2012 Annual Report. Ottawa Museum Network rue Metcalfe Street Ottawa, ON. Canada K2P 1R7 T:

Transcription

1 2012 Annual Report Ottawa Museum Network rue Metcalfe Street Ottawa, ON. Canada K2P 1R7 T:

2 CONTENTS 01 OMN Mission, Vision, and Values 02 OMN by the Numbers, Board of Directors and Committees of the Board 04 Message from the Chair and Executive Director 05 Highlights from 2012 Advocacy Brokering Services Realizing efficiencies through collaboration Building Audiences OMN Marketing Building awareness: OMN communications OMN Connexion Card Inquiring Minds Revenue Generation: A Focus on Sustainability 2

3 01 THE OTTAWA MUSEUM NETWORK THE NETWORK The Ottawa Museum Network was founded in 2007 though the City of Ottawa Museum Sustainability Plan. We are an incorporated non-profit organization funded through the City of Ottawa and provisionally through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Province of Ontario. Our goals are influenced by our mission, which balances the objectives of advocacy, audience building, brokering services and generating revenue. We are committed to raise awareness of the Network and engage residents and tourists in community museums by telling the Ottawa story. We aim to advance the interests of Ottawa s community museum to produce relevant and sustainable services that will increase access and enjoyment of the museums by visitors and residents. MISSION The Ottawa Museum Network works to promote and advance the interests of community museums by engaging the audience and telling the greater Ottawa story. VISION A thriving, sustainable local museum community that works collaboratively, that is respected and that engages its audience to preserve and celebrate the greater Ottawa story. VALUES The Ottawa Museum Network will fulfil its mission by: Working collaboratively Valuing member s perspectives Speaking with one voice Providing proactive, strategic leadership Embracing a community wide outlook Focusing on results Demonstrating integrity, accountability and transparency Bytown Museum 3

4 02 OMN BY THE NUMBERS IN 2012 ottawamuseumnetwork.ca 4

5 03 GOVERNANCE Pinhey s Point Historic Site BOARD MEMBERS IN 2012 Chair Vice Chair Treasurer Secretary Isabelle Geoffrion Watson s Mill Robin Cushnie Osgoode Museum Kathryn Jamieson Goulbourn Museum Michele LeBoldus Nepean Museum GOVERNANCE The OMN undertook a governance review in 2012 to discuss options to increase stability, accountability and diversified expertise of the Board of Directors. The governance review was facilitated by MDR Burgess, an independent consulting firm. The OMN made some adjustments to make governance more efficient. COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD Each Board member has duties on at least one committee. The Executive Committee assists in making important decisions between Board meetings, if necessary. The Marketing Committee provides advice on matters related to the marketing campaign and collateral development. The Governance Taskforce advises the Board on matters related to governance, such as the application of the bylaws and governance review. Director Director Director Director Director Rachel Perkins Cumberland Museum Brahm Lewandowski Billings Estate Pinhey s Point Janik Aubin-Robert Muséoparc Vanier Robin Etherington Bytown Museum Henriette Riegel Diefenbunker Museum The Inquiring Minds Working Group is comprised of museum staff from member museums. This group will work collaboratively to develop and implement the components of the Inquiring Minds initiative. The Advocacy Committee provides advice on matters related to advocacy and provides leadership to museum staff and Directors on advocacy. 5

6 04 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Moving into our seventh year, the OMN Board of Directors has approved a new, refreshed strategic plan this year. The strategic plan affirmed that the Ottawa Museum Network is now considered one of the most effective museum networks in Ontario. The Board of Directors has defined four key strategic areas that the OMN will focus on over the next five years: advocacy, building audiences, brokering services and generating revenue. These four strategic goals are aimed at increasing the OMN s role in raising the visibility of the museums and strengthening the management of member museums. Following a review of the strategic plan, the OMN also worked with consultants to further develop an advocacy plan which will guide the OMN and museums in promoting the community museums with one voice and shared messaging. Moving into our seventh year, we are well positioned to reach more audiences by delivering exceptional services and programs. Our success has been built on strong partnerships from the ten community museums, and hard work from museum and OMN staff. Thanks to the City of Ottawa for its investment and commitment to sustainability through the Arts and Heritage 20/20 plan and Museum Sustainability Plan. MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR 2012 was a busy year for the OMN. Our new strategic plan helped identify future directions for the organization and set clear goals for us to work towards. Along with strategic planning, the OMN also refreshed and updated our marketing strategy. Our new strategy aims to evaluate the effectiveness of each media buy and marketing channels through measurable on-site visitation. This helps to identify exactly how OMN marketing is making a difference to the museums and how we can work to increase visitation for the museums. Our advocacy plan set a direction of leadership for the OMN. We will continue to seek out new partnerships with businesses, community organizations and heritage groups. As part of this strategy, the OMN will play a leadership role in promoting the museums for City-wide events like Culture Days and Doors Open Ottawa. Moving into 2013, the OMN will be focussed on building audiences collectively, while increasing our partnerships with local schools. The Ottawa Museum Network has achieved success over the past seven years due to the dedication and leadership from the Board of Directors, the input and engagement from Museum Staff, the support of Museum Boards and the leadership team at the City of Ottawa. The OMN continues to be grateful for the ongoing financial support we receive from all three levels of government. Isabelle Geoffrion Chair, Board of Directors and Manager of Watson s Mill Laura Gibbs Executive Director 6

