Then, position yourself in the marketplace as the solution to this painful problem. So what about Emerson's quote “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door”? Well, actually he didn't say that but even so, people may not buy your better mousetrap. Why? Almost nobody is clamoring for a better mousetrap. For most people, the 25-cent wooden ones (though scary to set) seem to do the job well enough at an acceptable price. True, there is a smaller (but passionate) market for more humane, “catch-and-release” traps. And entrepreneurs have responded to this market.
- Page 21 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Unfortunately, many of the humane traps don't work too well and after releasing them outside, the mice sometimes beat you back into the house. HINT: you have to take them pretty far away and maybe leave some food with them to get them started in their new neighborhood, wish them well, and then run back to the house.)
Marketing at its simplest: The 25-cent mousetrap. Think about the mousetrap from a “marketing-to-the-mouse” standpoint. The mouse (your client) has a problem. It's hungry. You can help it out. Unfortunately (for the mouse) if you bait the trap properly, it works. It offers the mouse what it really wants (food). And it gives that to them – along with the unexpected, surprise bonus they didn't bargain for. (Maybe they didn't read the fine print – or were just too hungry to care.) But mice (like people) don't want just any sort of food. So, to catch mice, you have to give them what they want. You may have to experiment to see what your particular mouse likes best. Hints: Pick stuff that has a strong smell (that's your “advertising.”) They really like peanut butter (Smooth or chunky. Either one.) And, of course, cheese. Fatty stuff. Also high-protein stuff (seeds, nuts.) And sweet stuff (maple syrup, gumdrops and soft candies, chocolate!) Hey! Wait! They like the same stuff we do! (Maybe we shouldn't kill them.) - Page 22 -
Give People What They REALLY Want!
So ask yourself... is there already a crazed, passionate,
frenzied “starving market” for this service we're thinking of offering? (Maybe it's an exhibition you're thinking of mounting. Or a lecture. Or a re-enactment. Or a new gift-shop item.) And is this market big enough (and easy enough to reach) to justify creating a product for them? Are there crowds of people already insanely interested in this topic we're thinking of building into an exhibition? Are they crazed enough to camp outside for tickets? So rather than starting with what you think might be an interesting idea, first identify a raving mob of people who have some sort of problem they're passionately interested in solving (or a topic they're obsessed with) and then, give them what they want. Specifically, think: “Fracking.” More broadly, think: “Water.” To Create Blockbuster Exhibitions... • Choose topics that already touch most everyone's life, and • Choose topics that people are already interested in; passionate about; angry about; curious about. Not surprisingly, some of the most marketable “hot topics”that will bring in the most patrons will be controversial. That's OK. In fact, that's great! Even more people will line up to get into the exhibit. (Think: Black Friday stampedes at Wal-Mart.) AND... with a hot topic, you can create related presentations and forums and Q&A sessions that people will actually show up for. All this means you can attract a lot of media coverage. Each ancillary product or service you create (a lecture, a workshop, a debate) will provide another opportunity to send out a news release to promote the specific event, but also to remind people about the major exhibition it relates to. - Page 23 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Here's a sample promotion for your Q&A Session...
“WATER – Your Legal Rights – Fracking: Pros and Cons” Thursday: 7pm-9pm at The History Center Here's Your Chance to Get All Your Burning Questions about “Fracking” Answered! Come to this lively Question & Answer Session and pose your questions to Experts, Representatives and Attorneys from Both Sides of the Issue. And COME EARLY to EXPLORE our current exhibition in the MUSEUM and discover the fascinating ways that water affects your life every single day in ways you never imagined: “WATER = LIFE!” (May – October 2018) So where do you find these hot topics? You can identify them by reading the local and regional newspapers and, especially, the letters to the editor. Then, supposing that you settle on some broad-interest topic like - Page 24 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! water, you can mount an exhibition that examines water rights, and the uses of water (transportation, health, food & agriculture, aesthetic qualities, spiritual aspects), and how it has affected our economy through the last three centuries. Each one of these aspects can serve as “bait” for a particular segment of audience. You can market to the “spiritual” crowd, the “health” crowd, the “environmental” crowd, or the “political” crowd. So attract people to the exhibition because of their specific, narrow interest and then show them the broader picture (with your exhibition) so that they can start to put it all into context and see how this complex issue affects their life. This makes the topic relevant to everyone. Yes, all of your exhibits must be relevant to people's lives. (Otherwise, why would they care?) OK. So the point is: Think Entrepreneurial. Find out what people REALLY want. Give it to them. Onward...
Some Basic Marketing Vocabulary OK. Let's make some sense out of all this stuff. Mostly, the Marketplace is anywhere we exchange happiness. More and more this exchange of value takes place on the Internet. But it can be in a retail store, your gift shop, on the telephone, in a video on YouTube, in a lecture hall... anywhere we can connect with people (or they can connect with us – maybe through a Google search.) The marketplace is driven by the client's hopes for replacing their uncertainty, fear, worry, pain, frustration, and anxiety with physical and psychological comfort or pleasure. - Page 25 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... As marketers, we must build rapport and then build their trust in us, we must create expectations of value, and we must offer them promises that we can help solve their problem and take away some of their pain.
For example, as consumers... We hope this “Poison Ivy Ointment” can help make the itch go away as it promises. We hope these organic vegetables will taste great and keep us healthy. Because we're uncertain about our social status and worry that we are not attractive enough, or that we won't fit in, we hope this new haircut or this new shirt or this cool car or these grooming products or these books on “how to be charismatic” will solve our problem and bring us new friends and elevate our social status so we can feel secure, confident, and happy. A Market is a group of people who have a common problem or similar needs or interests. Sometimes we give names to these groups of people: The teenage market. The small business market. The real estate market. The empty-nesters market. The single-dad market. The Baby Boomer market. The wine market. Some markets are based on demographics (age, gender, economic status) because lots of people in their 60s are experiencing the same problems (retirement, health care decisions for their aging parents, health problems, financial problems, etc.) Other markets are driven by common interests, needs, or pain (such as the Type II Diabetes market or the World of Warcraft beginners market.)
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Give People What They REALLY Want! Talking to Your “Market.” Never lose sight of the fact that – even with your posters, radio commercials, newspaper ads or lectures – you are never really communicating with a mass of people.
You are always communicating one-on-one with a single person. Just one. Yes, even when lecturing in a crowded auditorium, you are communicating one-to-one with each person in the audience. When writing a promotional piece or talking on the radio, always picture just a single person at the other end of your message. Can you see them? It helps to have a specific person in mind. Value:
Value is what something is “worth” to someone.
Ultimately, your client determines the value based mostly on how much they believe your product or service will... 1) help reaffirm their identity, reinforce their self-concept, or help them express their desired persona to others 2) solve their problem 3) take away (or at least reduce) their pain 4) bring them pleasure 5) move them closer to their dreams. Value Stacking: Your products and services may provide several (or all) of the above values, all at once. It's up to you, as a marketer, to help educate the client to see the value you're offering them. Sometimes, the more value-based components you can build into your product or service, the higher the value a client will place on what it is you're offering. That means they will usually be willing to - Page 27 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... pay a higher price for your service. That's true only when the benefits are aligned closely with one another. If you promote a stack of unrelated, mismatched benefits, the audience may become confused and will shy away from your offer. It's best to focus on offering just one strong benefit. Keep your messages simple and focused.
Help People Shape Their Self-Concept Often, when we revise our self-concept, we head off to the marketplace to acquire the necessary products to affirm and reflect our new identity. Ever notice that when we suddenly become interested in mastering something new like gourmet cooking (maybe we were inspired by a movie or cable TV program), then suddenly we're spending a ton of money buying all kinds of expensive chef-related products like aprons with pockets, wooden spoons, special sets of knives, whisks, garlic presses, convection ovens, upscale sauté pans, and woks? Because we have suddenly labeled ourself as a “chef,” we are selecting those things from the marketplace to reinforce our new self-concept. Being somewhat uncertain and insecure with our new identity, all these purchases help shoring up our confidence. They don't make us a chef but do help us look and feel like a chef. All this stuff helps to notify others of our new status and let them know who we are (or who we would like for them to think we are.) We get great pleasure from evaluating, selecting and buying each specialized cooking utensil because it makes us feel a little closer to our dream. - Page 28 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Each of us wants to be known for something. We want to stand out. We want to feel important and significant in some way. In this case, becoming a “chef” gives us all those feelings. But it could just as easily have been photography, woodworking, gardening, or parenting. As a marketer, think of yourself as the genie in Aladdin's lamp, just waiting to make someone happy by making them feel closer to their dreams.
For a moment, think: CARS... For many people, their car is not do much a provider of personal transportation as it is a projection of their persona. Teenage boys often prefer high-powered “muscle cars.” (You knew that because it's a standardized “message” in our culture.) Middle-aged men are suddenly driving sports cars. (Yes, you know that, too. It's also a recognizable behavior pattern.) Psychologically, their cars are giving their owners what they need. Ever think about how many cars are named after animals? The Mercury Cougar, Ford Mustang, Ford Puma, Chevrolet Impala, Jaguar, Dodge Ram, Shelby Cobra, Mercury Sable, Corvette Stingray, Volkswagen Fox, Plymouth Barracuda, Nissan Leopard, Dodge Colt, Ford Pinto, and the Ford Falcon. - Page 29 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Animals are endowed with sleek bodies and muscles and they evoke power, athleticism, speed. Many of the most popular cars are named after powerful predators. Some car bodies are styled to emulate bulging muscles. They may even include a sculpture of the animal as the hood ornament. 1968 Jaguar XKE
Strong, bold, high-energy, “look at me” primary colors are popular choices for sports and “muscle” cars. Of course, the name and the “spirit” of the car are just marketing magic. The car, itself, is just a ton of steel, rubber, glass, and plastic. Yet even parked, without the throbbing growl of the engine, people feel a different set of emotions sitting inside a sleek and beautiful Jaguar XKE than they do when sitting inside of a cute-and-ugly VW Beetle. The SUCCESSFUL products in the marketplace speak to (and feed) our subconscious with the things it is hungry for. Someone who is still financially strong but old and frail and who feels irrelevant because they're retired may feel the need to wrap themselves inside of a big, heavy, protective, high-status luxury car that takes up far more than its fair-amount-of-space. It's no accident that limousines have become stretched. It's a territorial power thing. Imagine what psychological needs the expensive, military-spawned, 14-mpg Hummer fulfilled for its owners. - Page 30 -
Give People What They REALLY Want!
How Does the Marketplace Shape Our Self-Concept? If someone self-identifies (and labels themselves) as an environmentalist, they would never buy a Hummer. However, they may be willing to pay more for a laundry detergent that doesn't contain nasty phosphates which pollute the environment. And, they may buy organic cotton clothing and organic food that doesn't use pesticides and artificial fertilizers. For an environmentalist, those “environmental” products can command a higher price because they offer greater value – they reinforce their self-concept of being a good environmentalist. For non-environmentalists, the expensive, organic food products are “a waste of money.” An environmentalist is willing to “sacrifice” by paying the higher price because it makes them feel good about themselves, but also, it signals to others that they are a “good person” doing their part to protect the environment simply because “it's the right thing to do” Buying “green” becomes part of their moral code and their “persona” They'll also recycle and buy products made from recycled materials. A STRONG values-driven SELF-CONCEPT helps to simplify purchasing decisions in the same way that, for many people, the moral code of their religion, profession, political party (or any other values-driven - Page 31 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... paradigm) helps guide their daily decisions. Being either a “chef,” or an “environmentalist,” automatically narrows the choice of products: Both will buy only fresh, locally-grown, chemical-free food. The environmentalist will also drive a small, fuel-efficient car, turn down the heat, walk and bicycle. So, when displaying your products or promoting your services, consider ways that you can appeal to someone's self-concept. “This exhibition is truly a “must-see” for the curious, the thoughtful, the concerned. Anyone who calls Southeast Ohio 'home' will come away feeling a deep sense of awe, wonder... and pride... for our region.” Notice that this “speaks to the self-concept of individuals who self-identify as “curious, thoughtful, or concerned” and who call Southeast Ohio 'home.'” The “payoff” it promises is a specific emotional FEEING: “a deep sense of awe, wonder... and pride.” Remember this: Ultimately, you are always selling feelings. Note: any time someone is in the process of changing their selfconcept, they will be “in the market” for items which help them reinforce that new self-concept and announce it to the world. For example: Incoming freshmen are proud that they're college-students and may spend several hundred dollars on over-priced t-shirts, jackets, backpacks and other merchandise branded with the university colors and logo. Becoming a member of any well-branded “gang” (country club, church group, sorority, fraternity) makes it easy for an individual to step into an instant, ready-made identity. People are attracted to gangs because they want to feel that they belong. And when the tribe's identity and moral code are clearly defined it's easier for them to attract new members (customers.) - Page 32 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Additionally, new members may be put through through an initiation process to indoctrinate them with the values they are expected to adopt if they are to remain in good standing. Think about the organizations you belong to and the (sometimes unspoken) expectations placed on your behavior. To better grasp this idea, check out “The Jets” song at the start of West Side Story. It defines precisely what it means to be a “Jet.”
“When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way from your first cigarette to your last dyin' day...” West Side Story is about the deadly consequences of stepping outside a group's clearly-defined boundaries of self-concept. Another example: New and expecting parents will stock up on countless baby and parenting books and Baby Einstein products as they redefine and shape themselves into “perfect parents.” NOTE: Many people who retire after decades of working for a corporation have trouble letting go of their corporate identifier when adjusting to life after retirement. So much so that when asked to introduce themselves, they say, “I'm a former VP at IBM.” - Page 33 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Suddenly, at retirement, people are stripped of their importance and significance. Corporate CEOs used to wielding power now have trouble getting a plumber to return their calls. The office team no longer feel comfortable hanging out with them. It's awkward. Soon they will be forgotten. It can be devastating – especially for those who devoted so much of their life to the organization, who made themselves feel indispensable, and who sacrificed hobbies and family and other interests for their job. Maybe you can help alleviate this painful feeling of insignificance felt by recent retirees by offering them meaningful volunteer work that draws on the same skills that made them feel important when they honed them in the work-force: “Hey! Guess What! We NEED You and Those Valuable Management Skills You Honed Over Many Decades.”
Today you are You, That is truer than true. There is no one alive Who is Youer than You. – Dr. Seuss.
Help people be more of who they are (or who they want to be.)
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Give People What They REALLY Want!
All Value is “Perceived Value
Hold a dollar bill in front of a dog and it will sniff it and – because it's not something to eat – immediately lose interest and walk away. The dog is smart. It perceives no value. It sees the dollar bill only for what it is: a piece of paper. We might react the same way to unfamiliar foreign currency which looks like fake “Monopoly money.”
“The value of a dollar is social, as it is created by society.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Usually, we learn the value of a foreign currency by comparing it to the value of a US $1.00 – something which already has an assigned value. $1 will buy a candy bar, a bottle of water, an hour of parking. - Page 35 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Because “value” is always in the client's head, it means you may have to educate someone to see the value of what you're offering. Unlabeled organic produce isn't perceived as any more valuable than produce that is sprayed with insecticides and herbicides and artificial fertilizers. (If we can't see the value – which is where labels come in handy – then we don't know that it exists.) And, food labeled as organic is not valuable to people who haven't been educated to appreciate the benefits of organic food and also the disadvantages (dangers) of toxic and genetically-modified food. So, it's unfair for us to expect others to automatically place a high value on our product or service when we haven't bothered to educate them about the benefits. Just keep in mind that: All value is “perceived value.” If someone can't perceive the value, then, for them, there is no value. It simply doesn't exist. Just as the dog perceives value to the dollar bill.
“The Sweater.” As an example, perhaps in the gift shop you have priced a hand-made woolen sweater at $150. Yes, it's attractive, but the buyer may wonder if it's really “worth” $150. After all, over at Wal-Mart they can buy a sweater for $14 that was made and shipped across the Pacific from China. So, at first glance, the customer may not see the value in a $150 sweater – especially if all they're buying is “warmth.” You can't expect them to appreciate the $150 “assigned value” on their own. It's your job – your duty – to help them perceive the sweater's value by educating them about the hidden values in the sweater. - Page 36 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! It starts with how you display the product: It must be displayed with respect. With reverence. If it's simply hung on a coat hanger among a dozen other, lower-priced clothing items, you are not giving it proper respect. You must separate it out. Give it space. Displaying the sweater elegantly on a well-lit mannequin – perhaps grouped with some attractive and expensive scarves and pieces of jewelry which can complement its beauty – will help to establish the context for higher value. The high-ticket companion items create a “halo effect” meaning that the sweater benefits from bathing in their qualities. It's sort of a “birds of a feather...” thing. Then, you may need to educate the buyer to understand that this sweater is handmade from wool sheared from locally-raised sheep. That the wool was hand-dyed by the artist using natural dyes made from local plants. Then, the artist carded the wool by hand, spun it into yarn, and spent 22 hours knitting it into a sweater. Now, you have provided the potential buyer with information they can use to help assign value to the sweater. “22 hours?” they're thinking, “That's not even minimum wage – not counting all the other work they put into it and the value of the wool.” Understanding that, $150 is a steal. Plus, they can use the story behind the making of this sweater to reinforce some of their existing personal values: to buy local; to support local artists and businesses; to avoid polluting the environment; to buy products that are made from natural materials. Additionally, you remind them that they are getting a one-of-a-kind, hand-made sweater created by a local, individual artisan from nearby sheep – just as it might have been created 100 years ago.
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Discover Comfort Marketing... Now, you have significantly “differentiated” this sweater from the $14 machine-made sweater manufactured in a sweat shop in China from artificial fibers. A beautiful little card attached with a string might begin this value-enhancement process by explaining that the sweater is... “Hand-Made (with Love and Care) by an Athens County Artist.” Or, even better, the gift shop could display the names with photographs of the artists working in their studios. Tell their stories. People will value each piece of art more if they feel connected to the artist in some way. Just being able to see what the artist looks like and seeing them working with their hands in their humble studio here in Athens county begins to engage them in the process of respecting this one-of-a-kind work of art that has been crafted from local materials.
Every Product Should Have a Story. Simply seeing a series of photographs of someone shearing a sheep, dying the wool, carding and spinning it into yarn, and then knitting it into a sweater tells the creation story of this sweater. People like to see the process behind something; the craftsmanship; the artistry involved. They like to see change in progress. (That's why construction sites are so popular.) Labeling things is just one way to help people see the hidden value embedded in the product. (You could also make a videotape of the process and show it online at your website, or on a digital picture frame in the gift shop.) All value is perceived value. (Remember?) It is your job to help people perceive the benefits you offer.. - Page 38 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Adding Value When someone shears a sheep, cards the wood, and spins it into yarn, they have added value at each stage, because they have transformed the wool– changed it in some way – so that it is more usable. They have given it more utility. Also, they have saved us the work and time of doing it ourselves (and that represents value.) NOTE: Restaurants provide the same type value by preparing food for us. By transforming raw ingredients into something delicious, they save us time, effort, and sometimes even money (since they can buy the ingredients cheaper than we can.) But back to the sweater...: Whoever knits the hand-spun yarn into a beautiful sweater also adds value by transforming a long strand of fiber into a useful piece of clothing. Each stage in this chain of events adds additional value by changing the item and adding utility. Of course, the change you make to the material must provide the buyer more value for their life. (Moths can make changes to the sweater by eating holes in it but that lowers its utility and lowers its value.) But, in general, the more valuable your service and the more potential it holds for changing a person's life (solving their problem, reinforcing their self-concept, or helping them feel good in some way,) then the more you can charge for it. By sharing the story of this locally-made sweater, you are actually helping the buyer feel better about themselves. Every time they wear it, it becomes a reflection of their self-concept that they are a person who has exquisite taste and who recognizes fine quality. They feel proud to be wearing a sweater that uses natural fibers, is dyed using local plants, and that is hand-made by a local artist. So... Understanding your customers and their self-concepts can help you deliver value which makes them feel really good. (It's emotions!) - Page 39 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Need another example? Think about how a blacksmith takes a shaft of iron and fashions it into something that offers greater utility in the marketplace.
A blacksmith hammers value (utility) into a piece of iron.
Use These Lessons to Build Value into Your Exhibitions. The curating of an exhibit adds value by carefully selecting items and providing a narrative in order to make sense out of an otherwise random collection of facts and things (artifacts). A curated-exhibit adds meaning. And guidance. And interpretation. It may also tell a story and provide entertainment. And inspiration. Because the curating process provides value for the visitor (and why else would they would want to experience it?) it's important at the beginning of the design stage to ask yourself...
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Give People What They REALLY Want! What kind of value can I provide to the visitors? How can this exhibition change their feelings, or bolster their confidence, or shape and reinforce their self-concept? How can I make it relevant and valuable to their life? And how can I communicate this value to them ahead of time (in our promotional materials)? A Genealogical Report also Adds Value. It pulls together facts from a variety of resources to provide someone with information that changes their self-concept and gives them a better sense of who they are. CAUTION: Being able to promise the delivery of value puts you in a position of power. In fact, on the rare occasions when someone asks me how to achieve complete and total world domination, I give them this simple formula (which is really at the core of all marketing):
Your 6-Word Guide to Complete and Total WORLD DOMINATION: “Promise to Deliver What People Want.� That's exactly what politicians do on the campaign trail. Of course, after the election, they mostly fail to deliver on those promises. Yet those who get elected are usually the ones out there promising people whatever they want to hear.
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Discover Comfort Marketing...
Market to the Correct Part of the Brain: There are basically two type of appeals that can drive your marketing message... Rational (using logic) and Emotional (creating feelings.) Always appeal to the EMOTIONS – they drive every purchase. Remember: What you're really selling is the promise of a change (or transformation) in how people feel before they buy your product or service and after they consume it. So in your marketing messages, focus on their emotional feelings – how badly they feel now and how much better they'll feel after. Just remember: Your mission is to make people happy. So find out why they're not-so-happy and then find out what it is they need to become happier. Often, they'll be happy just moving from “pain” to “a little less pain.” What Type Value Are You Offering to the Marketplace? It helps to know what category of value you are really selling. Probably, what you're offering with your exhibits falls clearly into one of these two categories:
“PAIN KILLERS” vs “VITAMINS” Which do you think sells better? (Yes. Pain Killers.) - Page 42 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! People want relief from pain (physical or psychological.) And they want it now! And they are willing to pay for it. But vitamins and supplements and all those things that (may) make your life better... ? Well, they're nice. But they're not urgent. And most people are not willing to pay nearly as much for things that may (or may not) improve their life as they are willing to pay for something that promises to make their pain (or problem) go away right now! So? In our society, the arts, history, and culture are seen as “vitamins.” They're luxuries. Nice to have after we've solved all our major pain problems. But certainly not essential. Especially if they cost money. Most people have never been taught how (or why) to appreciate history, culture, and the arts. So these topics are not perceived as being “valuable” and therefore the general public is not likely to spend good money to support them. It makes sense that people are unwilling and unlikely to support something they don't understand. That's why non-profits are usually providing these services for “free” (which only confirms in the public's mind that they have no real value.)
If you're selling “pain killers” you can command a higher price than if you're selling something that will bring people additional pleasure. - Page 43 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Look at the diagram below. It shows that reducing pain is far more valuable than increasing pleasure. The greater the pain someone is in (at the left,) the higher price they are willing to pay to reduce that pain.
That is... there is higher dollar-value in promising to lower someone's pain level from point A to point B than there is in promising to raise their pleasure level from C to D. If we want cultural history and the arts to be seen as valuable, maybe we need to switch categories. Instead of vitamins, re-position your your exhibition as a painkiller. “But,” you ask, “what about all the money people spend on entertainment? And going to bars and movies and concerts... ? Isn't that bringing them pleasure?” Yes. But it's also reducing (or masking) the pain that many people feel from being insecure, lonely, and bored.
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Give People What They REALLY Want! Going to a movie can replace their boredom with curiosity and delight. Best of all, the distraction helps them forget their loneliness. Often, people consume entertainment to “escape� from the pain and worries of their everyday life. People don't want to feel left out, so going to the bar with friends reassures them that they're popular and that they fit in. Going to the bar alone can make some people feel even lonelier. But then, there's alcohol available to numb the pain.
We Are All (sometimes) Insecure. The news feeds us chaos, uncertainty, and fear 24/7. It (intentionally) makes us feel anxious. Powerless. Vulnerable. (That's reason enough to give it up.) Commercials (intentionally) focus on our insecurities. They tell us we are inept. That we are impotent. That we are incapable of solving problems ourselves. That we are socially inadequate. That we risk being unpopular if we don't use their product. (That's reason enough to give them up.) And yet, people continue to consume the media and saturate their mind with messages of dis-empowerment – messages that add confusion and chaos and anger and frustration to their lives. It's so easy to feel insecure. Especially when the multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry is bombarding us with messages designed to make us feel that way so that we will buy their anti-depressants and other prescription drugs. So what if the History Center immersed its visitors in experiences designed not only to inform, educate and entertain, but to empower - Page 45 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... and shoring up their self-concept? What if exhibitions told stories that made people feel stronger and more complete? More confident. Even happy? Wouldn't that be a nice (and probably popular) service to offer? You wouldn't even have to explain what you're doing. People would come for the information and entertainment and go away a bit more self-assured; more hopeful. And if that's the experience they have with every visit, they'll come back. Again and again. And with each visit, in their mind, they will be building a strong, “feel-good brand” for the SEOHC.
We Are Attracted to (and Captivated by) Media Role Models We can use entertainment as both a pain killer and a vitamin. We use story-based entertainment to step inside a fantasy, identify with the main character, and feel the way we would like to feel if our lives were as perfect as we would like. Along the way, we're always measuring our life against the images on the screen and in the celebrity magazines, forgetting that it's impossible to look as good as those airbrushed supermodels. Even the real models can't look as good as their digital versions. So the media can make us feel bad about ourselves because we never seem to “measure up.” And whom do we blame for being noticeably imperfect? Ourselves. That's not good.
Why Do We Escape into the Media? What are we escaping from? What are we yearning for? What are we missing in our lives that causes us pain? And how do books and movies help? - Page 46 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Actually, it's not really books and movies we need – they're just the delivery van. It's the stories they contain. Different people have different needs, but generally, women prefer “chick flicks” and men prefer violent “shoot-em-up action thrillers.” Why? Again, a generalization... Women need stories of romance and relationships – stories based on fantasies of perfect relationships. Feel-good romances, like Moonstruck, allow women to identify with Cher's character to live out a romantic fantasy. It keeps alive their hopes and dreams for being in an ideal relationship. Moonstruck is also a “Cinderella story” (always popular) because Cher's character undergoes a glamorous transformation. Generally, men are more interested in establishing and reaffirming their status in the social hierarchy. By identifying with the Bruce Willis character in the Die Hard movies, men can fantasize that they are the smart, (and often smart-mouthed) confident, brave, and muscled hero (a NYC cop – thus, a “power” status-figure to start with) who is fluent both in martial arts and munitions. Steeped in machismo, these action/thrillers almost always use violence to resolve the conflict. The more evil the villain is, the more violent his death will be at the end. - Page 47 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Stepping into the storyline and identifying with the main character, makes us feel strong, powerful, and righteous for a couple of hours. We get to feel what it's like to assert ourselves as an Alpha Dog at the top of the pecking order which feels especially good if, during the day, we work at an underpaying, low-status job which forces us to endure insults and slights from the jerks around us. And if, at home, we're living at the edge of financial ruin, constantly worried about supporting our family, it help if every so often we can get a bit of relief by feeling powerful and invulnerable. Some revenge can feel good too. So all genres of movies – romantic comedies, drama, suspense, mystery, action-adventure – can spoon-feed out subconscious with whatever it needs to cover-up the pain and make us feel good. At least Temporarily. The next time you notice someone is on a steady diet of revenge films, ask yourself:“I wonder what's going on in their life?”
Unfortunately, violent movies have a dark side. In many stories the hero, at first, tries to work within the system but runs up against an inept bureaucracy which repeatedly returns the bad guy back onto society. In the end, our hero must become a vigilante, short-circuit the legal system, and put a permanent end to the evil predator, himself. When we are surrounded by hundreds of people in the theater cheering their approval when the hero uses excess violence to takeout the bad guy, it's only natural that we are conditioned to glamorize violence and revenge. Seeing the “good guy” perpetrate “justified violence” sends a rush of feel-good endorphins coursing through our system.
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Give People What They REALLY Want! We can walk into the theater feeling beaten-down-by-life and – after a two-hour dose of steady “justifiable violence” – walk out feeling on top of the world (thanks to elevated levels of dopamine.) But of course, that's exactly what we are paying for. This may explain why guns are so popular in America and why many real-life massacres are triggered by perpetrators who have been humiliated, shunned or, in some way, made to feel powerless. For someone who feels weak, insecure, and powerless, a gun is the ultimate “equalizer.” Who needs brains or muscle when you have the raw power of bullets? And for anyone who feels overwhelmed by debt, frustrated by government bureaucracies, and exasperated by the unfairness they see all around them... violent movies can be a pain killer.
Now, It's Your Turn... Yes. Fantasy and entertainment can make us feel good by giving us what's lacking in our lives. So spend time working out how, in a socially-responsible manner, you might address our pain through an entertaining and thoughtful, well-designed exhibition. While Hollywood uses digital effects to fabricate make-believe heroes, the History Center has stories of real heroes like Januarius MacGahan, the Athens County native who liberated Bulgaria... Or Simon Kenton, the remarkable pioneer who opened up Kentucky and Ohio to settlers before this country was born. See::The Frontiersmen by Allan Eckert. - Page 49 -
Simon Kenton: 1755 – 1836
Discover Comfort Marketing...
Re-Frame What You Are Really Offering. Telling children to clean up their room gets poor results. It is a chore, something they don't want to do and may do begrudgingly. But, savvy parents know they get better results by “re-framing” the request and changing it into a game: (This is called “Gamification”) “Hey, let's see who can clean up the most stuff in 4-minutes. The winner gets to pick where we go to dinner. Ready? Go!”
Similarly, you can “re-frame” (or psychologically re-position) the appeal of what the History Center has to offer. You can move your exhibition from the vitamin category to the pain-killer category by promoting it as an enlightened experience that alleviates the “pain” of our common problems. People may be feeling... Frustrated. Angry. Hurt. Embarrassed. Depressed. Bored. Confused. Bewildered. Lost. Rootless. Insecure. Anxious. Overwhelmed. Powerless. Vulnerable. Or stressed. You're promising to swap-out those feelings with the pleasures of... Enchantment. Wonder. Discovery. New-found Wisdom. Curiosity. Amusement. Awe. Epiphany. Joy. And delight. Most everything the History Center offers – your genealogy services, lectures, presentations, re-enactments, and web-pages – can offer people a better understanding of who they are and a feeling of “certainty” about where they came from. All of your services can help people feel safe and grounded and confident and self-assured. “Museums are places where people go to think and feel about what it means to be ‘human’.” – Mark O’Neil - Page 50 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Thoughts about the World War Exhibit. Unless people have already labeled themselves as “historians” or World War buffs, this exhibit may not appeal to the general population. Lots of people were conditioned by their mediocre history teacher to hate history. And if they received a low-grade (D+) then “I hate history” has probably become part of their self-concept. The public takes its cues about what is important and interesting from the mass media. So unless the national media legitimize the World War as a topic worthy of attention, you may have a difficult time attracting lots of people to the exhibition unless you can show them that the topic is relevant to their life.
Remember... As an exhibition, The World War is merely a theme to enthrall, to inspire, to transform the world – one individual visitor at a time. In mounting the exhibition, you are staging a “transaction” with a partner – the visitor. Together, the two of you will collaborate and conspire to create a transformational experience. Before you set out on your adventure to create an exhibition, ask yourself: “What do I want this individual visitor-partner to feel?" “What possibilities for change do I want to offer them?” “How can I help them see the world and themselves differently so as to enlarge their future?” Then ask: “How can I make that happen?” - Page 51 -
Discover Comfort Marketing...
The more different and fascinating and interesting ways you can help the visitor catch a glimpse of themselves in your exhibit... •the more engaged they will become •the more relevant their transaction will be •the deeper their experience will be •the greater their transformation will be, •the more delighted they will be, and the more change they will experience in their life. If you do your job correctly, you will have created – for each individual visitor you partner with – the opportunity to change. To be transformed. You will have created value for them and – through them – value for the world. And all of these changes and transformations will be more intense if you charge admission.
NOTE: It may be painful to realize that after all that careful work of curating and mounting a beautiful exhibition, most of your visitors are just interested in some light social engagement – something to pass some time with a friend. In reality, only a relatively few researchers or scholars or history fanatics will be visiting. But that doesn't mean your work isn't useful. Something in the exhibit may ignite a spark of interest which grows into a bright flame years later. With care, you can design the exhibit with this in mind. Remember: Give people what they want. - Page 52 -
Give People What They REALLY Want!
In general, here are some “re-framing” examples of non-historical “benefits” that your exhibitions and events at the History Center may offer the public... Looking for something interesting to do with your house guests when they visit? OU Students: Looking for an easy way to impress your parents for an hour or so during Parents Weekend? Looking for something to do before dinner and the concert? Looking for a beautiful, classy, elegant, affordable, memorable, photogenic, and convenient place to hold your wedding? Looking for a venue with good acoustics and plentiful seating for your lecture, debate, mini-conference or forum? Looking for meaningful locally-relevant gifts for commencement? For Mothers Day? For the holidays? Looking to find out more about who you are and where you came from? Curious about your ancestors who lived in Athens County? Looking for your own secret place – a kind of sanctuary – where you can come to recharge and renew? For a place you can get away from everybody and everything for an hour and discover yourself? Looking for interesting stories filled with failure and struggle and success and wisdom and passion and inventiveness and adventure? Need to stock-up on beautiful and interesting and affordable and meaningful gifts for which your recipients will be sincerely grateful! “Curious about how the world was a century ago. Yes? Come lose yourself – and find yourself – at The Southeast Ohio History Center.”
- Page 53 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Now that you have discovered what Comfort Marketing is, it's time to...
Create a Simple Marketing Plan You will benefit from thinking through the process of creating a simple marketing plan. One that you can modify or abandon along the way. (It's just a guide.) Think of a marketing plan as a AAA TripTikÂŽ
You want to go from Athens to Pittsburgh? Great. It helps to know when you're leaving and when you want to arrive and whether you want to make any particular stops along the way. - Page 54 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! AAA will create for you a customized booklet of strip-maps showing you the route with driving times in addition to current construction areas, rest-stops, and restaurant opportunities. (Or use their online App.) The TripTik® is just a simple, recommended travel plan. You can always deviate from it to stop along the way or make side trips. It's the same with your marketing plan. A marketing plan can be 300+ pages, or it can fit on an index card. To create one, you need to know where you are now. Where you want to end up. And when you want to be there. Also, it helps to have an anticipated route (strategy) you intend to follow to get there. Each component of the organization may want a marketing plan: The Gift Shop The Membership Committee. The Museum & Collections. Genealogy. Altogether, their individual plans can be combined into a “master marketing plan.” For example: The Membership Committee may draw up a simple plan that states:We now have 753 paying members. In 12 months, we would like to increase paying members to 1500. We plan to get there by...
- Page 55 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... 1. contacting lapsed members to see if they would be interested in rejoining 2. encouraging current members to buy specially-priced one-year memberships to their grandchildren or other family members. If we offer them great value, after the first year, we expect that 50% of those new members who received gift memberships will renew. Also, we intend to segment memberships into 3 different categories. Higher-priced memberships will include specific benefits (such as invitations to catered previews of major exhibitions, and discounts in the gift shop.) Another example: The gift shop may decide to create three separate marketing plans for 1. increasing visitors to the physical, on-site location in the History Center, 2. for increasing visitors and sales at the online store, and 3. for increasing the sale of gift certificates. Together, these three separate plans could be combined into a master marketing plan for the gift shop. Then, that could be combined with the marketing plans for each segment of your organization to make up “the master marketing plan for the History Center.� To begin, always start with your current status. (Where are you now? That's your starting point.) For the gift shop, it would be helpful to start by knowing how many visitors you get each month. How many sales you are making each month. The total value of those sales. Which items are most popular and which ones make the most profit. - Page 56 -
Give People What They REALLY Want! Then, you can set a goal (destination.) And you can create a sensible deadline for arriving at a particular checkpoint: “We want to increase monthly visitors to our online gift shop by 200% within 6-months.” Then, lay out your game-plan (your strategy or route for getting there.) “We will accomplish this by buying targeted Facebook Ads to drive people to our online store. And, we will reward our Facebook traffic with a discount or a free gift if they share our site with 3 friends.” When creating your marketing plans, the important thing to keep in mind is this bit of wisdom from the military:
“No Battle Plan Survives Contact with the Enemy.” No. Marketing is not war. And your clients and members are definitely not the enemy. It just means that no matter how great your marketing plan looks on paper, once you implement it – once it comes into contact with the real world – you're going to discover that the public just doesn't react the way you thought they would. (Very often, as a whole, the public is smarter than we are.) So you're going to have to make changes. Expect it. Be flexible.
“Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” – Winston Churchill
- Page 57 -
Discover Comfort Marketing... Darwin found that those species which survived over the years were not the “strongest” but the “fittest” – the ones that were most successful at adapting and changing to fit their environment. Be adaptable. Remember, marketing is an on-going (maybe unspoken “conversation” with the public. Listen to them. Sometimes that just means watching to see what things they buy and don't buy (and at what price) in the gift shop. Then adjust your marketing plan along the way. Keep It Fun. JM
“The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated." – William James
Take a break and then – remembering that you don't need to read it straight through – EXPLORE some of the ideas in ...
- Page 58 -
book 2:
Make People Feel They Really BELONG.
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
FIRST? First, You Must Accept that You Are Going to Have to Take Full Responsibility for Your Own Marketing and Your Own Success. (Yes, I know, none of us wants to be some sort of adult.) Even so, don't worry too much. It's not nearly as painful as you may think. Especially if you develop the mindset that... Marketing is not something you do to people. Marketing is something you do for them. It is not an act of aggression. Hopefully, you've already read through the first book and developed a good understanding of what Comfort Marketing is all about. If not, you really need to do that (soon) so that you have a solid grounding before trying to implement the ideas ahead in this second book. Things will make much more sense and go much better for you, I promise. Ready? OK... - Page 60 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Let us begin... What If ‌ # 0: You Started Creating Your OWN Notebook of Engaging Ideas? Hopefully, as you work your way through this book, you will begin to come up with your own ideas for engaging the community. Be sure to write them down. Grab a blank notebook, or open a new document on your computer and start writing. Ideas are fleeting, so be sure to capture them before they evaporate. And what if you shared them with others? Just one new idea a week is 52 new ideas each year. And what if 5 different staff members were each coming up with just one new idea a week? That's 260 ideas a year (though, of course, a few may be the same.) And where do you get these ideas? - Page 61 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
They're all around us, already in use by others in the marketplace. Once you put on your marketing glasses, you will find them everywhere: in magazines and books and newspapers, on television, in podcasts, in stores, at the auto-repair center, at the doctor or dentist office. Everywhere! Why not make it a game (this is called “gamification”) and get in the habit of looking for them? Reward yourself every time you enter your 10th idea into your notebook.
What If... # 1 – You Created a “Volunteer Coordinator” Position? It would be a mistake to saddle the existing, overworked staff with implementation of these ideas. Even the simplest, easiest ones will require a bit of time and effort. Of course, if the staff voluntarily take on some of the ideas, great. Create a half-time (unpaid, for now) Volunteer Coordinator staff position. Advertise the position as a regular job (making certain that people know it's unpaid but that you are accepting applications.) Candidates should have a background in recruiting and managing volunteers or organizing teams of people, and project management. Possible candidates may come from the retiring pool of baby boomers. Going from a full-time job to retirement can be unsettling to some people. So some retirees would benefit from a part-time position just to feel needed and to help structure their time. - Page 62 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Perhaps the Human Resources departments at OU and Hocking College would publicize the position to some of their new and recent retirees. (They're unlikely to give out their contact information but may put them in touch with you.) The Athens Village http://theathensvillage.org/ 740.447.0500; 94 Columbus Road, Building B, Athens, EMAIL:
theathensvillage@gmail.com
This local non-profit has over 100 mostly-retired members age 60+. They also have a monthly newsletter. A few of their members may be interested in this position. Others may be interested in some sort of volunteering. The ideal candidate may turn out to be a former office manager who has good communication skills, is organized, good at working with people and dealing with crises, who can make systems work.
What If … # 2: You Created an Implementation Team? You need to create teams of people who can implement some of the ideas in this book. Some of the team members may need special skills (audio recording, video editing, graphic design, writing skills, people skills, etc.) Teams could be just 2 people, or 5. (But not too big.) Each team will probably have outside volunteers, plus your Volunteer Coordinator, and a staff member who is probably the “client”being served by the team.
- Page 63 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: How might it work? A staff member requests that the Volunteer Coordinator pull together a small team for a special project. “We'll need a graphic artist who can make up some simple maps and discount coupons and also someone who can be a sales person, to go out to other organizations and businesses to set up short-term partnerships.” The staff person may work with the Volunteer Coordinator to screen the volunteers and to oversee the project. Just from the name, you know that an “Implementation Team” is going to get things done and that they'll work together, as a team.
True, your team may not need to be quite this big.
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs
- Page 64 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
How to Use This Book: Remember: Think of This Reference Book as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” Guide.
Y
es, there are lots of big, sexy ideas sprinkled throughout this publication. And because they are so appealing, it's tempting to be attracted by the complicated ideas that require money and staff and lots of effort. Of course, it's no surprise that many of those big, complicated projects never get completed and everyone ends up discouraged. So don't make that mistake. Instead, start with the quick and easy “can't fail” ideas that will establish successful momentum. Pick one that is going to be profitable – one that may quickly bring in money, new members, visitors (or whatever your goal may be.) Pick something that's easy to do; that you can start (and maybe complete) today; that doesn't cost much (or any) money; that doesn't require a learning cure; and that doesn't require lots of staff time or outside people. IMPLEMENTATION TIP: “Think small.”
Always start with the simplest, cheapest, fastest, easiest ideas which offer the quickest payoff. It's the best way to get started. Then move on to something a little more challenging. You can move on to the big, complicated ideas and strategies later, once you have more resources and volunteers and experience. - Page 65 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If …# 3: You Made Your Services Feel More Valuable by Making Them More Scarce? If there's a shortage of a product (less “supply than “demand”) then there's really no need to advertise. The Tesla Motors electric car company doesn't advertise, yet has a long wait-list of people who are willing to pay prices even “above retail” to buy its product. So, first, make sure you're offering something that people crave and, ideally, something that is in short supply and you'll have an easier time selling whatever it is you're offering. For example: a limited-time exhibition, an exclusive membership, a one-of-a-kind gift item, a short “sale” for a genealogical report. Make sure it's in short supply: “Only 100 tickets per day and 11 days left to see this exhibition!” or “Only 17 more exclusive fund-raising dinner tickets available.” Then, people will crave what you have just a little more. (People don't like to miss out on things.)
What If …# 4: You Deliberately Appealed to People's Sense of Identity? Help People Discover, Refine, Reinforce, and Express Their Identity, Their Self-Concept, and Their Persona. Identity: That's the stuff that's the “Demographics” stuff that's on our driver's license: gender, age, race, name, hair color, weight. Genealogy Services is helping people to discover their extended Identity. Just as some bureaucratic forms request your mother's maiden name (to help identify you,) knowing who your great-grandmothers were becomes a part of your identity. - Page 66 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Self-Concept (or Self-Image): this is who we think we are and how we feel about that. Self-Concept can fluctuate as we grow and change or modify our status (from single to married; to parent; to divorced or widowed.) Mostly, our self-concept is based on the sum total of things we're proud of about ourselves and the things we're ashamed of. It includes our idea of where we fit in, our social status, our perceived weaknesses and strengths and our personality traits. “I'm a 'harried soccer mom who worries a lot that I'm not being a good-enough parent; who struggles with my weight; who loves scrap-booking; and is addicted to Game of Thrones.” Public Persona. Persona is the personality we project to the public. Sometimes, our persona is who we pretend to be. It's usually crafted to for how we would like for others to see us. It's a contrivance and something of a fantasy in which we impersonate or assume the appearance and character and mannerisms of someone else (real or imagined.) Perhaps we emulate a real or fictional movie hero, or someone we admire. Maybe our persona suggests that we are “a well-connected, well-read, no-nonsense community leader.” In cities where people often interact on a more superficial level with strangers, a persona may differ far more from a person's self-concept than it might in a small town where it's harder to “keep up appearances.” A persona is mostly about appearances and affectations of style. It is often constructed from the marketplace with fashion choices, the car we drive, and the house we live in, the exhibitions we visit. Wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt shows others that we “belong.” - Page 67 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Celebrities, of course, create public personas which may be completely different from their private persona. Madonna is known for revamping her persona every few years. Lady Gaga is in constant flux – that flux is part of her persona.. For many, everyday people, if their persona differs greatly from their self-concept, it may create stress in keeping the two separate. If there's a large discrepancy between our identity and self-concept and our persona, we may feel insecure, anxious and worried we'll be “found out,” revealed for being a “fraud.” Despite the good advice to “just be yourself,” adjusting our persona to the outside world may help us function better in that world. We probably have several personas: One we wear when visiting our grandparents, another we may use with certain sets of friends, another we project at work, and yet another when we're traveling alone to a far-off city. As a marketer, we can help people shape their self-concept and fashion their persona. Being “a museum-goer” may be a part of a person's persona. Some people like to be seen at well-heeled events like the symphony orchestra, the opera, the theater, and black-tie events. It makes them feel important, educated, intellectual, refined. The gift shop has lots to offer people to help them shape their persona and self-concept. Sending out hand-written thank you notes on History-Center-designed cards can make people feel proud. Buying (and displaying) books about local history makes them feel like a better citizen who is knowledgeable about our heritage.
- Page 68 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Here Are Some General Themes and General Recommendations You'll Find Running through Many of the Ideas in This Book... Many are methods for emotionally-engaging your audience by appealing to their Identity, their self-Concept, or their various personas. Arouse Their Curiosity. Ask questions. Make incomplete statements and outrageous declarations. Make Your Messages, Products, and Services More Relevant to Them. You may need to explain the relevance. Call Them by Name. Speak to them individually. Call them by “name” – either by category (“Hey, Parents!” or by the problem you're solving for them: “Need Classy Entertainment for Guests?” Touch Their Feelings and Emotions. Create messages (and exhibitions) that can comfort your visitors' pains and insecurities. Promise to Solve Their Problem. Start by helping reduce or eliminate their pain. Remember: you don't even have to bring them pleasure. You just need to make them feel better. Promise Them Change. People are looking for transformation. Results. They want a change in their emotions and feelings. Can your event make them feel a little more certain, a little more confident, a little more hopeful? (“Feel Deep Pride in Our Region!”) Reflect Their Personal Values. Reinforce and speak to their personal values (which are part of their self-concept.) “Discover how to protect our water and soil.” - Page 69 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Manage Their Uncertainty. Uncertainty is at the root of fear, anxiety, worry, confusion, anger, and frustration. Mostly, you will want to reduce their uncertainty. This can happen through the presentation of facts, education, metaphors, and through stories. HOWEVER... there are also times you want to increase their uncertainty. Maybe by using curiosity headlines in your promotions. Or by posing (maybe unanswerable) questions in your exhibitions. Uncertainty can ENGAGE people. (Do you think the brain likes unresolved problems and unanswered questions?) Earn Their Trust. Well-documented, well-researched presentations build trust. But also, reach people through organizations they already belong to and trust (social groups, service groups, church groups, book clubs.) And use lots of testimonials or reviews about your exhibitions and other services. Publicize awards you've won. Often, familiarity = trust. Encourage Them to Participate. Engage people by encouraging them to take part. Invite them to a workshop in which they'll design their own product. Maybe you give them a quiz to fill out as they go through an exhibit. Perhaps there are “homework assignments” they can do later. Or, your promotional materials may use Incomplete headlines or outrageous statements or pose interesting questions to arouse curiosity. Make people feel connected. Let them know they belong. Design for Discovery. People like to discover things for themselves. They like to use their imaginations. They like stepping into a world of enchantment. Design your materials, website, and exhibitions to give them those opportunities. Make it easy for them to participate.
- Page 70 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 5: You Understood – Completely – the Pleasures Offered by a Museum? What Pleasures Do People Get from Visiting Museums? According to surveys, people get four pleasures from the museum: 1. Social Interaction: People like to do things with friends. Going to the museum before the concert is a great way to visit with a friend and also share an experience together. Like all the other experiences they've had together, it deepens their relationship. They'll discuss it over dinner.
2. Cognitive Pleasures: Figuring stuff out, solving puzzles, learning new stuff, making sense of things, having epiphanies, working to understand something. People like these mental/intellectual pleasures.
3. Their Relationship to the Artifacts: People don't have to touch the objects (though when that's a possibility, encourage them to do so) but they do like being close to and interacting with an object, seeing it up-close, examining its details.
4. Introspective Pleasures: People enjoy thinking and wondering about the object, feeling nostalgic, calling up memories, or pondering how their own life is different from the lives of the people who lived when the objects were created and used.
Keep these Four Pleasures in mind as you design your exhibitions so that you can make sure that you can maximize your visitors' opportunities for pleasure. Additionally, adults want fresh, changing exhibits. Novelty. “The pleasure lies not in discovering truth, but in searching for it.” – Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina - Page 71 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 6: You Provided Opportunities for Your Staff to Interact with the Visitors? Museums can be “lonely places” (or, more positively, “places to be alone” or “places to enjoy solitude.”) So, for visitors who are alone, they may want to have some human interaction. They want to interact with the museum staff in some way. Sometimes, while exploring an exhibit, a visitor will have an epiphany or a thought they need to share with someone. Perhaps they noticed a possible inaccuracy they need to bring to your attention. Or, they just have a personal story triggered by the exhibit. They don't always need to talk to the curator, but they do feel the need to share their information with someone on the staff. In many cases, all people really want is acknowledgment. A simple “Thank you, I'll definitely share that with the curator of the exhibit tomorrow morning,” is all that may be required. Try to make them feel important and let them know that they have had an influence. Always make them feel that they BELONG. The more engaged they feel, the more likely they will want to come back. And if they feel they belong, they may join as a member. So the more possibilities for interaction you can create, the better. Docents and Volunteer Tour-guides can help fulfill these “interactive needs” for many of your patrons. Also consider: Special guided-tours by the curator. Regularly-scheduled Q&A Sessions. Website interaction: allow people to ask questions on your website about the exhibit. Or, start a discussion on your Facebook page. - Page 72 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Branding Ideas Remember This: Your Brand = Predictable Feelings. From past experiences, people build up an expectation of what emotional payoffs (feelings) they'll get from visiting the History Center. So it helps to know exactly what experiences you would like people to have at every “touch point” they encounter. And be consistent.
What If … # 7: You Built Your Brand by Always Eliciting a Consistent Set of Emotions? Your brand is not your name and logo. Your brand is in the visitor's head. (though seeing your name and logo can serve as a “trigger” for evoking the brand they have stored in their head.) From the way you answer the phone, your signage in the parking lot and your beautiful, litter-free landscaping to the service they receive in the genealogy library, and the experience they have in the gift shop or going through your exhibitions... ask yourself: what consistent set of feelings should each visitor experience? Once you've decided on that list of essentials, then figure out how you can elicit those feelings with everything you do. Every experience someone has with the History Center is either supporting or diluting your brand. One emotion that you could trigger consistently for each person who comes to the Center is the feeling of “wonder.” - Page 73 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Originally, in Europe, museums started out as rooms of cabinets filled with “curiosities” and they were called Cabinets of Curiosities (Kunstkabinett), or Cabinets of Wonder and Wonder Chambers or Wonder Rooms (Wunderkammer).
Probably, most museum curators think they're in the business of organizing and presenting coherent information about a topic for the purposes of education. But what if, instead, you thought of yourself as the choreographer for mapping-out experiences which can deliver the sense of wonder to your visitors? How might that change the entire flavor of an exhibition? - Page 74 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Maybe you are not really in the business of delivering answers at all. Instead, maybe you're in the business of posing questions and making people curious about their own lives and the world around them. After all, do you feel more engaged when someone tells you something, or asks you something?
When you pose questions, it invites the public to participate; to use their own mind; to wonder. And that leads to an active mind which increases the possibility that people will stumble upon their own insights which leads to igniting other satisfying emotions: dismay, discovery, epiphany, marvel, fascination, surprise, and awe. - Page 75 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Plus, when people discover things for themselves, they tend to believe it because it came from within. How can it not be true? If, consistently, people experience this constellation of pleasurable, deeply-satisfying emotions every time they interact with the museum, the genealogy center, the website, the lectures, the re-enactments, and the presentations – even the gift shop – they will continually reinforce their concept of your brand. They will come to expect that all of their interactions with the History Center will deliver these same, predictable emotions. And remember... for them, that expectation is your brand.
What If … # 8: What If You Engaged the Public with More Mystery and Intrigue? Just maybe our world has gone a little too far with this trend of “transparency” – revealing everything and showing way too much. On talk shows, people share their personal lives, telling us far “more than we feel comfortable knowing.” We live in an over-the-top, in-your-face “Kardashian world” that leaves nothing to the imagination. And that can be disengaging. Before digital special effects made it possible for movies to show any horror scene its producers could imagine, we were invited to use our imaginations. Yes, today's extreme-violence and horror movies can momentarily shock and disgust the audience by showing gruesome images. But audiences are becoming numb to this overload of stimuli. Far more engaging are the old, low-budget movies that use “implied violence” – just a scream and a quick spatter of blood on the wall. Those are the ones that keep us awake at night. - Page 76 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Some celebrities have learned the value of dropping out of-sight for periods of time so that they don't “burn out” their public, or so that they can re-emerge with a fresh image. And while they're “gone missing” these celebrities can create a sense of mystery about themselves which is appealing. Magnetic. Engaging. Others, who protect their private lives and rarely give out interviews, become all that more alluring. Think::Greta Garbo. Or, think about the mystery and intrigue and curiosity surrounding famous recluses Howard Hughes and J. D. Salinger. During the Burlesque era, the “striptease”was all about revealing only a tantalizing glimpse of bare flesh – leaving something to the imagination. When presented with incomplete information, the mind becomes engaged. The imagination must be activated to fill-in-the-details. So, sometimes, when designing an exhibition, you may consciously choose to leave some things unsaid. Make the visitors do some of the hard work of putting things together themselves. Be sure the exhibition answers the questions your promotional materials used to draw them in but then make sure they leave with far more intriguing questions – and mysteries – to keep them engaged and wondering long after they step back into their everyday life. Which CIRCLE is more ENGAGING? Which SQUARE? When our brain encounters uncertainty, it actively investigates. It tends to ponder the unusual. The incomplete. The intriguing. Why? The brain likwa closure. - Page 77 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 9: You Placed TIME at the Core of Your Identity? Time is our most precious commodity. And history depends on it. It's an obvious choice for serving as the backbone of your brand. So make sure you incorporate references to “time” throughout your building. Build “Time” into your identity, logo, and your exhibitions. It begins outside with the clock tower placed at a location where people can check their progression through the day at the intersection. Inside you might have a huge wall clock, a sundial, a huge hourglass, a pendulum that slices time into slivers through space.
“Time is Life.” – Jay Conrad Levinson
What If … # 10: You Re-Thought What “Business” You're In? Ask yourself: Is the History Center in the Entertainment Business or the Information Business? Look around: Public libraries, Google, and the Internet have made most “information” mostly free.
- Page 78 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Public libraries are “free.” In general, the public does not “value” information. (Or, at least, many people are not willing to pay for it. They have come to expect it to be free.) But notice that on big weekends in Athens, people will stand in long lines, with money-in-hand, waiting to give their money to someone. They're eagerly waiting and paying money to get into movies and plays and concerts and bars and sporting events and comedy shows. And they're paying anywhere from $5 to $40 per person.
People will pay for entertainment because they are buying intense emotional experiences. They're buying social interaction. They're buying the “feeling of belonging” (to a group or crowd at the bar.) Sometimes, they're buying status by having season tickets and by being seen at elegant, prestigious events. Guess what! You can deliver all of the same benefits. Consider focusing your brand on delivering Entertainment instead of Information.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 11: You Hired a Designer to Create an Overall “Identity Package” for the History Center? You want your logo, your website, your publications, your signage inside and outside of the building to present a consistent look and feel. Remember: consistency and predictability define your brand. This means you will probably use just one or two compatible type fonts and a simple color scheme (or color palette.) Ideally, you will hire an artist who can create an Identity Design Book for your organization's identity. Major non-profits and corporations have an “identity guide” (rule-book) they refer to for displaying their identity. As an example, Ohio University has the stylized wood-cut logo of Cutler Hall and also the “Attack Cat” logo used mostly for athletics. The OU Identity “rule book” prohibits placing both logos on a piece of apparel. So, a t-shirt might have the Attack Cat and the words Ohio University (but cannot include the Cutler woodcut logo.) And, their guidebook specifies the precise colors in which each logo can be printed and recommends color schemes for departments that might want to use secondary and tertiary colors in their materials. A good designer may be expensive, but once the visual elements have been chosen, it can speed up the process for all future projects. Most designers will provide you with templates for various uses: Newsletter layout, web-page design, envelopes, letterhead, banners, etc. For a better understanding of all this, and to get some ideas of what an identity package looks like... search Google for Samples of Corporate Identity Packages. Local Designer: Sarah Warda is one local designer recommended by several individuals in Athens. - Page 80 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 12: You Gave Your Artists Some Direction for Logo-Design and Identity-Design? When commissioning an artist to create you logo(s), you want to give them as much information and instruction as you can. If you want to use only 1 or 2 colors (to save money on printing) tell them that up-front. Show them other logos that you like (and explain why.) Show them examples of logos you do NOT like (and explain why.) Explain how the logo will need to be used: On the outside of the building? On banners? On letterhead? On items in the gift shop? On canvas shopping bags? On a website? On the cover of publications? Most professional artists know that a logo needs to work (be legible) in a variety of sizes and in black-and-white and in color. Will the logo include – or be used with – a Tagline? If so, then they need to know that. It would be smart to have already chosen the tagline first. They will need to choose a font which is compatible with the logo design and they may need to design the logo so that the tagline fits nicely as a part of it. Tell the artist about any elements you think the logo should include. For example, you may want it to include some reference to “time.” Maybe you do NOT want the logo to include a drawing of the building because the logo will be displayed ON the building. But perhaps you want a logo that can be used next to pictures of the building in booklets or on letterhead. Most importantly, let them know what “feelings” the logo should connote: fresh, bright, light, cheerful, crisp, modern? Or maybe dark, historical, staid, static, ancient, and respectable? - Page 81 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Do you already have a color scheme in mind? Unless you tell them up-front, they may come up with a sepia-tone logo that looks historical, yet feels dreary. That logo probably won't bring in visitors unless they are already passionate about history. Probably, you would like a vibrant logo that at least feels alive. But these are ideas that should be discussed by the organization before working with an artist. It's not fair to the artist simply to ask for a draft logo without giving them any direction (and then telling them you don't really like any of their ideas.) The better you can communicate with the artist at the beginning, the easier, smoother, faster (and perhaps cheaper) the process is going to be. And, surprisingly, the more constraints you put on the artist, the more creative they will be. Here's a color chart. There are many others on the web. An artist can help you choose nice color combinations.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. NOTE: About 8-percent of men are color-blind. So never place red type fonts on a black background. It's difficult for everyone to read, but the words may simply disappear for color-blind individuals who will probably see dark gray on black. To get an idea of how your color logo will look in black-and-white, simply print it out or photocopy it in black-and-white. You will need a black-and-white version created. Usually, it will be a re-design of the color logo. In the end, the artist may provide you with several sizes of your logo. Perhaps some “vertical/portrait” versions and some “horizontal/landscape” versions for different purposes. Think these things through ahead of time and indicate what you want. IMPORTANT TIP: After your logo is designed, always ask your artist for the names of the type fonts and for the color codes (RGB or CMYK or PMS colors.) You will need to know these in the future if you want to modify your logo or make related logos. The artist who designs your logo will not be around forever so you may need another artist to make changes. And sometimes, if you run a newspaper ad, it is helpful for the paper to know the font used in your logo and tagline so that they can match it with the other artwork and text used in your ad. Also, tell the artist right up front that in addition to the finished logo, you will want the raw graphics files for the various finished versions of your logo and other related artwork they create. These will be the final Photoshop files (or whatever software they used to create the logo.) If they use an obscure software program those files may not be useful to you. If they designed it by hand, ask them to recommend compatible fonts that might complement it. - Page 83 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Some artists will want to charge you extra for the raw image files because they know that you may modify them yourself without using their paid services. That's reasonable. But make sure that you negotiate that point before they get started so that they don't hold you artwork hostage by demanding unreasonable additional fees. FINDING ARTISTS. RESOURCES: Ideally, you'll find a local graphic designer and artist to work with you. Unfortunately, we live in an area where there are not a lot of artists who can do the work we need done within our specified time frame. The best local artists may be working with other clients and won't be able to meet our deadlines. Since you will be having lots of future design needs as you create related artwork for exhibitions, brochures, pamphlets, and merchandise, you may want to consider calling upon professional artists from outside the area.
Here are 3 Excellent Online Sources for Finding Graphic Designers: Fiverr.com is a website where freelance writers, musicians, artists, and others offer their creative services starting at just $5. Sometimes $5 will buy you only a basic b&w sketch and the polished finished piece will an additional cost $20 or $30. Even so, because it's so cheap, it's possible to hire 10 or 15 different artists at Fiverr and end up with several excellent finished pieces to choose from. Sometimes, that results in a better result than trying to have just one artist do everything for you within the deadline you've established. Find an online artist, look at examples of their work. Read the reviews from their other customers. - Page 84 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. As suggested above: always give the artist as much direction as you can with samples of what you like and don't like, plus a detailed description of your needs, how the logo or artwork will be used, maybe the color scheme, and the general feel you want it to have. 99Designs.com is also a freelance website. You post your need for a design an a “contest� and state the amount you're willing to pay. Set your own deadline. Freelance artists from all over the world will look at what you need and how much you're offering and, if interested, they will submit artwork. You may get 10 to 30 or more people submitting finished artwork for you to judge. You choose a winner and pay them. Perhaps you'll choose 2 or 3 winners. And even the non-winners may be artists you'll want to work with on future projects. UpWork.com (formerly elance.com) is yet another excellent online resource for finding freelance artists, writers, web-developers, and software designers. By drawing from any one (or all three) of the above online resources, it's possible to assemble a team of creative individuals to help you complete a variety of projects. For example... Perhaps you'll need to hire an artist to create an Infographic for an exhibition, or a specialized greeting card for sale in the gift shop, or help you design a webpage. Maybe you'll need someone to write music for a short video you've produced. These websites give you access to professionals from all over the world who can provide excellent services at very inexpensive rates. As a non-profit, you need to conserve your money. So use local artists, designers, and web-designers when feasible. And turn to outside people when necessary.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: After checking out their sample work, their ratings, and their customer reviews, start small. Give them just a portion of a project to complete to make sure they can follow directions, that they can meet the deadline you've established, that you like their finished work, and that they're easy to communicate and work with (some are international artists and English is their second language.) If they're good, let them know there is the possibility of lots more work in the future. With that in mind, they will want to impress you with their best work on your first project.
What If ‌ # 13: You Considered a Family of Multiple Logos? Yes, you can have multiple (related) logos. You already have a logo for ACHS&M. Once you decide on your identity, you will want a logo and tagline for the History Center. If the History Center is a separate entity from ACHS&M, then it needs its own, separate logo. However, they can be related. Consider separate logos for the Gift Shop, Genealogy, the Museum, Archives, and Catering (once you get that service going.) They can all be modifications of your primary logo (perhaps individualized simply by adding their name next to the logo artwork.) Certainly, the different logos should look like a family, using the same type font and the same color scheme so that the overall look and feel is the same among all of them. For example: The cover of the monthly newsletter might rotate through four, season-related versions during the year. - Page 86 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Here are summer and fall images... And, the hour on the clock tower might change each month to indicate the issue. Issue 2 = 2 o'clock; Issue 10 = 10 o'clock. Your Catering Services logo might change the tree into a gingerbread tree, the sun into a cookie with yellow icing, and then add some frosting dripping off the top of the clock-tower.
What If … # 14: You Gave Each Major Exhibition Its Own Logo and Tagline? Each major exhibition should have its own identity. Hopefully, the visual identity will be compatible with your primary logo (which will probably also appear on your programs, banners, posters, fliers, and other promotional materials.) But think of each exhibition as a “product” that needs a name, a tagline, a logo, and a color scheme. It needs its own identity. As one of your family of products and services, it should be instantly recognizable as a part of the History Center. And yet, it can have its own personality which is distinct from its sibling products. The topics of some exhibitions or lectures will be more playful. Others will be serious. Their visual identity should express the emotions related to each product or service. - Page 87 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 15: You Considered Taglines for Each Individual Service Entity? Your organization and your individual services can have not only their own logo but their own tagline. The short, verbal tagline should be “benefit” oriented. Most companies and non-profits who have a tagline make the mistake of talking about themselves. Of course, you won't do that because you know that for every single instance of your marketing, “It's not about you – it's all about the client.” Ideally, your short tagline (6 to 10 words) does two things: 1. It tells the reader what benefit they'll get from using your service 2. It is written as a “command” which instructs them to take advantage of the benefit. For example: (here are some 6-word “command” taglines) For the Museum: “Step Back Across Time – and Wonder!” For Genealogical Services: “Trace Back – and Discover – Your Ancestors.” Here's a Link to a 44-page booklet on How to Create Your Own Engaging 6-Word Taglines. http://emersonthoreau.com/brandyourself-with-engaging-6-word-taglines/ Need some ideas for 6-word taglines? - Page 88 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
56 Ready-Made Tagline Possibilities (Some of these might be used for exhibits, special programs, or other purposes.)
1 “Embrace the Legacy of Our Humanity!” 2 “Step Back Across Time... and Wonder!” 3 “Pause. Look Back. Reflect. Move Forward.” 4 “Follow the Human Spirit across Time!” 5 “Discover a Profound Understanding of... Yourself!” 6 “Explore. Discover. Imagine. Wonder. Dream. Live!” 7 “Embrace the Wisdom of Our Past.” 8 “Live Fully Your Sliver of Eternity!” 9 'Know Your Past. Build Your Future!' 10 "Reach Back -- and Grasp Your Future!" 11 “Be Astonished, Humbled, Enlightened and Inspired!” 12 “Feel More Hopeful about Our Future!” 13 “Explore the Essence of Being Human.” 14 “DISCOVER: Clarity. Purpose. Meaning. Understanding. Wisdom." 15 “Do Astonishing Things with Your Life!” 16 “Gaze into the Flame of Humanity.” 17 “Explore Time-Worn Stories of Our Humanity!” 18 “Discover Profound, Timeless Truths about... Yourself!” 19 “Embrace the Profound Wisdom of Humanity.” 20 “Rethink, Re-Imagine Your Perspective on Life!” 21 "Glance Back. See Your World (Differently!)" 22 “Uncover Surprising, Simple Truths about Yourself!” 23 “Draw Inspiration from Our Imperfect Past!” 24 "Gaze Back – into Your Possible Futures." 25 "Explore Astonishing Stories of Imperfect Lives!" 26 “Wrap Yourself in Meaning. Wisdom. Inspiration.”
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
“Explore Conflicts. Challenges. Fears. Failures. Victories.” “Explore the Very Essence of Humanity.” “Embrace Our Past. Explore Your Humanity.” “Glean Wisdom from Stories Across Time.” “Embrace Our Efforts to be Human.” “Maximize Use of Your Limited Time!” “Cultivate Your Appreciation of Past Efforts!” “Explore Unfinished Dreams from Our Past!” “Explore Humanity. Experience Wonder. Discover Yourself!” “Embrace Timeless Stories of Our Humanity!” “Explore the Gift of Our Humanity!” “Skip Across Time and Find Yourself!” "Discover Yourself... through Stories Across Time." “Ponder the Fascinating Tapestry of Life.” “Open Your Mind to Astonishing Insights!” “Leave Your Mark on the Present!" "Your History Is Here!" "Yesterday's Stories Finding Their Place Today" "Step into the Past Today!" "Discover Yesterday's People and Places Today!" "Your Journey to Yesterday Starts Here!" "We Got Ghosts!" "Find Your Black Diamond Here." "Mine Your Black Diamond Here." "Your Grandparents Live Here." "From Here To The Mighty Ohio" "A River Runs Through It" "Your History Starts Here" “You Have to Know the Past to See the Future!” “Know the Past to See the Future!”
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 16: You Sprinkled Inspiring Thoughts and Quotations Throughout the Building? When Entering the Building... The first thing people should see is some sort of welcome. Remember, you want everyone to feel they belong! You could embed their welcome in a quotation or short message that opens up their mind and sets the tone for their visit:Maybe...
“Welcome to Our World of Wonder!”
“Explore the Wonderment of the Past!”
“The Secrets of the Future Are Hidden in the Past.”
“Step Back Across Time... and Wonder!”
“Once Upon a Time...” NOTE: Make all your signs Beautiful. (Always.) They are important. So treat them with respect. Have them engraved in stone or beautifully framed and displayed. Their color scheme and style should relate to your logo. (Having an Identity Package will make this easier.) - Page 91 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: While They Are In the Building... Visitors should stumble upon other signs with quotations and thoughtful ideas to ponder. They can be placed in the restrooms, in hallways, and tucked away in unexpected places so that they become little discoveries visitors can make on their own as they wander the building. These little surprises delight people. You can change the quotations regularly so that when visitors return, they'll discover new ones. Keep everything fresh. It will be one of the small pleasures that makes them enjoy coming to the History Center. And that delight of discovery becomes a part of your “brand.” When Leaving the Building... As visitors approach the exit, they may have to step across a beautiful brass line in the floor, along with the words: “Cross This Threshold into Your Future.” Or... Over the lentel, as people exit the building, they may see a beautiful sign which reads: “Purposefully, Confidently, Thoughtfully – Enter Your Future!”
All of these little signs are mood changers or mood enhances. They direct the thoughts of people and cause them to wonder, ponder, reflect. - Page 92 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. They become your opportunity to spoon-feed the public with bits of wisdom, to stroke their ego, to make them feel good... and, most importantly, to feel good about themselves. Remember to make these gentle messages beautiful and ever-changing and delightful or profound but always engaging.
What If … # 17: You Added Your Logos and Graphic Themes to All Your Events? “The Bricks of Southeast Ohio” might be another graphic theme that lends itself well to a variety of events. For catering and receptions... Turn some of the brick designs (like Athens Block or Starbrick Clay) into custom-made cake stencils and use powdered sugar to stencil the image onto the top of pound cakes or brick-colored loaf cakes. The brick theme adds a nice touch to receptions or catered events. Use a stencil to assure they are quick and easy to make and that they always look the same. (Remember? Consistency!) Cake stencils could also be made from your logo or from the face of the clock tower. (Create 2 stencils for a 2-color effect.) Think of ways you could build the hour-glass theme into your receptions. Perhaps you would use a real hour-glass (or egg-timer) to time the speakers at events. Socializing might take 45 minutes. The after dinner speech might be marked off with for 20-minutes. Small egg-timer hour-glasses could be placed at each place setting as a gift and memento of the event. Let your logo and brick colors drive the décor and lighting for the event. Brick-red cloth napkins embroidered with your logo would - Page 93 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: contrast nicely with white table cloths. Even the food and flower options can fit into your color scheme. Use the cake stencils to sprinkle Parmesan cheese logos (or brick designs) on top of pizzas. Stamp your logo onto cookies. For serious events, the key is to keep it elegant and understated. Not commercial and garish. Here's an online source for custom-made stencils. Search the Internet for others. The simpler designs maybe you can make yourself. Here's a video on how to use stencils to decorate cakes:
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 18: You Created a “Signature” Work of Art? You may want a single piece of art that will embody your theme and also become part of the identity for the History Center. If so, you want it to be something that will bring people in; something they will talk about to others. Outside, you already have the Clock Tower which will be a recognizable icon and landmark and which will become a part of your identity and branding. To draw people inside, you may want to to commission a piece of artwork. For example: You could commission a custom, over-sized (6-foot) Hour Glass filled with a blend of sand and pulverized bricks – taken from historic bricks manufactured around Southeast Ohio. The sand, if mixed with particles of historic bricks from around the region, would become special. But also, the wooden frame could be made from historic wood salvaged from an important building or, maybe from beams from a regional coal mine shaft.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: The idea is that it should be made from materials meaningful to our region's history and which provide the basis for a “story” about the hourglass, itself.
