LÛCRUM Helps Museum Envision Its Future, Engage the Community with Exciting Web Experience
The Client
Cincinnati Art Museum, one of the oldest visual arts institutions in the country; provides educational programs and community outreach, and boasts a collection of more than 60,000 objects – the largest in Ohio
Background
A strategic plan for growth to serve the Museum for the next two decades had recently been completed, as well as a re-branding effort to reintroduce the Museum to the general public. There was a desire to create excitement about all it had to offer the community; to reach out to and actively engage a larger and more diverse public audience; and to put its mission statement into action in some new and exciting ways.
The current Web site was difficult to use and many features had been “cobbled together” to form a system that provided a base level of functionality but did not provide a good user experience.
What the Client Wanted
- An improved Web site that would reflect the Museum’s relevance to the community, generate excitement about its treasures and support re-branding efforts
- A Web site that would provide improved accessibility to the Museum’s permanent collection, programs and special exhibits
LÛCRUM’s Solution
- Completely redesigned both the “look” of the Web site and the technology platform that supports the site and its functionality so that online users would have better access to information about the Museum’s collection (including background data and images of each art object), exhibitions, programs, events and services
- Redesigned the user experience based on providing “user benefit”
- Implemented major new features, including a content management system for seamless maintenance; an extensive online searchable database on the collection; a press room for fast retrieval of exhibition information and publication-ready images for use by the media; and online shopping at the Museum Shop
- Communicated the Museum’s new brand identity through an innovative and lively presentation of content
- Behind the scenes, worked to link several disparate systems in order to provide a powerful “engine” that powers the site; the platform is now expandable for future growth
- Leveraged offshore capabilities for some aspects of the project to help the client realize cost advantages
LÛCRUM’s Approach
- Rather than approach this initiative strictly as a Web site redesign assignment, LÛCRUM saw an opportunity for a more fundamental change in the way the Museum engages its patrons online
- Tapped into the talent and insight of key staff from all divisions within the Museum and built sponsorship using a two-day Envisioning Workshop
- Leveraged expertise in the area of strategic leadership solutions to establish a permanent Envisioning Committee at the Museum, which provides a cross-divisional group of key stakeholders who work together on new ideas as well as setting ongoing development priorities
Efforts
- Envisioning Workshop: two days
- Planning and Web site development: three months
- Support and maintenance: ongoing
The Benefits
- State-of-the-art educational resource for both the community and the academic world where information can be easily found
- Engages the community by sharing the Museum’s treasures
- Improved functionality has led to visitors staying online longer and visiting the site more often
- Overall use of the site has doubled
- Traffic to site significantly increased; currently, nearly 1,000 public visitors engage with the Museum online each day
- Increased sources of earned income through integration of online Museum profit centers (collection, scholarship, fundraising and stewardship)
- Increased number of online membership sign-ups and renewals
- Provides sponsors with additional recognition that promotes greater return on their investment, thereby helping sponsor solicitation efforts
- Flexible, integrated technology platform behind the Web site allows for easy expansion by the in-house design team
“Throughout the process of redesign, I was especially impressed with the envisioning sessions through which they led our team. The envisioning sessions were an effective means for table-setting, consensus building and creating common cause across our staff team. They were professionally facilitated, engaging and a perfect launching pad for the work to come.”
- Cindy Fink, Director of External Relations and Marketing, Cincinnati Art Museum
