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A Branding Context: The Guggenheim & The Louvre

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2008, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Arts Policy and Administration.

In the midst of globalization, where networks have steadily become more and more interconnected, and the exchange of information faster than ever, the role of museums has rapidly changed. Museum trends related to tourism have replaced the focus on collection with the focus on audience experiences and operation in a global framework. Marketing in museums have been increasingly important, in particular the practice of branding.

Branding has entered into the museum sphere as a viable solution to decreasing visitor audiences and an effective way to sustain institutional longevity. Branding is a process that communicates the personality of an organization, and includes a combination of products and services. The practice makes museums aware of their presence within the public realm and gauge what methods are working or needs to be modified.

The Solomon R Guggenheim in New York City, NY, undertook establishing a global brand identity through pioneering a franchise of satellite museums first in 1997. Satellite museums are business partnerships between the home institution and the city or business to create a museum branch for a cost. The city or business that houses the satellite museum pays for the building costs and administrative fees in addition to the fees paid to the home institution. The Guggenheim has now four other locations besides their home base in New York. While first reprimanded, the practice has gained wider acceptance in the last decade.

One of the best examples is the Louvre in Paris, France. Known as being a national symbol for France, Le Grande Louvre project in 1981 launched the Louvre into a period of modernization. The results of the project included: the iconic I.M. Pei central entrance pyramid, underground shopping mall/parking, and major renovations to the museum wings. These renovations modernized the Louvre image. Since then, the museum has increasingly taken steps to solidify their brand identity through international partnerships to loan out signifying parts of their collection and a creation of a regional branch in Lens, France. These activities have set a platform for embarking on future radical projects, including a recently signed contract with Abu Dhabi to help create a cultural hub in the Middle East. The central question of my research is to speculate if smaller museums can take aspects from these two contexts and apply it to their own strategic plans.

Margaret J. Wyszomirski, PhD (Advisor)
Wayne P. Lawson, PhD (Committee Member)
83 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Law, S. W.-A. (2008). A Branding Context: The Guggenheim & The Louvre [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1212793011

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Law, Stella. A Branding Context: The Guggenheim & The Louvre. 2008. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1212793011.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Law, Stella. "A Branding Context: The Guggenheim & The Louvre." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1212793011

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)