These examples of custom-made over-sized hourglasses made by David Hood at The Hourglass Connection in Stanfield Oregon. www.Hourglasses.com (541-561-3128) email: david@hourglasses.com
“Time continued to pass - the oldest trick in the world, and maybe the only one that really is magic.” – Stephen King Different Seasons
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. CUSTOM-MADE OVERSIZED HOURGLASSES. Pictured are three examples of my very large glasses. Two are in a turn style frame so they can be turned by one person. To the left is one made of Ipe an excellent wood for exterior use. It is 72” tall 37.5” wide and 46” front to back. This piece weighs approximately 475 pounds. Made to be displayed outside as per the customers wishes with a run time of your choice. Price: $4350.00 not including crate and freight. As you can see it is filled with white sand. Only white sand is available for glasses that will be displayed outside. Colored sand are available for inside use at an extra charge. The center picture is a free standing version made of pine stained and finished with a hand rubbed poly. Filled with white sand with a runtime of 24 hours. It is 62” tall and 30.5” in diameter weighing 180 pounds. Price: $1600.00 not including crate and freight. To the right is one made of pine, stained and lacquered weighing approximately 275 pounds with a runtime of 24 hours. It is 72” tall 34.5” wide and 46” front to back. $2150.00 not including crate and freight. Call 541-561-3128 for pricing and further details on shipping on these very large glasses. NOTE: This info is taken from Hourglasses.com
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Other possibilities for a signature piece include a model train in a custom-built landscape representative of the county or the region. If topologically accurate, it could be educational. Or, a large, custom-made aquarium – perhaps the bottom of the aquarium would be a topological map of Southeast Ohio, with towns and railroad tracks and forests (much like a model train landscape.) It would have to be built from non-toxic materials which can be submerged in water. NOTE: Aquariums, of course, can be high-maintenance properties so this may not be practical. But people like the dynamic qualities of an aquarium. They're relaxing. Or, you might consider a large mobile, perhaps hanging above the sanctuary. Mobiles are nice because they're kinetic – always changing along with the air currents and can also be relaxing. It might be crafted by PassionWorks (or by children in schools throughout the region) and would include references to historic events, perhaps making up a timeline – the older events would be closer to the ceiling, the more recent events would be closer to the floor and additional elements could be added in coming years. The gift shop could sell miniature versions of hourglasses or mobiles (they don't have to match your signature mobile.) Make sure your “signature” piece of art can help people see the world... differently.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas - Page 98 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 19: You Deliberately Made Each Exhibit an Expression of Your Brand? Once you understand what you are trying to communicate with your brand, it will be easier to make sure that each exhibit reinforces it and is consistent with all the other “touch points” of your brand. For example: If “Time” is part of your brand, every exhibit and lecture should try to include something about time. Or, suppose you determine that part of your brand is showing the “difference” over time. In that case...
What If … # 20: You Engaged Visitors by Using COMPARISON and CONTRAST? Sometimes, What’s interesting to the public is seeing the “contrast” between then and now. So, in an historical exhibit, don't overlook the value of including the “now” – side by side with the present – for comparison. For example: If you display a steel-toed, leather work shoe from 1900 with explanations about its construction, that will obviously convey some useful information. But think of how your points might jump into focus and become far more understandable if you placed next to the work shoe, one of today's lightweight, ergonomic running shoes made from synthetic materials and reflective day-glow colors (for safety.) When placed side-by-side, you can invite the public to wonder about the contrasts between the two shoes and to ponder how each grew out of the technology available and how “form follows function.”
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Remember to engage them by using signage to ask questions (instead of telling them)? “Just from looking at these shoes from 1910, can you figure out why they was designed the way they were?” “Who might have worn these boots?” “In what ways might they What can we learn from old shoes? have been easily repaired for longer life?” Farmers and miners and loggers wore specific styles of boots for protection that were designed for their work. Rocky Shoes and Boots specializes in creating these special variations of foot ware. Perhaps they can help provide information and old photos of work shoes. (And maybe they would love to sponsor our exhibition.) Similarly, the public may find it interesting to see how certain household implements or types of clothing evolved over time. For example: Most people have never thought about how the fork evolved from the knife. The knife came first. When cutting steak, one knife would be used to stab a slab of meat and hold it steady while another one was used to cut it. (This was back in Europe.) But, quickly, the meat would begin to tear and twist around the point of the stationary knife. So, an extra tine was added (as in today's two-pronged meat knives) in order to hold it in one place. Then, additional tines were added for more refined eating purposes. Suddenly, we have the fork. Knowing such interesting details about common objects gives people a bit of clout at future dinner parties. Being able to explain to others how the fork evolved, they win social points and a boost in status for a relevant and entertaining story. - Page 100 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Community Engagement Ideas To become an indispensable asset to the community, the History Center needs to take steps to engage the community in ways that can build social capital. It needs to create a sense of involvement as people come together to socialize and exchange ideas. Ideally, within a few years, some people may find themselves in the building at least once-a-month, even if they are not a member of the organization.
What If ‌ # 21: You Hosted Regular Brown-Bag Lunch Forums? There are always lively political and social topics which need to be discussed by the community. Hosting a weekly or monthly series of bring-your-own, brown-bag lunches would offer a forum where a wide-variety of topics could be presented and discussed. Since they would take place in the History Center, it might be appropriate (when possible) to present a quick historical overview of the topic and how it relates to the community. Probably most sessions would consist of a guest presenter followed by question-answers or discussion. When major exhibitions are on display, the curator could do a presentation. But otherwise, the topics could explore a broad spectrum of artistic, social, historical, and cultural issues. Similarly, a monthly pot-luck dinner might be hosted for members.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 22: You Offered Free Movie Nights? Showing movies in the sanctuary could become a popular community event. They could be introduced (or followed) with a short (!) presentation, putting the movie into some sort of historical context. Maybe follow them up with discussion or Q&A. Of course, you will need to be sensitive to copyright and licensing issues. Most commercial movies require paying a licensing fee for public viewings. For example, maybe you have a coal exhibition and want to coordinate supplemental events related to it. You might rent (and pay a licensing fee) to show “Coal Miner's Daughter” or “October Sky” (both popular feature films about the coal mining industry.) However... Surprisingly, there are many feature films which are in the public domain (usually because of a technicality) for failing to put a copyright notice on the film or renewing their copyright. Public Domain films belong to everyone – they are in the “public commons” and can be used freely for commercial or non-commercial purposes, even reproduced and sold. In the United States, most intellectual properties (books, music, photographs, films, etc.) published before 1923 are in the public domain because the copyrights have expired. But some newer publications are also in the public domain because they were created by a government agency (which used the public's tax money to product the material) or because someone didn't renew their copyright. - Page 102 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. The point is: some of these public domain films could be shown on “movie nights” without worrying about copyright/licensing issues. Since your purpose is partly to engage the community, including people who ordinarily might not come to an exhibition, the films you show don't always have to have a history connection. It's just a way to get people into the building, probably for the first time. True, you may not be interested in showing “Attack of the Giant Leeches” (1959); “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964) or “The Brain that Wouldn't Die” (1962) – except at Halloween. However... Here are some other films in the public domain which could be useful, especially if they're related to an on-going exhibition (like the World War.)...
“A Farewell to Arms” 1932. (Gary Cooper) Based on the Ernest Hemingway semi-autobiographical book. Set in Italy during WW I, it is a romance between an American ambulance driver and an English nurse. Nominated for Best Picture. “Abraham Lincoln” 1930 (D. W. Griffith.) “Charade” 1963 (Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn) Color. - Page 103 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
“It's a Wonderful Life” (Frank Capra, director) “Meet John Doe” (Frank Capra, director) “Fight for the Sky” 1946. (20 minutes) Government propaganda film about the victories of Allied forces during WW II “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925) perhaps this one could be accompanied by live organ music? “Hemp for Victory” 1942 (16 minutes) Government film encouraging farmers to grow hemp for the war effort. Shows fiber uses of hemp. Valuable maybe as part of the “Weed” Forbidden Agriculture” exhibition. “Reefer Madness” 1936 (68 minutes) (Especially if you host the “Weed: Forbidden Agriculture” exhibit.) “Why We Fight” 1942-44 (Frank Capra, director) Many of these public domain movies are available for download or for just a few dollars on DVD. Here's a long list of films in the Public Domain
What If … # 23: You Made It Easy for People to Take Historical “Selfies”? People like “selfies” (you probably noticed.) Remember... it's all about them. When you have an interesting exhibit, consider setting up a background and providing a few costumes (hats, coal miner helmets, coats, walking sticks) that may relate to the exhibit so that people can use their phones to take selfies “in costume.” You might ask for a suggested donation. But the main thing is that people are engaging with history and creating a persona that they can share with others by email and on Facebook. - Page 104 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. At bigger events (equivalent to the Civil War Ball) you may want to offer photography services so that people can have nice portraits made for a fee. Try to work your event logo into the image. Since everything is digital, you could offer to email them the results. For a fee, you might offer to set up historical background photo sessions for people who want to do Christmas cards or family group portraits. Maybe Lamborn's Gallery would partner with you to provide the photo services at their studio, using some of your archival images for the background. They would be your authorized photographer for this service and would pay you a licensing fee for each portrait that uses your photograph. And using a green screen background you can digitally replace the background with any image you like: inside a coal mine, at Old Man's Cave, in front of the asylum, on a World War battlefield, or in front of a stand of marijuana plants. (Just like Forrest Gump.)
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 24: You Used Promotional Hot Air Balloons? Since you often do outdoor presentations, re-enactments, and walking tours, it would be nice to have visual markers for the public to find you – but also to serve as an “advertisement” during the event. Consider tethered, helium-filled Hot Air Balloons or Blimps (made for advertising purposes) with your History Center logo printed on them These balloons and blimps can be approximately 10-feet in size at a cost of $700 or less. (Unless it's against city code) you could fly one above your own building on crowded event-weekends or to promote the opening of a new exhibit. Here's one source: TheBlimpworks.com.
What If … # 25: You Used Drones to Help You Create Spectacular Videos? Imagine having beautiful aerial video footage over an Indian Mound or a Civil War Battlefield or at the Dunbar Piers. Imagine nice video footage of architectural details of historic buildings throughout Southeast Ohio. Imagine aerial video footage of one of your re-enactments. - Page 106 -
Cedar Falls
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Imagine a video camera soaring across a beautiful stretch of the Ohio River, or exploring inaccessible areas of Wayne National Forest or Old Man's Cave or other state parks (if it's legal to fly drones in those areas.) Ohio Sunset seen from across the Ohio River in West Virginia. Imagine soaring just 5 feet above the water from WV to Ohio (assuming it's legal and that your remote-control signal reaches that far so you don't lose your drone.)
All of these could be edited into other promotional videos about your services. They could be edited into short, music-videos or narrated educational videos (2-3 minutes each) on single topics and posted on YouTube and then embedded on your website. Getting Started with Drones... To start, you may want to contract-out for drone-video services or work with the Ohio University Drone Club to get up-to-speed on drone rules, regs and etiquette. The OU Drone Club might take on a project or two. Also, some commercial photographers in town have purchased their own drones primarily to offer services to real estate agents wanting aerial footage of upscale properties. Eventually, if it seems feasible, you may want to own your own.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: NOTE: There are Federal Aviation Agency regulations which dictate where (and how high) you can fly drones. Some regulations are based on the size/weight of the drone. There may be local municipal regulations as well. Be sure to check. Here's what the Ohio State Bar Association Fact-Sheet on What You Need to Know about Drone Regulation. (Check for updates as state and federal laws may change frequently.)
What If ‌ # 26: You Made TIME-LAPSE Videos of Your Events? A quick 60-second time-lapse video showing the entire dismantling, moving, and reconstruction of the Clock Tower from Court Street to the new location would be fun and engaging to watch. But so would almost any outdoor Re-Enactment you staged, Flash Mobs you initiate, the construction of giant historical puppets, family tree kite day events, or parts of parades, festivals and other public events held throughout the region. What about a 120second hike through Old Man's Cave? You can download a Time-Lapse app (some are free) for an iPhone or Android device. Then, use your camera (and a tripod in most cases) to capture the event. You get to choose the settings: 1 frame per second? 1 frame per minute? 1 frame per hour? The rare demolition of an historical building might be interesting (and tragic) and a link to the video might be emailed to members and other influential people to generate support for protecting the next targeted building on the hit list.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Here's the entire 2012 Ohio University Commencement in 2:33 minutes. It's fun to watch the Convo fill up and empty out.
Use Time-Lapse Videos to Get More People to Attend Your Events... Unfortunately, lots of people don't attend workshops and events because... they're afraid. Yes. Afraid. They're uncertain that it will be within their skill level. They don't really know what's going to happen or if they will be able to keep-up with the others. They don't want to be embarrassed or humiliated. So, make them more comfortable. On your registration-page, post a time-lapse video depicting last year's event. That can increase sign-ups by reducing their uncertainty while making what you're offering a little less intimidating, more entertaining, and fun. Others don't attend events or patronize businesses simply because they don't know where they're located, how to get there, or what it's like inside. (Driving into Athens with its one-way streets can be intimidating for out-of-towners.) You may be missing out on potential customers who don't know how to find you? Why not show people how to get right to your front door (or parking lot) by posting a 30-second time-lapse "road trip" on your website or Facebook fan page for each route into the city. - Page 109 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 27: You Used Uptown Walking Sign-Boards to Attract Visitors? Yes, I know. They're kind of cheesy. But the problem with being located a block off of Court Street is that most people don't know you exist. On big weekends, when there are thousands of people looking for things to do, having someone dressed in an historic costume and handing out fliers on Court Street (with a 10% discount off items in the gift shop or a discount to see the Exhibition) would be helpful. Consider wearable sandwich boards if you can find someone willing to wear it and walk around for you (especially in costume.) Paying them $50 for a couple of hours would be cheaper than paid newspaper ads. And probably far more effective. MOMS - SIBS – DADS! “History Center Gift-Shop SALE! Just a 37-second Walk from Court Street.” Also, a few hours before your scheduled uptown or campus Walking Tours (such as the Frank Packard tour,) someone wearing a sign-board and passing out fliers might encourage more people to attend the tour. Dollar Tree has 18”x32” sheets of white “foam core” for $1 plus posterboard, markers, and other art / school supplies you can use to make inexpensive sign-boards.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 28: You Offered More Re-Enactments? Remember: Give people what they want. From experience, you already know that re-enactments are popular. So create more of them. People love to take part in them. And they love to watch them. Why? Because they tell stories about characters – in this case, people who actually lived and went through an experience. NOTE: The Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau says you can help make their life easier (so they can send you more visitors) by creating more “product” that they can promote to visitors/tourists. “Product” is anything you have to offer visitors coming to town: Walking Tours, Exhibitions, and Entertainment. On-location Re-enactments are a great product. Do them everywhere. Consider doing them on the front steps of your own building. Because the entrance steps are elevated, they can act as a sort of stage for the crowd that assembles on the sidewalk below. Then, move up to the Courthouse for a performance. On a crowded “event weekend,” you might schedule the same 20minute re-enactment every hour on-the-hour. Someone in costume uptown can hand out mini- (index-card sized) fliers with the teaser and schedule for the re-enactment and a MAP and Gift Shop Coupon on the back.
FREE 10 min Historic Re-Enactment at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm on the Steps of the History Center. ALSO... in the Gift Shop, Pick Up Authentic, Locally-Crafted and Athens-Relevant Gifts before You Leave Town!
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 29: You Created Mini-Exhibits and Mini-Performances for Presentation at Local Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops? Working through regional hotels, the Visitors Centers, and the Chambers of Commerce of various towns, offer your services (perhaps for a fee) to local seminars and conferences. Ask the Athens Visitors Center for a grant to help you develop a series of mini-plays and portable exhibitions that could be set up in the lobby area to convey our history to out-of-town visitors. It would be a way to entertain the conference participants over lunch or during breaks. 5-minute and 15-minute re-enactments might make fascinating mini-presentations. These presentations would be a way to help their participants understand the region just a little better and make that conference stand out from all the other conferences held in forgettable hotels in forgettable towns around the country. You may want to video the presentation so that it can be projected to the audience when you're not available to do a live performance. It would be a nice way for the organizers to entertain the audience while they're setting-up and before their sessions begins. Give them a cultural feeling for our region. You don't want to lecture them (they're getting plenty of that in the conference sessions they're attending.) You want to entertain them (maybe with some factoids and prerecorded music.) “Every man's ability may be strengthened or increased by culture.” – John Abbott - Page 112 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 30: You Created “Flash Mob” Re-Enactments? Flash mobs are groups of people who assemble for a spontaneous performance and then disperse into the crowd. People like them. They're unexpected, entertaining and provide a great “pattern interrupt” to their day. So consider taking your re-enactments to the crowds. Take advantage of reaching large crowds of people by going directly to them. (No need for promotion and hoping someone will come to The Sound of Music Flash Mob your performance at a scheduled time. Inject yourself directly into their life so that they can't avoid it.) Interrupt their day with something out-of-the-ordinary. And leave them smiling. Design Re-Enactments for Specific Events: Instead of requiring the public to show up at a cemetery during Homecoming Weekend, take the re-enactment to Court Street or to the College Gate. Bring along your own Styrofoam gravestones. Create a performance for people standing in line outside of bars, or outside football games, or repeat a 30-second skit every few minutes as your team marches along in the homecoming parade. Of course, each re-enactment will probably wrap a message and some facts into a story. Make it interesting. Maybe it's a musical! Leave people wondering. And pondering. Thinking. And laughing. - Page 113 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 31: You Used Custom-Made Banners to Promote Your Re-Enactments or Exhibitions? Colorful banners, of course, catch the public's eye. It confirms that some event is taking place. It also lets the early arrivals know where to assemble. Otherwise, people may notice a group of people in a cemetery but not know what's going on. Custom Made Flags / Banners
What If … # 32: You Drew Crowds with Colorful Kites at Your Outdoor Events? This may not be practical at all events but at some outdoor events, several colorful kites could be used to draw the public's attention. Put your web address on them. AthensHistory.org. Two hours before the re-enactment, you could host a kite-making and flying workshop for children and families. Of course, you'll want to make certain that there are no power lines around or other hazards. The West State Cemetery in Athens would work well because there's a driveway running through the cemetery at the top of the hill which would provide a good running path for kids getting their kites into the air but without the danger of tripping over gravestones. - Page 114 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If ‌ # 33: You Offered Family-Tree Kite-Making Workshops? Host kite-making workshops in which children and families illustrate their family tree on the kite before going out to fly it. They can learn a bit about genealogical services and research. But in this case, most of them need to show up with all the family information they want to include on their kite's family tree.
What If ‌ # 34: You Sent Out Lots of Specialized News Releases for Your Events? Obviously, throughout the region, you want to cultivate a relationship with as many news editors, reporters, photographers, and radio station news directors as possible. After all, they are the gatekeepers to the public's attention.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Build up a detailed list of media contacts so that you can always send your story ideas and news releases to the correct reporter. Some reporters specialize in the arts, the county courthouse, city council and politics, sports, community, or entertainment. How do you identify them? Just visit the website for the local papers and take note of who is writing which articles. Their email address is often listed at the end of the online version of their article. Or check the contact page on their website or the masthead in printed versions of the newspapers. Or, just call the editor and ask whom you should direct your story to. Once you find a potential contact's name, the next time you have an article idea for them, contact them and compliment them on their previous stories and explain that they seem to be the person to cover this story. Any time someone gives you good news coverage, be sure to send them a thank you note! Compliment them on its tone and accuracy and thank them for doing such an excellent job (even if it wasn't perfect.) If there are any corrections, they can usually make those to the online version. If possible, take the blame and apologize for not having been more clear in the first place. Help them out. Invite them to contact you if they ever need background information (or perhaps archival images) for upcoming stories. Don't burn them out by sending them news releases every week. Be selective. And give them plenty of advance notice for upcoming events. Invite them to receptions. Get them one-on-one interviews with visiting guests who may be doing a presentation or lecture. Like all of your marketing, you're just having a conversation and building a personal relationship and someone in the community. - Page 116 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Also, consider sending newsworthy information to specialized organizations for their newsletters (or email blasts to their members.) Perhaps the Rotary, Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce, Rural Action, The Athens Village, or other charity and non-profit organizations have members who would be interested in your events. The 30-mile-meal program or “Live Healthy Appalachia” (which promotes exercise and healthy eating) might find a Geocaching activity at Dow Lake interesting because it gets people outside, hiking around, having fun, and socializing with family or friends. They might recommend healthy snacks for the Geocachers. Think broadly in terms of what your events have to offer the public. Then, think about which organizations may offer a ready-made group receptive to your activity. Offer their members a discount or a 10-percent discount in the gift shop if they come in and mention the name of their organization. (Send out lots of thank you notes.)
What If … # 35: You Displayed Podium Banners? These look good when you make videos of your presentations. Your name is right there below the speaker so you get more publicity and “branding” opportunities when it's shown on YouTube. Also, they look good when the news media show up for photos of prominent speakers. Or if you should begin to host TEDx conferences. Here's a Source... But much better – you could also commission a local quilt-maker to create a more beautiful one for you. - Page 117 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 36: You Taught the Community How (and Why) to APPRECIATE Cultural History and Old Buildings? It's unfair to expect the public to jump to the defense of a condemned building if we don’t teach them how and why to appreciate the historic treasures of Southeast Ohio. Everything is connected. There is a romance to culture, arts, design, crafts, and to architectural details. There is much to learn and appreciate when examining a century-old building built during a time of cheap labor and expensive energy when people heated with coal and cooled with design (like breezeways and windows that opened..) There's a different set of values embedded in buildings which were intended to last – build with intricate, labor-intensive brickwork, marble staircases, and beautifully-designed tile floors. As a product of their culture, old buildings can tell us much about the culture in which they were built. Perhaps we can learn a lesson from the Japanese: before repairing a temple, carpenters had to be educated completely in the philosophy of Buddhism and its rituals. They needed to understand the culture associated with the temple. Local (and also out-of-region) architects should be steeped in the history of Southeast Ohio and, especially, the town's heritage before designing a building for the area. You can help educate them. The Essence of Athens book is a great resource (and a fine example for others in the region) to help people see the shapes, colors, textures, and materials which make up the - Page 118 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. “essence” of our local community. Bricks and hills are a core part of our identity. Most people don't pay attention to their surroundings and certainly don't know how to look at it. You would be doing a great service by awakening people's aesthetic senses to their surroundings.
What If … # 37: You Transformed Complete Strangers into Passionate Southeast Ohiophiles? There is a need to create a short, entertaining, popular and astonishingly inspiring multi-media event and/or video which can be used to educate and excite school children, adults, incoming college students, university boards of trustees, real estate agents, developers, out-of-town visitors, and those who have just moved into the area. Production of the work could solicit creative material from local song writers and photographers, architects, city/county planners, and others who can speak to the culture of Southeast Ohio. This presentation (which should be no more than 18 minutes, probably much less) should be worthy of becoming a TEDx talk. It should be Powerful. Rich. And Profoundly Moving. It should be able to turn a complete stranger into a passionate Athensphile (or a Southeast Ohiophile.) Once the research and creative process has been completed, it could be edited, reformatted, and re-purposed into an entire campaign that could reach the public through promotional videos shown before movies at theaters, at presentations for incoming Freshmen at Hocking College and Ohio University, and at conferences hosted at hotels or community centers.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Real Estate agents should have an interest in helping fund such a project as it can help them attract buyers for homes or commercial property. Regional hotels could show versions of the piece on their closed-circuit television channel. It could be available through a variety of local public access cable television channels and institutional websites (including Ohio University, Hocking College, ACCVB, Athens, Nelsonville, and other towns with their own civic websites.) The goal is to show people – quickly – an emotional piece that will educate them and sensitize them to the value of history and culture of our region. Make it enlightening, not instructional. It can show people how to see a new town or area differently. It can provide them with skills that they can take with them and use for the rest of their life – each time they visit or move to a new place. The reason most people don't appreciate cultural history is because we have never taught them how (or why) to appreciate either culture or history – much less cultural history. NOTE: “Teaching and sensitizing the public not only how to understand but how to appreciate cultural history”should probably become one of the stated missions of the History Center. For help with understanding how to teach an appreciation for art or culture, check with the OU College of Fine Arts and the OU School of Interdisciplinary Arts. Here's a book that may give you some ideas. Joy of Nature: How to Observe and Appreciate the Great Outdoors
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 38: You Launched an Ongoing “Why I Love History” Campaign? In general, people are lost. The world around them is so confusing and filled with so much uncertainty that it's hard to know how to think about and evaluate things. It's just too much effort. “Am I supposed to like this celebrity? Is this movie cool?” Mostly, when people are trying to fit in and be popular, they're just following the crowd and taking their cues from others around them. We are all influenced by IMDB audience ratings of movies, Amazon's best-seller list and 5-start product reviews and the testimonials from people we know supporting political candidates. So what if you mounted an on-going and forever... “Why I Love History” Campaign? First, gather short (preferably) one-sentence statements from local and regional “celebrities” as to why they love history: City council members. Mayors. Judges. Sheriffs. “Meter Maids. Football players. Cheerleaders. Musicians.” NOTE: It's always good to get prominent politicians (like the governor or university president) to go “on the record” as loving history because, in the future, it makes it more difficult for them to eliminate preservation funding or tear down prominent, old buildings. Remember to ask your own board and staff why they love history. But also, be sure to branch out to just everyday people. College students. 10-year-olds. Postal carriers, FedEx and UPS drivers (if it's not against their company policy to wear their uniforms on-camera.) Ideally, you can capture some of these on video with a smartphone. Edit them together as a montage of “on the street” interviews. Put the edited videos on YouTube and embed them on your website. - Page 121 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Transcribe them. Use them as little one-liner quotations you can sprinkle around on your website or turn into signage within the History Center (maybe appearing on digital-picture-frame slide shows.) Make it easy for people visiting your website to submit their own reasons online for “Why I Love History!” And create a special “I Love History” Facebook or Twitter page. Don't forget to create a hashtag: #LoveHistory Make it easy for people visiting the History Center to submit their “testimonials” for loving history and to explain how that love of history has changed their life And check this out...
“I loved history because to me, history was like watching a movie.” – Quentin Tarantino Director: Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction
If film-director Quentin Tarantino loves history, then it must be cool! How many teenagers do you think this might influence? And what if you had 100 “I Love History” testimonials floating around the region at any given time? Give people who submit their video testimonial a sticker or button... it creates more visibility out in the community and gets them to come “out of the closet” and “commit” publicly to being an Out-of-the-Closet Historyphile! (Yes, include your web-address on it.) - Page 122 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If ‌ # 39: You Hosted Annual TEDx Conferences? TEDx Programs are TED-like events which can be hosted in local communities. The new History Center is a perfect location to host a TEDx series of programs on historical/cultural topics. It could give you enormous credibility throughout the country and would look great when you submit grants to major funding agencies Learn their requirements and how to establish one HERE.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 40: You Created Giant Puppets of Regional Characters? You could commission Patty Mitchell and Honey for the Heart to do a workshop in which community participants create enormous 12-foot puppets of Manasseh Cutler or Januarius MacGahan. Making the puppets could be a community event but, once created, they could be used for years. When not in use, they might make great décor in the corners of the sanctuary and exhibit hall. And they could be used repeatedly over the years representing the History Center in Homecoming Parades & Halloween and at your performances and re-enactments. Short skits using the puppets could become very popular. Need more puppets? Just host more puppet-making workshops. Always get the community involved. At homecoming parades and other events, people will be proud to tell their friends that they helped make that puppet. “Hey, I painted the eyes and made Manasseh's belt-buckle!” Because they're attention-getting, with added signage the giant puppets could be used uptown during special weekends as a way to advertise the History Center to the crowd. And – like the Pied Piper – collect a following and lead groups of people from Court Street back to the History Center: “FOLLOW ME to the 2:45 pm 'World War' Performance at the History Center” - Page 124 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 41: You Regularly Promoted History-Based Geocaching Games? Geocaching has been popular for the last decade. It's a world-wide phenomenon in which people all over the planet hide little things (caches) and then post clues on the Internet. Others try to find the hidden caches of treasure, often using GPS technology as part of the hunt (though GPS is not always necessary.) The items are usually small. For example, a magnetic “key box”might be mounted onto the underside of a window air-conditioning unit on the outside of a public building. Inside is often a piece of paper and pencil so that people can leave the date they found it along with their name. There may also be some insignificant items inside: maybe an old subway token or a Cracker Jacks toy or a quarter or an arrowhead or a poker chip or a package of gum. The person who finds it can take one of the items if they like and replace it with something of their own. Then, they'll usually post online that they found the treasure and have left something else. It's a treasure-hunt game played among strangers who mostly never, ever meet each other. They play whenever they like, for as long as they like. No one else needs to know that they're playing. There have been lots of items hidden around Athens, especially on campus and along the bike path. Check them out.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: The rules require that caches be hidden on public property which is accessible to the public. So what if the History Center had a team or club of GeoCachers? What if it held its own contests throughout Southeast Ohio. You could coordinate thematic treasure hunts that took place on historically-significant dates during the year. Like a scavenger hunt, it would require people to get outside, walk-around, visit interesting places around the region, and search for clues to find their mini-treasures. There could be annual Geocaching dvents; plus multiple special events each year; and also on-going events People could search for the caches whenever they like, in whatever order they like. Clues would be posted regularly on your website (to keep drawing people back to your site as they check for updates.) You might even team up with a corporate sponsor to create a contest with a $1000 prize. Learn more at Geocaching.com Watch this YouTube Video about Geocaching Etiquette. First, go out and find some things to see how much fun it is. It's a great activity to do all on your own, or with friends or family visiting from out-of-town. - Page 126 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. It's a way to show friends around the region while having fun and searching for little treasures. Rather than simply going out for a drive, it gives the adventure a purpose. And maybe an historical learning experience. Then, once you're convinced it's fun and has great potential... start hiding your own little plastic weatherproof boxes and fill them not only with interesting historical objects but with little strips of paper with bits of local history, or clues written on them. Maybe your caches contain some riddles which can be answered only by knowing a bit of regional history (which people could research with their smartphones. Have fun. And create fun for others.
What If … # 42: You Partnered with “Competing” Organizations, Events, and Businesses? Go set up mutually-beneficial partnerships with others in town. For example: In Athens, on big event weekends (Homecoming, Parents Weekends, etc.) nearby restaurants like Casa Nueva will have a crowd of people standing in line for dinner. Eventually, the estimated wait-time can be an hour or more. The problem for the patron is that they need to kill an hour waiting, or risk going to find another restaurant line which may have an even longer wait-time. Of course, those waiting for dinner will be encouraged to visit the bar (where the restaurant makes more profit.) However, the bar is crowded and noisy and some people don't want to drink. They just want to visit and talk. So what if... you teamed up with Casa Nueva and provided them with complimentary discount coupons which are good for the - Page 127 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: exhibition at the History Center. (This, of course, requires that you arrange to be open during the evenings on big-event weekends.) For those not wanting to wait in the bar, the host at Casa suggests that they spend 45-minutes to an hour at the History Center which is just a 30-second walk, on the same block. “Here's a discount coupon with a map and information about the exhibit. And, it gets you a discount at the gift shop as well. We'll beep you when your table is ready.” This solves problems for 3 parties: 1. Casa Nueva, which is packed and doesn't want to lose a customer because of their long wait-time. 2. The Customer, who doesn't want to sit in the noisy bar but also doesn't want to start all over with another restaurant. 3. The History Center, which wants to bring in visitors. To make this work, talk to nearby restaurants. Remind them of the problem they have with long wait-times and tell them you have a solution that can make their customers happy. Offer to print up quarter-sized sheets of paper with all the details and a DISCOUNT for their customers, “Compliments of Their Restaurant.” This is important. You must make the coupon offer look as if the Restaurant has negotiated a discount for their customers. So what about all those people who waited in the bar and didn't get a coupon/map to the History Center? After the meal, the wait-staff could hand them a coupon along with the check, suggesting that, “If you nice people are looking for something interesting to do, you might want to take advantage of this Discount we've arranged for you at the History Center. It's just a few steps from here.” - Page 128 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. The wait-staff will probably get a bigger tip because they've offered some entertainment advice (and a discount coupon) for their customers.
Here's How to Find Partners... Go through the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau's Visitor Guide... (click this cover to visit the online version.)
Almost every organization or event listed is a “competitor,” vying for the attention of visitors. But don't think of them as the “competition.” Think of them as your “partners.” Figure out how you would work with them to benefit out-of-town guests and also local residents. For example? Hotels and Bed-and-Breakfasts, and AIRbnb rentals in the region could probably use interesting historical information about the area. You could provide that to them for use in their brochures or on their website. But also, these lodging opportunities like to provide their guests with entertainment recommendations so that they'll have a nice experience and come back (or at least talk it up with their friends.) So provide these places with discount coupons they can give to their guests (compliments of the bed-and-breakfast or hotel.) Be sure to print a map on the coupon, include your hours and your website so that they can check you out online. Give them a 10-percent - Page 129 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: discount to the gift shop (or offer a special gift to anyone who brings in the coupon –maybe a small lump of coal in a plastic bag with a printed story about coal on a card. Or, maybe they can get one free postcard.) Other events like Bounty on the Bricks might benefit by having historic information about the bricks on Court Street. Or the buildings people are sitting in front of. They might provide this information on table tents or on their website. Offer to research the information and provide it to them in exchange for a link back to your website. Sporting Event Announcers at Peden Stadium or the Convocation Center often need tidbits of filler material during the game. You could offer to provide them with historical information and “factoids” that would interest their fans. If the football announcer knew the details, they could announce that anyone seated in Row 17 or below would have been sitting underwater on the flood date in 1968 before the river was moved to its present location. So, go through the Visitors Guide and figure out how you could partner with as many of the businesses as possible. Figure out how you can help them make their customers happier. As an unexpected bonus, Restaurants, Bookstores, Clothing Stores, Hair Salons, and Gift Shops could all hand a History Center Discount Coupon to each of their customers. Since they would give out the coupon only after customers made a purchase, they won't fear losing any money from people who might - Page 130 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. also buy from your gift shop. Even if their customers end up not using the coupon, they will appreciate the generosity of the merchant. All it costs you is the printing (and the discounts.) NOTE: These discount coupons can be given out all year long, not just on big event weekends. Be sure to supply each merchant with coupons that have their own logo on them. That helps assure that they get the credit for being generous with their customers. But also, it allows you to tally up which merchants are sending you the most business. Those are the ones you want to pay attention to. Reward them. Offer to take them to lunch or dinner. Or give them a small gift from the gift shop. Setting up these “partnerships” – and doing it right – could easily fill-up a half-time volunteer job. But you may want to start out with just one or two partnership arrangements to see how it works. Then, if they're happy, ask for a “testimonial” which you can use when approaching other partners... “Working with the History Center makes us very popular with our customers! We love it.”
What If … # 43: You Set-Up “Cross-Promotions?” A cross-promotion is simply an arrangement in which you and a partner promote each other. For example, the History Center could give out brochures or coupons for the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway and they could give out coupons and brochures for you. In fact, your admission fee might include a discount coupon for the HV Scenic Railroad. You could also cross-promote with other museums. With Stuart's Opera House. With the OU Performing Arts Series. The way to make it work is to find other organizations or businesses who are reaching the same people you do. People interested in the - Page 131 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: quilt show at the Dairy Barn may be interested in the quilt display at the History Center. And your visitors may be looking for something else to do in the area... Like the Quilt Show. Or the exhibition at the Kennedy. So just trade customers with each other. Remember... there are no competitors. Only potential partners.
What If …# 44: You Partnered with and Co-Sponsored Classic Car Shows? Why? Because vintage cars reflect the culture in which they were born: their style, price, color, size, safety features, even MPG. The History Center could provide cultural background information for each decade. That would help us place the cars into a context to understand what dreams each car promised to fulfill . The more you can demonstrate to people that history is relevant to everything, the more they will come to appreciate its benefits for understanding today's culture. Be Sure to Acknowledge the Owners who have restored these classic cars to showroom condition – they are preservationists. So be generous with giving out Historic Preservation Awards.
What If … # 45: You Mailed at Least One Hand-Written “Thank You” Note Each Week? Many of the ideas in this book require the help of outside people. You have volunteers. Underpaid staff. Members. Business owners and community leaders. All of them can play a part in your success. Yes, an email thank you is nice. But think: When is the last time you - Page 132 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. received a hand-written “thank you” note? (Yes, they're pretty rare.) How did it make you feel about yourself and also about the person who sent it? Probably the very most powerful thing you can do to help knit yourself into the the fabric of the community is to say, “Thank you!” And, in fact, for some people who have rendered services beyond the call of duty, you might include a thank you gift. Or, include a gift-certificate for the gift shop. Or, a carefully-chosen book they would like. Or, maybe an annual membership (or a year extension if they are already a member.) A hand-written thank you card is at the heart of this simple gesture. So, set aside $52 from the budget to finance this effort. Very likely, over the next 52 weeks, it will be the best 52-dollars you spend (and the best investment of your time.) Thanks for seriously considering these thank you notes as a path to success, and a way to intensify the social capital in our community.
What If … # 46: You Became a Role Model for Other Non-Governmental Organizations. For example, what if you showed other non-profits what it looks like to embrace marketing? What if you helped them understand how to create value and how to articulate that value to their clients? Once you have some success, you could hold workshops sharing the marketing techniques that have worked best for you. What if you mounted an exhibition on... “How Coal Miners Can Transition into Safer, High-Paying Weatherization and Renewable Energy Jobs!” - Page 133 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: … and you powered it with solar panels (which also provide shade over your parking lot) installed by unemployed coal miners? The exhibition could include stats about how many jobs could be created in the region, how much money would be saved in utility bills, and how much carbon we could keep out of our air for each 1000 families who installed LED light bulbs and weatherized their homes. Would That Be Newsworthy? But, of course, installing solar panels on your roof and over your parking lot to save energy and money is simply the right thing to do. It's a visible way to show your commitment to the region. And... It positions you as a forward-thinking leader in the community. Think of yourself as the non-profit equivalent of The Village Bakery which has established itself as a leading social entrepreneur in our community. Always be thinking of ways you can be the front-runner; ways you can position yourself as a “role model” for others in the region.
