A museum as brand In a short time, Foam has won the minds and hearts of a large audience.
Vandejong Amsterdam
001
Client
Stichting Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
Assignment
Develop a brand concept
Solution
A new form of cultural entrepreneurship: thinking in networks and connections
Brand concept
More than a museum
From 40,000 visitors in 2001 to 200,000 in 2009
Always something to experience
Ryan Mc Ginley
Local activities...
from museum
...global ambitions
keizersgracht amsterdam
to netwo
...global ambitions
ork
m
azine g a
globa
unity comm brand
do -
self it-your
lo
Foam’s sub-brands strengthen each other Create synergy
a museum as brand
In 2001, the Stichting Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam received the green light from the city to move ahead with its plans for a museum on Keizersgracht. The new museum asked Vandejong to develop all its communication and create recognition among a mass audience. Vandejong developed a ‘museum total concept’ devoted to strengthening the museum’s relevance to the city, the photography world, the audience, and other institutions. The concept is an integrated vision whose starting premise is a new form of cultural en-
trepreneurship: thinking in networks and connections. Everything is geared toward reaching as many people as possible, to connect specific groups to the museum and to each other. This concept turns the traditional image of a museum on its head. All communications media are viewed as extra exhibition space. The city is used as a gallery. We increased potential visitor numbers by producing a magazine instead of catalogues from the start. The magazine is also distributed internationally. A name arose naturally out of the concept: Foam. Light and accessible, it is derived from the name Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam but usable in an international context.
Foam is more than a museum Foam seeks to help as many people as possible to enjoy photography, to share its knowledge with them, and to foster discussion. Foam therefore exhibits photography in all its forms: autonomous, documentary and applied, historic and contemporary. No hierarchical distinctions are made among famous names, up-and-coming talents and amateurs. This attitude serves as the basis for Vandejong’s communication concept. The desire to communicate with a wide audience calls for vigour and broad-mindedness on the parts of the client and the agency. A near-limitless collaboration has arisen
between Foam and Vandejong, resulting in continually expanding services, product development and innovative communication.
A brand for everyone Foam is open, enterprising and multifaceted and has an eye for quality. The organisation is suited to a brand style that does not get in the way of its ambition and liveliness but rather supports and strengthens it. The design has therefore been partially determined by how the brand has grown. Today, Foam is a strong brand family with many extensions, including educational projects for schools, its own cultural investment fund, and the international Foam Magazine. The concept behind this strong brand family allows Foam to attract visitors from different strata of the population and a diverse age range.
Accessible to the world Foam’s first exhibitions were recorded not in a catalogue but in magazine form. This enabled more copies to be printed and more people reached. In 2003, Foam began using the magazine as an extra exhibition platform, independent of what was on view at the museum. Unusually, Foam publishes its magazine as a joint venture with Vandejong.
Foam Magazine soon firmly established itself in the art magazine segment. Internationally, it has received abundant praise and appreciation from renowned photography institutes, top photographers, curators and gallery owners and collected many awards, some for its design. One of Foam Magazine’s main goals has thus been achieved: it has given Foam an international voice and presence.
Outside the museum Conscious of its role and significance in Amsterdam, Foam has always put great energy into reaching the city’s public. But not everyone is able or willing to visit the museum. So directly after its opening exhibition, Foam asked Vandejong to organise another one in the Vondelpark. Numerous professional and nonprofessional photographers sent in their best work. Out of a vast range of entries, the top 150 photos were selected and hung on lampposts in the park. We are all confronted every day with photographic images in public space. These images usually transmit commercial messages. As a counterweight, Foam seeks to more often emphatically present itself in public space. After its first show outside the museum, Foam therefore continued to exhibit outdoors: again in the Vondelpark with Foam Oase and all over the Netherlands in 2009 with Nieuwe Groeten Uit... (‘New Greetings from...’). Foam has also sought collaboration
with other institutions. Foam exhibitions have taken place at museums including the Jeu de Paume in Paris and the Museum of the City of New York. Exhibiting outside its own walls enables Foam to reach a much larger audience than it could accommodate on Keizersgracht.
