Affection ManagementLuis Marcelo Mendes Communications Consultant for Museums@ Fundação Roberto MarinhoRio de Janeiro - Brazil

When you’re benchmarking museums you stumble upon all the usual suspects: Tate, MoMA, Louvre, British Museum. You name it.

The premium players of this game of millions of visitors and millions of dollars.

Computers connect us more than ever before. It is possible for us to be kind in ways that our species has never experienced.

And if we do something about it, we can make it better.

Cory Doctorow

But according to ICOM there are

55.000 museums in the world.

And (I guess) we can agree that no

more than 1% of them are leaders of the league.  

So how about the 99% ? 

You know, the ones we now got used to call traditional museums.

Is this ceasing to be an artistic and education competition and becoming a financial one? 

How can we deal with the gap between rich and poor museums worldwide?

There’s a lesson we can learn from the movie Moneyball, about this baseball manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt next page), that have to deal with the smaller budget in the whole league.

And yet they started to win games in a row after Billy Beane listens to the geeky/computer guy, Peter Brand (last page), that says you don't need millionaire players to get on base, but a different approach, a bold attitude, powered with technology.

I apply this thinking to MoMA, where more than 90% of our new visitors "intend to return" and have a great experience ONCE THEY VISIT. So all we need to do is get them in the door--or in the metaphor of Moneyball, bring them in along with a friend or a group, and build it from there.

Kim Mitchell - MoMA

So let's give a second thought of what is really behind the success of those museums. I understand it's the affection exchange that connects Tate, the MCA Denver or the Walker Center with the audience.

Money is good but this game is not about money. It’s about relationships.

Nina Simon @ MAH Santa Cruz is providing an affection environment for the audience.

Where strangers from different backgrounds can engage in a conversation and share their experiences. Check her results.

Pesquisa no evento Communicating the Museum em 2008 com uma centena de gestores de museus. Cerca de 80% da Europa. Demais representantes das Américas, Asia e Australásia.

32%: branding é um termo feio63%: não administram suas marcas17%: branding > organização interna

I believe these are the days of miracles and wonder. And the signs are popping up everywhere.

Computers connect us more than ever before. It is possible for us to be kind in ways that our species has never experienced.

And if we do something about it, we can make it better.

Cory Doctorow

“How did you make all these people pay for music?" And the real answer is, I didn't make them. I asked them.

And through the very act of asking people, I'd connected with them, and when you connect with them, people want to help you.

Amanda Palmer

Affection Management is a mindset that helps cultural institutions build strong relationships with the different audiences and play a relevant role in their communities. 

Powered by culture, innovation and connections.

This is as important as the financial management or the collection management in a museum. This is key and we so often take it for granted. 

Jasper Visser: The future of museums is about attitude (not technology).

And this is perfect. 

Maybe the attitude of embracing the Peter Brands of the world and start a radical shift.

Museum geeks of the world, unite and take over.

There is a wide open path to work from here, if you consider that there are hundreds of books about anger management and not a single one about affection management.

Some of my affection collecttion:

http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/tateshots-moby-tate-modern

http://www.walkerart.org/calendar/2013/internet-cat-video-festival-2

http://www.mcadenver.org

http://www.flickr.com/photos/metmuseum/3266695469/

Lightning talk edited version @ MW2013

luismarcelomendes@gmail.comfacebook.com/luismarcelomendesfree ebook @ www.reprograme.com.br

Thank you.