What If … # 47: You Made a Grand Effort to Turn Each Visitor into a Repeat Customer? Every time you engage someone in any activity, exhibition, fund-raising dinner, gift shop visit, or genealogy services... you want to take advantage of that opportunity to turn them into a repeat customer and to inform them of your other services. For example... - Page 134 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. just before someone exits your exhibition, they might see a sample or “preview” of your upcoming exhibitions. Give them a Discount Coupon worth Half-Off the next exhibition. Hand them a schedule of upcoming events: genealogy workshops, re-enactments around the region, lectures, fund-raising dinners, Geocaching events, and a list of the movies being shown at this month's Free Movie Nights. Always invite them to become a member. And let them know you have Gift Certificates – for memberships and for the Gift Shop. “Why not take care of all your upcoming gift needs right now?” Invite them to visit your website for additional information about the exhibition they just viewed. Give them a Buy One, Get One Free Coupon (BOGO) for their next visit (so that they will treat a friend to your next exhibition.) If someone comes in for genealogical research or services, don't let them leave without a BOGO for the current exhibition. The fact that someone has overcome their fears and uncertainties about how to get to your event, figured out where to park, gone to the trouble to arrange their life so that they can be there, and maybe even paid an entrance fee (and childcare services at home) adds up to a significant investment on their part. Whether they are there for a lecture, a presentation, a workshop or seminar, or your current exhibition... Your current customers are your best customers. Whenever feasible, don't let them leave without someone from the History Center saying “Thank you” and without handing them, personally, some sort of invitation to explore your other services and upcoming events. . - Page 135 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 48: You Hosted Book Clubs? You want to open the History Center building and facilities to as much of the community as possible so that people come to think of it as a community center. So look for compatible activities, clubs, and organizations who might host their events in one of your spaces. A logical match is Book Clubs. There are several book clubs in the Athens area. But, if it doesn't exist already, you may want to create a History Book Club (or one with a specific historic interest such as a World War II History Book Club.) Start with some of your current members. Their monthly book selections may be related to your current exhibitions. Then, one of the participants might want to offer a special presentation or a Q&A session about the exhibition.
What If …# 49: You Gave Out Your Own Community Awards Each Year? At an Annual History and Cultural Awards Dinner (held at the History Center, of course) you could recognize maybe a dozen individuals and organizations who have worked hard during the year (or over their lifetime) to promote the love of history, art, and culture. Or, you could recognize people who have helped solve major social or environmental problems in our community and region in some way. Many people enjoy (finally!) being recognized for all the good work they have been doing. This could become an annual, high-visibility event which would probably receive media coverage. You'll send news releases, right? - Page 136 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Of course, whatever small gift you give the recipients will be beautifully-crafted by a regional artist. And maybe you include gifts (or gift certificates) donated by regional merchants (a get-away weekend at a Hocking Hills bed-and-breakfast.) A public “Thank you” and recognition can go a long way toward assuring that specific politicians stay on the right path. Once someone has received the “Historic Preservation Award” from the Southeast Ohio History Center, it's a little more difficult to take actions that would contradict that self-concept. Of course, the awards must be based on actual merit. It's too late to give the preservation award to someone who recently approved the destruction of an historic building to make way for an apartment comlpex.
What If … # 50: You Engaged the Public with Puzzles and Quizzes and Brain Teasers? Publish a photo puzzle (in the newspaper or on your website) asking people to “Find the Anachronisms.” (What items from this 1850 picture don't belong?) the wristwatch, typewriter, the Mickey Mouse tattoo, etc. Publish online Crossword Puzzles: Here are some online software packages that can help you make various word puzzles. The first one – linked below – seems to limit you to a one-word answer... http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/CrissCrossSetupForm.asp <http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/CrissCrossSetupForm.asp - Page 137 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement: Discovery Education's Puzzlemaker: <http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/CrissCrossSetupForm.asp
Here's another... http://edhelper.com/crossword.htm [http://www.edhelperclipart.com/clipart/logocrossword1.jpg]<http://edhelper.com/crossword.htm
Create a Crossword Puzzle online (makes a PDF file) And another... atozteacherstuff.com http://tools.atozteacherstuff.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/08/button_AtoZ2.gif]<http://tools.atozteacherstuff.co m/free-printable-crossword-puzzle-maker/
Crossword Puzzle Maker - A to Z Teacher Stuff <http://tools.atozteacherstuff.com/free-printable-crossword-puzzlemaker/ tools.atozteacherstuff.com Consider Publishing Online Jigsaw Puzzles made from some of your historic photos or beautiful images of artifacts from your collection. Resource: JigsawPlanet.com is a free online jigsaw puzzle creator, made from your own images. You can embed the puzzle on your website and then email the link to members. But you could also include the link to it in monthly articles in the newspaper. - Page 138 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 51: You Published Regular Columns in the Local and Regional Newspapers? Most local newspapers are starved for local content. Yet local news and the obituaries the only reasons many people subscribe. They can get the national news elsewhere. You may line up a list of guest writers but it's best to approach a newspaper with a dozen or more pre-written articles to give them a sample of the quality articles you can provide but also so that they know you're not going to fall behind schedule. Before writing any articles as samples, you may want to talk to the newspaper editor ahead of time to find out if they're interested and how many words they would like in each article or other requirements. The articles allow you the ability to promote the history of areas outside of Athens and they could be coordinated with annual festivals around Southeast Ohio so that they might benefit from more visitors. Expand the idea to Radio Stations. Probably many of the newspaper articles could be adapted for radio. Once they're recorded, add a few pictures and turn them into YouTube videos which can be posted on your website. This task could require its own part-time volunteer or staff person to coordinate. It's a lot of work. But a great way to engage the regional community. At the end of each article, you could include your web address for people who want to know more about the organization. Of course, the articles can also be posted on your website. Try to re-purpose everything to get lots of mileage from your effort. - Page 139 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement:
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 52: You Offered STORY-TELLING Workshops to Your Members (and the Public)? To ensure high-quality presentations by your own lecturers and presenters, it would be good to train them in the art of story-telling and the art of giving an engaging presentation. This could be part of your Oral History services. Let's face it. Lots of people who are interested in history have a difficult time sticking to the point and telling a concise story. Sometimes, they provide excruciating details that bog down the story (and possibly even bore people.) That's partly because everything is connected, one thing leads to another and so it's difficult not to get side-tracked Make sure all your presenters know how to structure an engaging presentation that's clear, concise, and emotionally-driven. Show them how to shape their material into a story: how to establish the setting and time period; how to define a main character; and how to determine the primary source of conflict (maybe the main character is wrestling with internal moral conflicts; a big decision.) Show them how to create suspense and how to build dramatic conflict into the presentation. Show them how to focus on a single theme that's embedded in the story but resonates with the audience (often the theme is evident, but never stated.) So start out offering this workshop to your own members and anyone who may want to give a presentation for the History Center. Those who complete the workshop may qualify for some sort of certification which indicates that they may presenter public - Page 140 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. presentations at the History Center. (And when promoting their upcoming speech, you could highlight their certification.) Once you've tested out and refined your story-telling workshop, offer it to the public. If promoted properly, this workshop might turn out to be very popular. Charge a workshop fee to attend. Remember: People don't appreciate things that are free. NEW!!! FOR GRANDPARENTS STORY-TELLING WORKSHOP Discover How to Enthrall Your Grandchildren with Fascinating Stories that Will Leave Them Begging for More. 3-part Saturday Mornings Workshop: $75.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś# 53: You Sponsored All Kinds of Community CONTESTS? Maybe you host an annual History Essay Writing Contest in the school system. When you invite the public to show up in costume at a re-enactment you can sponsor Best-Historical Costume Contests. Best Steampunk Costume Contest. Best Photographs of Historic Sites in Southeast Ohio. Best Photograph / Best Oil Painting / Best Watercolor / Best Pencil Drawing of Historic Sites in Southeast Ohio. - Page 141 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Each contest gets you plenty of free publicity in the media (if you send out news releases.) They engage the public. And then, after the winners are chosen, the public wants to be able to go to your website to see them. You get lots of exposure and repeat visits. And, of course, all the proud winners (and runners-up) send their friends and family to see their picture on your website. Also, why not turn the winning pieces of artwork into online jigsaw puzzles at JigsawPlanet.com? Assemble this puzzle HERE.
What If … # 54: You Set-up Licensing Agreements and Encouraged Appropriate Businesses to “Borrow” Your Brand? Sesame Street doesn't manufacture the toys with their brandname on them. They allow carefully-screened companies to License their name and brand on their products. Sesame collects a royalty from the sale of each item. (Probably about 7.5% of the wholesale price.) Ohio University licenses its logos for use on items like t-shirts. You can do the same. What if a local bakery were licensed to use delicious, and historically-accurate, “Pioneer Desserts” which have your images on them? It gets your name and logo out to the public. The bakery does all the work and pays you royalties. quarterly. Plus you get lots of community visibility. - Page 142 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 55: You Created One or More Series of Your Own AUDIO PODCASTS? Podcasts are simply audio programs – sometimes live but usually pre-recorded. Recording them first allows you to record whenever you like and then edit them before uploading them. Your Oral History efforts are a perfect place to start with your podcasting career. Just interview fascinating people. Podcasts have become very popular because busy people can listen online (or download them into their phone or iPod ) while they're' driving, cleaning house, or cooking. Your podcasts is that they can be any length. Maybe you've decided that your “Civil War” podcast series will usually be 35 minutes. But if some run longer, or shorter, that's OK. Radio thrives on a standardized, predictable schedule which might require your program to be precisely a precise length. However, your podcasts should also be released on a schedule. Maybe every Tuesday morning you upload a new podcast to your site and to iTunes. The older programs will always remain available. Your Podcasts series should have a standardized opening and closing (maybe some lively music and an upbeat narrator explaining what the podcast series is all about. (10-seconds, max.) “You're Listening to the “Bites from the Past” Podcast... Thought-Provoking Ideas Presented by the Southeast Ohio History Center. Today, we'll be discussing the Vietnam War with our guest... “ Learn more about making podcasts HERE. Here's a list of Best History Podcasts. MORE History - Page 143 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Exhibition Ideas Remember: the biggest mistake small entrepreneurs and inventors make is coming up with an idea for a product or service and then trying to find an audience for it. That’s backward. Quite often, it turns out there is no market for it. Or at least not big enough for the venture to be profitable. Or, the market is too dispersed and difficult to find and talk to. Same here. Don’t create an exhibit and then scramble trying to find (or hope there is) a market for it. The marketing of your exhibition starts not after you create it. It starts before you even choose the topic.
What If … # 56: You Created Exhibitions for Specific Groups of People? Find an existing “market”(a group of people with a common problem or situation or interest) and create an exhibit for it. Give people what they’re already looking for: good strong feelings created by the sense of wonder, discovery, epiphany, surprise, delight. Want some examples of preexisting markets? Grandparents. Long-time Residents of Athens County.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Those in the Food Sector (farmers, chefs, restaurants, those who sell at the farmers market. 30-Mile-Meal members.) People concerned about Healthy Living. (the Organic and Farmers Market crowd plus Runners and those interested in Yoga or Pilates or Weight Lifting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; members of WellWorks and the Athens Community Center.). Parents of elementary-aged school children. The Construction Industry. (Contractors, carpenters, masons, roofers, plumbers) The Coal Mining Industry. (current and former coal miners and families, coal union members, people affected by the coal and extraction industries, those who have family members who suffered from Black Lung.) Landscaping & Gardening Enthusiasts. Gamers. (Those who play games â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially role-playing games (RPG) and other video games. NOTE: they are not just teens.) Each of these groups might be interested in an exhibition targeted toward their interests. With each exhibition, you need to know what you want to accomplish. Whom would you like to see it? And in what ways they are going to be transformed when they leave? To identify the hot topics in any category, read the same magazines they're reading.. Visit the extensive magazine shelves at Little Professor Book Center. Or visit Magazines.com online. Here are some of the magazines published on History: These hundreds of magazines are centered around topics for which - Page 145 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: people take money out of their pocket and pay for. Look at the types of articles in them. Notice the headlines on the cover (they're written to be engaging so that people will pick up the magazine, from among all the others on the shelf, and buy it.) Think of ways you can emulate what they're offering with your exhibitions or newsletter articles. Figure out what it is people are already paying money to read. Then, create something they would gladly pay for (when you start charging admission.) You might even create an “advisory council” made up of citizens passionately interested in the topic of your exhibition. So never create an exhibition about an interesting topic and then struggle to find ways to make it relevant to an audience. It is so much easier to create an exhibition that is already relevant from the start because you have chosen an audience and created something that they are already wildly interested in. If you promote it to them, you have a virtually guaranteed market. This doesn't mean that you can't be relevant to several different groups of people at the same time. However, when that's the case, to promote the exhibition, you will need to speak to each of those groups individually, in their own language, about their own interests and problems, and how your exhibition relates to them. (It may not always be obvious to them.) How do you reach these groups? With messages delivered through their own familiar channels. Send guest articles or notices to their Club Newsletters or offer to do guest presentations for the groups they belong to. - Page 146 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 57: You Set Out to Make Each Exhibition Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Empowering & Elegant? These qualities are, of course, help make your exhibits enchanting and engaging. Keep this list of words (and others you aspire to) on a sticky note so that you can refer to it as you go through the design process. Making all of your exhibitions meet a high-caliber standard is part of establishing your BRAND. This will be what people come to expect of the History Center. It is the promise you are making to your guests and supporters and donors. And you must deliver on it consistently.
What If … # 58: You Reminded Yourself Once-a-Week that Your Artifacts Are Steeped in “Magic.” Yes. Truly, they are. You just have to find it (or create it, through the magic of stories.) Remember: the magic associated with ancient relics and artifacts is what drives millions of dollars worth of sales of novels and films. Think: “Raiders to the Lost Ark.” (which might be a great movie to show on Free Movie Night.) Ancient talismans, relics, and sacred objects are prominent in all kinds of fiction. Artifacts are shrouded in mystery and the unknown. They come from an age long past which, in itself, is magical to us. - Page 147 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: A relic can serve as the perfect core for building a story of adventure and romance. But also, of course, artifacts contain secrets. Often, they are parts of riddles which drive the story. They engage us by pulling us into their own world of the past. Most of all, they make us wonder!
So, when mounting exhibitions, be sure to include one or more artifacts which have “celebrity potential.” Just putting them on display and calling attention to them infuses them with magic and makes them more enchanting. Select the one-of-a-kind items that already have a charming or fascinating story attached to them... like Theo Dean's watch – “The Timepiece that Once Synchronized Athens.” Single out just one object to become the central focus of your exhibitions. It will become the “Celebrity”artifact. It should already be interesting, something that has a story attached to it, and hopefully, something exquisitely beautiful that can be featured on a poster promoting the exhibition. - Page 148 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. And remember...
Beauty radiates its own magic. Extreme beauty has the power to entrance us. It can be a gateway into an altered state-of-consciousness. Just know that when we are in a trance state, we are more receptive to the power of suggestion. So when you make your entire exhibit exquisite, the visitor may become more vulnerable as they slip into a pleasant trance. Be mindful of your ethics, but also take advantage of the opportunity to make someone passionately addicted to the feeling of joy, awe, and appreciation for our past, and the stories about history, our art, and our culture.
What If …# 59: You Plugged Into (and Cultivated) the Power of NOSTALGIA? Nostalgia (noun) - a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. (Dictionary.com) Never underestimate the power of nostalgia. Nostalgia is one of the most powerful and attractive magnets you can use to draw people to your exhibitions. To exploit its value, you will need to focus on the “near past.”
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Sure, some people will be interested in exhibitions about the “distant past” Adena culture or the World War (especially if you can somehow make them relevant to their life today.) But those eras are long past so no one living has a memory for them or a yearning to return to them. However, an exhibition about the 1960s or the 1970s or the 1980s or the 1990s could be powerful crowd-pleasers for anyone who grew up or lived during those decades.
Remember: It's all about them! The nostalgic topic is immediately relevant to them. They were a part of that decade. They were a part of history. They already have a storehouse of memories just waiting to be triggered. So they are already engaged. In the Athens area, those who were in their twenties and thirties during the 1970s are now in their 60s and 70s. Most probably look back fondly on that period of their life. (And some of them are now in a position to donate money to the Capital Campaign.) They probably remember their twenties as being a period of freedom from obligations. For many, it was a period before they got married, got wedded to debt, had kids, sacrificed their personal dreams and, for a couple of decades, lost their independence. They long to experience those idealized feelings of being young and free and independent and immature once again – the “good old days” when they did some crazy things. Bringing back those memories makes them feel significant and important – after all, they were there for the fires on Court Street. They were personally evacuated during the flood of 1968 or saw first-hand the campus lock-down after the Kent State shootings. - Page 150 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. They were part of the first Court Street Halloween celebrations. Your exhibition suddenly makes all of this come alive. And suddenly, they are proud to be a part of history. And so, when they are at an exhibit which has so much direct relevance to their life, they feel like a celebrity representative of that era. (They probably feel sorry for those visitors wandering around the exhibit who are much-too-young to have lived it – “Too bad. They just don't know what it was really like being a part of it.”) As part of a “Through the Decades” series, tens of thousands of OU alum and Athens residents would find an exhibition of “Halloween In Athens” to be extremely relevant. NOTE: You may want to partner with the Athens News (and ask them to sponsor it) since their back issues contain hundreds of photos of Halloween celebrations. And for all of these “Through the Decades” exhibitions, what if you mounted most of the materials onto over-sized 6-foot “scrapbook pages”? Scrapbooks, after all, automatically evoke nostalgic feelings because most people have paged through family scrapbooks. And it's a great way to arrange lots of photos and snippets of information without the need for too much exposition. - Page 151 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: You could also assemble a slide-show version for the website which could accommodate hundreds of additional images and which would make the exhibition accessible to thousands of former Halloween partiers who now live all over the world.
What If …# 60: You Hosted a Regional HOMECOMING for Each DECADE.
The “Hotcakes” Band with Hughie Arnold in Stewart. 1979. Photo from the Bob Devaney Collection. Courtesy of The Southeast Ohio History Center.
Because “Hotcakes” performed locally for so many decades (and some members of the band are long-term residents of the community)... for a thousand or more visitors to an exhibition on “The 1970s” the image above would serve as a great “point-of-entry” into the nostalgia of the period. - Page 152 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Many of the visitors probably attended Hotcakes performances (or are proud to have known some of its members.) Maybe you could convince the musicians to perform at a reunion. Mounting an exhibition on specific, individual decades can serve to bring old friends together. You could host homecomings and reunions. And, in fact, you could schedule these to coincide with the homecoming events at local high schools and Ohio University. Of course, lots of people who are a significant part of the community didn't go to college. So while an OU Homecoming event is not relevant to them, a general 70s Homecoming might become a great service for the region. Displaying framed copies of newspapers headlines from the era... Displaying copies of regional high school and college annuals... Playing the music from the era inside the exhibition... Holding a costume ball with a 1970s theme... Showing movies from the 1970s during Free Movie Night... Including â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where Are They Now?â&#x20AC;? exhibits which track some prominent individuals from that era (and maybe include recent interviews with them)... Playing news and music audio montages created by the local radio stations... And posting some of these materials on your website... All of these things would help engage large numbers of people through the power of nostalgia. Facebook makes it easier to find these people and to advertise to them (both for research, for networking purposes and for promotional purposes.) Planning this systematically, you could offer an exhibition on one of the decades every 10 years. Archiving the exhibitions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and putting - Page 153 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: as many of the materials online as possible – would ensure that as you go forward, each decade is properly documented. Of course, collecting images and artifacts and historical materials for the 2010 decade should begin... now! (It's over half over!)
What If … # 61: You TESTED Your Ideas BEFORE Mounting a Major Exhibition? Test your ideas by putting up mini-exhibitions on your website. You might also embed several already-existing YouTube videos on your website which are about the topic you're considering. Then run simple Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Facebook Ads to targeted groups of people within a 100-mile radius of Athens. Your ads can send people to an intriguing “slide show” on your website with 10 fascinating facts about the topic (along with the YouTube videos you've embedded.) The visitors can vote on which they feel is the most fascinating slide in your slide show. Or, you could invite them to cast their vote in a poll with 5 topics you're considering for an exhibition. Make it easy for them to sign-up for your special email list to get alerts with details about the exhibition when (and if) it's created. NOTE: Your website statistics can show you how many people are visiting each specific page on your website. If you find a winning topic for an exhibition, you may want to start with a mini-version of the exhibition (perhaps in the balcony rather than the big exhibition hall.) See what kind of reaction you get.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Are people engaged? Talk to them after they've seen the exhibit. This will help you get feedback and make it better if you decide to do a full-scale exhibition. If it doesn't seem popular, don't waste your time creating an expanded version of it. Just convert it to a web-based exhibit on your website and move on to the next topic. There are endless topics and not all of them will be “winners.” REMEMBER: Give people what they want. 1. Sometimes you do that by asking them. 2. Sometimes you do that by showing them two or more ideas and asking them to choose one. 3. Sometimes, you do that by giving them a sample taste of an exhibition and seeing if they like it.
What If … # 62: You Made Each Exhibition More Relevant to Your Guests? If someone isn't already interested in the topic, and they don't see how it's relevant to them, they're probably not going to come visit your exhibition. So in your promotions, you need to show them how it's relevant to them. For example, here's how you might make the World War Exhibition more relevant. In your promotional materials, pose curiosity-based questions or intriguing statements which promise a “revelation.”
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MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement:
Or...
Your exhibition must resonate with the viewer. And you must establish that resonance in your promotions. The promotional materials must promise the visitor some sort of benefit that they immediately see as being relevant to them. So, how do you make something relevant?
First, always ask yourself: - Page 156 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
“Why Should They Care?” Remember... It's all about the Guest / Visitor... not about you or even your exhibition. So make it “personal” (especially in your promotional materials.)
Wondering How to Make Your Exhibitions More Relevant? 1. Segment the Audience. Realize that the big “mass audience” is really made up of lots of smaller, homogenized segments: college students, Athens residents, teenagers, moms, country club members, skateboarders, families, and grandparents (who may remember things from the near-past time period your are exploring in the exhibition.) 2. Appeal to the Audience on Multiple Levels... Appeal to Their Core Values. “This Exhibition Lets You Be the Best Grandparent in the World. BYOG (Bring Your Own Grandchildren.)” Appeal to them on a Sensory Level. (“12 Impossibly Beautiful Items from Our Collection.”) Appeal to their curiosity and intellect. (“6 Intriguing Ways The World War (from a Century Ago) Still Impacts Your Life.”) Appeal to their sense of identity and community. (“6 Things Every Ohio University Senior Knows about Athens County.”) - Page 157 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: 3. Show Them the Results They'll Get from Your Exhibition. Yes, your major exhibitions should promise “results.” What happens after they experience it? How will they feel? How will they be different? “Change Forever the Way You See Your Grandparents.” or “Experience a Deep and Intense Sense of Wonder!” If you think about these things before you start to design the exhibit then it's much easier to design relevance into the exhibition's “DNA.”
What If … # 63: You Used STORIES to Make Your Exhibitions More Engaging? People want stories. We crave them. Songs. Movies. Books. Commercials. Graphic Novels. Television. The News. Magazines. They all thrive because of stories. In oral cultures, stories and ballads were an efficient way to move essential cultural information from one generation to the next. Stories (sometimes turned into rhyming poems and songs) made it easier to remember details and the order of facts. Who knows how many fact in ballads may have been changed so that they would rhyme. Stories, of course, have a main character who struggles with a problem. There needs to be a source of conflict – conflict is the source of the drama. Maybe there's some suspense. And then, just after the crisis when all seems lost, (that's when everybody's really down and it's usually raining in a movie,) the main character changes direction (usually by becoming proactive and taking the offensive) and solves their problem. - Page 158 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. People pay money to watch and hear stories. Sometimes, we're drawn to variations of the same story over and over and over. (That's a good time to sit back and analyze what needs we have that this particular story is appealing to.) So see if there's a way you could format the information contained in an exhibition as a story. Or, maybe there could be a stand-alone, self-contained story on one panel of the exhibition which could tie everything together. There are lots of good books on creating and using stories for organizational or branding purposes. They explain how to use stories in a presentation or how to shape them for persuasion. Here are just 3 of them...
What If … # 64: You Designed Engaging “Points-of-Entry” into Your Exhibitions? Ever told someone that you've tried to watch a recommended movie 3 times but “just couldn't get into it”? That's probably because the first part of the movie didn't provide you with a “point-of-entry” – a doorway into the experience. Maybe you couldn't identify with any of the characters, or with the situation they were in. Maybe there was nothing to grasp to pull you in and make you feel you were engaged with the story. - Page 159 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Movies, novels, plays all need one or more “points of entry” so that the audience can grab hold of something that pulls them into the storyline. We need to be able to identify with something that relates to us. In other words, the story must feel relevant in some way. Otherwise, we can't really get on the emotional roller-coaster we want to experience. This is why Superman and Batman (and many other superheroes) have secret identities which can serve as a point-of-entry. Superman is invulnerable and too powerful to identify with. But Clark Kent -- his alter ego – is an ordinary, shy, fumbling, awkward, nerdy guy maybe a little more like us. (He's an orphan. He's vulnerable.) As a point-of-entry character, Clark is someone we can identify with. He's our virtual “stand-in” for the storyline. Bruce Wayne, Batman's secret identity, is also an orphan. He watched bad guys gun-down his parents n the city streets. So he's just a mortal with no super-powers who grew up to become a vigilante. If we feel we've been abandoned or hurt – and have a need to get even in some way – Batman may appeal to us more than Superman. Once we're “into” the film, then, we can imagine that, secretly, we too have super-powers (but, of course, for their own safety, we can't let anyone else know since the friends of Superman are sometimes targets of kidnapping to serve as bait to trap Superman.) So, your exhibitions must provide visitors with the elements of humanity and, hopefully, a vulnerable character they can sympathize with. Show us some of their failures and imperfections. In the Disney animated movies starring fish, rodents, dogs, and other anthropomorphized animals, the main characters have been dressed in human traits to help us identify with them.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Sometimes it's not the character but the situation we identify with. The Disney characters (whether frog, pig, or princess) may be in some sort of trouble. Or they're insecure, or lonely. Or, like Pinocchio and the Little Mermaid, the characters have a big dream (but something big stands in their way.) Aladdin loves a princess but is just a lowly street thief. The situation they're in becomes our point-of-entry into the story. When designing your exhibit, decide what artifact or character will be familiar to (or resonate with) the visitor in their daily life. That might serve as their point-of-entry into the exhibit. For example: Do You Hate Being Cold? “On this blizzardly, bone-chilling night, their fire went out. It was the last of the firewood. Julie huddled under a heavy stack of musty blankets and shivered. She hated the cold!” That's all it takes. If the visitor hates to be cold, they can have empathy for Julie and the situation she's in. They have something in common. By using an engaging question-based headline, you force them to use their imagination to remember exactly how it feels to be cold. And that pulls them directly into your exhibit.
What If … # 65: You Used “Pacing” in Your Exhibits to Engage Visitors? Consider the “pacing” of your exhibit. If it's a large exhibit, it takes a while for people to go through it. Does the exhibition consist of several different kiosks, panels, or information stations that explore a self-contained topics? - Page 161 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: If so, make sure that before – and after – the long, complicated segments you place some quick-and-easy-to-consume segments. If they start their experience by standing in front of a long, tedious overview of the exhibition, they'll dread what's coming. So give them a great feeling right at the start. Get them moving along quickly through the first two or three easy-to-understand kiosks or infographic panels so that they get a nice and quick overview and can feel they're making progress. This also helps move them away from the entrance quickly so that it doesn't get clogged up with people. Your first panel of information may show them how to explore the exhibit to get the most out of it. Let them know if they can skip around or should experience it in a linear order. Offer the visitor a choice of routes they can take through the exhibition... For a 15-Minute “Overview” Experience,. Follow the GREEN Dots For the Full 45-minute Experience, Follow the RED Dots Make sure to start out your large expository panels of text with a couple of short, one-sentence paragraphs. These help pull the reader into the exposition. Once you've engaged them, you can move on to the more detailed stuff. Remember: Keep the pacing varied to keep them interested.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Varying the pacing can include interspersing kiosks with short videos between the stations of text-based information. So variety in media can influence the feel of the exhibit's pacing.
What If … # 66: You Used the Elements of GAME DESIGN to Make Your Exhibitions More Interesting? Just as you can structure your exhibitions through stories, you can also borrow from the world of games design. “Gamers” are a natural market to cultivate. (Don't fall victim to stereotyping – they come in all ages and both genders.) People who play games, especially Role Playing Games (RPG), thrive off of immersing themselves in an unknown environment which operates with a different set of rules and resources. They like “Special Missions” and “Secret Objectives.”
So promote to their interests... History: The Ultimate Game. Shorter Lifespans. Daily Dangers. Floods. Fires. Wars. Deceit. Betrayal. Broken Pacts. Cowards. Heroes. You're already standing on the ultimate game-board. You're already a part of the ultimate RPG. Come discover how others before you have played the game and won (or lost).
It's Your Move! - Page 163 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement: Already, there is a popular role-playing board game for World War I â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Axis and Allies.
NOTE: Consider buying one or more copies and inviting people to come in and play it with family or friends. Remember: always be looking for ways to engage the public and get them into the building for a fun and engaging activity or event. None of this means you need to turn your exhibition into a game. (though that's always a possibility.) Just understand that some of the techniques and design elements that make for an engaging game can be applied to presentations and exhibitions. There is only one book you need to read and study in order to glean the best ideas the world of game-design for use with your exhibits: Jesse Schell's The Art of Game Design. (Second Edition)
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. He has arranged the book into 113 “lenses” which are simply different ways to look at your exhibit as you design it. As an example, Lens #110 is The Lens of Transformation: How can my game (exhibition) change players for the better? For the worse? This book should probably be part of your reference library...
Inside the book.
Along with the book, you can buy a companion CARD DECK with 113 cards – one for each lens. Each card provides a summary of one lens with examples of how to apply it. The card deck is especially valuable when you have created a draft of your exhibition and want to go through and find ways to make it better, more engaging, more intriguing, more addictive, more rewarding, more fun, more challenging.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Jesse Schell's Card Deck. Use these cards when designing your exhibitions. Because you can pull out just the lenses that are helpful, these cards may be easier to use than the book. Applying both story-telling and game-design elements to your exhibitions should make them far more engaging and inviting to your visitors. “People play games because they provide an opportunity to explore a world that they would be unlikely to explore and play out... in real life. People want to play cool characters. They want to explore exciting destinations.” Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber Challenges for Game Designers
Of course, there's a new presentation category called Infotainment which blends the delivery of information with entertainment to make an experience into a more enjoyable learning opportunity. And now, there's the new field which uses games to teach people history, or geography, or social skills: “Gamification” Here's a link to a popular TED Talk on "Gaming Can Make a Better World.” - Page 166 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. And if – like many people – you think that games are “a waste of time,” check out Jane McGonigal's other TED Talk: In this video Jane McGonigal cites hospice-workers-reported research on the top regrets people have on their death beds...
The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying... 1. I Wish I hadn't worked so hard. 2. I Wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 3. I Wish I had let myself be happier. 4. I Wish I'd had the courage to express my true self. 5. I Wish I'd lived a life true to my dreams instead of what others expected of me.
How many of these regrets might people have avoided by taking time off from work to make frequent trips to the History Center with their family and friends? Could your exhibitions and lectures and presentations and concerts and dinners help people become happier, maybe by discovering who they really are and by giving them the courage to express themselves? Could they put people more in touch with their friends? - Page 167 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Could your website contain interactive activities that might empower them to shape the life they really want for themselves? Could your efforts help make people more self-confident? With or without games, you have the power to shape and enrich people's lives. It's a noble and honorable responsibility. For More on the Positive Force of Games, Check Out Jane McGoinal's books:
Remember: Give people what they want. Actually, good marketers often say... “Sell people what they want but give them what they need.”
So what if you sell people entertainment – (what they want) – and make them feel good but then give them useful facts (perhaps wrapped in stories?) that can change their lives (which may be what they need)? To find out what people want, look at how your preferred market is already spending their money. Worried that moving more toward the entertainment end of the spectrum will cheapen the quality of our offering? It doesn't have to. Just as NOVA TV episodes use stories and drama and suspense to explore a scientific phenomenon, you can arrange high-quality research into a package that delivers an entertaining and more emotionally-satisfying experience to your visitors – maybe one they will be more than happy to pay for.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Here's a very popular software game that makes learning geography fun. Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego? From its Amazon Listing: •Use your talking translator to make your way through 13 countries, with as many different languages •Travel around the globe without a passport as you collect clues in 50 countries •Solve puzzles and brainteasers from around the world while studying journal notes and sketches for clues ________________
The Oregon Trail is another popular game. Notice that both of these games are based on stories and characters. People want to identify with a character in a story. Make learning fun. Maybe you should buy a copy to study how it turns history into an engaging adventure. When people are emotionally engaged, they learn things more easily. The brain remembers things that are linked to emotions. From its Amazon Listing: Make the wise choices as you avoid hazards and face the many challenges of frontier life •Go hunting, buy the right supplies, talk to Indians and fellow travelers and much more •Along the way you'll discover useful wilderness knowledge like avoiding poison and crossing rivers •Kids will also get to learn the complete story of the Donner Party •Ages 9 and up
NOTE: These and other games could be sold in the gift shop. - Page 169 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 67: You “Leveled Up” Your Exhibitions by Collaborating with the OU GRID Lab? If you're interested in gaming, it might help to start by reading Jesse Schell's Art of Game Design (above.) That may give you enough ideas and techniques to Do-It-Yourself. But then, you may want to approach the GRID Lab. Ohio University's Game Research and Immersive Design Lab teaches its majors how to design addictive games as well as how to apply gamification techniques to social issues. Why not partner with them on a class project or provide an internship for one of their best students to explore ways you can use the practical aspects of game theory to package your content.
What If … # 68: You Thought of Yourself as a Self-Help Center? In the United States alone, the Self-Help, Self-Improvement, and Self-Actualization Market is a $10-Billion Industry. So what if the SEO History Center thought of itself as a provider of self-help information? What if every time someone left the History Center they felt better about themselves than when they arrived? What if they left feeling just a little more certain about themselves? A little more confident? A little more wise? A little more empowered? A little more inspired? A little more enlightened about the world around them... (and their place in it?) - Page 170 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. What a noble way to make your exhibits beneficial. Yes, movies and songs and stories can help us discover who we are. And so can your exhibitions; your lectures; even the books in your gift shop. “Come to the History Center and Discover... Yourself!” Remember: Sell People What They Want but Give Them What They Need.
What If … # 69: You Designed Your Exhibitions So They Not Only Explain but TRANSFORM? Many of your exhibitions may need to explain complicated ideas or procedures or events. Sometimes, it's difficult to distill a complex issue so that it's clear and easy to understand. To help with that, here are some resources you will want to check out understandable. The Art of Explanation: making your ideas, products, and services easier to understand. NOTE: The author, Lee Lefever, explains the process (and formula) he uses to create his very popular “3-minute explainer” videos on YouTube. In his book, he explains why you should start out by talking about the “forest” and not the “trees.” (Move from general, to specifics.) And why you should start out with the “Why this is important” before explaining the “How.” - Page 171 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement: He also explains that there are times when stories are not appropriate for your explanation. To see a sample of Lefever's work, watch this video on the Electoral College and Electing a President in Plain English ... Other Videos by LeFever may give you some good ideas for simplifying complex information so that people can understand it. Here are some more resources on how to make your exhibitions compelling, captivating, and engaging... Illuminate: Ignite Change through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols
Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 70: You Gave Exhibition a THEME? Not only each exhibition, but each presentation, lecture, or workshop should have a theme – a recurring or dominating idea, or motif, that we keep coming back to. One which, in different guises, echoes repeatedly throughout the exhibit. The theme may be understated (or unstated) but if it is there, people will feel a sense of cohesion and integrity with the exhibition. It will give them something to think about long after they leave the exhibit. The theme may surface from their subconscious days or weeks later. Your exhibitions can be like a really good movie that entertains and informs but also transforms us by touching us deep inside. Some examples of possible themes... “Perseverance”
“Adversity”
“Loneliness”
“Competition”
“Self-Reliance”
“Failure”
“Greed”
“Civility”
“Respect”
“Serendipity”
“Deviance”
“Unfair Challenges”
“Forgiveness”
“Decadence”
“Beauty”
“Sacrifice”
“Disappointment”
“Courage”
“Honor”
“Redemption”
“Despair”
“Doing What's Right” “Gratitude”
“Sacrifice”
“Injustice”
“Immortality”
“Corruption”
“Vanity”
“Oppression”
“Freedom”
Here's a longer list of popular themes in novels. - Page 173 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 71: You Explored a Different THEME Each MONTH? Throughout the organization, each month might explore a different theme: perhaps “Social Status.” The newsletter, a lecture or presentation, the Book Club... What if all of these coordinated to explore the same “Theme of the Month”? The themes, if broad, might remain the same each year. March might be “War” Month. April might be “Renewal” Month. For major exhibitions that are mounted for several months, each month's theme would allow people to explore the exhibition again and again –each time through a different lens. The same exhibition might take on completely new meanings when examined through the lenses of Beauty. Energy. Or Betrayal. Docents might guide people through the exhibit focusing on that month's theme.
