Professional Forum
Thursday, April 04, 2019: 4:00pm - 4:50pm - Independence East West: Professional Forum: Engaging Audiences with Integrated Technology
Ed Gargiulo, Tessitura Network, USA, Megan Bernard, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA, Kris Wilton, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, USA, Steven Roth, Tessitura, USA
As Boston grows into an emerging tech hub, its non-profits are leveraging technology to connect with audiences in ways never imagined possible. How do we deliver on constantly evolving expectations? Case studies from MW19’s host city highlight the risks and rewards of navigating this complex landscape.
The Museum of Science envisioned a grand lobby with an expansive view and a flexible, open design. But this project required a series of guest service point changes. Could the Museum consolidate its Box Office and Membership Booth into one location—while improving the visitor and member experience? Heather Calvin, Associate Vice President, Visitor Experience and Operations, describes how a combination of technology and policy made this possible.
The Museum of Fine Arts knew the exhibition “Takashi Murakami: Lineage of Eccentrics” would attract a new audience to the Museum. They introduced the XPass, a six-month trial membership offered during the run of the exhibition. Megan Bernard, Assistant Director of Membership, describes the initiative and its results.
The Celebrity Series of Boston presents performances all across the city, and with over 65,000 patrons, communicating with audiences presented a significant challenge. Through management of patron data and precision segmentation, they can now deliver nuanced messages to discrete groups of patrons consistently. Jack Wright, Director of Marketing and Communications, describes how Celebrity Series, via Tessitura, executes these micro-strategies for effective communication.
When an opportunity emerged to integrate their customer relationship management system with a new email service provider, the Institute of Contemporary Art embarked on an effort to streamline list management, better tailor (and even automate!) communications, clean up back-end user experience, and get better metrics on engagement. Kris Wilton, Director of Creative Content and Digital Engagement, describes the outcomes.