Strategy & Innovation

Art and
Museums:
Creating
Social Moments
Museum of Ice Cream

If you didn't Instagram it, were you even there? These days the ultimate
currency is a social media asset. Museums are ramping up their digital
strategies to appeal to Instagram-obsessed consumers, while brands
invest heavily in artful experiences. Here's what you need to know about
creating social moments with impact.
Analysis
Kakao Friends Concept Museum
"In the p r e -d ig ital p hotog r ap hy e r a the
m e s s ag e w as , 'T his is w hat I’m s e e ing '.
T od ay the m e s s ag e is 'I w as the r e ; I cam e ,
I s aw and I s e lfie d '."
Jia Jia Fei
Director of digital, Jewish Museum
In such selfie-ob sessed times, it' s no sur p r ise
tha t exp er iences a r e b eing ta ilor -ma d e for
Insta g r a m. Museums a nd a r t institutions a r ound
the w or ld a r e emb r a cing d ig ita l med ia a nd
fuelling foot tr a ffic b y cr a fting socia l moments.
Ther e' s still the od d " no p hotos" r ule her e a nd
ther e – either to ensur e v isitor s sta y tr uly p r esent
or to p r otect the r ig hts of the a r tist – b ut for the
most p a r t, the a r t w or ld is g etting socia lly sa v v y.
The ter ms " a r t" a nd " museum" a r e ev en b eing
r ed efined in the p r ocess. Up -a nd -coming
entr ep r eneur s a nd exp er ience-r ea d y b r a nd s a r e
The Egg House cha lleng ing tr a d itiona l a r t institutions b y
cr ea ting their ow n. Welcome to the w or ld of:
Museum of Ice Cr ea m, The Museum of S elfies,
The Cheetos Museum, Dr ea m Ma chine a nd Color
F a ctor y – a ll conceiv ed to feed the exp er ience
economy.
Esta b lished museums r einv ent their d ig ita l
str a teg ies, ensur ing socia b ility r ema ins a
p r ior ity. Ar tificia l intellig ence help s to d r iv e new
conv er sa tiona l initia tiv es w ith a r t enthusia sts,
w hile ha shta g ev ents encour a g e w id er
community p a r ticip a tion. These str a teg ies a r e
r ip e for r eta il insp ir a tion a nd for b r a nd s looking
to w in a t exp er ientia l ma r keting .
Instagram murals
F OMO-ind ucing mur a ls emer g e in cities a s
d estina tion la nd ma r ks w or th v isiting . Now
w hen young tr a v eller s v isit Pa r is, they' r e
mor e likely to g o to the colour ful Pig a lle x
Nike b a sketb a ll cour t tha n to the L ouv r e.

B r a nd s a r e ca p ita lising on their p hysica l

r eta il sp a ces to cr ea te Insta g r a m-fr iend ly
b a ckd r op s. Pa ul S mith' s #p inkw a ll in L os
Ang eles ha s b ecome a socia l med ia
p henomenon, a ttr a cting 9 5k p osts a nd
countless g eota g s. Gucci is inv esting
hea v ily in the a r ts, cr ea ting mur a ls a r ound
the w or ld in p a r tner ship w ith b ur g eoning
cr ea tiv es a nd la unching its new Ar tL a b
Gucci initia tiv e in Ita ly tha t a ims to foster
cr ea tiv ity a nd innov a tion.

R a g a nd B one ha s d esig ned mur a ls on its

r eta il loca tions in New Yor k a nd L os
Ang eles, b ut mor e in sup p or t of the a r ts
tha n in sup p or t of selfies. “It’s nothing to d o
w ith ma r keting , it’s just something tha t
ma kes the neig hb our hood a mor e insp ir ing
p la ce to b e, " found er Ma r cus Wa inw r ig ht
told B oF . " B ut in ter ms of cost, you ca n
sp end one million on a p hotog r a p hy
ca mp a ig n, b ut a ca n of K r ylon is $ 10. ”
Paul Smith Nike x Pigalle
Social factories
B r a nd ed museums a r e cr a fting socia l-
w or thy moments tha t d r a w in hug e cr ow d s,
b oth online a nd off.