What If … # 72: You Asked Intriguing Questions? People are curious. It's a pleasurable feeling. They want to ponder the answers to unanswerable questions. Asking questions or providing curiosity-based (incomplete) headlines can engage and open up the mind. The brain cannot ignore a question or an incomplete thought.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. The brain feels a need to resolve an issue. To gain closure. This is probably a survival mechanism. Incomplete thoughts create uncertainty which might represent a threat. So we examine them closely. And...when you ask questions, the mind is not only in a more receptive state, it begins to actively seek-out information that will provide a suitable answer. To engage your visitors, each exhibit should ask questions (that don’t necessarily have to be answered.) You can leave them wondering. That will make the exhibit stick with them long after they leave. For example: In the '1970' exhibit depicting photographs in Athens after the Kent State shootings, you might ask: “Could it happen today?” “Did these guns contain real bullets?” But you also might ask: “What clues do you see in these photographs that date them as being from an earlier time – what makes them different from today?” These questions might engage visitors so that they noticed... No litter on Court Street. The style of the cars. The style of the clothing. The buildings that are (or are no longer) in the photos. There are no tattoos. No piercings. No cell phones. There are power lines overhead on Court Street. Place a notebook in place where you can invite people to write their answers and read what others have written. Engage them. - Page 175 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 73: You Engaged Visitors Using QUIZ SHEETS? As they entered the exhibition, what if you gave people a pencil and a small sheet with a list of 10 questions which they can take with them through the exhibit? Don't make it too difficult. The questions will prompt them to look for the answers embedded within the exhibit. Then, when they exit, and if they answered all 10 questions correctly, then what if they could redeem their completed Quiz Sheet for a 10-percent discount in the gift shop? This gets them engaged in the exhibit. Let's them interact. Makes them feel proud that they did well on the quiz. And rewards them with a discount. (Plus, of course, it gets them into the gift shop armed with a 10-percent discount that they feel they earned!)
What If … # 74: You Explored More “Sensational” and Controversial Topics? Look at what's popular on Fox TV and how many PBS programs are competing to bring in viewers for their science and history programs: “Secrets of the Dead” (National Geographic on PBS) “The Iceman Murder Mystery” (NOVA - PBS) Here Are a Few Titles for NOVA Science Series Episodes:
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. NOVA: "Sinkholes — Buried Alive" In a leafy suburb near Tampa, Florida, on February 28, 2013, a giant hole opened up under the bedroom floor of Jeffrey Bush, swallowing him as he slept. His body was never found. Bush was a victim of a sinkhole—a worldwide hazard that lurks... [Notice that this description of the program starts off as a story which establishes the setting and immediately pulls the audience in by introducing an innocent character (someone sleeping in their bed) who they can identify with.] Here are some other intriguing titles from NOVA. NOTE Even though NOVA uses engaging titles for their programs, they are still a highly-respected, award-winning science series. Being interesting – even controversial – doesn't mean you have to lower your standards in any way. "The Search for Life"
"Strange Sleep"
"The Hot Blooded Dinosaurs" "The Lysenko Affair" "The Plutonium Connection" "What Price Coal?" "The Lost World of the Maya" "Wild Predator Invasion" "A Whisper From Space"
"Hitler’s Secret Weapon"
"Bigger Than T. rex"
"Why Sharks Attack"
"Emperor's Ghost Army"
"Killer Landslides"
"Nazi Attack on America"
“Secrets of Noah's Ark”
"Mystery Beneath the Ice"
"Memory Hackers"
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: "Colosseum: Roman Death Trap
"Rise of the Robots"
"The Case of the Bermuda Triangle" "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts" “The Mystery of Bird Navigation" Remember: People want to discover. They want to wonder. They want to learn about intriguing stuff. So what if you gave your exhibitions intriguing titles that promised – and then delivered – facts that shock, amaze, amuse, and astonish? Emotional experiences. That's what people want. It's what we all want.
What If … # 75: You Created an Exhibition on a Relevant Controversial Topic that Could Draw NATIONAL ATTENTION? In 1998, when the Guggenheim mounted its “Art of the Motorcycle” Exhibition, it drew lots of criticism from art critics and other museums who felt motorcycles were out-ofplace in a museum. But the general public seemed to think motorcycles were relevant. Their 427-page color catalog for the exhibit has outsold every other catalog they've ever published. The exhibition's crowds were 45-percent larger than usual. Eventually, it ranked as the fifth most popular museum exhibit ever. - Page 178 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. The critics asked how many of the tens of thousands of visitors – many of whom had never before visited any museum – would ever come back? Some would. But most of them would probably never come back (unless, and until, the Guggenheim started offering them something else they found relevant to their lives.) Regardless, mounting the exhibition was a brave and bold move. So what topic might you select for an exhibition which would be relevant to the region, the state, the nation? One that might bring in masses of visitors from our region and state but also from across the country? What exhibition might become a “destination” for summer vacationers?
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MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement:
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Imagine how much publicity you might get for this major exhibition on marijuana. And imagine how many different complementary events could be hosted over several months at the History Center. Of course, this topic is particularly relevant to our part of the state where legendary “Meigs County Gold” is grown. It's also relevant because of the current efforts in Ohio (and around the country) to legalize marijuana for medical use and to decriminalize its personal use. Movie nights could show the “cult classic” 1936 propaganda film, Reefer Madness (1:05 hours) and Hemp for Victory (13 min) (the 1942 Department of Agriculture film promoting the growing of hemp as part of the war effort.) Each could be accompanied by a short presentation or lecture. And a Q&A session. Also, both are in the public domain and available online so there are no licensing fees necessary for public viewings. Buy a copy of each and do what you want with it. Watch them on YouTube.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: The History Center could host lectures and debates on the legalization of medical marijuana. You could invite the Sheriff's Department to present an educational session on drug use. And (maybe) you could convince them to loan marijuana plants or leaves which could be put into locked glass cases within the exhibition (so that the public can know what they look like in the wild and, of course, report them.) If they won't allow them to remain on the premises, they can almost certainly bring them to their own live presentation (With proper news releases, that might become a popular presentation.) And maybe law enforcement offers can provide you with images of “drug busts,” helicopter searches, and drug paraphernalia. Invite individuals who have served prison time (for growing or selling or simply owning marijuana) to speak about the War on Drugs and the controversial “Three Strikes” Law. The History Center can always act as a neutral host to provide a forum for people to understand the history of this lucrative agricultural crop and the many ways it has affected our region. The public can draw their own conclusions about whether or not marijuana should be used for medical reasons, or legalized. This is an opportunity to draw people from across the state and around the region into the new facility. Of course, like the “Granville Sharp and The World War” exhibit, you could engage visitors by handing them a card to carry through the exhibit. (See What If... #94) In this case, the cards could encourage visitors to experience the exhibit as a Parent. Or as a Law-Enforcement Officer. Or as a Medical Marijuana User. - Page 182 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. By identifying with just one of the many “characters”available, each visitor experiences a different exhibit. Five people going through the exhibition together can compare notes afterward. Even more interesting is to issue each person not one, but two cards. So they may be The Deputy (who is supposed to enforce the law) and also they may be the Medical User who is secretly using marijuana to help with the nausea caused by chemotherapy. This puts them into an internal, ethical bind. OK, now we have the makings of a good movie or book. Remember: “conflict” is the source of all drama. (Use it.)
What If … # 76: You Publish Reviews and Great Testimonials about Your Exhibitions? Once you get some people complimenting you on the exhibition, ask if you can use their comments in a review. NOTE: The best way to get testimonials from individuals is to ask for them right after someone pays you a compliment. Just explain that you're updating the website or putting together a new brochure about the exhibit and ask if they would mind if you use what they just said as a testimonial. - Page 183 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Almost everyone will say yes because it's a heart-felt compliment they gave voluntarily. Offer to email it to them in case they want to expand on it or correct it. They can approve it and give you permission to use it in your promotional materials. Then, use them everywhere. On posters, fliers, on the back of discount coupons you give out on Court Street. On your website, in your video preview (teaser) of the exhibition posted on YouTube. Here's what you're hoping for...
“Do not. I Repeat: Do NOT!!! Leave Athens Without Experiencing FORBIDDEN AGRICULTURE!”
“Helicopters. Ambushes. Skirmishes. “The Underground Economy. Entrepreneurs. Black Markets. “Packed with Fun-Filled Cat-and-Mouse STORIES Layered atop a Solid Foundation of Facts! “Listen Up! Everything You Think You Know about Marijuana? It's Probably Wrong!”
“Absolutely Intriguing. Spellbinding.”
“WEED: FORBIDDEN AGRICULTURE Is a Kilo of Fun!”
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. NOTE: You may find it helpful to write several of these glowing reviews before you even start work on the exhibit. They can inspire you to create an exhibition that lives up to the hype. Naturally, you won't publish your own reviews. This exercise is just for motivational purposes. But if it does its job, you'll end up getting similar reviews for the finished product.
The Sequel? If the “Weed” exhibition is a big success, then a couple of years later, you could continue your series on “Forbidden Agriculture” with an exhibition on the role alcohol plays in our culture. It might include the history of micro-breweries, Prohibition, moonshine, stills, bars and taverns in Southeast Ohio, as well as the social life, the legal drinking age, drunk-driving laws, social problems, and the part alcohol plays in our economy. Both of these exhibits would probably bring in lots of people of all ages. They could be big money-makers (when you start charging admission.) Both exhibitions could attract funding from both private enterprise and health-related grants. While there are probably not a lot of artifacts within the existing collections, other agencies could provide materials to make it interesting. - Page 185 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: For the alcohol exhibition, you could probably recruit or borrow private collections of beercans and beer-bottles as well as photographs and items from local wineries and microbreweries. Videos could be made locally to show the processes for making beer and wine. Perhaps wine and beer tastings for local brews could be held at the History Center. If not, they could be coordinated with local restaurants. Regional bus or self-guided tours could be scheduled and coordinated with local vineyards and micro-breweries. The alcohol exhibition offers enormous possibilities for building cooperative networks within the community. Wine shops, restaurants, producers, as well as social service agencies and non-profits dealing with the fallout from alcohol abuse. There is plenty of good and bad to explore (much of it fascinating.) This bottle might make nice artwork for part of an INFOGRAPHIC which engages by focusing on the common root of related words. While you could also name the exhibit “TOX” or “SMASHED” you would have a harder time getting sponsorship from beer-distributors and microbreweries. Also, an exhibition name like “Tox” or “Smashed” might suggest that the presentation is biased. BREW seems less judgmental. Plus, it's 4 letters, like WEED. So they would look like sister exhibitions.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. SUCCESS TIP: Launching 2 or 3 highly-visible, engaging, and massively-popular exhibitions within a 5-year period will help to establish the Southeast Ohio History Center as a major “player” in the region's cultural arts. It would also put you on the national map of “up and coming” museums. And it would probably get you featured in Museum magazine. The key is to get lots of publicity for several related exhibitions within a short period of time. One blockbuster every ten years won't do it. Aim for every 2 years. And if you focus on building out a related (and relevant) SERIES – like Forbidden Agriculture – you will build momentum. Your audiences will continue to grow with each new exhibition. Meanwhile, the earlier exhibitions may be sent on tour to generate a larger audience and to generate local publicity in each community where they're shown.
What If … # 77: You Used Simple INFOGRAPHICS to Explain and Clarify Complex Material? Infographics, which make lots of factual information easy to understand in a poster-format should be made to accompany each exhibition. Or, various components/stations within an exhibit could have individual infographic. Your infographics can also be published online, on your website. AND... you could turn them into a video. Simply make several slides, one for each section of the infographic, and put them in order and set them to music, or narrate them if necessary. Edit them into a simple video that you can post on YouTube and/or embed on your own website. - Page 187 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: If they are compelling and attractive, they are a great way to engage the visitor and to help them understand some complex information quickly. They're perfect for today's generation of “scanners” who don't read all the details and just want a quick summary.
EXAMPLES: Click on each infographic to see the enlarged image on the Internet.
Creating Infographics: Here's a tutorial:on How to Create an Infographic in Under an Hour. There are several free and inexpensive services which allow you to design your infographics online. They provide templates, icons, clipart, all the things you need to dragand-drop your design and then download your own infographic. Canva.com - Page 188 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. This one offers annual $39.99/pricing for nonprofits. Piktochart.com Here are lots more software possibilities to check out. Search around to find the best one for your purposes.
What If … # 78: You Used “Factoids” to Engage Visitors? In putting together an exhibition, you will undoubtedly end up with lots of little miscellaneous interesting facts and related tidbits that don't quite fit anywhere or which had to be left out for lack of space. These scrap “factoids” can be sprinkled around the museum and exhibition space by loading them into Digital Picture Frames that rotate through slides of pictures or text. You could create a “Did You Know?” series for all kinds of purposes. On these slide-shows, you could also include “Quotations” that somehow relate to the exhibit. We are hard-wired for movement to catch our attention so people will look at changing images. And, as long as the information is interesting, useful, and relevant, they'll keep watching.
DID YOU KNOW...? The WRISTWATCH Grew Out of THE WORLD WAR. During the World War, European soldiers began using straps to attach watches to their wrists to more-easily coordinate troop movements.
Because these stand-alone “factoids” are interesting, they can be used on your website, in advertising and promotional materials and in News Releases. - Page 189 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 79: You Engaged Visitors by Using the Power of the “TEASE”?
Think: Hollywood! Sometimes the tease begins more than a year before the movie is released when “leaks” to the news media rumor that a celebrity will be cast in a controversial juicy part from a best-selling novel. Months later, it's confirmed that, yes, the celebrity will do the controversial nude scene “only because it is essential to the story.” Months later, during production, the nude scene is filmed on a locked set. Somehow, unauthorized (though not-quite-revealing-enough) photos of the nude scene – apparently taken with a smartphone smuggled onto the set – make their way onto the Internet. To be most effective, these images must leave the viewer unsatisfied by revealing only partial nudity. And so on. Of course, the whole scheme is dependent on controversy and cultural taboo. Plus anticipation. That's why your most-attended exhibitions will probably deal with some sort of controversy. It can be a scientific controversy, perhaps over the fact that carbon-dating has now revised the theory of when the Adena culture existed (if that's true.) And, the controversy doesn't have to pervade the entire content of the exhibition. It can just a a little fact that's being re-thought. The thing about controversy is that it leaves you hanging. It doesn't give you the final conclusion. That, you will have to come up with yourself based on having seen the exhibit. - Page 190 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. So consider teasing (and tantalizing) the public with incomplete information which piques their curiosity and creates questions in their mind. (Remember: the mind finds it difficult to ignore unanswered questions.) And, of course, the only way to satisfy the mind is to get the rest of the facts by seeing the exhibition. Remember:: Some of the leftover shavings from creating an exhibit (“factoids”) can make great teasers. Sprinkle them around.
What If … # 80: You Offered “Previews of Coming Attractions” ? Some novels now include the first chapter of the author's upcoming. Why not create samples or “Previews” of coming attractions? These can be included in the slide shows on the Digital Picture Frames scattered throughout the building. Interspersed with images of beautiful items from the gift shop and the Museum Hours and upcoming fund-raising events, slip in a few slides with an artifact from the upcoming exhibit and some curiosity-based teasers.
What If … # 81: You Sprinkled Teasers and Curiosity and Mystery and Intrigue Everywhere? When giving out radio interviews about the current exhibit, make sure the host asks you “What's in store for the coming months?” Again, spoon-feed the listening audience with fascinating factoids. Make sure it's something that they will want to text or tell their friends about instantly. “Hey, guess what! I just heard that the History Center's next show is going to have live snakes!”
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Hand out mini-fliers with curiosity-based factoids. Make quarter-sized fliers (print them front and back.) Hand them out as book-marks in the gift shop. For several months, send interesting factoids to your membership through the newsletter and in emails. Use customized riddles, crossword puzzles, and other readerparticipation devices to get your factoids into the reader's mind.
What If … # 82: You Created Anticipation? Anticipation is one of the most overlooked sources of pleasure in marketing. Anticipation, like curiosity, forces people to wait. Anticipation is painful. And pleasurable. Often, the anticipation is greater than the pleasure we will get from the actual event. (You need to make sure that is NOT the case. You do not want people to feel let down.) With each factoid you use to tease people for the months leading up to an exhibition, you want to make sure people know when the event will be unveiled. Again: Think Movie Industry: “Coming Next Summer” “Opening in Theaters Everywhere – July 17th” “Sneak Preview to Selected Audiences – July 15th.” “All Will Be Revealed. All Will Be Answered... in Just 23 Days.” “Advance VIP Tickets Go On Sale Thursday at 1pm.” “Black-Tie Preview (for Members Only) Friday Night.” - Page 192 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Of course, you'll want to give the news media access to the preview so they can write a review and publish it on the day of the opening. Ask them not to reveal too much. If you allow photos, you may want to restrict what it is they can photograph. Maybe even during the preview you will have some parts of the exhibition blocked off or display cases cloaked. That just adds to the mystery and intrigue.
What If … # 83: You Set-up “Photo-Ops” for the News Media? Send out news releases and invites to the media to give them a chance to attend an occasion where they may be able to take pictures of the mayor or the governor or Nelsonville-native Sarah Jessica Parker enjoying a private tour of the exhibition. Like controversy, celebrities are, of course, media magnets. And controversial celebrities have the most pull. What if, for the “Weed” Exhibition, you set-up a photo op and media interview with a local person who spent 5 years in prison for growing marijuana? Make sure they are part of the opening ceremonies. If they do radio interviews ahead of that, some people are going to want to come to meet them. Radio, of course, is sometimes better than television because it doesn't let you see the person you're listening to. There's still an element of mystery. And it helps protect the identity of people who may prefer to maintain some privacy. Always be looking for ways to create photo-opportunities or soundbite opportunities for the media. Then, spoon-feed them.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 84: You Used the SCHOOLS to Create Community Interest and Anticipation? In the months or so leading up to the exhibition, providing teachers in the elementary, middle and high-schools with (age appropriate) bits of information and interactive games, riddles, brain-teasers or story puzzles to get the students interested so that they can start asking their parents about it. Keep all of these interactive activities short – two to five minutes. They should be something that can be presented as fun for the class without cutting too deeply into their teaching time. And, of course, if you can somehow relate the information to “the standardized tests,” all the better.
What If … # 85: You Designed Your Exhibitions as Customer EXPERIENCES? It's easy to think of an exhibition as an inert series of things that people walk through, and read, and look at, and consume. But how different might the exhibitions become if you thought of them as triggers for an experience? You must “design” the customer experience. The exhibition is NOT the experience. The exhibition ENABLES the experience. The experience will be different for each individual. In an exhibition (or lecture)... Decide ahead of time what emotions you want them to feel? In what order should they feel them? - Page 194 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Know what you want them to do after a lecture, or experiencing an exhibit. Then, create a “Call to Action” asking the visitor to take that first step in that direction.
What If … # 86: You Taught People How Best to Consume Your Product & Services to Help Them Get the Most Out of Your Exhibits? Create a short presentation video, poster, booklet, or infographic that can explain “How to Visit a Museum.” or “How to Get the Most from This Exhibition” or “How Most Efficiently to Research Your Family Tree.” Should visitors go through your exhibition linearly, in a particular order? Or can they just browse randomly, getting a nice overview and reading more details about things that capture their attention? Remind them to compare and contrast the people and events in the exhibition to their current life.
What If … # 87: You Allowed Visitors to VOTE for the Most Interesting Parts of Your Exhibitions? Just before they exit, what if you gave people a way to vote for the most interesting parts of the exhibition? Maybe you hand them 10 poker chips and ask that they drop them in ballot boxes next to each kiosk or exhibition panel. They can put all the chips in one part, or spread them around. Especially for a newly-mounted exhibit, this might give you great feedback you could for making modifications or for designing future exhibitions. - Page 195 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 88: You Designed Some Exhibits as a “Create Your Own Adventure?” At certain points in the exhibit, the visitor could choose what they wanted the main character in the Exhibition to do next. “If You Choose A, Go to Kiosk A” “IF you Choose B, Go to Kiosk B”
What If … # 89: You Re-Purposed the Content of Each Exhibition into 3 or More Products? Each exhibition can probably be converted into several different versions: The live exhibition. A video slide-show narrated for placing on the web. An audio version. A written transcript. Maybe an illustrated pamphlet. And an Infographic. This gets far more mileage from the initial efforts put into researching, curating, and mounting an exhibition. It also enlarges your reach, making some of the same information available to those out of town, to those who may be physically unable to attend or who simply can't attend the live exhibition while it's available. To those who may be visually impaired. For those who prefer to read. Each version gives you more opportunities for extending your reach locally and nationally. And, each version can act as a promotional piece for the History Center. A short, abbreviated preview version of the video might be placed on the website (and on YouTube) to promote the next upcoming exhibition. And, in the History Center, a poster or Infographic teaser could give people a preview of coming attractions.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 90: You Created LOTS More of Your Portable and Traveling Exhibitions? From the very start, what if you designed exhibitions with the idea that they can be turned into traveling exhibits? Or, they can be abridged and turned into Mobile Exhibitions? You already have your Mobile History Exhibitions in a Box. Why not add to them. (Show how popular they are and ask for another grant.) Contact regional shopping malls, county court houses, and other public places to explain that that an exhibition can be a magnet to bring them additional visitors (or just to entertain/inform the public.)
What If … # 91: You Created MINI-EXHIBITIONS Specifically to Help People Appreciate History? Examples might include small exhibitions entitled: “Discover the Never-Ending Romance of History.” “The 6 Startling Ways HISTORY Affects Your Life!” “How to Appreciate the Secret Side of Athens.” “Explore These 7 Things that Make Athens, Athens.” These mini-exhibitions might be used to attract local university students and their parents. They could be put on display in one of the smaller galleries at the same time as a major-exhibition. If portable, place them in public locations to promote the History Center. Start educating people to appreciate your “product.” Explain why people should care about history. What makes it fascinating? - Page 197 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 92: You Took Exhibitions to the People? Consider: Creating Short, Outdoor Slide-Show Exhibitions or Video Exhibitions and – during big weekends – projecting them onto the sides of public buildings. Keep the message short (2-3 minutes) and easy-to-understand. Images should be bold so that they show up clearly on the surfaces of buildings. Topics (always) should be relevant. So, in uptown Athens you might show... “The History of Halloween in Athens” Or, a Homecoming-related program might be shown during Ohio University's homecoming weekend.
What If … # 93: You Encourage Visitors to Use Their Imagination? You already know that the “Log Cabin” exhibition which had almost no expository material was extremely popular in that people spent lots of time looking at it and... wondering. Pondering. What if you turned a “Visible Storage” display of “Edna’s Kitchen” (an 1800s kitchen) into a Murder Mystery. Let people imagine the kitchen as the site of a murder. What implements or ingredients on display might have been used to murder someone? Provide a notebook on a stand for people to write their ideas or little stories. Of course, it might also be the site of a significant birth, the signing of an important document, a discussion that changed Athens. - Page 198 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 94: You Embedded 6-word Stories in the Exhibitions? In front of some (or all) of the stations, kiosks, or displays, include a 6-word story which gives visitors an interpretation or helps them make sense of what they're looking at. “Few seeds remain for spring crops.” “Aunt Sara rode Athens' first train!” Learn more about 6-word stories (and get ideas) at SixWordStories.net And what about 6-word memoirs...? (click on the cover and “Look inside”the book at Amazon to read some.)
What If … # 95: You Encouraged Visitors to WRITE Their OWN 6-Word Stories in the Exhibits? Engage visitors by providing a notebook where they can create and write their own 6-word story about the exhibit. Give them a few examples to inspire them. Perhaps the popularity of the “log cabin” exhibit – which had minimal signage – can serve to inspire you to create more similar minimal-exposition displays to serve as the basis for their stories. Writing a story about an exhibit takes the visitor inside themselves and engages them more thoroughly. Remember, visitors like to “interact” with the artifacts. This gives them that opportunity. - Page 199 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 96: You Curated Exhibitions on Broad Themes? Consider broad and grand themes for your exhibitions. In many ways, the broader themes can be easier to curate. Their broad appeal will offer many more interesting and relevant “points of entry” for a larger number of people. Only a very few people will be interested in (and attend) an exhibition on “The Hopewell Culture between 200 BC and 500 AD.” But far more people will be intrigued by an exhibition on “Water.” It could explore many aspects of the topic over time and include topics such as artesian springs, water wells, canals, rivers, transportation, economics, groundwater, flash floods, fracking, fluoridation, acid rain, purification, waste-treatment, environmental wars over bottled water, the mining of water, water rights, the coming water shortage, and much more. The human body consists of about 60% water. It's relevant to our survival. It's a fascinating topic. While the exhibit is showing, you could coordinate public tours at the Water Treatment Plant and the Sewage Plant, or tours of areas where fracking wells have been installed. As part of the “Water” theme, in the winter you could Sponsor Ice and Snow Sculpture Contests throughout Southeast Ohio. Ask people to submit their snow-sculpture pictures to your website where you can post them and let the public vote on them (more engagement.)
Other Examples of Broad Themes: - Page 200 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Etiquette. Responsibility. Energy. Shelter. Prejudice.
Families. Time. Fuel. Deceit. Beauty.
Entrepreneurship.
Justice. Health. Food. Hardship. Winter.
Honor. Coal. Clean. Isolation. Education.
Communication.
For the “Beauty” theme... You might consider mounting an online exhibit inviting people to vote... “Are These the 12 Most Beautiful Items in Our Collection?” HELP US CHOOSE - VOTE ONLINE This exhibition on Beauty could start on your website where people could vote online to narrow down 30 beautiful items to the 12 finalists. Those dozen finalists could then be displayed in a smaller gallery (above the sanctuary?) Eventually, a larger exhibition on Beauty might explore how the qualities of beauty (for clothing, fashion, art, architecture, and the human body) change through the decades. It might examine major art styles like Art Deco to show its influence on architecture and fashion in the region. Of course, beautiful photographs of the 12 items could also be made into a 12-month calendar, or a set of 12-postcards, or notecards for sale in the gift shop. The backs of the cards could include tidbits of text from the exhibition. - Page 201 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Allowing people to vote on the items gets them engaged. But it also gives you valuable information as to what people want. Starting out with 30 items on the website will be enlightening. Some items (maybe the ones you like the best) will get almost no votes. Others will be enormously popular. You'll start to see trends: maybe people gravitate towards hand-crafted items, or needlework, or what they consider to be real “art” such as paintings. Maybe they'll prefer delicate, detailed items like the stitching on a quilt, or the beauty of well-worn tools, like an anvil, or an old woodworking chisel with a beautifully-worn wooden handle. Maybe they like certain textures and colors. All of this is information can help you to design your exhibition. Remember: Ask people what they want. (Then give it to them.)
What If … # 97: You Engaged Visitors by Focusing on the Story of One Person's Role in a Major Event? For example: Athens Resident Granville Sharp who was killed during The World War could be the main character. He is buried in the West State Street Cemetery at the top of the hill, just a short walk from the History Center. “I think the best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event, which is to say character-driven.” – Stephen King
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Granville might be the person visitors identify with going through the exhibition, following along his path from Athens to Europe. As we come to know him, we feel more engaged in the World War and how it impacted one person's life – someone who lived right here in Athens County. In many ways, someone very much like us.
The blue scribbles in the artwork are a simulation of the rubbings of Granville's name, taken from the bronze plaque at the entrance to his current “residence” in the cemetery on West State Street.
What If … # 98: You Used the Images of a Rubbings in Your Exhibit Artwork? A rubbing of Sharp's name (taken from the bronze plaque at the entrance to the cemetery) is twice removed from the actual person. It's just a shadow of his name which, itself, is just a representation of the person. This abstraction may make us wonder how much we know about the real person.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Also, consider rubbings from various artifacts in the collection. Belt buckles, war medals, engravings. Some of the more interesting and beautiful ones might make great artwork for use on custom-made notecards sold in the gift shop.
What If … # 99: You Asked UNANSWERABLE Questions? Some answers may be found in the details of the exhibition. But others can remain unanswerable. As visitors enter, each person may be issued one or two laminated cards to carry with them as they make their way through the exhibit. All of the cards contain questions to answer, or to ponder... “Who Was Granville Sharp?” Because each visitor in a group will hold cards with a different set of questions which focuses their attention on different details, each person will have a different experience with the exhibition. Afterward, they will have a more lively discussion as they compare notes. But also, Granville Sharp provides them with a point-of-entry into the exhibition. He's someone they can care about, identify with, empathize with. Need Some Examples of Question Cards for “Who Was Granville Sharp”?
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Some of the questions will require the visitor to think (or wonder) about what life in Athens might have been like 100 years ago. For example: “Did he ever get to see a moving picture?” Unless it shows up in correspondence (“I saw my first movie here in France”) then we may not know the answer to this. But if, somewhere in the exhibit, it mentions that the Athena Theater opened in 1915, two years before America entered the World War, perhaps Granville did make it into town to see his first moving picture. Of course, it would have been a silent movie. - Page 205 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Some of the questions can call on the Visitors' senses. For example: “Was his wool uniform scratchy? Uncomfortable? Warm? Too hot? What did it smell like when it was wet?” Most people have personal experiences with wool and know what wet wool smells like. So by calling up these sensory experiences (from memory or from their imagination), you can engage the visitor more fully in the exhibition. They should go away with a more meaningful experience. Also, you are planting new memories. So the next time they smell wet wool, they may think of Granville Sharp and the World War. Other sample questions: “Had he ever been out of Athens county before?” “How did he get to Europe?” “Was his death worth his personal sacrifice?” “Was he afraid?” “Did he volunteer?” “Where might he have gone first?” “Which uniform did he wear?” “Was he issued a wrist watch?” “How might he have been killed?” “Did he die in pain?” “Was he alone?” “What kind of training did he go through?” - Page 206 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. “Did he get dysentery or a flu from foreign germs?” “What did he worry about?” “Did he get enough sleep?” “Was he on a battlefield?” “Was it raining when he died?” “Did he have a girl friend in Europe? Back home in Ohio?” “Was he married? “Was he lonely? Shy? An introvert?” “What would he have done if he had returned from the war?”
What If … # 100: You Designed Your Exhibitions to Engage All 5 Senses? We already know that different people have preferences for different sensory input. There are visual people, kinesthetic people, and auditory people. And, we know that the more senses you stimulate, the more you can engage someone. Plus, we're more likely to remember something if we get the message through several senses. So, what if your exhibitions were designed to stimulate all of the senses? Of course, visual is easy. That's our primary choice for conveying information. Is there something that you can let people actually touch so that they can feel how Granville Sharp's wool uniform might have felt? Do you have sound effects or period music that might enhance a display? Maybe the scratchy gramophone music of tunes from - Page 207 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: “The Roaring Twenties” could help magnify your display on Prohibition. Smell may pose a problem. Yes, we could include the smell of charred wood for an exhibition about “The Fires of Court Street.” But we have to be mindful that some people are allergic to fragrances. Taste, too, is problematic. But that doesn't mean we can't access them through the imagination. The brain cannot tell the difference between what's real and what is vividly imagined. This is why your mouth may water when thinking about the taste of dill pickles. It's also why you may get hungry from looking at a photograph of delicious food. It's why your heart starts to race in the movie theater when the werewolf attacks. Our brain and body evolved when everything was real. There were no movies or photographs. And so, for survival purposes, the brain and body must react as if everything is real. After all, even though we consciously know that we're sitting in a movie theater, our subconscious has to assume that the Vampire swooping down on us is really there. It can't take the chance that it's not. “The thing under my bed waiting to grab my ankle isn't real. I know that, and I also know that if I'm careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle.” – Stephen King, Night Shift
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. So, the easiest/cheapest way to engage all 5 senses is through the visitor's imagination. Let them do the work. Plus, they're much more engaged when you invite them to play; when they're involved. We can remember the metallic taste of blood from that time we cut our lip or bit our tongue. We all know the sounds made by a million cicadas. We can all call up the memory of a beautiful sunset. All that is necessary is for you to trigger these memories through the clever use of words and pictures. And that is, perhaps, most easily accomplished through stories. First, engage us in a story about a likable character for whom we can feel empathy and then – once we're engaged – tap into our vast storehouse of sensory memories to pull us more deeply into the world of that experience. “Our bodies have five senses: touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing. But not to be overlooked are the senses of our souls: intuition, peace, foresight, trust, empathy. The differences between people lie in their use of these senses; most people don't know anything about the inner senses while a few people rely on them just as they rely on their physical senses, and in fact probably even more.” – C. JoyBell C.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If …# 101: You Made Your Exhibitions More ADA-Friendly? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) certainly impacts access to the building and the need to install an elevator. But it also deals with visual and auditory-impaired individuals. However, putting the legal requirements aside, how much do you miss when you go through your exhibition blindfolded? (Try it.) Some possibilities to consider: Add closed-captions to some of your YouTube videos. Sometimes, you just need to upload a transcript of the narration or lecture. It can be tedious but here's how to do it. You may also want to consider making a down-loadable audio tour of your exhibition so that the seeing-impaired (or anyone) can listen on their smartphone. Or, you could loan out iPods already loaded up with the audio version of the exhibition. But of course all this is time-consuming and expensive. You might start out by providing the services of volunteer docents who can walk people through the exhibition and describe what it is they are seeing at each panel or display. To be one of these docents might require a bit of special training. So this service might be offered only on the particular days and times when the docent is available – or by scheduled appointment. - Page 210 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. It's entirely possible that a grant-funding agency would help finance some of these efforts. Also, consider how “friendly” your exhibition is for those in wheelchairs? Are the displays too high to be seen? Are there glass-topped display cabinets in which the items are difficult to see from a seated position? (Also, do you have a wheelchair to loan to people?) Are there sufficient places to sit and rest throughout the building? Museums can be fatiguing, especially for older people. Often, people need to wait for friends and there's nowhere to sit down. In exhibits and in booklets and brochures, is there sufficient contrast in the pictures and in the text? Enough white space?
What about your text? Is it large and easy to read? Have you chosen type-fonts that are easy-to-read? Legible? Printed booklet text should probably be 12-points to 16 points. Keep the line-width short – more like newspaper columns. Wide lines of text with too many words are more difficult to read. Glossy paper often creates a glare. A matte finish is usually better. Are the displays and the exhibition areas well-lit for safety and easy of reading? You may want to put together your own, local ADA Advisory Panel of individuals who can suggest ways to make exhibitions accessible. For more ideas, here's the free PDF of the Smithsonian's Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Gift Shop Ideas What If … # 102: You Created a Gift Shop Tagline? “Give Meaningful, Beautiful Gifts to Everyone (Including Yourself.)” Remind people that even though it's a gift shop, they can (and should) buy beautiful and meaningful things for themselves. The gift shop tagline does not have to relate directly to the tagline for the History Center. Think of the gift shop as a separate entity that is building its own brand. Of course, your color scheme, type font, and other visual elements should make it obvious you are a part of the History Center.
What If … # 103: You Used Lots of Signage to Promote the Availability of Gift Certificates? Selling Gift Certificates online will be particularly useful for those who may be living out-of-town. But also, people may want to buy a Gift Certificate in the gift shop and be able to give or send it to someone who can then redeem it either at the gift shop or at the online gift shop. That may be tricky. In addition to a serial number on each gift-certificate, you may want to have a password written on the gift certificate that will have to be entered online to redeem it. NOTE: People who redeem gift-certificates usually spend 20-percent more than the gift-card is worth. That is, a person - Page 212 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. coming to the gift shop with a $20 Gift Certificate will, on average, spend $24. Having a gift-card feels like having free money, so they justify spending some from their own pocket. They feel that they made a $24 purchase for only $4.
What If … # 104: You Offered to Return Any Expired Gift-Certificates to the Purchaser? On average, over 30% of purchased gift-certificates are never redeemed. This is good and bad. A $20 gift-certificate that is never redeemed is more profit for you. Yet the purchaser paid $20 for it and, if they discover it wasn't redeemed, they may feel they threw their money away. They may hold some resentment against the History Center (even though it wasn't your fault.) They may also resent the person they gave the certificate to. And they may never buy another certificate. First, all gift-certificates should include a serial number, the date of purchase, and an expiration date (maybe 12 months later.) But also, they might include this notice: “If this certificate is not redeemed by the Expiration Date, it will automatically be reassigned to the original purchaser.” To accomplish this... you will need to keep a record of the serial numbers, the date purchased, and the name and email or phone of the buyer. Then, a year later, if a certificate has not been redeemed, you will contact the buyer to tell them that they may use it themselves. Even without the certificate, the buyer may come to the gift shop and mention the certificate and apply it toward a purchase. Or, you could give them a special coupon code so that they could enter that at the online gift shop. - Page 213 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: The advantage of this system is that it keeps the buyer happy, and it also gives you a reason to have their email or contact information. With their permission, you can send them upcoming promotional information (or gift shop newsletters) throughout the year.