Do it yourself Foam seeks to teach people to look at photography. To that end, it offers specific target groups custommade ‘ways in’ that can help them to develop a critical awareness of contemporary visual culture. Vandejong developed the umbrella brand Foam For You for this purpose. Beside designing specific projects like Foam Safari (for toddlers), City and Language (for immigrants) and Photos in Dutch sign-language (for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), Vandejong has provided content for Foam Lab (career coaching for the cultural sector) and What’s Your Story? (a cultural education project for upper primary and secondary schools).
Independence To reduce Foam’s dependence on subsidies, Vandejong has come up with ways Foam can generate its own income. Several have been carried out: one is Foam Fund, an investment fund that lets companies and individuals buy shares in Foam’s success. Foam uses the revenues
to finance projects including its talent programmes. The annual dividend paid to shareholders consists of a print by a talented photographer whose work has been exhibited at Foam – a direct return on investment.
Foam’s success Foam has succeeded in attracting a broad public and in making photography accessible without compromising quality. Since Foam opened in December 2001, it has grown enormously in every area. Alongside the continuous expansion of Foam’s diverse range of activities and numerous presentations, visitor figures rose from just under 36,000 in the first year to more than 200,000 in 2009. Thanks to these figures and the public attention it attracts, Foam has positioned itself in the top echelon of Dutch museums. In 2009, there were 60 Foam Fund shareholders, 586 Club Foam members, and 802 Foam Fans. Since 2007, each year’s activities have been summarised in an annual Foam Album. The 2007 edition scooped the international Red Dot Award for communication design. In 2008, Foam won the SponsorRing ‘smart budget’ prize for Foam Lab. And for the innovative financing projects it set up for individual donors, the museum won the MecenaatsMuze prize at the Cultuurbal 2008. The jury called Foam an ‘exceptional and inspiring example for the cultural sector’. Foam Magazine has won international awards and is seen
by opinion leaders in the international photography world as the top art photography magazine. Vandejong is currently working with Foam to help the museum realise its international ambitions. This will involve a key role for online communication and the creation and maintenance of various communities around Foam’s programming.
Vandejong & culture The artistic and cultural sector plays an important role in developing society’s brainpower, creativity and innovation. Outside-the-box ideas and uncommon views of the future germinate at cultural institutions. They must therefore show leadership – in their communication as elsewhere. Vandejong develops cultural brands centred around content, experience and innovation. Our approach is hallmarked by our participation in both the everyday world of the audience and the creative sphere. This allows us to assist institutions in thinking about programming, activities and communication that can help them to build bridges with the public.
al
ocal
gallery
homebase
a'dam
An international exhibition in a magazine
Nieuwe Groeten Uit... (‘New Greetings from...’): a road show around the country
Communication as exhibition
Foam makes photography the talk of the town.
About Vandejong
Foam
Vandejong is an enterprising, strategic, creative communications agency. We like to work with people who dare to forge new paths and believe in two-way inspiration. Vandejong stands for honest, sincere communication with a distinctive style. Our strategists and creatives work closely together on brands and campaigns. We bring in outside experts when necessary. We therefore contribute in a broad way, from brand concepts and creative strategies to concrete campaigns, materials, and even new services and products when necessary.
Strategy, concept en production Vandejong
001 Foam A museum as brand 002 Neau World water for world citizens 003 Foam Magazine Exhibitions in a magazine 004 Anno We make history! 005 University of Twente We create futures 006 Foam Fund Investment advice 007 University of Twente Start studying 008 Stichting WaterExpo 2010 A revolution in thinking about water 009 UN. GIFT Fight human trafficking 010 Cineville There’s a new town in town 011 Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alliances for a better world 012 Various Consortia Hello Zuidas 013 The Groene Hart The Randstad’s experimental garden 014 City of Amsterdam Housing Department 150 years of Wibaut 015 Castrum Peregrini Intellectual playground 016 Foam / ANP Historisch Archief / Museum of National History New greetings from...
Download the latest cases at vandejong.nl or request them from info@vandejong.nl
More information Ilse Huijg Agency manager ilse@vandejong.nl Contact us t: +31 20 462 2062 e: info@vandejong.nl vandejong.com blog.vandejong.com