Branding Cultural Institutions a New Era for Italian Museums?

Brand as an evolving concept can be applied to different fields, as the museum sector. Literature contributions increasingly suggest that branding is a meaningful frame for museums, although brand orientation could be often hindered by internal barriers. A brand embodies tangible and intangible qualities, creating value and influencing both how an organization functions and is perceived, internally and externally. Effective brand strategies enhance general awareness and develop brand-visitor relationships, but mostly they allow museums to develop different alternative revenue streams, such as membership programs, gift shops, cafés, licensing, franchising, donations, even attract investments. So, although brand strategies must be carried out while preserving the cultural mission, marketing topics come up. Nevertheless, museum branding may represent a way to reach greater efficiency/effectiveness and reduce dependency on public financial support, while creating new connections with audience. What about Museums in Italy? This question arises especially after the Italian reform promoted in 2014, that gives more financial independence to the biggest State museums in Italy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Italian Museums are embracing brand, thanks to 15 Italian Museums in-depth interviews and the analysis of their annual reports. The research design allows to gain a picture of the Italian way to manage the brand in Museums, and to understand the role of branding. This paper is to be considered a starting point for wider investigations on this new topic in Italy and it is useful for managers and practitioners who want to go through innovation in museum management.