What If … # 105: What If You Posted a LIST of Gift Categories in the Gift Shop (and Online)? Unfortunately, the new location of History Center doesn't offer the store-front window opportunity on Court Street. So it will be a challenge to get walk-in customers. Use banners outside to promote UPCOMING GIFT OPPORTUNITIES (Mother’s Day, Commencement, Father’s Day. Holiday Season) and to list the categories of items you have: books, clothing, scarves, t-shirts, jewelry, Athens memorabilia, gift certificates. You'll need to get permits from the Athens City Code Office to put up temporary banners on the new building.
What If … # 106: You Used Electronic Digital Picture Frames to Promote Items? Mount Digital Picture Frames which rotate through images of your hours, upcoming exhibits and beautiful featured items in the gift shop. Mount them in the window at the entrance. Get 10” or 12”or larger Digital Picture Frames at Amazon. These digital picture frames can be used for a variety of purposes. and should be sprinkled throughout the building. - Page 214 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 107: You Created a Physical, LooseLeaf Catalog of Most of Your Gift Items? Yes, the Digital Picture Frames will help in spotlighting some of the items in the gift shop. But since they are slide-shows, the visitor has no control over them. Unless they stand in front of it for the duration of the slide-show, they'll miss some of the images. There is so much in the gift shop that it's difficult for people to see everything. So create a scrapbook-style notebook, perhaps placed at a convenient height on a lectern, so that visitors can page-through the images like a catalog. This will definitely increase sales. It also has the advantage of showing small items (like jewelry) much larger. And, you can include a little bit of text about the artist or the story behind the item. You don't have to include every single item in this loose-leaf gift catalog. Start with the best-selling items. Then add others. Just print out color photos of objects that have been taken for the online gift shop and mount them under plastic page protectors.
What If … # 108: You Displayed “Feel-Good” Mini-Signage throughout the Gift Shop? Print out tiny business-card sized signage with messages and then sprinkle these throughout the gift shop. Use them to identify items for upcoming gift-giving opportunities including Mother's Day, Commencement and Valentine's Day. Use them to identify On-Sale Items, Closeouts, or New Items.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Also, print some nice quotations about generosity and gift-giving. “Send a note-card or gift. It's like sending someone a hug.” And, some signage might remind people to treat themselves to a gift. “Treat Yourself. (You're Special Too!)” Buy sheets of perforated business cards or small fold-over thank you cards (that can be used as stand-up “table tents”) at Staples or Amazon.
What If … # 109: You Created Some Original, “Print-on-Demand” Products? Want to test out a new item you're thinking of offering? Maybe a t-shirt or canvas bag or ceramic coffee mug? Now, there's no need to sink lots of money into lots of inventory. Create just one or two and see if they'll sell. Or, feature them in your online Gift Shop linked to CafePress. They'll fill and ship the order and put money into your account and send you checks periodically. Then, if a design sells well, get a few dozen made using traditional methods. You'll make very little profit on your test items, but it's less risky and lets you test dozens of designs at no risk so you can then focus on selling proven products. Here are two popular, online print-on-demand services: CafePress.com and Gearbubble.com - Page 216 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 110: You Helped Customers Shape (and Express) Their Identity, Their Self-Concept and Their “Persona?”
Our Identity Is Based on Our Memories. This is why Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia are so frightening. It's terrible to watch someone lose their sense of self. The exhibitions will create memories that help visitors shape their identity and self-concept. Then, the gift shop can sell souvenirs that can trigger that memory regularly, keeping it fresh in their mind. Those items that help them display their identity and self-concept and chosen persona to others (T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, jackets. key chains, canvas shopping bags, bumper stickers, decals) will probably sell best. Just as incoming freshmen are defining themselves (their new selves) with clothing which displays their affiliation with their university or college or school (Engineering, Modern Languages, Mathematics) your members may be proud to display their affiliation with the History Center. If the Curating/Exhibitions team does their job, and it's marketed properly, people should be proud that they've visited and experienced the exhibition. Many of them will want a shirt or shopping bag with the exhibit logo and tagline on it. Think of the people who are proud to have seen the King Tut exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum and who still have their t-shirts and memorabilia years later. Why? ...Because people are reluctant to throw out souvenirs of the chapters in their life (when they visited or lived in Athens) or totems of their interests and personal experiences. Memory = Identity. - Page 217 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 111: You Provided a Beautiful Mirror for Visitors? People want to see how they look wearing a scarf or earrings or other apparel. So make sure there's a mirror available. But also, make sure that it's a beautiful mirror. Perhaps an antique mirror (especially if some of the silver backing is missing.) Place this mirror where other guests can see it. Sometimes, people arrive for an exhibition before their friends and need to make sure they look OK. Seeing the mirror may draw them into the gift shop where they can check their appearance and browse while waiting.
BASIC GIFT SHOP CONCEPT: Make It Easy for the Customers Anything you can do to make it easier for the customer, the better. Need some examples?
What If … # 112: You Did Some of the Thinking for Your Customers? People need guidance. Use signage to suggest various ways they may use some of the products as gifts. For example: Locally-made items are great as welcome or “housewarming gifts” or as going-away gifts for those leaving town. Or as retirement gifts for those who have worked in the area. Suggest that they stock up now for holiday gifts, upcoming weddings or showers, birthdays, retirement gifts, anniversary gifts. Do the thinking for them. And then print it out onto little signs. - Page 218 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 113: You Clearly-Identified Your Best Selling Items? Label things as “Best Seller” or “Most Popular” in each category (books, jewelry, cards, shirts.) That gives people a place to start with their selection process. And, when they're buying gift items for others, it makes them feel they're making a safe choice, since it's apparently a popular item. NOTE: Many people (maybe even you) do the same thing at a restaurant where they've never eaten: We ask for a recommendation. Or we go with the Special of the Day. Menus that label items as “Most Popular” are doing the customers a favor. Otherwise, we may find ourselves asking the wait-staff what they would recommend. Or, we follow the lead of our dinner companion.
What If … # 114: You Grouped Pre-Selected Accessory Items Together? Often, the salesperson in a men's store helps the customers by recommending particular ties to go with particular shirts or suits. Not everyone has a great sense of style. So go ahead and place the scarves next to jewelry. But then, take the next step: select a particular pieces of jewelry to display with a particular scarf. It simplifies the decision-making process (and increases sales.) Place Ridges postcards next to the books about the asylum. Suggest purchases of multiple items (as Amazon does.) It works. “Doesn't this scarf look great with these earrings?” - Page 219 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Notice how Amazon listings show related products that other buyers bought. No, not everyone will buy an additional item – but many people will. And most people will at least look at them. And probably no one gets angry with Amazon for these suggestions.
What If … # 115: You Sold Ready-Made “Kits” or Combinations of Items. Think: “Combination Platters” at the Chinese restaurant. The restaurant's menu has already assembled a set of items that work well together and are selling them as a “kit:” Egg Roll, plus Soup or Salad, A Main Entree and Selected Vegetables. A Fortune cookie and a Drink. People like everything done for them; all the decisions made. Package up maybe 4 cards and 4 Forever Stamps in a plastic bag, Sock up on any relevant historical stamps whenever they're issued. Or, package 10 Ridges postcards together with a book about the Asylum.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. You don't necessarily have to sell them at a discount but if you do, then use signage to let them know their savings. Save 15%! Amazon sells related items together (even though there is no savings to the customer.) The secret is that the 2 nd and 3rd products recommended make the first item more useful or easier to use.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 116: You Offered Your Own Needlepoint PATTERNS (or Finished Products)? Want to turn your Asylum (or other) illustrations into a needlepoint pattern for belts, pillows, wallets, or dog collars? Go to Needlepaint.com and use their free designer tool. Upload a photo and instantly turn it into a needlepoint pattern. [Some artist could turn this into a local cottage industry by actually turning the pattern into real items for sale]
Sell needlepoint designs made from your own artwork. Or, team up with a crafts person to create finished products. - Page 221 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 117: You Always Had a “Sale” Going On? Only a few items (or categories of items) need to be “on sale” at a time. But always make sure you have something on sale. Use signage to pull people into the shop to see what's on sale (curiosity paired with the hope of getting a great deal is a powerful force.) Once inside, they'll look around.
What If … # 118: You Created Your Own “History Center” Line of Merchandise and Special Gift Items? Create Your Own Items for Upcoming Events: Mother's Day. Father's Day. Commencement. Holidays. Create your own line of clothing, jewelry items, or greeting cards. “2017 Commencement Cards” might be made by reproducing a 1917 commencement photograph. Then, add a profound quotation about the value of education or “life's transitions.” Seeing the cards during the appropriate time of year may remind people that they do know someone graduating and that now is a great time to get them a card (and a gift.) Here's an example of the type quotation you might use... For more, just search Google: commencement quotations. "Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." – Yoda - Page 222 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 119: You Bought Old, One-of-a-Kind Historical Items on eBay for Resale? On Ebay, you can find hundreds and hundreds of old one-of-a-kind items which you can buy and resell in the gift shop. For example, there are dozens of vintage postcards of Ohio University and Athens and other areas of Southeast Ohio. There is World War I memorabilia: Belt-buckles, old watches, medals, patches, uniforms, and other items. When you have a major exhibition running for many months, it would be worth buying some related items for resale. (And, of course, the curator might find some items to include in the exhibition or to fill gaps in the collection.) The fact that these are “real” one-of-a-kind items – and not reproductions – will appeal to buyers. And, of course, you can mark them up to whatever price you want. But be sure to include a “story” about each item. You could buy old, battered or incomplete copies of some of the McGuffey Readers, tear out individual pages, mount them in a plastic page-protectors along with a printed sheet explaining the history and importance of McGuffey and his readers (and his local connection.) Sell the individual original pages for $3 each.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Here Are More Recent Examples of Items on eBay: •
1917 OU COMMENCEMENT invitation, program at the Berry Hotel $8.99
•
A 1916 History of Athens County Clement L. Martzolff
$5.94
•
1916 Athena OU yearbook $45
•
1925 Athens OU yearbook $9.99 Gymnasium, Ohio University Athens, Ohio circa 1910 - Page 224 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 120: You Reproduced Old Public Domain Images and Sold Them as Art Prints or Put them on Postcards, T-Shirts, or Mugs? Postcards and other materials published before 1923 are usually in the public domain (unless someone has spent time restoring them, in which case they can re-copyright the restored version.) Items that were published between 1923 and 1977 which do not display the Copyright Notice are in the public domain (for failure to display the copyright notice as required by law.) Some old images you find on eBay might be reproduced, enlarged, and turned into framed artwork that could be sold in the gift shop. Here is a SUMMARY of what may be in the Public Domain REMEMBER: You might fill in some gaps in your collection by making purchases on eBay. Here's a good online printer using recycled papers and soy inks.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 121: You Made ARTWORK for Cards from Rubbings of Artifacts? Rubbings from gravestones, rubbings from bronze plaques, rubbings from old man-hole covers, rubbings from cornerstones from historic buildings, and rubbings made from artifacts in your collections might make nice artwork to use for creating wrapping paper or note cards. Not all images will look good when shrunk down to card size. Of course, the cards would include a brief description on the back explaining the provenance and significance of the artwork. - Page 225 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 122: You Sold Miniature Versions of Your “Signature Piece” (Such as Hourglasses and Mobiles)? If the History Center creates or commissions a large “signature piece” (see the section on General Engagement Ideas) such as an hourglass, the gift shop could sell smaller versions or similar items Try to sell items which reflect your identity. Many will be related to time such as pocket watches or hourglasses. But you could also sell furniture, wooden jewelry boxes, or maybe wooden cutting boards, coasters, sculptures, or wall art made from thin cross-sections of logs clearly showing the rings of the tree's growth here in Southeast Ohio. It's best if you can say the exact location where the tree was felled.
Here's a wooden cutting board made from an Acacia tree selling for $42 on eBay.
What If … # 123: You Sold POSTAGE STAMPS (at cost)? All US First Class postage stamps are now “Forever” stamps so there's no worry about stamps going “out-of-date”and requiring additional postage when the cost of stamps goes up. The USPS now offers Forever stamps for postcards. So stock up for those as well. - Page 226 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. You'll sell far more postcards if you have stamps available. Stock up on beautiful commemorative stamps when they're available. Often, historical themes are available (Jazz Musicians, Scientists, or other Celebrity Personalities from through the ages.) Some of them may relate to a current exhibition. Sell stamps individually to those who need them to mail a single card they're purchasing, or as part of a Package of Greeting Cards.
What If … # 124: You Created a One-Stop Southeast Ohio Postcard Solution? Create “One-Stop Postcard Center” Signage: Make it easy for your customers to buy, write, and send postcards and note cards.
YES! We Sell Beautiful Postage Stamps! Select, Write, Stamp, and Mail Your Friends a POSTCARD from Athens Right Now! Just Do It and Be Done with It. (They'll thank you for it.)
Let them Last mail pick-up: 1pm Monday-Saturday know they can buy stamps (at regular price) and also mail them right in the History Center (or at the mailbox on West State.) Your signage in the shop should indicate the pick-up times for the mailbox just outside.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 125: You Created a Custom “Cancellation” Rubber Stamp? Offer to hand-stamp their cards/envelopes with a custom-made History Center “cancellation stamp.” Even if they don't mail the cards for many months, they will already have their rubber-stamped indicia on the envelope or card.
What If … # 126: You Provided a Rolltop Desk or Old School Desk for Visitors to Write Cards? You need a place for people to sit and address and write their cards. (With a quill ballpoint pen?) When groups of people come in together, some may finish with the exhibition earlier than the others and will want to browse the gift shop. If you suggest it, many will buy, write and mail cards to their friends. If they're sitting at an old Rolltop Desk, many of them will probably mention that on their card. “Hi, I'm sitting at a rolltop desk writing this with a quill pen in the History Center in Athens. Having a great time...” Put up a SIGN: “Sit at This Desk to Write Your Cards! - Page 228 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 127: You Offered Gift-Wrapping Services? Out-of-town visitors and maybe house-guests, in particular, may want to give a gift to someone while here in Athens and won't have any way to wrap it. So make sure your signage lets them know you'll gift-wrap items (preferably for free or at a nominal fee.) Especially if you offer the gift-wrapping for free, suggest that they buy a nice card to go along with it. They can write their message over at the rolltop desk while the item is being wrapped.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 128: You Created (and Sold) Your Own Gift-Wrapping Paper? As you come across beautiful designs (perhaps quilts) or images from your collection, consider having it made into your own, custom gift-wrapping paper. Sell it through the gift shop and also use it to wrap gifts for customers. You may be able to make matching gift cards or note-cards to go with it. Also, you could have a gift-wrapping paper workshop for kids in which they would spend an hour or so decorating paper to be used for gift-wrapping by the gift shop. Perhaps you could host a potato block-printing workshop in which the children create stamp iconic symbols onto recycled-paper. The kids get to keep some of the finished, decorated paper; and you get most of. - Page 229 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Customers would like the fact that the paper has been decorated by local children using historic emblems, icons, symbols, and imagery. TIP: The Athens Messenger newspaper may be willing to donate the ends of rolls of its white printing paper. There is some wasted paper still on the enormous paper rolls when the paper is changed. Ask.
What If … # 129: You Always Suggested an “Upsell?” “Would you like fries with that?” If people are buying gifts, always suggest a locally-made card to go along with it. Or, maybe a related book, shirt, or companion piece. Maybe you suggest a scarf which goes nicely with the set of earrings they're purchasing. Or another accessory made by the same artist. Once people have made a decision to buy, it's much easier to upgrade the sale because they are now in “Buying Mode.” Switching on “Buying Mode” for that first purchase is the hard part. TIP: Upselling usually works best if the item you recommend costs less than the item they're purchasing. So a $5 handmade card seems inexpensive if they're buying a $55 piece of jewelry.
“Would you like earrings with that?” What If … # 130: You Suggested Additional Uses for Some Items? Many jewelry makers focus only on the women's market and miss out on sales for men. - Page 230 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. A pair of earrings could also be fashioned into a set of cufflinks for men. (Suggest the customer buy matching his-and-her items.) A nice broach or pendant might also be nice a zipper-pull for men. Signage can help here. But even better, (both in the shop and on the online shop) show some pictures of men modeling jackets with the item being used as cuff-links, as a zipper pull or attached to a key chain, zippered portfolio, laptop, iPad or iPhone case. You might even buy (for resale) nice zippered portfolios, attach a piece of jewelry, and mark them up significantly. (A great gift idea?)
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 131: You Bought Beautiful, Elegant Items Super-Cheaply and Marked Them Up Significantly? For example: If properly displayed, this unisex quartz pendant watch, including the chain, could sell for $45 to $60. You can buy one (or more) for just $1.89 (with free shipping) from AliExpress.com It will probably arrive within a couple of weeks. Since you get free shipping to the U.S., there is usually no incentive in buying large numbers (though some vendors do give discounts for very large orders.)
This quartz pendant watch costs only $1.89. Free shipping.
Start by buying just one or two of each item to inspect the quality and to find out if it will sell. Then, stock-up on the winners. - Page 231 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Please do NOT try to second-guess the market. They will buy what they want (though you can help influence them with signage, proper elegant display, stories, and by selling items related to current exhibits.) SOURCING: Check out tens-of-thousands of items that you can import from China through www.AliExpress.com
AliExpress is an online collection of suppliers selling thousands of items. NOTE: When shopping at AliExpress, be sure to take the time to look through lots of listings because you will find different vendors selling the identical item at vastly different prices. The $1.89 pendant watch above might also be offered for $7.45 by another vendor (probably using an identical picture and description) who may be a “middleman” marking it up (just as you plan to do.) - Page 232 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 132: You Offered a Few VERY High-Ticket Items? Displaying Items costing $400 to $1000 makes the $59 and $79 items seem inexpensive by comparison. Put high-ticket items under glass, preferably in a locked display case that's properly lit and beautifully displayed. You won't sell many (maybe none) but if they are exquisite, one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted items, they add an elegant touch of “class” to the gift shop and to the History Center.
What If … # 133: You Displayed and Handled the Expensive Merchandise with Extreme RESPECT? Especially elegant items and high-priced items should be treated with additional respect. Yes, you will display high-ticket items under glass, preferably in a well-lit, locked-display case. Yet the ritual of your retrieving the key, unlocking and then opening up the display case to retrieve an object is part of what conveys value to the customer. Pick up the item carefully. Then, move almost in “slow-motion” as you very slowly place the object on a well-lit velvet or cushioned surface for examination – as if it were The Hope Diamond. NOTE: Part of the appeal of The Hope Diamond is that it has a great story of being cursed! - Page 233 -
The Hope Diamond
MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement: These (approx) 3.25 x 3.25â&#x20AC;? velvet display stands cost $4.33 each (in lots of 6) from www.AliExpress.com
Keep a beautiful magnifying glass handy and encourage customers to examine the details of the craftsmanship on small items. This magnifying glass costs $8.12 each (packaged in lots of 2) from AliExpress.com. Also offer these for sale, especially to those who comment on its beauty while using it.
Then, package the gift properly. Upscale jewelry should be sold in a small white gift boxes. Remember to offer free gift-wrapping services for high-priced items. Buy these (and other) little gift boxes at www.AliExpress.com. - Page 234 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 134: When in Doubt, You Marked-Up Items to a Much Higher Price? People assume that higher-priced items are better quality, or exclusive. For beautiful works of art, always start with a high (almost painful) price. Then, if it doesn't sell, you can put it “on sale” and mark it down. The original high price sets the “value” in the customer's mind. So when it's marked down, they still see it as valuable and realize how lucky they are to be getting a good buy. Do some price testing. Sometimes, an item will sell better at a higher price. Some items will sell better at a lower price. The only way to find out is to TEST.
What If … # 135: You Kept U.S. and Ohio Flags in Stock (and on Display)? Always keep at least one of each flag in stock, available for sale. Lots of people like flags. For most of us they reflect a facet of our identity. Plus, they look important and ceremonial. Before they're sold, if displayed properly and lit well, flags make great decor. Place them in corners around the History Center. During the World War exhibit, remember to stock a few 48-star American Flags to see if they'll sell. Source for Flags
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 136: You Created and Sold Sheets of Your Own CUSTOM-MADE PHOTO STAMPS? Yes, you are probably also going to sell regular Forever stamps at cost so that people will buy more notecards and postcards. But what if you also sold (at a slight profit) real, valid postage stamps which you have had made yourself – maybe with the image of your building or logo on it.
www.PhotoStamps.com You might create a sheet of stamps with a favorite image from your current exhibition. You could use them on invitations. If so, include the name and dates of the exhibition for historical purposes – but also so that the stamps serve as “advertising” when people mail them to friends. Make sure people know they are real postage, not stickers.
Create Your Own Series of Real U.S. Postage Stamps.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 137: You Created Online JIGSAW PUZZLES from Your Most Popular Images? Click HERE to assemble this puzzle online. To make your own... Go to www.JigsawPlanet.com and then... Just Sign-Up (free) and click Create and then Upload Your Image. Choose how many pieces you want it to have. This one has 35, so it's fairly quick and easy to assemble. That's about it. It takes only moments to make a puzzle. Then, embed the puzzle on your own website if you like and just email a link to that page to your members. And, in the Gift Shop, as a BONUS, when someone buys a t-shirt or note cards or a canvas bag with the image on it, (especially nice when it's a gift,) they'll get a card with the secret webpage on your website where they and their friends can assemble the puzzle. You may want to upload images of your photostamps (above) and turn them into puzzles. What if each month you added a Puzzle of the Month and emailed it to the people on the members list or those on the Gift Shop's eMail List? Get started at www.JigsawPlanet.com
Remember This Basic Concept: Tell the STORIES behind Your PRODUCTS, Your ARISTS & Your AUTHORS. - Page 237 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 138: You Told Stories about as Many Products as Possible? Tell the story of the artist or the author. The story of the materials used to make a piece of art, or a scarf, or clothing. The more individualized each piece can become, the more interesting it will be to people, the more they will value it, the higher price they'll be willing to pay. (Ask artists to write their own story.) Stories can be told on the hang-tags, table-tents next to the product, digital picture frames that scroll through a slide-show depicting the artist at work, and in videos on your website.
What If … # 139: You Sold Products that Actually Contained Little Stories? What if you created your own postcards that included an image and a 6-word story, perhaps related to the exhibition. For example: “Harsh Winters Killed Off Our Livestock.” “Praying Baby Jonathan Survives the Croup.” “Martha and Newborn Died During Childbirth.” Learn more about 6-word stories (and get ideas) at SixWordStories.net Or... what if you illustrate some of the best “visitor submitted” 6-word stories written by visitors who go through the exhibitions. This would help engage them.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. In fact... that their story may be used and published in some way (on a T-Shirt, canvas bag, on the website, in a book of 6-word stories, etc.) might become one of the enticements for submitting a story. Anyone who takes time to create a story is more engaged.
Submit Your Story – Maybe You'll Win! Each month, we choose one 6-Word Story submitted by our visitors and we illustrate it. The staff will pick the winner and it will be posted on our website. And (maybe) it will be made into a note-card or tshirt that's sold in the gift shop, or maybe it will be used as part of our promotions. NOTE: By submitting your 6-word story, you grant the SEOHC permission to use it and to publish it and to use it in promotions. Thanks!
What If … # 140: You Illustrated and Sold PUBLIC DOMAIN Stories? Many popular Christmas stories (Dickens' A Christmas Carol) are in the public domain. You could illustrate the more well-known passages from these books and make them into a set of Christmas cards. For each illustration, print that part of the story on the back of the note card. A set of 6 or 12 self-contained cards can offer a nice abridged version of the story delivered in this “serial” format. - Page 239 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
A Christmas Carol Illustration. Courtesy of Eli Jablonski.
Perhaps the stories could be modified so that the setting is not London, but Southeast Ohio. The illustrations could incorporate well-known local landmarks. By changing the story slightly, your new version can be copyrighted. Then, a dozen or more illustrations could be published along with the story in a small book. The book would make a great gift item on its own, and it could also be packaged with a set of a dozen cards.
What If … # 141: You Suggested Customers Create “Postcard Stories” for Their Friends? By implementing some other ideas from above (letting them write their notes to friends at a rolltop desk using a quill pen, and mailing it from within the History Center,) the customer has a story to tell their friends about that card. They will leave with a vivid memory of writing and sending that card. It will become a nice experience.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Use signage to encourage visitors to write a note to a friend about the exhibit they just experienced. (Maybe a 6-word story.)
Write and Send a Story to a Friend! What single thing from our exhibition would you most want to share with a friend? Why not send them one of our beautiful “exhibition note cards or postcards?” (Right now.) We've got postcards, a desk, stamps and a pen. Write, stamp, and mail your card from right here in The History Center. Use Our Rolltop Desk!
What If … # 142: You Sold Books on the Palmer Method of Handwriting? “It's not too late to have beautiful handwriting!” Why do so many older people have beautiful handwriting? Because they learned to write using the Palmer Method which was promoted by schools early in the 20th Century. The Palmer Method was a regimented style of handwriting and the schools promoted it because they thought it would help instill discipline in children. There were opponents who felt that its style was too controlled and controlling. However, it was taught for about a half-century. - Page 241 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Now that some schools no longer teach cursive writing, this may be a good time to think about reviving beautiful handwriting. Sell the book or (since it's in the public domain) reprint excerpts from it and sell it as a pamphlet. Before the Palmer Method, the popular system of writing (in the late 1800s) was the Spencerian Method (this is what the Coca-Cola script is based on.) Learning the difference could help someone narrow down approximately when an old, undated letter was written. A short video about this might be interesting on the website. Show two hand-written letters, one in Spencerian script, the other using the Palmer Method. Explain the difference. Inspire people and sell them pens and elegant writing stationery.
What If … # 143: You Included Small Gift-Cards with Each Gift Item? Or Small GIFTS? Ask if the item is being purchased as a gift and point out the display of note-cards close to the cash-register where the customer is making the purchase. Mention that if they'd like to buy a card and write a hand-written note, there's a rolltop desk nearby. If they do not purchase a note-card, offer to include a smaller, tag-sized History Center gift card. AND... especially for the larger purchases ($35 or more) why not occasionally (not always) throw in a small unexpected gift? Maybe something relating to the exhibition – a postcard and stamp. Or a small lump of coal in a plastic bag with an information card.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 144: You Created a Beautiful Museum Shop Hang-Tag for Gift Items? The problem with someone buying a gift from the shop and giving it to someone else is that the recipient doesn't always know where the gift came from, who the artist is, or how to buy more, similar items. All this can be corrected by creating small (business-card sized) hang-tags (with a white string) which can be attached to jewelry mugs, scarves, and other larger items. Cards without a string could be included with other items like books (like a bookkmark.) The cards should have the History Center logo, the web address, gift shop information, perhaps an inspirational quotation. The back could contain more information about History Center's services. But especially, you want to make sure they know that you now have an online gift shop. These little tags/cards are part of your “branding” process.
What If … # 145: You Created Special Products Related to the Current Exhibitions (or Popular Local Topics)? Buy a dog-tag embossing
machine for the WW exhibit. Here's a dog-tag machine listed on Amazon. Make customized tags for people. This could be a great souvenir or gift. And, it could be offered as an online service. - Page 243 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: When you mail them out, include other information about the History Center, the history of dog tags, the World War, etc. Create postcards based on artwork from the exhibition, the poster, or specific artifacts in the exhibition. Create “infographics” as posters summarizing the exhibition. Create a set of postcards that, as a set, contain a summary of the entire exhibition. Each postcard might be based on one display.
What If … # 146: You Offered PERSONALIZED GIFT ITEMS When Possible? The Dog-Tag embossing machine (above) would probably be a popular item on a regular basis. People love personalized item. Anything with their name on it. They make great gift-items. Or, for a fee, arrange to have items engraved locally and sent to them. “Would you like for us to have it engraved for you?” The more you can do to make it easy for the customer, the more likely they are to buy.
What If … # 147: You Used More Mannequins to Display Clothing and Jewelry Items? Of course, clothing and jewelry looks better displayed on a mannequin. The mannequins might be located outside the gift shop. They could be placed in other areas of the building with signage indicating that the displayed items are available in the gift shop. Be sure they are lit properly so that they brighten up a dark (otherwise unused) corner and call attention to the items displayed. - Page 244 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 148: You Allowed People to Make Rubbings from Bricks? If you had several popular local bricks from Athens, Nelsonville, and other areas, you could have a table set up where visitors could make a rubbing from the brick. All the materials they need would be there.
For $3.00, they get a sheet of rice paper and use of the crayons or pencils. Provide some test paper for them to practice with. There might be a short video or a series of photos illustrating the simple process of doing a rubbing. Then, they may purchase a protective cardboard tube to mail or carry it home ($1). Or, maybe they'll want a pre-cut mat for $10. Or a gold-frame with glass and mat and hanger for $25. Be sure some of the bricks are not perfect. Give them a choice of bricks so that each person in the family will have their own, recognizable brick. Some will have cracks or chips. Like scars, that's what gives them character. This is a highly-engaging 10-minute activity. And, it gives people their own souvenir that they made themselves. It may change their self-concept slightly to include “artist.” They will take care of their rubbing; respect it; and remember their experience of creating it. It has a story they will tell to their friends.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 149: You Created a “Little Book of Buildings” for Athens, OU, or for the Region?
The Armory. Illustration Courtesy of Eli Jablonski.
Cutler? Kantner? Ping? McGuffey? Most of the names on buildings on campus and around town are meaningless to current students. Yet each person behind the name of a building has a story. This project might start out as a series of note-cards that grows into pamphlet and then into a published booklet. Volunteer researchers might pull it together. Each building might be allotted two or three pages which include photo (or drawing) of each building, its history and the story of the person it's named for. On Parent's or Sib's weekends, OU students could take the book with them as they show their parents around campus. (And, they might give it to their parents as a gift for coming to visit.) OU already has an online tour of campus with a webpage for each of its prominent buildings. Use that as a basis for some of the research. And draw from your archival photos. Ohio University online Tour https://www.ohio.edu/athens/bldgs/cutler.html - Page 246 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If â&#x20AC;Ś # 150: You Launched Your Online Gift Shop Using an eCommerce Online Service? You already know that eCommerce is the direction to go, but building an online gift shop can be complicated. And it requires a lot of maintenance work. You need shopping cart software which needs to be coordinated with the merchant account for accepting VISA and other credit cards. Yes, you can probably hire a local web-consultant to build it for you. But the problem with that is that the credit card and merchant account companies are constantly changing and updating their software which will require your web-person to go into your online shop software (on short notice) and make the necessary changes to the interface so that everything is compatible. It's comforting to have a local person you can work with. But it can also be expensive and it can leave you vulnerable if your local computer consultant leaves town or isn't available when you need them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or spends too many hours trying to make things work. You may not even know that your shopping cart isn't working until suddenly you're fielding complaints from angry customers. Recommendation: Go with an existing, well-established, and reputable online service that specializes in providing templated, easy-to-build sites which have already integrated the shopping cart software with the merchant account services. These companies are in the business of providing eCommerce services to thousands of shop owners. So they have an entire tech team keeping things operating. Their other customers, people just like you, are dependent on having everything up and running 24/7.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: The best service providers have become successful because they provide an easy-to-use eCommerce solution to small-business merchants who have minimal computer skills. Like you, they needed a way to sell online without the nightmares of doing it themselves. Check out several companies. Compare their pricing. In addition to their monthly pricing, research how much they charge for each transaction, and if there are other fees involved. Some of them offer 2-week free trials so you can test-drive their system. You may want to try 2 or 3 to see how easy they are to operate. Be sure they have lots of easy-to-understand video tutorials showing you how to customize your site. Also, check online for real customer reviews. Do your due diligence. Ask around to see what other people in town may be using. Some examples: 3Dcart.com Shopify.com
Use a professional eCommerce service.
Here are some “reviews” of various eCommerce software products and online services. CAUTION: There are many “top 10” lists and review sites for eCommerce software. Be careful. Most all of them (including the one just above) receive affiliate commissions for referring customers to each of the products they recommend. Often, they may rank a service as #1 simply because it pays them the highest commission. So, they may not be trustworthy. - Page 248 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. I have not used any of these services but hear lots of good things about Shopify.com. Once you set up your online gift shop, even though it will officially be located on the service provider's servers, it can appear to the visitor as if it's located on the History Center website. You'll be able to pick a compatible colorscheme and type-fonts and use your own branding artwork to make it look as if it's just another part of your own website.
Consider a nice, clean template for your shop.
And, of course, you can â&#x20AC;&#x153;pointâ&#x20AC;? a special domain (SEOhioGifts.com ? ) directly to your web-store so that people don't necessarily have to enter through the History Center's website to find you.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Genealogy Ideas As you know, someone new to the genealogy library for the first time is going to be lost. They're going to have lots of questions because they're uncertain about so many things. They don't know where to start. They don't even know what they don't know. This uncertainly leads to fear. People don't want to be embarrassed asking stupid questions. So lots of these people are simply never going to come in. But... What if you gave them an online head-start at your website? What if, from home, they could get a comfortable overview of the general process and take a video walk-through of the resource library? Sure, brave people can march in and ask questions of the staff. But not everyone is brave. And some are introverts. Make it easy on them. And make them feel they belong.
What If … # 151: You Created Video TUTORIALS, FAQs, and QUICK START Guides? To save staff time (and to prepare people even before they come to the Genealogy Library, put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which can be posted on the website. The question-answer format helps educate people and gets them “up to speed” in a nice, friendly, interactive way. - Page 250 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Also, it saves the volunteers and staff from having to answer the same beginner's questions over and over. Plus, it speeds up the process for the visitor. They get to what they want faster. With the help of the FAQ, when they walk in the door, they may already be several levels about the off-the-street beginner. Single-Topic “Live Action” Video Tutorials (maybe 1 to 3 minutes each) can be made with a video camera or smartphone. For example, you may want to make a video that introduces the volunteer staff members or physically walks the viewer through your library. Or, if you don't have a video camera, you could use Windows Movie Maker (already available on your Windows Computer) to create a video from still images and text along with some “voice-over” narration (talking over the pictures.) You can even edit-out your mistakes and add music or sound effects. These videos could be posted on YouTube and then embedded in your website. But How Can You Make Computer-Screen-Capture Videos? For making video tutorials which demonstrate what's happening on your computer screen (maybe while you're surfing the web or demonstrating a genealogy software package you have on your computer) you'll need a “screen-capture”software program. For example, you may want to show someone how to log in to a genealogy site and navigate their drop-down menus to pull up war records for a family member. A simple 60-second video demonstration of a complicated online process is far easier to learn from than a written instruction sheet.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: FREE Screen-Capture Software: using a free program called Jing, you can make simple (up-to-5-minutes) screen-capture videos. Capture what you see, record what you're doing, and send your videos to others. You can capture still “freeze-frames” off your screen (to use in a slide show tutorial) or a video documenting your every move and mouse-click. If you have a microphone with your computer, you can narrate them as you go. Just hit the record button in the software, then start talking while you navigate through the process. Hit stop when you're finished. Your file will be stored online. Just send its URL to people in an email or post it on your website and they can watch it online. But better, because it gives you the capabilities to edit the video and mark it up (draw arrows and circles or highlight items on the screen) is a program called Snag-It. ($49) This software allows you to automatically upload your finished videos to YouTube (once you have a free YouTube account.) And even more powerful (but probably over-kill for your purposes) is a high-end software program called Camtasia. ($249 for non-profits.) This software can make sophisticated presentation videos with special effects. Of course, it's more more complicated and also more difficult to learn. But it could help you make some extraordinary video for live presentations or for posting on your website.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 152: You Offered Genealogy RESEARCH GIFT CERTIFICATES? Many people bitten by the genealogy bug want their whole family to get involved. But some of the family members live out-of-the-area. These enthusiastic clients may be interested in purchasing $50 or $100 Gift Certificates for 2 or 4-Hours worth of Research for their friends or extended family members (maybe in-laws who may be interested in researching another side of the family line.) With the Gift Certificate, you could include a short “Getting Started in Genealogy” booklet or resource guide and links to your video tutorials.
What If … 153: You Offered Packages of Services? Some people cannot physically come into the library. They may be out of town. They may be disabled or housebound. Other potential clients are people who are older, retired, and maybe affluent – at least affluent enough to pay several hundred dollars for a set number of hours of research. Maybe they have poor vision and just can't do the research themselves. When they are quoted an hourly research fee, their next question is the same one we would ask: “About how many hours will it take?” People like ”Done-for-You” Services. And some people are able (and willing) to pay for it. If you charge $25 per hour for research, you may want to create an 8-hour package of research for $199. If not all 8 hours are needed for the first phase of their project, they can apply them toward the next phase. Or, they could gift them to another family member or friend. (This would bring in new clients by word-of-mouth.) - Page 253 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Any unused hours would expire in one year. The point is, people like discounts. And they like deals. And they especially like the certainty of “set fees” so that they know how much they're likely to spend. That's why they are often willing to pay upfront for a discounted package of services, even though they may not end up using all of the research hours.