7 05 A YEAR IN REVIEW ADVOCACY In 2012, the OMN s Board of Directors developed an advocacy plan to identify shared messages and develop communication strategies to increase awareness of Ottawa s community museums. The City of Ottawa Service agreement that was established through the Museum Sustainability Plan has resulted in significant advancements of the community museums. The OMN was originally set up to primarily serve a marketing function for the museums, and since launching joint marketing campaigns in 2008, visitorship has increased by 54% and traffic to the OMN s website has grown each year. These figures demonstrate how valuable City of Ottawa funding has been to attracting visitors to their local museums and engaging with museums that tell stories about the history of Ottawa. Our community museums contribute to a thriving community culture scene, working in partnership with businesses and other sectors to make Ottawa a vibrant and exciting place to live. We are working to align with the City of Ottawa s 20/20 Arts, Culture and Heritage Plan, to make Ottawa a vibrant cultural city and great place to live in, work in and visit. Community museums provide professional opportunities for knowledge workers and attract cultural tourists to their neighbourhoods, supporting local businesses. In fact, Ottawa Museum Network community museums contributed an estimated $3.8 million in expenditures to the local economy in The OMN is well positioned to take advantage of partnership and sponsorship opportunities flowing from the City of Ottawa s renewed cultural plan. The OMN has been successful in building network-wide relationships with Ottawa public libraries, community service organizations and schools. These relationships have helped increase visitorship and engagement with community museums. The OMN plans to work with Ottawa schools to deliver Inquiring Minds Ottawa, and with the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement Areas to promote community museums to local businesses for greater collaboration and sponsorship. The OMN also aims to promote cultural tourism to local Ottawa audiences and out-of-town visitors with the help of Ottawa Tourism.

8 BROKERING SERVICES Realizing Efficiencies through Collaboration The Ottawa Museum Network continues to administrate the Group benefits plan for community museums. Our aim is to ensure that the benefit premium does not significantly increase from year to year. In 2012, the OMN realized a cost savings of 3% from last year. The OMN offers training and professional development opportunities, where appropriate to community museum and staff. In 2012, the OMN offered first aid training, WHIMIS, Ontario accessibility training and risk management training. The OMN also works closely with the Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa (CHOO) to advice the council on the training needs of the community museums so that tailored training can be developed to meet the needs of the museums. The Ottawa Museum Network worked to increase our purchasing power in advertising spend in We organized several meetings with marketing staff from the museums to identify opportunities where museums might purchase an advertising together, at a discounted price. The Ottawa Museum Network also provides opportunities for the museums to purchase memberships jointly, which results in a cost savings. Diefenbunker: Canada s Cold War museum 8

9 BUILDING AUDIENCES OMN Marketing The OMN manages joint marketing on behalf of the community museums. This leverages City of Ottawa funding with enhanced purchasing power and increased visibility in advertising. A central goal to the 2011/2012 marketing campaign was to assess how we measure the effectiveness of our marketing and to establish a process for continuous improvement. The OMN has established more rigorous forms of evaluation that have been integrated in our strategic marketing plans. The OMN is adept at leveraging joint purchasing power to leverage funding. We know that although marketing spend does not significantly increase from year to year, our visibility does. Advertising impressions refers to the number of times a consumer sees an OMN advertisement. This means that the OMN has been effective in negotiating better deals with suppliers, using high impact channels, and utilizing free or low cost advertising solutions OMN Marketing Impression Growth 0 4,000,000 8,000,000 Number of Impressions 9

10 The OMN has used QR code tracking, website referrals and online tools to help us understand the effectiveness of our advertising. This type of evaluation also gives us valueable information about who our visitors are, where they are coming from, and what they are looking for from their museum expeirence. The chart below highlights that visitors to the OMN website have increased consistently over the past three years. Unique Visitors to the Website The OMN s refreshed website and mobile site built a foundation for entry into various social media platforms, YouTube and mobile marketing. The OMN aims to adopt innovative, highimpact and low cost strategies moving into 2013 and beyond. BUILDING AWARENESS: OMN COMMUNICATIONS The OMN s primary communication objective is to improve its communication with internal and external stakeholders, and refine our messaging to clearly communicate the distinct offerings of our network museums, in order to increase awareness and visitation. The OMN has developed the following communications tools to build awareness with our audiences: OMN amusements Newsletter is sent to community partners, hotels, libraries and community centres OMN Connexions Newsletter informs Connexion Cardholders about upcoming events, special offers and discounts Partnerships are formed with local media, journalists and bloggers and press releases are sent out regularly Local interest bloggers are contacted to write about their adventures at the museums Social media is being used to reach out to potential visitors and build awareness about the museums 10

11 THE CONNEXION CARD The Connexion Card was developed collaboratively by staff from the community museums. The Connexion Card packages museum experiences in an affordable card that can be purchased online or at the museums. Connexion Cardholders receive: Free admission to participating museums for one year. Invitations to special events and invite-only events. Discounts on some programs and services. A quarterly Connexion Card e-newsletter. Benefits of purchasing the Connexion Card: An affordable way to experience the cultural heritage of Ottawa. The most affordable multi-museum package in Ottawa. The Connexion Card does not restrict the number of children that families can bring. It s easy to purchase online from the OMN website or in person at the museums. It gives cardholders access to over 500 programs and services that are offered by the community museums. Working in partnership with the museums The Connexion Card is a joint initiative between the OMN and the museums. All revenues from card sales are distributed among the OMN and the museums. The OMN commits to re-invest revenue from card sales back into the administration and promotion of the program. The Connexion Card project received support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation ($23,600), the Department of Culture ($41,500) and operational funding from the City of Ottawa. 11

12 INQUIRING MINDS Creating partnerships with local schools Inquiring Minds Ottawa aims to increase market share of members of the Ottawa Museum Network by developing a competitive, collaborative approach to audience development; to strengthen and Watson s Mill expand the extent to which schools in Ottawa use museums as cultural resources. The first pilot was launched at Watson s Mill the first week of September Building Partnerships: through Inquiring Minds Ottawa, the OMN seeks to establish partnerships with School Boards in Ottawa. Early partnership building activities will include facilitating a pilot program at each of the participating museums, and identifying advocates within the teaching community to support the Inquiring Minds program. Learning from Experience: this concept is based on the Open Minds/Campus Calgary model, established by the Calgary Zoo in Open Minds is now in London (Ontario), Vancouver, St John s, Edmonton, Lansing (Michigan), Singapore and Leeds (England). Calgary and London have both offered to support the OMN with a mentor relationship while we establish Open Minds here in Ottawa. Further, the documented results of PhD research on this model have demonstrated that student s literacy rates have increased by as much as 24% over students from the same grade and school who did not participate in the program (Cochrane, 2004). Sustainability and Funding: Based on existing Open Minds programs, private foundations, funders and corporate sponsorships have been secured for multi-year funding. The OMN has a viable opportunity to improve the presence of private support to the museums of the Network through the Inquiring Minds program. Inquiring Minds has received notice of approved funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage ($70,000), ArtsVest matching sponsorship program ($3,500) the Department of Culture, the Lions Club, and operational funding from the City of Ottawa. 12

13 REVENUE GENERATION: A FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY The OMN has been successful in leveraging public funding to attract private sector support for its initiatives. For example, the OMN successfully leveraged 84% of its marketing campaign resources through negotiations with suppliers for a greater media buy, significantly increasing our marketing reach to over 8 million and resulting in greater effectiveness of our program. Over the planning period, the OMN will work to attract sponsors, funders and foundations to support Network museums. Where possible, the OMN will seek joint sponsorships to further enhance the capacity of Network museums. The OMN will work with Network members to assure that they have access to opportunities to build their capacity through new investment opportunities. Cumberland Heritage Village Museum Want to learn more? Sign up for our newsletter online or feel free to contact us directly. Ottawa Museum Network rue Metcalfe Street. Ottawa, ON. Canada K2P 1R7 T: info@ottawamuseumnetwork.ca 13