Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Smithsonian Institution: A World Class Museum Operator

November 4, 2011 • Blog • no comments

Aerial view of the Smithsonian museums in Washington DC (source: Tripadvisor)

As part of the Business Of Heritage conference, I had the pleasure of learning about how the Smithsonian Institution built its world class reputation as a leading museum brand. Delivering the talk was Ms Elizabeth Duggal, Director of International Museum Professional Education Programme of Smithsonian Institution and Co-Chair of ICOM United States.

Here are some of the key points of the talk which I thought would be useful to share.

Excellence in Museums

Harry Potter: A Global Business Phenomenon

November 2, 2011 • Book Reviews • 1 comment

Fantastic Beasts – the newest phenomenon from the wizarding world of Harry Potter (Image from Geek Tyrant)

Have you watched the latest blockbuster movie Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them?

J.K. Rowling’s latest installment – a prequel to the much beloved Harry Potter series – swept cinemas around the world with much critical acclaim. Based on a 2001 book written under her pen name Newt Scamander, it is the newest piece of the Harry Potter universe.

Should Museums Attract Niche Or Mass Audiences?

October 31, 2011 • Blog • 2 comments

NHB’s Night Festival 2008

I love reading Nina Simon’s Museum 2.0 blog for her cutting insights on stuff happening in my neck of the woods. One of the issues that she recently wrote about – audience development – is something that museums and art galleries in Singapore are also grappling with.

In her post, Nina questioned the need for museums to organise “hip” events to attract younger audiences at the expense of alienating a broader more diverse crowd. While many museums have shifted from being a “cabinet of curiosities” for an elite few to “community destinations”, the question now arises whether their activities should be narrowly focused on distinct segments or appeal more broadly across visitor groups.

Face-to-Face Still Trumps Facebook

October 29, 2011 • Blog • 4 comments

According to the latest post on Church of the Customer, the most important platform for consumers to talk about brands isn’t on Facebook, Google +, Twitter or even SMS! Rather, it is good old person-to-person communication in the flesh (well at least in the US).

Have a look at this chart here from eMarketer:

Source: eMarketer.com

Harnessing the Power of Colours

October 27, 2011 • Blog • 1 comment

Do you ever wonder why some people look fab in black, while others look sinister? Want to add a dash of colour to your professional wardrobe without looking like a clown (or 7th month Getai singer)?

I found out the answers to this and more at a recent Colour Dynamics seminar organised by Jill Lowe International, thanks to my buddy James Soh (Living in Singapore Today) and the folks from Jill Lowe. Held at their cosy premises at level 2 of the Raffles Hotel Arcade, the session provided much food for thought.

Why Branding Isn’t Just a Marketing Problem

October 25, 2011 • Blog, Personal Branding • 1 comment

Ensure that all customer touchpoints are branded (courtesy of Marketing Brainstorm)

You’ve probably heard variations of these conversations in your own organisation:

“Our branding sucks! Let’s change our logo and splash it all over the place.”

Have a “Beery” Good Time with Fine Brews in Chinatown

October 23, 2011 • Blog • 1 comment

Fancy a Hobgoblin, Kopparberg pear cider, or Pauvel Kwak with chicken rice or fish ball noodles? How about a lychee flavoured Taiwanese “Xiao Mei Mei” beer to wash down a steaming plate of fish head?

Now you can with The Good Beer Company, Singapore’s first (and only) specialty and craft beer stall in a hawker centre. Opened by Daniel Goh of Young Upstarts fame, its a realisation of a long-time dream come true.

How Businesses Can Learn From Nature

October 21, 2011 • Blog • no comments

Nobody manages resources better than Nature! (image source)

Sustainability seems to be the buzzword these days. We’ve all heard about how companies are investing in carbon credits to offset their industrial activities, embark on occasional recycling programmes, or improving their efficiency to reduce their carbon footprint. While such motives are laudable, they often compromise on business profitability, and are seen more like “CSR” investments. Should the economy – and business – nosedive, would companies still be as noble?

To overturn traditional thinking on business sustainability, Gregory Unruh of the Lincoln Center for Ethics in Global Management shared that one should adopt a “value cycle” rather than the standard “value chain” in one’s business model. The idea behind this is reuse as much material from one’s products as possible, and to feed that back into the manufacturing, distributing and retailing process. This should be done in a profitable manner and be so ingrained into business practices that it becomes second nature.

To Research Or Not To Research?

October 17, 2011 • Blog • no comments

P&G researchers study customers where the action truly is (courtesy of Science in the Box)

Marketing research is a huge cannon in any marketer’s arsenal. Or is it?

The weapons of choice? Street surveys, focus group discussions, straw polls, online surveys, telephone interviews, and behavioural observations. Supplement these with secondary (desktop) research findings published by research houses and voila!, you’ll have the makings of a great marketing strategy.