Marketing and Communications Planning
The Alliance has compiled this set of marketing and communications planning resources from amongst its own offerings as well as those throughout the nonprofit and museum sector.
Alliance Resources
Tier 3 museum members can access a number of sample marketing & communications plans and style guides.
Other Resources
The following resources were compiled from organizations throughout the nonprofit and museum sector. AAM reviewed and approved each one based on the organization’s authority and expertise and the resource’s usefulness related to the topic. Clicking the links below will take you off the AAM website.
The U.S. Small Business Administration discusses the purpose of a marketing plan, provides an outline, and details the components.
The Just Enough Planning Guide
Spitfire Strategies shares a guide on planning for a campaign–whether it be policy, issue or education campaigns. This tool can be useful for marketing planning (PDF, 44 pages).
Making History Matter: Toolkit for Communicators
This toolkit, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, provides evidence-based strategies for reframing history, developed and tested by the FrameWorks Institute in partnership with the American Association for State and Local History, the National Council on Public History, and the Organization of American Historians. The toolkit includes common communication traps, how to keep conversations on track, sample communications, and answers to communicators’ most common questions about strategic framing.
The Victoria and Albert Museum explains its approach to marketing its institution, communicating values to audiences that will respond to them.
Marketing Plan Component of Your Business Plan
Wolters Kluwer offers this Business Owner’s Toolkit which provides guidance on integrating marketing into overall business planning.
Nonprofit Communications Trends Report
The Nonprofit Marketing Guide shares trends on nonprofit communications that offers metrics and trends on communications tools, marketing plans, social media, email and direct mail.
Research & Planning for Museum Marketing Success
MuseumNext An in-depth looking at developing a marketing plan for your museum, including how to conduct a SWOT analysis and set a budget.
The Routledge Handbook of Museums, Media and Communication
Routledge publishing is offering this book for free download (or you can read online). The book explores what it means to make use of information communication technology and contrast it with face-to-face communication.
The Texas Commission on the Arts shares a marketing toolkit that may be useful to small museums. It has guidelines for creating a media plan, an overview of different vehicles for getting the word out, tricks of the trade, tips for conducting market research and developing a media list, information, and samples (such as ads, fact sheets, press releases, and group sales documents).