Bath Museums

Bath MuseumsWorking Together

Anna BryantBath Museums Co-ordinator

Bath Museums 2015

StructureCore partnership of 4 museum organisations, encompassing the ‘big 6’ museums in Bath (and 3 smaller sites)Consulting partnership with 4 other museumsResult: all 13 Accredited museums in partnership

Origins, 2013

Partnership of big 3 independent museums, with informal reach to all museumsResponded to an opportunityACE grant of £427k received over 2 years to develop audiencesMarketing, market research, interpretation and community engagement activity

Key Aims

Creating a sustainable and resilient museum community in Bath working collaboratively for mutual success in increasing audiences and associated financial benefitAchieving a higher profile museum sector in Bath, with more visibility in a crowded marketStrengthening the museum culture in Bath, where a collective vision and purpose are understood to be key to the delivery of a quality visitor experience

Once upon a time…

No one could even say how many museums there were in Bath!Numerous museums, heritage attractions, NT sites, all in 11sq milesDominated by the Roman BathsLittle strategic understanding of actual/potential visitors, to help increase

Telling our story

Two pronged approach to telling our story well - and getting others to do so too: -Internal-ExternalFor growth in visitors; opportunities to collaborate; to maximise our resources; impact and resilience.

Internal: city/stakeholders

Considerable joint researchWhole is greater than sum of partsMaking ourselves more visibleActing as/being seen as a sector

Bath Museums have 430k visitors/year (ex. Roman Baths)

21% are local, 27% day trippers, 52% on holidayAverage overnight stay is 3.25 nights – Bath average is 2.47Of those on holiday 84% are staying in hotels and guesthouses80% of visitors are from the UK38% were motivated to visit Bath by the museums to some degree98% said the whole experience was good or very good98% said the staff were good or very good at welcoming them£16m – value of tourism impacts of museum visits to local and regional economy45% of accommodation bookers with BTP are from very culturally engaged segmentsBath Museums have worked in partnership with: the BID, Thermae Bath Spa, Bath Bus Co, National Trust, Jane Austen Centre, Sally Lunn’s and BIGHA

External: visitors/visitor facing

Joint marketing activity (based on research)Easier to find us and explore moreBeing coherent - isn’t the same as being indistinguishable from each otherShared tone of voice, brand, photographyConfidence in Accreditation grouping

The Museums of Bath offer a feast of

remarkable stories all within walking distance. From the glamour of Bath’s hotspots, such as the famous Roman Baths, No. 1 Royal Crescent and Fashion Museum, to the story of the city’s inventiveness at Bath Postal Museum, Museum of Bath at Work, and Museum of Bath Architecture. There is breath-taking art at the Holburne Museum, Victoria Art Gallery, Museum of East Asian Art and the American Museum, while astronomy and discovery can be found at the Herschel Museum and Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. Stunning views of Bath’s landscape are seen from many museums, especially from Beckford’s Tower.

Beyond 2015

5 year plan for working together – funded?Still more to do – results take timeMustn’t lose momentumPartnerships are the future of funding

Key Lessons Learnt

Can’t be strategic and in competition in Bath – see the whole pictureKeep size of partnership board manageable – ours is 6Being open and collaborative takes a shift in thinkingLong game – results and attitudes!Talk it up! Becomes self-fulfilling, people talk to and about youDo lots of research – enables strategic, evidence based activity and case for supportEvaluate!A clear and coherent offer is welcomed by visitors to Bath and our key recommenders – work on it!Co-ordinator role essential