An ov er nig ht sensa tion, The Museum of Ice

Cr ea m d eb uted in New Yor k in 2 016 , selling
out in just fiv e d a ys b efor e exp a nd ing to
S a n F r a ncisco, w her e it sold out w ithin 9 0
minutes. The exp er ience fea tur es r ooms
p er fect for Insta g r a m ma g ic, w ith a sp r inkle
p ool a nd life-sized ice cr ea m cones.

In China , tea mL a b ’s L iv ing Dig ita l F or est

a nd F utur e Pa r k w a s one of the most
Museum of Ice Cream teamLab
successful exhib itions of 2 017. Ga r ner ing
6 . 75m v iew s a nd 5k mentions on Weib o, the
d ig ita l insta lla tion tr a nsp or ted v isitor s v ia
r ea l-time lig ht p r ojections.

R efiner y2 9 tea ms w ith b r a nd s for its

2 9 R ooms initia tiv e. While some r ooms
p r omote socia l issues, v isitor s tend to
cr ea te Insta g r a m content w ith fr iend s.

Other nota b le " ma d e-for -Insta g r a m" sp a ces

to la unch in the p a st yea r includ e: Dr ea m
Ma chine, Color F a ctor y, The Eg g House, The
Museum of S elfies, Ca nd ytop ia , The F utur e
of S p or ts, a nd Ha p p y Pla ce.
Dream Machine Color Factory
Blurring art and commerce
With b oth a r t a nd exp er ientia l ma r keting
ha v ing a moment, b r a nd s a r e find ing w a ys
to fuse the tw o tog ether .
Cheetos noticed consumer s p osting p hotos
on socia l hig hlig hting how the silhouette of
its p r od uct r esemb led other ob jects. The
b r a nd q uickly d ev elop ed a ma r keting
str a teg y to la unch the Cheetos museum,
w her e shop p er s could sub mit their ow n
Cheetos
uniq ue sha p e to w in p r izes. L oca ted insid e
R ip ley' s B eliev e It or Not! in New Yor k,
v isitor s w ho could n' t a ttend the IR L museum
w er e a b le to v iew the v ir tua l g a ller y. The
ca mp a ig n g a r ner ed ov er 2 3m v iew s a cr oss
socia l med ia a nd tr a d itiona l outlets, a nd
r eceiv ed 12 7, 717 uniq ue Cheetos
sub missions.
L ouis Vuitton b r oug ht its tr a v elling " Volez,
Louis Vuitton
Vog uez, Voya g ez" exhib it to New Yor k in
2 017. The r etr osp ectiv e encomp a ssed the
b r a nd ’s 16 0-yea r histor y of tr unks a nd
tr a v el p ieces. The museum-like exp er ience
finished w ith a g ift shop tha t fea tur ed
fr a g r a nces, tr a v el g uid es a nd sp ecia l
lea ther g ood s to commemor a te the
exhib ition.
Baskin-Robbins x @sambypen
In ea r ly 2 018, Gucci unv eiled its new Gucci
Ga r d en stor e, r esta ur a nt a nd museum
concep t in F lor ence. The Gucci Ga r d en
Ga ller ia includ es a tw o-floor g a ller y cur a ted
b y fa shion cr itic Ma r ia L uisa F r isa tha t a ims
to conv ey the b r a nd ’s new v ision a long sid e
nosta lg ic elements of its p a st. Ea ch r oom
fea tur es Gucci a p p a r el a nd a ccessor ies
d isp la yed like a r tw or ks, w ith tw o r ooms
mimicking na tur a l histor y museums.
In S outh K or ea , B a skin-R ob b ins p a r tner ed
w ith loca l str eet a r tist, @sa mb yp ento
la unch a new a r t-insp ir ed shop . The stor e
w a s d esig ned w ith the a r tist' s sig na tur e
g r a ffiti-like a esthetic, selling b oth ice-
cr ea m a nd S a m' s r a ng e of p r od ucts.
K a ka o Ta lk’s second exhib ition is cur r ently
on v iew a t the K a ka o F r iend Concep t
Museum in S eoul. The exhib it show ca ses
loca l a r tists’ r einter p r eta tion of the p op ula r
ca r toon fig ur es. The museum p r ov id es
inter a ctiv e elements for v isitor s, such a s a
p hoto sp a ce a nd a la r g e colour ing a r ea .
S ee mor e of the v isua ls fr om the show her e.
AI-driven art experiences
The inter p la y b etw een technolog y a nd a r t is
ev er -ev olv ing , a nd museums a r e a ctiv ely
exp er imenting . AI ha s ov er ta ken VR a s the
innov a tion of choice, w ith institutions
a d op ting cha tb ots a nd ima g e r ecog nition.

