Marketing in museums is much more than promotion. It is how we tell our story, invite people in, and help our communities understand why museums matter. Strong marketing is not just about attendance. It is about relevance, trust, and public value.

That feels especially important right now.

In 2025, we were reminded how quickly the landscape can shift. Museums across the country have faced funding uncertainty, political pressure, staffing challenges, and growing questions about our work and our purpose. Many of you are making difficult decisions every day while continuing to serve your communities with resilience and creativity.

That reality shaped AAM’s new strategic plan for 2026–2031.

Over the past several months, we’ve listened closely to members, partners, volunteers, and leaders across the field. We’ve heard your concerns, your hopes, and your ideas for what AAM must be in this moment. One message came through clearly: museums need an Alliance that is focused, responsive, and deeply committed to helping the field navigate both challenge and opportunity.

The resulting plan is a clear set of priorities for the next five years: strengthening advocacy, expanding professional learning and peer connection, modernizing the path to museum excellence, and building a stronger national narrative about the value of museums.

That last priority feels especially connected to this issue’s theme. In this moment, museums must clearly communicate not only what we do, but why it matters. We are not optional amenities. We are essential institutions that contribute to education, workforce development, civic trust, economic vitality, and stronger communities. Public relations and marketing have become central to leadership. If we do not tell our story, someone else will.

This year, you will see our five-year strategic plan come to life through new affinity communities, a leadership accelerator, a coordinated 50-state advocacy strategy, digital Accreditation tools, a redesigned website, and new self-paced learning opportunities.

By 2031, our 125th anniversary, I hope you will feel a real difference in what your Alliance means to you: more accessible, more useful, and more essential to your daily work.

This field has faced extraordinary challenges, but I remain deeply optimistic. Museums continue to be places of trust, learning, and belonging. They matter profoundly to the communities they serve. And since last year, our sector has become more coordinated, more visible, more connected, and better equipped, with a stronger story to tell about why museums matter.

I am excited for this next chapter in AAM’s history, not just because of what we are building, but because of who we are building it with: all of you.

5/2/2026

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Marilyn Jackson is the President and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums.