Context
The Albertina in Vienna is one of the world's most renowned museums and exhibition venues. Founded in 1776 by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, the extensive collections provide an insight into 600 years of art history: over 1 million drawings and prints from the late Gothic period to the present day, around 100,000 Austrian art photographs, over 40,000 plans, studies and models in the genre of architectural drawing as well as paintings and sculptures by important artists from modernism to contemporary art. The latter can also be seen in the Albertina Modern, the 2,000 square meter exhibition house on Karlsplatz. The Albertina attracts over a million visitors every year, making it one of the most important cultural attractions and places to visit in Vienna. In order to guarantee its own high share of financing, the Albertina must increasingly act as an economic entrepreneur. A significant proportion of the museum's revenue comes from its own museum store, which is available both on site and online. This store supports not only the generation of profits, but also the marketing and educational communication of the museum's activities.
The Albertina faced various challenges in terms of store design, product diversity and product profitability. A comprehensive evaluation of the store activities was necessary, taking into account the economic key figures as well as qualitative aspects.
Approach
In a status quo analysis and an on-site workshop, the development of the museum store and the product selection were analyzed in detail. In addition, trends and market movements (e.g. tourism development in Vienna) were examined more closely. This showed that, despite some challenges, the museum store is already very successful in the status quo and many of the right steps have already been taken. Nevertheless, topics such as product diversity, strengthening the online store and the use of meaningful key figures were discussed and optimizations were highlighted.
Added Value
- Sound expertise: actori has extensive experience in advising museums and museum stores, which enabled a well-founded analysis and recommendations.
Results from studies: An actori study on online museum stores conducted in 2022 provided valuable insights and best practices that were adapted to the Albertina's situation. - Targeted recommendations: Focusing on the Albertina's specific challenges and developing tailored recommendations, e.g. on product selection, to increase the success of the museum store.
- Sustainable target achievement: The proposed metrics and monitoring methods allow the Albertina to continuously monitor success and make adjustments to ensure long-term success.
- In the course of the project, the balance between the educational task and the profitability of the museum store could be well assessed and thus recommendations could be made that are neither purely educational/content-driven nor exclusively driven by a profit-oriented perspective and include the charisma of the "Albertina" brand.
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