What If … # 154: You Offered “3 Steps to Researching Your Ancestors” Genealogy WORKSHOPS to New Members 4 Times a Year? Some people may have joined the History Center for reasons other than genealogy. However, if membership included free admission to a “$35 workshop” on “Getting Started Researching Your Ancestors,” some would show up. Not everyone will be interested, but those who show up will learn some useful research tips and become more familiar with your library and other services. Remember to put price tags on all of your services. It conveys value. People are less likely to waste your time when they're paying by the hour. They'll take the whole process more seriously. And, it makes it possible for you to include some of those services (for “free”) as part of their membership package. That makes people see the value in History Center membership which means they're far more likely to renew (since this year they got the $35 genealogy workshop as part of their $30/year membership.) - Page 254 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Membership Ideas Your members of the History Center are usually more engaged than the average public. Even so, you need to cultivate them. Make them feel special. Offer them services not available to the general public. Thank them. Communicate with them regularly.
Make them feel they belong. Ideally, you would like local members to become active in the organization, showing up not only for presentations but occasional board meetings and taking an interest in the future of the Center. The more you can involve your members, the stronger the organization will become. They can write letters of support for you when you need them. They can help organize fund-raisers in their part of the county. They can help recruit new members. It takes time to engage and service your members. You need to have someone who can focus serving the members on a regular basis.
What If …# 155: You Hired a Part-Time Member-Services Director? Servicing your members properly takes time and effort. And it's best if just one person becomes the single “voice” who communicates regularly with members. This individual becomes each member's personal connection to the History Center. Start with a volunteer “Member-Services Director”position but then transition it into a part-time paid job for someone who can assure that all members are eager to renew each year.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: A part-time Member Services Director needs to be a social organizer. They should be skilled in etiquette and protocol. Their job is to make each member feel... Engaged. Inspired. Amazed. Pampered. Acknowledged. Recognized. Important. Influential. And, most importantly, proud to be a member. The Director should contact each member at least twice a year (by email, or phone, or mail) to find ways to be of greater service, to invite them personally to upcoming events, and to make sure the newsletter is meeting their interests. In a database, member interests and details should be stored. Is Frank Brown most interested in genealogy? The Civil War? Art? The Member Services Director wants to make certain that people are getting full-benefit from their membership. If they are in one of the more exclusive membership categories, they may be entitled to benefits they don't know about or haven't been taking advantage of. Perhaps out-of-state members are unable to attend events. In that case, perhaps they should be given a larger discount at the online gift shop.
What If … # 156: You Created Trial Memberships? Since it costs you almost nothing to service a member (especially if they're receiving the digital version of the newsletter,) there's no reason not to “give away” some short-term, 6-month trial memberships with hopes that some of those people will renew at full-price. Or, create a 90-day trial membership for $1.00
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Of course, during those 90-days you will need to deliver valuable information, fun events, genealogy services, and fascinating content on your website to convert them into full-time paying members. You must show them that their membership is worth far more than what they're paying for it. Perhaps you've already put into place the discounts with lots of local merchants. (See below.)
What If …# 157: You Started Doing eMail Marketing? An online “auto-responder service” allows you to create a database of the subscribers receiving your newsletter, or subscribers to the gift shop mailing list, or the list of people who want to be on the genealogy library's email list. It allows you to send out a series of pre-written emails automatically, on a schedule. For example, someone visits your website and decides they want to be on the mailing list for the gift shop (perhaps you entice them to sign up by offering a 10-percent discount coupon.) So they type in their name and email address into the form on your website and – instantly – in their email in-box, they get a reply with their discount coupon and a thank you for signing up to your list for occasional newsletters and special offers. Then, 3 days later, they automatically get email #2 with some useful information about a gift shop artist and a link to the artist's website. 4 days after that, you've scheduled for them to get email #3 which includes a reminder about the artist plus a 10%-Off coupon off that artist's items if they come in and mention it within the next 30 days.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: If 100 people sign-up during the month, each of them gets the same series of emails in the same sequence, regardless of when they sign up. Joe signs up on Monday and starts getting his series of emails. Elizabeth signs up on Wednesday and, every few days, gets her series of emails (always 2 days behind Joe's.) It's all automated. At the bottom of each email, there's an unsubscribe link so people can get off your list anytime, automatically. The software automatically makes it happen. But what if you're having an open house this Saturday and want to send an email “Blast” to all of your subscribers at once (regardless of where they are in their sequence of emails)? That's easy. Maybe you want to announce a timely event, like the re-enactment performance this coming Saturday afternoon. Just type it up and hit send and it goes to everyone on the list all at once. In your control panel, you'll get to see all your statistics – how many people received your emails; how many opened them; and how many clicked on a link inside the email that went to your website. You can do split-tests to test different “subject” lines to see which ones are most effective at getting people to read your emails. (Then, use the winning subject line as the headline for a paid newspaper ad or an exhibition poster.) Email marketing is powerful. And personal. There are lots of auto-responder services available. They are all web-based (meaning you access your account at their online site from any computer or device connected to the Internet,) Two popular services that are popular and fairly easy to use are: Aweber. And Constant Contact. - Page 258 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Aweber starts out charging you $19 per month for up to 500 subscribers and you can send out unlimited emails. The monthly price goes up as you add more people to your list. For the same fee, you can set up several different lists within your account. You could have a History Center members list. A Board Members List An out-of-state list. A list of people who are OU alumni. A Gift Shop list of buyers; a list of non-buyers. The people on each list can be getting their own series of emails, pre-written and set up on a schedule. Or, you can broadcast a special, timely message to any list (or all lists) whenever you like. Check it out. Here's a video tutorial on using Aweber so you can see how it all works.
What If … # 158: You Advertised on Facebook? Use Facebook Pay-Per-Click Advertising to post an ad (inexpensively) on the “Newsfeed” pages of women living within 100 miles of Athens who also watch The History Channel or The Discovery Channel or who read “Smithsonian” or who are alumni of Ohio University and are 37 to 65 years old. Your ads are shown to the people you target but you can pay only for the ones who click on your ad (or who share it with a friend.) Or, you can pay a set fee for every 1000 people who see your ad. - Page 259 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: You have several choices for your ad campaign based on what you want to accomplish with it. If someone clicks on your ad, it can send them directly to a special page on your website which entices them to sign-up for your email list, or to try a “trial membership.” Sometimes, it's easier first to get people on your email list for free and then invite them to join after they have enjoyed some of your free content. Similarly, when you have a major exhibition opening, advertise on Facebook to people in the region who are already interested in history. Some of them may end up joining, especially if you can get them to visit the History Center for the exhibition.
What If … # 159: You Grew Your Organization from the “Inside-Out”? MARKETING SECRET: Your Current Members Are Your Best Customers and Also... Your Best Source for Recruiting New Members. Once someone is a member, you want to do all you can to keep them as a member. Satisfied members will renew (if asked.) If someone doesn't renew, find out why. Are they moving away? If so, let them know you have a discounted “out-of state” membership and that you're adding more opportunities for people - Page 260 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. to participate via live video feeds and recorded presentations posted on your website. Then, you want to work on upgrading members to the next membership level so that they can enjoy additional benefits. Ask members to refer new members. People hang out with people much like themselves. Make it easy for them to help you grow from the “inside-out” by giving them some discounted trial memberships that they can give to family or friends. Remind them that you have Gift Certificates for Memberships. Invite members, personally, to serve on short-term committees or “advisory councils” for topics they are interested in. Make them feel more engaged. Remember: Your current members are your best opportunity for growing the organization. They have friends and family who trust them. Their recommendation carries a lot of weight with those who know them. So reward them. Thank them personally for being members. Ask them to help grow the organization by inviting at least two people to join during this next month. And, consider offering “Join with a Friend” opportunities when two unrelated people can join at a slight discount. Often our friends have similar interests and passions as we do. And people like to socialize with their friends. Having a “friend co-member” means they'll probably attend more functions together than either would attend on their own.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 160: You Sent Out Annual Gifts to Members? Sometime during the year, the Member Services Director should mail each member a small, unexpected gift with a hand-signed thank you note. Some gifts might be distributed to members when they're attending an event. What should they send? Maybe some postcards or a set of note cards from the gift shop. It doesn't have to be expensive, just something beautiful or interesting that they can use and that's related to the Center. Once a database of member interests has been created, it will be easier to send members something that's meaningful to them. Those in the higher membership levels may receive slightly more expensive gifts. Perhaps even a book that would interest them – especially if they are a long-time member People will notice. They will feel honored that the organization has reached out to them personally. And, because they now feel a sense of obligation to return the favor, they are more likely to renew and maybe even upgrade their membership the next year.
What If … # 161: You Surprised Some Members by Giving Them Unexpected High-Ticket Gifts? As noted in the gift shop Ideas section, at AliExpress.com you can purchase beautiful quartz pocket watches and elegant watch pendants for $2 to $3 each. - Page 262 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. The gift shop could easily mark these up to $45 to $60. How surprised would a long-time member be to receive an unexpected gift box containing one of these watches? If they didn't use it themselves, they could give it as a gift to a family member. And, for former long-time board members, how impressed would they be if they received a watch engraved with their name? These would make excellent gifts for those in the high-priced membership categories.
This quartz pocket-watch costs $2.69 each but may have a perceived value of $60. CAUTION: Never reveal how inexpensively you're purchasing these gifts. It destroys their value.
This SILK SCARF is available in 12 different colors $4.19 each but if boxed nicely, with tissue paper, it would make an elegant gift for some members, or donors. Be sure to give a different color pattern to different people so that they don't suffer the embarrassment of coming to one of your events wearing identical scarves.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 162: You Segmented Your Members into Categories? Some people are unable (unwilling) to pay for a high-ticket membership ($100 or more.) However, there are those who can afford $250 a year. Generally, those members who pay more tend to be more engaged members. Remember: we value what we pay for. Some people like to feel they are in an exclusive group and will pay a higher membership fee but only if it affords them additional status. Because you have many out-of-state members (some of whom have never even been to Athens County) and because they are unable to take advantage of many benefits of regular membership, you may want to consider creating a lower-priced affiliate-member or a “friends” category.
What If … # 163: You Made Your History Center Members More VISIBLE Out in the Community? If you offer members small, attractive bumper stickers or decals for their cars, they serve as free advertising for the History Center. They also help the member display their “persona.” Remember to make people feel proud that they're a member. Then, they should feel proud to display the decals. T-Shirts and canvas shopping bags with your logo and website on them will also start being seen around town. Each one seen in public is like an endorsement of the organization.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Think of each logo that's out in public as an advertisement. With this mindset, you can occasionally sell t-shirts, canvas bags, and mugs at break-even prices. Even without making any profit, you still benefit from getting more “free”visibility out in the community. Think of “break-even sales” of your branded merchandise as “self-funded” advertising. You're getting not just “Free Advertising” but an “endorsement” from the person displaying your logo. It's also a conversation starter which may lead to more community engagement and more new members. You can create (and sell) custom-made “print on demand” merchandise with your History Center logo (or the logo for your big exhibitions) at CafePress. - Page 265 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 164: You Provided Perks for Various Levels of Membership? Parking Privileges: You could label a few of the parking lot spots as “Reserved for Members.” Of course, they would be available on a first-come basis for those displaying their History Center bumper stickers. Only a few members would be lucky enough to claim one during popular exhibits or openings. But it would make all members feel special knowing that they are able to park there if a spot is available. People like to feel privileged. Make membership in the History Center a status symbol. All levels of membership should qualify for free admission to all major exhibitions (once you start charging an entrance fee or requesting a suggested donation.) Some levels would qualify for a 10% discount in the gift shop. Higher levels might qualify for a 15% or 20% discount.
What If … # 165: You Clarified for Members Your Organizational Identity? Once the board figures out its identity (is ACHS&M identical to SEOHC? Or is SEOHC “a Service” of ACHS&M?) then it will be easier to determine how to divide the revenue from memberships. For example, from a $30 Basic Membership, $20 may go to ACHS&M and $10 may go to the History Center. Will all existing members be grandfathered in so that they are a member of both organizations? - Page 266 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. You will want to let members know what benefits their membership entitles them to. Washington County residents may want to join the SE Ohio History Center but don't particularly want to support ACHS&M if they don't feel they will be receiving any benefits from that organization. Is that an option? These are all questions your current and potential members may have during your transition so it's important to think them through ahead of time and come up with answers and make things clear.
What If … # 166: You Created Membership Jewelry, Pins or Keychains? People like “badges” of status. They are also “conversation starters” at receptions. So when people wear or display your branded items, they promote word-of-mouth marketing for the History Center. “Leveling Up” (video game terminology for earning your way to the next level) becomes a part of someone's self-concept and identity. Higher categories of membership might receive a special pin which identifies them as members (with special privileges) at openings and receptions for major exhibits. Most people will not wear or use their pin unless you require it for free admittance to events and exhibitions and discounts in the gift shop. Create a special honorary membership for volunteers who have volunteered a set number of hours – let them “earn” membership. - Page 267 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Ideally, you will commission a local artist or jeweler to create an original design for your membership pins. However, there are inexpensive pre-made pins and other jewelry already available. Here's one source: www.LapelPinPlanet.com
What If … # 167: You Made Your Membership Valuable Throughout the Community or Region? You want your membership to be worth far more in discounts than the cost of your annual dues. (If they use it regularly, the membership becomes “free” because it saves so much money.) Just as AAA Cards and the Golden Buckeye Cards provide their members with discounts that have been negotiated with merchants, you can arrange for restaurants and other businesses to provide your members with special privileges of some sort. How Do You Set-Up Discounts with Merchants? First, look to see which local businesses are already offering discounts to AAA members. Those businesses already know the value of tapping into an organization's membership base and letting the organization do the advertising for them. So you're not going to have to “educate” them and sell them on the idea. - Page 268 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Remember: Do not beg people to give you discounts for your members. You are holding a valuable asset: your members who are also consumers.
Here's how you approach a business (especially restaurants): Start with locally-owned businesses. Some of your existing members are business owners. Begin with them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; partly as a courtesy, but also because they already know your organization and are likely to want to offer members a discount. You want to steer your members to do business with local businesses â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially those who are also members in the History Center. Simply explain to the owner/manager that you have several hundred people who are members and that they come into Athens for your regular exhibitions, lecture, presentations, and other events. All of those people need to eat. Many want to have a nice dinner before or after attending an event. Sometimes, they'll be bringing the entire family for a night on the town. Explain that you want to send them to a local restaurant so that they don't spend their money on out-of-state chain restaurants. And, you are being selective. You don't want to send your members to places where they will have a bad experience. (That reflects badly on your organization.) Explain that because their restaurant (or service) is known for great food and service, you are hoping to recommend their restaurant to your members. - Page 269 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: So, you're wanting to know, if they showed their current/active membership card, would the restaurant honor your members with a “Buy One, Get One Free”discount? NOTE: This is such a standard offer in the restaurant world that it's typically referred to as a BOGO – “buy one; get one.” Or, you might ask them to offer a “Free Dessert with any Entree.” Remind them that you will not only be endorsing their business to your members, but you will be listing their name and address and website in the membership benefits section of your monthly newsletter (and on your website membership page.) In actuality, by placing their name on your website/newsletter, you will be offering them highly-targeted advertising to your members on their behalf. So, they are getting “free advertising” and an endorsement to hundreds of people at no up-front cost. All for honoring your members with some sort of discount or special offering. NOTE: Restaurants are used to having to pay the newspapers hundreds of dollars to run an ad just to get their discount coupons in the hands of potential customers. Your offer of putting paying customers at their tables for the cost of a discount is an excellent benefit to them. While restaurants are an easy sell and fairly universally-appealing to your members, don't forget all kinds of other businesses: florists, dentists, hair salons, barbershops, oil change service centers, and so forth. Just look in the papers and community directories to see who already is paying for expensive ads that promote some sort of discount. Why would they not offer your members the same discount without the cost of the upfront advertising? - Page 270 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 168: You Created a Special PRIVATE Membership Category for Major Donors? Leave your current membership levels in place and create this special upscale membership category for those who want exclusivity and private invitations and social network opportunities. Think: “Country Club.” Athens Greece was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Why not create a by-invitation-only club called “The Athenians.” You might select a different name if you want to be more inclusive of those from outside Athens. However, the Athenians reflects the philosophy and values of the original Fifth Century BCE residents of Greece who were dedicated to excellence, artistry, knowledge, individual freedom, democracy, and the balance between body and mind. Membership fees might begin at $2500 a year. This organization also could have escalating status and fee levels. Perhaps members are recommended and voted in before they are awarded the Oak Tree Gold Key (like Phi Beta Kappa members.) NOTE: Each year, 100 members paying $2500 generates a quarter-million-dollars. Half of that should be spent on the events perks delivered to the members. Make sure you can justify the high-priced exclusive membership fees by providing astonishing privileges to its members.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Membership privileges in The Athenians might include: • Invitation to exclusive previews and early admittance to exhibits. • Pre-opening night receptions with food and music. • Invitations to private lectures. • Discounted admittance to other venues negotiated with The Dairy Barn, Stuart's Opera House, the Kennedy Museum, the Performing Arts series. NOTE: You may want to negotiate discount package prices for tickets in some of these organizations or simply buy a block of tickets to specific events at discounted prices. For example, you could send out RSVP invitations to your Athenian members for a special evening beginning with a private dinner and short lecture at the History Center, followed by the best seats at a Stuart's Opera House performance. Once people RSVP, you'll know how many tickets to buy so that there is no waste. If someone doesn't show up, make the tickets available to some of your volunteers. Or, you may want to host private concerts at the History Center. Your volunteers can participate: someone dressed in period costume could act as the bouncer/door-person to welcome people. Make sure people are greeted by name (when possible) and then, with gold ink, place a discreet dot next to their name on the guest list (never “cross them off.”) You want people to feel that this is a screened event and that they have passed the test. Place Elegant Signage at the entrance to indicate... - Page 272 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
“Closed for Private Event.” Even if the even is held during hours when you're not usually open, the sign is not for the public. It's for impressing your privately-invited members. Reminding them that they are special. Velvet ropes at the entrance would be a nice touch. Many events would have printed invitations. Some events would be “black tie” affairs. Members must be made to feel that they are part of the an elite, privileged, and respected class. They must feel they are being honored with highly-exclusive events that are Magical. Intriguing. Mysterious and Tantalizing. They should feel that others who are not invited will be envious. They should feel that they “belong.” Be sure to screen new members in this elite group: You want members who are passionately curious, smart Athenians (or Southeast Ohioans) who want to engage in thought-provoking ideas. In other words: You want the cultural elite.
The Athenians (It's simply not for everyone.)
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 169: You Created Rituals for Your Members (and for the Community)? Create predictable meetings or events at predictable times – perhaps the 2nd Thursday of the month. This makes it easy for people to add recurring events to their calendar months ahead. If the newsletter should come out at the same time each month, it becomes a feel-good event members can look forward to. Annual historical costume parties (like your Civil War Ball) can be an event people look forward to. These regularly-scheduled events become rituals that mark the rhythm of the year. Once they're established, people build it into their monthly annual schedule. When people start to feel badly about missing a regularly-scheduled event, that's when you know The History Center has become an integral part of their life. Also create annual events for the community. Already “Bounty on the Bricks” and Ohio Brew Week have become annual traditions. They have become a part of the character of Athens. (And they get lots of media coverage.) The History Center, too, should have an entertaining annual event that's open to the public (and which can serve to raise money.)
“We lack rituals in this modern world.” – Elizabeth McGovern
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 170: You Hired a Part-Time Social Events Coordinator? It's a lot of work to plan, schedule, create and pull-off a great event. Make sure it's done right. Hire a Part-Time Social Events Coordinator someone to organize all of your social events. One person can coordinate things but can't do all the work. They would need to work closely with the Volunteer Coordinator to draw from the pool of volunteers (and to make sure that volunteers can earn their way into exclusive events by working in some way.)
What If … # 171: You Helped Your Out-of-Area Members Feel More Involved? If out-of-state and far-away members don't feel involved, they're going to stop renewing their membership. Why pay for something you're not using? And, they may resent not being able to take part in the benefits local residents can enjoy. Now, with free “streaming video” services like “Facebook Live” and “Google Hangouts,” it's possible to “broadcast” your lectures, presentations, board meetings and other activities that are taking place in Athens. You can even stream video online with nothing more than a smartphone.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Rules of Engagement: Google Hangouts video streaming service allows your viewers to watch your board meetings, lectures, and live events on YouTube from anywhere in the world. Viewers can also be invited to become a part of the conversation if they have a computer web-camera. This opens up the possibility of having live panel discussions with people from all over the country (or the world.) And, it makes it possible for board members who are out-of-town to take part in the monthly board meeting. Without being on camera, those watching can submit questions and comments by typing in the chat area on YouTube while the event is taking place. That would allow them to take part in the Q&A period, or to participate in board meetings. NOTE: You'll want to have one person in charge of the streaming services who may also monitor the chat-box so that they can relay the typed questions to the moderator, or type in a response for the viewer. This also opens up the possibility for more-easily diversifying your board to include individuals from outside Athens County. Winter driving conditions (or spring flash floods) might prevent faraway board members from attending a monthly meeting in Athens but they could attend by video. Google Hangouts automatically records your live event and it's ready for playback and automatically posted on YouTube only a few minutes after you stop recording. Then, embed your meeting video on your website. You could also stage a video walk-through of your exhibitions simply by walking through the exhibit with a smartphone and explaining what the exhibit is about.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Explore these technologies to take your exhibitions and events to more people outside the Athens area. You will probably want a part-time Social Media and Technical Director who understands these streaming media â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and can make them happen for you smoothly. There are plenty of video tutorials on YouTube explaining how to use this video streaming technology. If you use video streaming you will want to educate your members on how to access the live video and how to take part if they wish.
NOTE: These tutorial videos, which demonstrate a process on the computer screen, are made using special screen-capture software which is discussed (along with some recommended resources) in the Genealogy Section (Idea #151) - Page 277 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Capital Campaign Ideas Yes, the Capital Campaign should have its own logo and tagline. “A New Home for History” may not be as effective (or appropriate) after you've been in the new building for 3 or 4 years. Always make the tagline about the donor. And try to turn it into a “direct command.” Such as: “Leverage Your Influence. Touch Future Generations” Here are some more examples. Remember: when marketing to a major donor, listen to discover their concerns. Find out all about them so that you can be relevant. What interests them? What are their problems? What pains and frustrations do they have? What motivates them? Make your campaign materials not so much about yourself but about the DONORS and the deep and satisfying FEELINGS and recognition they can enjoy from being a part of this grand adventure.
What If … # 172: You Gave Potential Donors a Gift BEFORE Asking People to Donate? The reason the Hare Krishna forced a free flower onto people in airports is because it made people feel obligated to donate. In his classic book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, social psychologist Robert Cialdini calls this feeling of obligation “The Law of Reciprocity.” It's why many charities send you packets of Christmas cards or return-address labels already printed with your name. (It works.) - Page 278 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Before approaching a major donor they know, a board member might first send them a small gift – maybe a book they would be interested in from the gift shop along with a hand-written note. Maybe they'll mark a passage they might especially like with a sticky note. These small gifts are a human gesture. An act of generosity. It's best if the gift is sent far ahead and is not tied directly to the actual request for a donation.. Be careful: If too contrived, this feels manipulative.
Consider a relevant book as a gift.
So giving the gift should be a genuine and personal gesture by the person making the request and they should honestly feel that they are doing a favor to the donor by giving them the opportunity to be involved with this capital campaign. After receiving a small gift, The Law of Reciprocity demands that the gift recipient “even the scale” by reciprocating in some way. Making a major donation, of course, is an easy way to make that happen. Each of us is keeping track of little social obligations. If someone invites us to lunch or dinner, we try to return the favor.
“Life cannot subsist in society but by reciprocal concessions.” – Samuel Johnson
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Thoughts and Tips for Talking to Former Board Members and Other Prominent Potential Donors. If you've never asked for money before, try to relax... You'll do fine so long as you keep in mind the “IPSI Formula” (below) and so long as you are sincere, open, and vulnerable. If it's true, then mention right away that you were originally a little nervous about asking them for money but realized that because of all they have already done for the organization, you felt you owe it to them to make sure they're among the few who are invited to be a significant part of this opportunity.
Setting the Stage: First, you might mention immediately that while you're there to ask them for money, if they choose not to give a dime to the capital campaign, what they have already done in the past for the organization – their time and effort and enthusiasm and support which helped to bring the organization to this point – could serve as their lasting legacy to the community. They can – and should – be proud of all they have contributed and accomplished in the past. Also, remind them that all too often we forget to say "Thank You" to the few people like them who have done so much to lay the groundwork for the future. (continued)
So... "Thank You!"
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. That being said, of course, you want them to know that you, personally, want them to become a significant part of this campaign (a major part) and you hope they will continue to be a stalwart supporter of the new History Center. You also hope that they can feel comfortable in stepping up to serve as an important and influential role model for others – both in the organization and in the Athens community or the region. This is their opportunity to make sure that all the decades of work she's already contributed do not wither away at this critical point when the organization needs – more than ever -- careful nurturing and tending as it is transplanted into a bigger facility where it can grow and thrive. NOTE: All of this, of course, must be 100-percent sincere. (So delete or modify anything you're not completely comfortable with.) Beyond that... just remember that with all your potential donors, you want to make them feel: "IPSI Formula" • Important • Proud • Significant and • Influential This is, after all, what we all want. So let them know that this is their chance to be proud that they are playing a significant and influential part in something big (continued) - Page 281 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: and important, which can propel the organization to the next level so that it can establish itself as a well-known and highly-respected institution throughout the Midwest. Whether they decide to donate or not, there are others who are going to recognize this campaign for what it is – a rare "Taproot Opportunity" that reaches deep into the community and puts firmly into place something that is inherently good; something that can leverage their personal influence well into the 22nd Century. After all, someone born today will be only 84 at the turn of the next century. It's less than a lifetime away. Really, in the end, all you need to do is make sure you feel proud that you have offered these people an opportunity to be a part of something that's wonderful and splendid and much bigger than themselves or any one of us, individually. How firmly they grasp this opportunity, how large a pledge they make, how big a player they want to be...is up to them. Your duty is simply to give them the chance to be a big part of this fleeting opportunity and to encourage them to • seize the moment, • lay claim to their place in this campaign, • leverage their prominence to influence others within the community, and • get as much from this "Taproot Opportunity” as they possibly can. (continued)
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. It all comes down to emotion. During your conversation, create for them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and leave them with â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an emotional experience. In the end, so long as you are honest and sincere; so long as you truly believe in the importance of this campaign and the future of the History Center; and so long as you are keeping in mind that you are actually doing these people a favor by bringing this opportunity to their attention... Then you may find that you actually enjoy fund-raising. And if you enjoy it, you will raise far more money for The Southeast Ohio History Center. Good luck.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 173: You Asked for a SMALL Donation for a Specific Purpose BEFORE Asking for a Major Request? Robert Cialdini's book on Influence reports that research studies have shown that asking someone for a very small favor (so small, it's almost impossible for them to say “No”) paves the way for asking them for a much larger favor later. Why? Once people have contributed to a cause or organization, then they have labeled themselves as a supporter. It becomes a small part of their self-concept. So, when you come back later and ask for a large donation, it becomes more difficult for them to refuse. To refuse would create “cognitive dissonance” because their action (of saying No) would be out of alignment with the internal values which define their “identity.” It would be a lack of integrity. Start by asking someone who can afford to donate ten thousand dollars (or more) if they will donate $87.13 to buy a digital picture frame for a window at the building's entry. TIP: People like to know exactly how their gift is going to be used. Now, every time they enter the building and see that picture frame dutifully displaying upcoming exhibits, the hours of operation, and items available in the gift shop, they're going to feel proud. Then... a few months later, ask them for a much larger sum. NOTE: Helping people reinforce or express their “identity” or self-concept is an important factor in fund-raising. (Learn more by reading Book 1: Comfort Marketing) - Page 284 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 174: You Set up Your Own “Matching” (“Challenge”) Grants? Major grant-funding agencies sometimes issue “challenge” grants for which, up to a ceiling amount, they will provide “matching funds” for other donations. This is a technique they use to force the organization to work to solicit a broad base of support. And also, they get lots more good publicity for themselves because the recipient organization promotes their generous matching funds in their fund-raising materials. Of course, the small donor is more likely to give if they know that their $100 donation is being matched (and therefore doubled in value) by the outside grant-funding agency. And the grant-funding agency, too, feels that their contribution is going twice as far because it's being matched by individual donors. It's a nice “psychology game” that works for all the parties involved. While most non-profits are aware of this strategy, they use it only when it's being offered by a major grant-funding agency. And yet, with any of your major donors, you can set-up these “challenge grants” yourself. Suppose you are approaching a major donor and they seem comfortable giving you $100,000 but a little hesitant when you suggest a gift of $150,000. This is a perfect time to suggest that they go ahead and donate the $100,000 and then consider donating up to an additional $50,000 as a “challenge grant” to inspire other donors to contribute by a particular deadline. Remind them that the $50,000 may bring in another $50,000 (but that if it doesn't, they may not need to contribute the full amount.) Also, remind them that their generosity will be noticed by anyone reading your fund-raising materials. - Page 285 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Propose setting up a “challenge” grant when you run up against a slight reluctance from a major donor. TIP: Sack one “challenge grant” on top of another. For example: Big Donor A offers $50,000 for matching purposes. Big Donor B offers $100,000 (or more) for matching purposes. So, a small donor gives you $100 That $100 is matched by Donor A with another $100. Then, that $200 ($100 + $100) is matched by Donor B with $200. When you've set up this arrangement, then, your promotional material can state... QUADRUPLE the Value of Your Donation (at no additional expense to you!) “Until October 31st, every dollar you donate will be doubled and then doubled again by two generous Challenge Grants to our Capital Campaign. That means your $100 donation brings us $400 closer to our goal. Please take advantage of this generous opportunity to quadruple the value of your donation!
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If …# 175: You Created a Sense of SCARCITY for Your Campaign? People want to belong. And people don't want to miss out. Then, too, some people are competitive. Some people (not all) will like the naming opportunities to have a room or balcony named after them. For your major donors, what if you created a “naming opportunity” based on stars in the major constellations. The night sky and its constellations have played a big part in history. Both Simon Kenton and John Chapman may have navigated their way around Ohio by looking at the very same stars we do. Most people know that Polaris, the North Star, is often used for navigation because it remains stationary above the North Pole while the other constellations wheel around it. Because the North Star stands alone, and separate, you may want to reserve it for Foster Cornwell, who pointed the way for other philanthropists by making his generous bequest without even being asked. Most everyone knows The Big Dipper (Ursa Major). Why not name the 7 stars of the Big Dipper for each person who donates a million dollars or more?
The “Light Up a Star for History ” Campaign
Yes, some of the stars may remain unnamed for several years... - Page 287 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: But as each star is lit, there's one less for everyone else to claim as their own – which adds to the growing sense of scarcity. The Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) may be named for the first 7 people who donate a half-million dollars or more. Naming the stars in the major constellations is a great way to recognize your major donors. And it's engaging. They can look up in the night sky and find their star – maybe they'll even show it to their grandchildren. “Hey, that's my star there! At the top right of the dipper. See it?” Of course, as the stars are lit on the constellations, signage will be modified to honor those who made it possible. Each time a serious potential donor visits the building for an event, they may be checking that display to see if someone else has taken one of their stars. Seeing those constellations fill up offers social proof that others are making major donations to the Capital Campaign. Who knows how long the remaining few stars will go unclaimed. And this uncertainty may cause some major donors who want to be immortalized with their own star to feel a slight anxiety. Tension. Suspense. Anticipation. And maybe someone who has already given $200,000 will decide they're like to upgrade their pledge to a quarter-million or more to claim a spot on the constellation. Maybe they should just go ahead and commit to make the pain go away. After all, who wants to risk ending up lost in a minor constellation no one's ever heard of? - Page 288 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Volunteer Ideas What If … # 176: You Rewarded Your Volunteers? For example, you might ask the board to establish a “Carol Lambert Appreciation Day.” Maybe on their birthday. Give her something wonderful. Send our a news release. It's an opportunity to tell the community about the organization and the fact that you have a volunteer program. Invite people to join.
What If …# 177: You Established & Coordinated a “Super Docents” Program? There are many organizations (the Dairy Barn, Kennedy Museum, Stuart's Opera House, the public libraries) who may (or may already) benefit from volunteer docents. Remember: One thing that museum visitors enjoy is interacting with the staff. Docents can fulfill that need. What if the History Center coordinated a program of “Super Docents” who were trained to be docents at 4 or 5 venues. Having a pool of pre-trained docents to draw from could be helpful when there are large openings or events at any one of the venues. For those who are friendly and “social.” the Super Docent Program might be appealing to recently-retired individuals looking for meaningful volunteer work. It's a nice social opportunity for encountering old colleagues and friends. - Page 289 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: How Would It Work? There would be a general training program for all volunteers applying to be a “Super Docent.” And then each organization would have their own specialized training and certification. In the end, a “Super Docent” would have been certified by several organizations. Perhaps one person would have been certified to be a docent at the Dairy Barn and also at the History. Another might have qualified at the Kennedy and the Dairy Barn. There could be Super Docent uniforms (probably vests) that might have badges indicating their certifications. When engaged in conversation by a visitor, the docent could suggest other places that might interest the visitor, according to their expressed interests or questions. And, the Super Docents might be able to hand out discount coupons for admission to other venues. Someone visiting the Kennedy Museum might be given free admission to the History Center (expiring in 48 hours.) Or, it might include a 10-percent discount at the History Center's gift shop. This cross-promotional strategy, enhanced because it comes at the recommendation of a trained docent who put the coupon into someone's hand as a “gift” could be an excellent want to get more value into the hands of visitors. NOTE: Coupons or fliers given out by docents should include a map showing how to get from one venue to the other. The flier/coupon handed out at the Kennedy Museum would include a map and directions for driving from the Kennedy to the History Center. Another flier would show how to get from the Kennedy to the Dairy Barn. - Page 290 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. AND... each flier should be signed by the docent handing it out. This â&#x20AC;&#x153;authorizesâ&#x20AC;? it, makes it a personal gesture for the visitor, but also lets you keep track of which docents are sending you the most new visitors and from which other venues people are coming. That can help you fine-tune your marketing. Be sure to REWARD the Super Docents for their volunteer work. Invite them to special dinners or events. Recognize them. Make them feel special. (They are.) After they have volunteered a set number of hours, award them with free tickets to an event. Often, there are unsold tickets for cultural events. Some of those empty seats might be donated to the docents. And, docents (who will have a lanyard name badge) can use their identification to get discounts in all of the gift shops where they're certified. Make sure they're on a special mailing list for the Super Docent organization and that they are notified of upcoming events for which they may want to volunteer. These individuals will be a great source of reliable information for the public because the docents will know about all the upcoming cultural, historical, and art events throughout the region. Besides, people trust people wearing vests with merit badges and name-tag lanyards.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Special Events Ideas What If … # 178: You Celebrated the Changes of the Season? Celebrate both equinoxes, both solstices. Season Changes are part of the rhythm of the year. Our patterns of life are dependent on them. Use them as a reason to celebrate. Educate people about how the seasons work (the tilt of the earth) and the role play in agriculture, our economy, and even our school system (summer breaks.) Coordinate star gazing outings at different seasons so that people can observe different constellations. Help people become more in tune with the natural rhythms of the planet which were so familiar to our ancestors.
What If … # 179: You Hosted NEW YEAR Celebrations? It's the only holiday celebrating the passage of time (your theme.) Make it fun but also teach people about the history of the calendar system we use. There's probably lots of competition that evening with other events so you may prefer to do a countdown for the last 7 days of the year or carry the celebration on beyond New Year's Day.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 180: You Offered Public Workshops Each Year to Help People Set Realistic Goals for the New Year (and then Follow-Through)? Mostly, the History Center is all about looking back. But what if, at the end of each year, you helped people to look forward? The New Year is a time for hope. And change. So think of all the workshops, seminars, lectures (even apps) you could create that would help people discover their dreams, define them, turn them into goals (with deadlines) and set out to make them come true. These workshops could be held anytime during the last 2 weeks of the year and into the first 2 weeks of the new year. Some of the materials could be posted on your website as videos and articles and checklists. You could inspire people with stories of heroic figures from the past. Make people wonder just exactly how much one person might accomplish – using a system – in just 365 days. Remember: For many members of the community, the History Center can become an agent of change. Its exhibitions can inspire people to discover themselves, the genealogy services can help people discover where they came from, and the goal-setting workshops can help people determine who they will become.
“Be an opener of doors.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson - Page 293 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 181: You Focused More on “The Present” and “The Future”? If the theme of the History Center is “Time” then it may be helpful to show people how to maximize their opportunities in the present to shape their Future Consider expanding your services on the other two parts of the hourglass. The neck of the hourglass (the present) and the reservoir of future above. Only from here in the present can we can take deliberate steps to change our future. So what if, in order to help people live a full-spectrum life (knowledgeable about the past, living fully in the moment, and crafting their future) you offered Workshops on Decision-Making? Taking steps to shape the future so that it delivers the life we dream about requires being decisive and pro-active. It means deciding what our goals are and also planning out a strategy and time-table for getting to where we want to be in an efficient manner. As part of your “Self-Help” and Actualization services, you could offer Decision-Making Workshops, especially around the New Year. Why Not Start to Focus on the Other Two Categories of Time? - Page 294 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 182: You Hosted a “Secret Dinner Series” (Salons)? Salon (noun) an assembly of guests in a room, especially an assembly common during the 17th and 18th centuries, consisting of the leaders in society, art, politics, etc. Host one elegant sit-down multi-course dinner quarterly, or each month as your membership grows and the dinners become more popular. With some work and creativity, you can make this into one of the most exciting and sought-after social experiences in Athens. Limit each dinner to 16 or 24 people (2 or 3 Round Tables of 8) with nice place settings and fresh flowers. Send out elegant hand-addressed RSVP Invitations to the Secret Dinner and invite a nice mix of people: the arts / sciences / historians / entrepreneurs / healthcare professionals. Hire “celebrity chefs” to cater the dinners. (be sure to accommodate various dietary preferences – when they RSVP, guests can indicate their meal preference. Print out elegant place-cards and break-up married couples so that they sit at different tables, forcing them to meet and converse with other people (and increasing the chance that they will express their own opinions rather than defer to their spouse.) These dinners may cost each guest $100 or more. They can be used as fundraisers but revenue should mostly help fund the series. Some dinners would be “black tie” dinners. Some semi-formal.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: The dinners might include live performances which could be coordinated with the dinner theme. Some may feature a local celebrity. Maybe a magician. A movie star. A storyteller. Someone wonderful. Before each dinner there should be a short (20-minutes or less presentation) on an exciting, controversial, or otherwise engaging topic which sets the tone for the evening's dinner conversation. (Think: TED Talks.) In fact, if you host a TEDx series, these dinner talks could be seen as “auditions.” (Idea #39) You may also place topic cards on the table with suggested questions the guests should ponder to guide their conversation. Ideally, these dinner themes should relate to the History Center's “theme of the month.” (Idea #71) For example: if the monthly theme is gratitude, dinner guests may discuss the effects gratitude (or lack of) has on our lives. "When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around." – Willie Nelson Each table should have a facilitator who gets things started, keeps the conversation on track, and transitions to its conclusion. Philosophy is OK, but dinner themes should probably avoid politics and religion. Though these topics may still enter the conversations, the facilitator should make sure they don't become confrontational. The facilitator could also keep track of those who are the best conversationalists so that they get invited back more often and so that, in the future, you can be assured of having at least 1 or 2 excellent conversationalists at each table to keep things going. - Page 296 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. NOTE: This Secret Dinner Series may start out as a benefit of being a member of the Exclusive Athenians Club (Idea #168). You may want to open it to your general membership. And, occasionally, you may open it up to a few members of the general public to attract new members and to engage the community. Once the month's dinner theme is organized, there's no reason not to offer the event several times to meet the growing demand. As more people become interested, you could expand the series and host identical dinners on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Perhaps your VIP Members get invited to 4 dinners each year. Try for a different mix of people at each dinner. Make lists of potential (scintillating) topics like... â&#x20AC;&#x153;Death over Dinnerâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; death through the ages. It could explore stories about our cemeteries. How people buried the dead before there were funeral homes in Athens. The importance of rituals. Make sure the evening's topic is not announced until the guests arrive. At the right time, with great anticipation, the facilitator at each table opens the sealed envelope and passes it around to the guests. This adds to the mystery and intrigue and also safeguards against people not coming because they (mistakenly) think they are not interested in the chosen topic. (Plus, it prevents people from preparing ahead of time.) Over time, you can build this dinner series into the most fascinating and rewarding networking event in the region.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 183: You Provided a Small Souvenir GIFT for Guests at Each Dinner? These might be gift-wrapped or simply placed next to their place card. Maybe some of these token gifts – which somehow relate to the theme/topic of the dinner – will be created by a Southeast Ohio artist. Or, your gifts might be based on a relevant artifact from the collection. Perhaps some note-cards with artwork from the collection.
These Secret Dinner Parties should be seen as a journey for the guests. An exploration. An opportunity to wonder about a fascinating topic with fascinating guests, some of whom they may never have met. Invariably, because of the interesting topics (and the fact that it is an exclusive affair) they will talk about these events with friends. That's good because over the next week The History Center may become the topic of a hundred conversations. These Secret Dinners are great for building “Social Capital” among people in Athens county and throughout the region. The big benefit to the community is that guests get to meet new people from a cross-section of the region: tradespeople, professionals, academics, the unemployed, the retired, old and young. Over dinner, guests can discover that everyone can be interesting. Be sure to follow-up with thank you cards. - Page 298 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Newsletter Ideas What If … # 184: You Put Engaging Captions Under All the Pictures in the Newsletter? Without a caption, we don't know how to interpret the photograph. Also, captions (along with the P.S. after the signature) are one of the most frequently read elements in a publication.
What If … # 185: You Published Digital and Online “Magazine” Versions of the Newsletter? Send members an email with an attached PDF version or a link to the PDF online version on your website. But also... create an online “magazine”version. Simply upload a PDF file and publish each issue for free at Issuu.com. And, of course, the online versions can include full-color pictures and web-links to additional online references and resources. Hopefully, the online version will become far more appealing to members than the printed version and will reduce future printing and mailing costs. (Use those savings to make the newsletter better.) NOTE: As an incentive to use the digital versions, you may want to charge members more for mailing them the printed version. Basic membership fees might be $30 with the printed newsletter, or $20 just for the Digital Online Newsletter Membership.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Issuu allows your readers to flip through the publication like a magazine with controls to enlarge the image, or search for keywords. (Maybe you're reading this book on Issuu right now.)
What If … # 186: You Assigned a “Cover Price” to Each Issue of Your Newsletter? On the front cover of each issue, top right corner, place a “suggested retail” price for the newsletter. $5 or more. This assigns a “dollar value” to the newsletter and reminds members that this is a valued service they receive as part of their membership. Imagine that your newsletter is available for sale on the magazine racks at one of the local bookstores. Would someone pick it up and look at it? Would they take $5 out of their pocket to pay for it? If not, why not? People pay $5 for lots of other magazines and periodicals. If your newsletter is not worth $5, it's probably not worth the person's time to look at it. And so... - Page 300 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 187: You Deliberately Made Each Newsletter Inspiring, Fun, Useful? Maybe we're all stuck on the word “Newsletter.” Maybe “Newsletter” is restricting everyone's idea for the content. Instead of News, maybe it would be better to focus on creating a “History Center FunLetter” or “WonderLetter” or “AwesomeLetter” or “StoriesLetter.” Whatever you call it, the $5 price tag (above) can be a reminder that you need to fill the newsletter with useful, interesting, entertaining information and tips. Maybe you could add some recipes or old, pioneer food-preserving ideas. Or Genealogical Research Tips. Remember: It's all about the reader. Write articles that have engaging headlines: “5 Practical Tips for Spending an Unforgettable Saturday with Your Grandchildren.” “3 Simple Steps to Putting Together a Winning Historically-Themed Birthday, Anniversary, or Retirement Party.” “Is someone turning 60 this year? What was going on when they were born? What music was popular when they graduated from high school? Who was president when they got married? Read below to see how to get an “edible photo icing” placed on top of the cake so you can surprise them with their wedding picture or a picture of their first car... blah blah blah“ Make the articles relevant to the readers. Give them something they can use. Ask them what they'd like to see more of. Less of. Yes, give people what they want. - Page 301 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 188: You Made the Photos of People in the Newsletter LARGER (or Smaller)? People like photos with faces in them. But “group photos” in printed newsletters are mostly a waste. They're too small to see the faces. If you insist on including them (because, of course, the people in the photo do like to find themselves and it strokes their ego, then in the caption (every photo should have a caption) state that in the online version, readers can click-through to see the full-screen, color version where they can enlarge it to see all the details (and even download and save it to their computer.) To drive more people to your online version, you may want to deliberately make the group pictures of people too small in order to force people to go to the website or online version. In this case, think of the picture as a “tease” – just a little taste of what they can see online. NOTE: When photographs are being used as an illustration to make a point (such as depicting the fact that a large crowd turned out for the fund-raising event,) or you're just showing that people were having fun in the sack-races or at the Halloween block party, then you can get away with not showing big, prominent faces. In this case, the photo is just illustrating a point – not identifying individual people.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 189: You Used ACTION PICTURES in the Newsletter to Engage the Reader? Pictures of people in the newsletter should be there to engage the reader. Show action-oriented images of people not just standing there looking at the camera, but actually doing things. Show pictures of people working at making costumes for the upcoming re-enactment. Show pictures of volunteers preparing food for the annual board meeting. Show pictures of someone copying down information from an obituary in the genealogy library. When taking the pictures, make sure there is a verb there. Avoid pictures of people just talking. Even photos showing close ups of people taking notes or raising their hand to ask a question are more engaging than a static image of someone at a podium. Then, of course, drive people to the website to read the online version with the promise of more (and bigger, zoomable) pictures.
What If … # 190: You Designed the Newsletter to Drive Readers to the Online Version? Think of the printed newsletter as a collection of teaser articles. So, for the article “9 Ideas for Spending Saturday Afternoons with Your Grandchildren,” print just one or two paragraphs of the article and then... “To continue, read the full article – with a checklist and photos – in our online newsletter at our website.” The printed version is always going to be limited on space because it costs money to print more pages. - Page 303 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: The online version can contain far more information and additional pictures. Once people start discovering how much more is in the online newsletter, maybe they'll stop requesting the printed version. And, of course, you can simply suggest that people print out their own copy of the online PDF version if they need a “hard copy.” A bonus of sending people to the website to read the newsletter is that they'll probably see other things that may interest them. Think of the newsletter as a way to drive people to the website at least once a month. In fact, you could save even more money (while making the newsletter more engaging) by deliberately shrinking it to just a couple of pages containing the one and two-paragraph teaser articles which send people to the website.
What If … # 191: You Added a 3-Hole Punch to the Printed Newsletters? Punch 3 holes in the left side of the newsletter. It's a subtle, almost subliminal reminder that this is something that should be saved, archived in a 3-ring binder. Those who pay for the printed newsletters can be given a 3-ring binder to put them in. This takes the newsletter out of the realm of regular disposable reading material and elevates it to a higher level of perceived value.
Which looks more important? More Inviting?
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Website Ideas The web is here. Definitely, you want to start developing your website into a more robust presence so that you can provide more content to members who are not in the Athens area. All kinds of exhibits lend themselves to web-presentations. And, when developing a new exhibition, keep in mind how it might be modified to appear on the website. If it's mostly text-based, then it could appear as articles. If it's primarily visual, then a WordPress “slider” (slide-show “plug-in” software app) may be appropriate. Still images can be edited into a music video or a narrated) video (where you can zoom in on parts of the picture to make it more interesting.
What If … # 192: You Used Your Website to SUPPLEMENT Your Exhibitions? Invariably, when mounting exhibitions, you'll find that there are parts of it which are just too cumbersome to explain in detail. They will bog down the flow of the exhibition and bore lots of people. And yet, there will be people who want those details. The simple solution is to put up a webpage with additional information (as PBS and National Geographic do with their documentaries – using an on-screen icon to indicate that more information is available at their website.) And, of course, people might use their smartphones to access that additional information while they're in the History Center going through the exhibit. - Page 305 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: Using the website for overflow information may change the way you design exhibits. You may want to make some of the physical exhibits less intensive. Less detailed. After all, we're living in Twitter World (where people don't even use their quota of 140 characters.) Many of your visitors want just small, bite-sized chunks of information. Many people are just “grazing” when they're in an exhibition, glancing at things that catch their eye. An added advantage to having the exhibition (plus supplemental information) on the web is that it can stay there and be accessed by people for years to come. Not everyone who may be interested in the exhibit has even moved to Southeast Ohio yet. And some people will never visit. So be generous with putting your materials on the website. Each year, your web content will grow. And the more information and articles and photos that you put up, the more people will discover and the longer they will stay on your site exploring all the links to your other interesting content.
What If … # 193: You Made Your Website Clean and Simple to Eliminate Confusion? Of course, your website needs to be clean and clutter-free and easy to navigate. Because you offer lots of different services (genealogy, research, archives/collections, museum, gift shop) first-time visitors may be confused. So the navigation of your site needs to be obvious. Also, visitors may be confused if they arrive at your site and it says Southeast Ohio History Center when they thought they were going to the Athens County Historical Society site. - Page 306 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. The organization, itself, may still be unclear about its identity. Is the ACHS&M doing business as the SEOHC? Or are they going to be separate organizations? Or is SEOHC “a Service of ACHS&M?) Will you eventually phase out the ACHS&M name? Make sure you have worked this out in your own mind before you design your new website. If it's not clear to you (the organization) who you are, then your visitors can't be expected to understand.
What If … # 194: You Used Multiple Domain Names to Your Advantage? Your domain name – AthensHistory.org – which points to your website is a good one for Athens History. It's short, to the point, easy to remember. For your new identity, you will need a new domain name. And certainly the SEOHC will need its own domain name. NOTE: Recommended site to “buy” domain names:: NameCheap.com Domain names cost $12 to $14 a year – cheap enough that you can buy special domains and set up a webpage to promote an exhibition or special fund-raising event. For Example:
FamilyTreeKites.org ForbiddenAgriculture.org
Both of these are currently available.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: You can “point” (direct) more than one domain name to the same page on a website. For example, if people type in SEOhioHistory.org (or whatever you choose for your new domain name), they can be taken directly to the AthensHistory.org homepage. Or, you could have SEOhioHistory.org take them to one of the sub-pages on the AthensHistory.org website that is dedicated to the History Center. It would look as if they are on the homepage for a separate History Center site, but they would actually just be on a web page somewhere at AthensHistory.org
And, of course, a “gift shop” domain name allows entrance to the main site through the gift shop. Regardless of which domain the visitor uses to get to your site, and regardless of which page they first land on, the navigation on that page should be able to take them to the other places they may want to visit on your site. - Page 308 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 195: You Embedded Lots of Interesting VIDEOS on Your Website? There are already thousands of interesting videos on YouTube, Vimeo, and other video-hosting websites. Search for them and then “embed” them right on your own site. This allows you to provide information to your visitors without their leaving to go to YouTube. (If you send them to YouTube, your visitors may get distracted by a funny cat video and never come back.) Embedding relevant videos also adds credibility to your website. And, Google will rank you higher in their search results when people search for the topic of one of those videos. For example, if you do an exhibit on COAL, you could post supplementary videos on your website such as this already-existing, 2-minute animated video on “Where Do We Get Coal From?” Just search YouTube for your topic and embed several of the best ones on your own webpage. Don't worry: YouTube wants you to embed the videos on your site so it makes it easy for you to do so. Here's How to Embed a YouTube Video in a WordPress Website (you currently have a Wordpress Site.)
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Entrepreneurial Ideas What If … # 196: You Charged Admission? Yes, charging admission for your major exhibitions (or asking for a suggested donation) is the obvious way to bring in money. But it's also a powerful way to get people more engaged with the exhibition. You have a valuable service. People will respect (and enjoy) it more if they have to make a small sacrifice to experience it. By turning the Exhibition into a “gated community” people feel special that they have crossed the threshold into the world of the exhibit. (Give them “I Experienced the World War.” stickers.) For popular exhibitions, you can sell advanced tickets for openings. CONSIDERATIONS: Yes, charging admission is a controversial topic. Some people feel that museums should be free to everyone. And yet, you can build your own set of rules and exemptions. You can always offer Free Admission one evening each week. Perhaps a corporate sponsor will fund weekly free evenings at the History Center. “Compliments of Kroger.” One Saturday a month, you might offer a free “Bring the Family to the Museum” event. Promote specific activities they can do together: puzzles, games, movies and other entertainment in addition to your regular exhibits. You can let school groups get in for free. Hopefully, the children will be excited enough to tell their parents about the exhibit and then they, too, can visit and bring the entire family. - Page 310 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. You can always let your own members in for free (with their membership card.) Those in the higher-priced membership levels may bring a guest as well. You can host specific promotional days: Once-a-month Grandparents Weekends. For example: “On the first Saturday of each month, with each paid admission, Grandparents may bring up to two Grandchildren for Free.” Or... occasionally... “Treat a Friend to the Museum” Day “Buy One Ticket, Get One FREE.” (BOGO – buy one; get one) And... you can give away tickets to specific organizations. For example: The Athens Village (which helps older residents continue to live in their homes) has 100 paying members. You could offer the organization a batch of free tickets to distribute to their members. (Some of these people are grandparents.) Maybe the tickets are valid only on Tuesdays, if that's your slowest day. Retired citizens have time to visit during the day when others are at work. Some will decide to come together in groups. And, if they like the exhibit, they will tell their friends in town – providing word-of-mouth advertising. You may also want to offer this service to some of the various assisted-living facilities in the region. Most of them have vans and like to offer various outings to their residents.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
First, approach an organization to see if they're interested in free tickets and find out many tickets they would need. Then print out the tickets which state: ”Compliments of The Athens Village.” That way, they get the credit and the tickets are seen by the recipients as an “added value” that the Athens Village is offering to their paid members. And that makes their paid membership in the Athens Village seem more valuable. And, when you give The Athens Village 100 $10-tickets, you're providing them with a $1000 “in-kind” contribution which may be helpful to them when they apply for grants from funding agencies. Grant-funding agencies like to know how much support an organization is already receiving from within its community. These Promotional Strategies Work Only Because... ...there is an established dollar-value for the tickets to begin with. If the museum exhibitions are always free for everyone, then people do not see any value in receiving a free ticket.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
Remember: All Value Is Perceived Value. So please seriously consider establishing a paid admission “ticket price” even if you end up letting everyone in for free. A perceived value of $10 to experience a major exhibition is about the same value as a movie ticket. That seems reasonable since both provide around 2-hours' worth of social entertainment. People value what they pay for. And the more they pay, the more they “pay attention.” Charging admission establishes a set value and makes people feel good that they are, for some reason, being treated as “special.” NOTE: Polls show that the most popular aspect of going to a museum is socializing with friends (or family.) Going to the museum is an outing. A place to go for fun. Something they can do together. So, offering the Buy One, Get One Free Specials can be very appealing. It can bring people into the History Center who wouldn't have come at all, or wouldn't have come alone. If they enjoy it, maybe they'll come back. The person who treats their friend feels special. The friend feels special. It turns the buyer into the “host.” For an hour or so, they are in a host/guest relationship. But none of this is possible if you offer free admission to everyone all the time. - Page 313 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 197: You Used Paid Admission to Sell More Memberships? You will probably discover that charging admission (if promoted creatively with special discounts) will increase exhibit attendance. For every 1000 people who pay $10 admission, you bring in $10,000 in revenues. Plowed back into the next exhibition, that could help enormously in helping you improve future presentations. But an additional benefit to charging admission is that it gives people a reason to become a member (when they learn that members always get in free and also get a discount in the gift shop.) So make sure to promote the value of membership. Allow people to apply their $10 Ticket toward a membership if they sign-up TODAY. Even if people don't join immediately, invite them to sign-up for your email list so you can send them information (and discounts) to future exhibitions.
What If … # 198: You Used Paid Admission Tickets to Drive People into the Gift Shop? You could charge $10 for an admission ticket which is then worth $10-Off on any $20 purchase in the gift shop (Today!) You might also rubber stamp an expiration on each ticket at the time of purchase – perhaps a month in advance. That gives them an incentive to come back if they don't have time to browse today. There are lots of creative ways to engage the public with discounts. But they work only after you have established a cost of admission which creates a monetary “value” on the exhibition. - Page 314 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. On the admission ticket, print the discount offer and then rubber stamp the expiration date. Without an expiration date, many of them will never get used. Test different expiration dates to see what works best. 24 hours? 48 hours? 30 days?
What If … # 199: You Offered Historical Theme Wedding Services? In 2016, the average cost of an Ohio wedding is $15,000+ It's an important event and people are willing to pay to get it right and to make it unique and memorable. Themed Weddings have become lucrative business. Everything from Star Wars themed weddings to Vintage Themed Weddings are very popular. The History Center could offer not only a classy, historical venue for a wedding service (or reception) but also Historical Wedding Consulting Services. For a large fee, you could provide images that might be used on invitations. Advice on Vintage Attire. Vintage Food & Entertainment. Historic themed song lists and music ideas. Even Regional Flowers. Volunteer Researchers could put together an entire package of recommendations for the perfect (and historically-accurate) Vintage Wedding. You might offer your consulting services through“wedding centers”or wedding planning services throughout the region. - Page 315 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 200: You Offered Historical “Identity” Services to Businesses? In Athens, Nelsonville and others towns that have an historic district in their downtown area, there will be businesses who would like to know the history of their building. Your Volunteer Researchers could hunt down images of the building over the years and provide a “bio” of that business location. Perhaps it was once ravaged by fire, or flood. Images and related materials which they can display will make them appear to be a solid part of the community. That may impress customers. Some uptown Business Owners in Athens said that many businesses would be willing to pay $1000 or more for these services. Each business client could be authorized to post a decal or seal in its window and a framed certificate stating that they are an official partner & supporter of The Southeast Ohio History Center. Down the road, this simple partnership with businesses can lead to larger donations and maybe sponsorships for exhibits. Maybe you can offer their employees discounted “group memberships” in return for asking the business to pay each of its employees to do some volunteer work with the History Center? It's appropriate to mention your business partners in your newsletter. Definitely, you want to engage and partner with the business community. Because businesses have assembled their own set of dedicated customers and clients (who trust them,) they can serve as a gateway to reaching large groups of people with very little effort.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 201: You Offered Consulting Services for Historic Preservation? In some towns, businesses are given tax-breaks if they remodel the outside of their business to make it fit in with the historical area. Teaming up with a local architect who specializes in Historic Preservation might be a smart idea. For a fee, the History Center could provide some of the research necessary for the restoration or remodeling. Maybe you would partner with the Chamber of Commerce to offer annual workshops on this topic: Business Property Owners! Learn How to Qualify for Generous Tax Breaks for Historic Preservation.
What If … # 202: You Offered After-School and Snow-Day Workshops for Kids? Childcare is a big business. Working parents can't always take off work when there's a snow day at school. And many “latchkey kids” need somewhere to go for a few hours after school. Explore the possibilities of offering day-care (since Middle School is only a few feet away.) It may be that you will want to team up with an existing day-care center to provide the child care services on your premises. CAUTION: Explore also the legal ramifications and liability issues.
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What If … # 203: You Rented Out Space for Parties / Weddings / Reunions /Awards Dinners? No where in town is quite like the History Center. It's an elegant, stately building. It has (limited) uptown parking. It's close to restaurants and entertainment possibilities. It could make a nice location for private events of all sizes. Provide a list of approved (and recommended) caterers. ALSO... once the sanctuary floor has been leveled, consider renting out the space for high school proms. Or for high-school reunions. Your collections probably include lots of items and photos that could be used for decorations.
What If … # 204: You Offered On-Site Catering? This requires getting the kitchen up to code. And contracting or hiring a part-time chef. But until that happens you can hire outside chefs. Or contract with existing restaurants or catering services. But don't forget the ACEnet Code-Certified Kitchen on Columbus Road. They rent kitchen facilities by the hour. And they offer freezer-rental and storage space. You could hire a chef to prepare the food at ACEnet and then bring it on-site. AND... since the food is going to have to be delivered from ACEnet, you could offer to cater other functions elsewhere around town. Start building up your Catering “Brand.” You could offer 30-Mile-Meal-based catering with historical themes. Perhaps some of the food will have been grown locally from heirloom seeds. - Page 318 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Eventually, you could expand the services to provide consulting for historically-accurate or themed decorations, table tents, wedding invitations, etc.
What If … # 205: You Partnered with the Growing Health and Wellness Community? From the start, set out to work with the 30-Mile Meal program and to offer wholesome food with vegan and vegetarian options. Link up with the local C.H.I.P. (Complete Health Improvement Program) which teaches people how to transform themselves with exercise and food. They have a special menu which is mostly vegan (strict-vegetarian, plant-based.) CHIP members have trouble eating out because they're not sure if the food meets their dietary restrictions. So be sure to include some CHIP approved menu items on your catering menus. NOTE: Lui Lui Restaurant (in Athens) embraced the CHIP program and put together a one-sheet CHIP menu with over a dozen entrees. As a consequence, they get lots of businesses from CHIP members. Make it easy for people to be healthy. Get people outside, moving, having fun. Point out the health benefits of going on walking tours of the canals, Geocaching games, historic building walks, family tree kite making (and flying) workshops, and other adventures you offer. Historically, people were healthier. They worked hard, ate locally-grown food, breathed fresh air, and went to bed at dark. They had strong family connections and probably lower stress levels. Why not offer a “Historically Healthy” Guided Program. - Page 319 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 206: You Created “Apps” for Smartphones and Sold Advertising on Them? What if you work with the OU Geography Department and one of their best Geo-Information-Systems (GIS) graduate students to create a GPS App that shows the location of 100 different interesting historical sites or buildings within Southeast Ohio? Parents driving to and from Ohio University could download the app and make their trip more interesting. “Hey, look just 2-minutes off the highway is an Indian Mound. Want to go see it?” It would also give them something to do with their college students while in the Athens / Nelsonville area. Advertising might be sold to nearby gift shops or restaurants (which could also appear on the GPS map.) And they would probably offer discount coupons. You make money from selling the advertising. Those who are already your business partners or corporate members would probably get a discount or a free listing. Once created, your App could be downloaded for free from your own website or from the Apple iTunes Store (or maybe from the Ohio University website. OU could be a partner on this venture.)
NOTE: You can get simple apps made inexpensively at Fiverr.com
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community.
What If … # 207: You Offered a “Pioneer” Survival Skills Workshops and Games in the Woods? Survival reality shows are popular. Role Playing Games are popular. Geocaching, hiking, exploring, and history are all popular. What could be more engaging (and fun) that spending time “lost” in the Wayne National Forest or in the woods around Dow Lake and pretending that you're an early pioneer making your way though the unexplored landscape of Southeast Ohio?
Ohio University's Outdoor Recreation Department (740-593-4656) offers REC 1000: Wilderness Living Skills a course which teaches skills in the classroom plus practical outdoor sessions in a wilderness setting. CONTACT: Danny Twilley, coordinator for the instructors: Usually the course is taught by graduate students. You could probably hire one of them to conduct the workshop. email: twilley@ohio.edu 740-593-3109 (as of 7/16) Here's a similar, more SERIOUS 3-day Survival Class offered in Columbus for $399. SelfRelianceOutfitters.com - Page 321 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: So what if you offered a shortened version of the OU course as an all-day or weekend workshop and took participants to a state forest or to historic sites (the iron furnaces?) for exercises or games. They would learn some historical information both in the lecture presentation and out in the field plus a bit about navigating by the constellations. All of this could be combined into a... “Low-Tech” Survival and Geocaching Extravaganza. The History Center could turn this workshop into an extremely popular (and maybe profitable) regular offering. It's a great, fun way to engage people while teaching them about the region's cultural history and its terrain. An real experience is memorable. The outing can't be extreme. Just fun stuff that any reasonably fit person could do: walk around in the woods, climb a few hills. Of course, no one would ever be in any danger of being lost from the group. People would always be teamed up with others. Anyone under age 18 must sign-up with an adult. No one under age 12. What might they learn in class? Stuff about starting fires, basic safety info, knife and tool safety, first aid, quick shelter options, simple water filtering and disinfection, point-to-point navigation without a map, and signaling devices. - Page 322 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Not all of these will be implemented during the outdoor excursion. But there are several things that families can try at home in their own backyard. NOTE: the Boy Scout Handbook was published in 1911 so it is now in the public domain and parts of it could be reprinted. Or, you could just sell the entire book in the gift shop. Want to DISCOVER HIDDEN TREASURES and then FIND YOUR WAY OUT OF THE WOODS? Sign-up for Our “Pioneer Survival Skills Workshop and All-Day Low-Tech Geocaching Game Extravaganza!” It's 2-sessions of All-Day Fun for individuals or families (with children 12 or older)! Get a small taste of what it was really like being a pioneer in Southeast Ohio. Learn to use a compass, read maps of the terrain, and use the constellations as well as the bark of a tree to orient yourself in a wilderness area. Along the way, you'll get to explore historic sites, walk in the steps of our early pioneers and search for hidden treasures. Form teams to compete against one another. The Workshop includes indoor instruction on the skills of “orienteering” plus outdoor fun at the Wayne National Forest. Transportation provided from the History Center in downtown Athens.
Explore All the Details: SEOHC.org/wilderness - Page 323 -
MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
What If … # 208: You Tapped into the Power of BARTER? Once you have some services with price tags in place (renting out parts of the building, “building-history research for business-owners, historical wedding research and planning) consider bartering for goods or services. For example: For those business owners who want to know the story and find old pictures of their uptown building, you set a $1500 price-tag on your “Building Research Packet.” Let's say that one interested business is a restaurant located in Station Plaza, next to the Athens Depot, and is build on top of the former railroad right-of-way for the Cincinnati-Marietta Railroad. You have tons of information for them. But maybe $1500 is just out of their price range. What to do? Offer them the historic-building package for $1500 “in trade” (barter.) Restaurants are great to barter with because their food cost is about 30-percent of the retail price of their meal. A $10 entree costs them about $3 in actual out-of-pocket food cost. The other $7 goes toward paying for their staff and overhead – which they have to pay anyway – and their profits. What this means to the restaurant is that they are getting your $1500 package for only $500 in out-of-pocket food expenses for the $1500 worth of meals they'll provide you. And, they won't have to supply the food until you request it – which might be 6 months or a year later. For them, it's like getting an interest-free-loan. Plus... they may not ever pay back the full amount because many gift certificates are never redeemed. - Page 324 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. The easiest way to set this up is for the restaurant to establish an account for you. But you could also ask for some of the money to be converted into Restaurant Gift Certificates. TIP: Always be sure to specify in the arrangement that the bartered food gift-certificates are transferable. That is, you want the restaurant to honor the certificates as cash so that you can give them to another person who can redeem them. This shouldn't be a problem. In fact, it's good for the restaurant if you give away their gift certificates to others â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it's like you're promoting them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sending them new customers (along with your endorsement of their restaurant) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at your own expense. Remind them of the advantages this arrangement offers them. OK. Now that you have $1500 worth of food and catering services which you can use however you like, what could you do with it? You could treat major donors to lunch or dinner. You could treat the staff and volunteers to lunch. You could use it to purchase the restaurant's catering services for an event at the History Center. Restaurants are the best place to start with bartering because they do it all the time. They're comfortable with it. They already understand the benefits. However, don't overlook other businesses. The best ones to barter with are going to be service businesses. While a retail gift shop could barter with you, they have very real costs in the merchandise. A $100 lamp probably cost them $50. Barter is still a good opportunity for them, but it's even better for a barber, hairdresser, window washing or lawn-care service because they're trading away mostly only their time and a minimal amount of cost for materials. Lots of professionals barter for other services.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement: One creative restaurant in Athens set up barter arrangements and traded food for dental, medical and massage services so that they could offer a sort of “health care” benefit to their employees (who didn't have health insurance.) Professionals enjoy treating clients and friends to dinner and simply signing the check, or asking the wait-staff to “Just put it on my account.” It makes them look important.
What If … # 209: You Used Leverage to “Make Money Out of Thin Air”? Leverage the barter services you receive into greater value. If you receive $1500 worth of catering services from a restaurant (for having had a volunteer college history major spend a few hours researching and putting together a historical building packet,) don't spend it. Leverage it! How? Trade it away for other services. Or use it as a gift or bonus to bring in larger donations. For example: You could use part of it to host a capital campaign fund-raising dinner at the restaurant (or a catered event at the History Center.) Or, if you have $1500 worth of catering/food services, first convert it into fifteen $100 gift certificates. Then, as part of the capital campaign, you could offer the first 15 people who donate $1000 to the History Center a $100 restaurant gift certificate. In this case, your 15 $100 gift certificates brings in $15,000 in donations.
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ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Of course, some of those 15 people would have made a donation without the bonus incentive of the $100 restaurant certificate. But some of them were probably planning on donating a smaller amount. Almost certainly, the $1500 worth of gift certificates will have brought in far more than just $1500. Plus, when the recipients use the $100 gift certificate to treat their family or friends or colleagues or clients to dinner, they will be thinking good thoughts about the History Center. NOTE: If the donor receives $100 in food services for their $1500 donation, it may be that only $1400 of their donation can be used as a tax-deduction. Check with a tax attorney to clarify this issue. Another example: Mark up your $1500 worth of bartered catering services to $2000 or more in catering fees when you sell a catering package as part of a building-rental arrangements, such as a wedding reception. Another Example: If you have bartered with 5 to 10 restaurants, there are many ways you can convert those food services into cash, or into other services. Trade $1500 worth of food services (which you have already acquired from a restaurant) for cleaning, painting, landscaping, or entertainment services. Again, it's probably best to ask the bartering restaurant to issue your gift certificates in $20, $50 or $100 denominations so that you can use them to â&#x20AC;&#x153;buyâ&#x20AC;? other services. And always make sure that they're transferable.
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Closing Thoughts Dear Reader, At this moment, we are all standing in the present, at the neck of the hourglass. We are crossing the flimsy footbridge between our past and our future. This moment offers us the unlimited power to change. While there is so much we can learn from the past, there are times when we must disentangle ourselves from its influence in order to move forward. Yes, we can harness the stories of the past to our own advantage. It is a fabulous learning tool. And it can serve us well. But we must be wary of clinging to the security blanket of our own history if we are using it to protect ourselves from the uncertainties of exploring a better life. Sometimes – especially when they are disabling us – we must be courageous enough to let go of our old stories so that we can move beyond what we are in order to become what we might be. Sometimes, if the trail that others blazed for us is not taking us where we want to go, we must get off it and find another trail. Or... we must pick up the ax and set out on our own, in whatever direction our heart takes us. Yes, when exploring new territories, there are always dangers and disasters and sometimes casualties. But also, there are unimaginable rewards sitting quietly and waiting patiently for us to claim them. - Page 328 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. There are infinite numbers of undiscovered trails. As we find them – or create them – we should leave blazes for others who may want to follow. For example, this book offers over 200 blazes for you to consider. If we choose to do so, we can seize the vast, raw, unexplored future and – with passion, brute force, and determination – transform it into our own specific history. And we can do that... starting now. Here. In the present moment. And so...
What If… # 210:
You carefully unleashed the potential of this present moment, embraced a change of direction, and showed the world just what one person – or one organization – might accomplish when armed with the wisdom of the past, curiosity, a fresh vision, and a bit of boldness? Thanks for reading. And thanks for taking action.
JM “Go then, there are other worlds than these.” – Stephen King, The Gunslinger
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MAXIMUM IMPACT – The Rules of Engagement:
Some Additional Museum References This book has been all about ideas and strategies and techniques and possibilities for engaging your public, your patrons, your members, your community. Lots of resources have been embedded along with the ideas (and can be accessed more easily from the online version of this book. Just click on them.) But these Resources below are more specifically about MUSEUMS. There is always a lot more to learn about curating exhibitions or thinking through how the History Center relates to the community. Here are a few books about museums and design (and the philosophy of museums) that can all be found at Ohio University's Alden Library (3rd Floor). Spend a rainy afternoon browsing the shelves of books on museums. Here are just a few you may find interesting with links to their Amazon listings – some are available as Kindle books. And, at Amazon, you can use the “Look Inside” feature to see the table of contents and sample chapters. Arts AM / 7 / K37 / 2000 Dream Spaces: Memory and the Museum by Gaynor Kavanagh – Arts AM / 7 / R435 / 2004 Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift Edited b Gail Anderson - Page 330 -
ENGAGE Your Public, Patrons, Members, Community. Arts AM / 7 / J36 / 2009 Museums in a Troubled World: Renewal, irrelevance or collapse? By Robert R. Janes – Arts / AM / 7 / G87 / 2006 Civilizing the Museum: the Collected Writings of Elaine Heumann Gurian by Elaine Heumann Gurian – Museum (Periodical) Read current and back issues in Alden Library Fine Arts (3rd Floor) Published by the American Alliance of Museums, Washington DC
“Always take massive imperfect action towards your goals because the time might never be ‘just right’” – Derric Yuh Ndim
“The most evil trick about perfectionism... is that it disguises itself as a virtue... I think perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat, pretending to be elegant when actually it’s just terrified.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
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speak to your audience in their language about whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in their heart. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; jonathan lister
Maybe It's Time to “Level-Up” Your Future. Borrow from the ideas in this book to puzzle-together your own vision of success for
The Southeast Ohio History Center. And Remember: Success is a never-ending process. And one that should always be never-ending fun! – JM
Change Your Words Change the World
“Every artist was first an amateur.” –
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“History is a vast early warning system.” – Norman Cousins