The S a n F r a ncisco Museum of Mod er n Ar t

(S F MOMA) d eb uted a messa g ing ser v ice in
2 017 ca lled " S end Me" , in w hich user s could
text a n emoji to the museum to r eceiv e a
r ela ted ima g e of a n a r tw or k. The one-to-one
communica tion tool b eca me a v ir a l hit, w ith
S F MOMA exp a nd ing the concep t to
institutions such a s The Ta te in L ond on a nd
the Auckla nd Ar t Ga ller y in New Zea la nd .
S imila r conv er sa tiona l tools ha v e a lso b een
a d op ted elsew her e, w ith Anne F r a nk House
in Amster d a m, the Museum of Mod er n Ar t in
B uenos Air es a nd the Na tiona l Ar t Museum
in B ela r us la unching cha tb ots.

In Ja nua r y 2 018, Goog le' s Ar ts & Cultur e

a r m cr ea ted a socia l med ia sensa tion w hen
it la unched its fa ce ma tching fea tur e. User s
could up loa d a selfie to the a p p a nd ha v e it
ma tched to a n a r tw or k fr om Goog le' s v a st
collection. In a few d a ys, mor e tha n 30
million selfies w er e up loa d ed .
Google Arts & Culture

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Collaborative marketing
Museums a r e joining for ces to w id en their
r ea ch a nd p r omote cultur e w ithin cities.

B oston a nd New Yor k City museums cr ea ted

Insta S w a p d a y, w her e a museum w ould
ta ke ov er ea ch other ' s Insta g r a m for a d a y.
A tota l of 18 museums in New Yor k a nd 16
museums in B oston p a r ticip a ted in the
#MuseumInsta S w a p , hig hlig hting the
imp or ta nce of “ma king a nd sha r ing museum
lov e" w hile p r omoting the a r tistic d iv er sity
in ea ch city. In a simila r str a teg y, four New
Yor k museums ca me tog ether to collectiv ely
p r omote their sound -r ela ted exhib its. The
The Morgan Library & Museum colla b or a tiv e ma r keting effor t w a s listed
und er #MuseumInsta S w a p S ound a nd on a
sha r ed w eb site.

F or Va lentine' s Da y, S outher n Ca lifor nia n

museums p la yed ma tchma ker on Tw itter .
The museums a ttemp ted to ma tchma ke
sub jects fr om w or ks of a r t w ith other
institutions. A Tw itter feud sp a r ked b etw een
the S cience Museum a nd the Na tur a l Histor y
Museum in the UK , w her e ea ch institution
tr ied to one-up the other . After tw o hour s, a
tr uce w a s d r a w n b ut not w ithout g a r ner ing
a lot of socia l b uzz.
Science Museum

Hammer Museum
Working in wellness
Museums a r e ca p ita lising on the w ellness
mov ement to lur e in new v isitor s. As noted
in our Museum Wor kouts r ep or t, museum
w or kouts a r e foster ing new w a ys to
a p p r ecia te a r t w hile a ctiv a ting the b od y.

At the Museum of Mod er n Ar t in New Yor k,

v isitor s ca n p a r ticip a te in ea r ly mor ning
med ita tion sessions, w hile the R ub in
Museum p r ov id es a lunch b r ea k med ita tion
session for those on the g o.

Yog is a r e inv ited to p r a ctice their v inya sa

flow insid e the g a ller ies of the B r ooklyn
Museum in New Yor k, a nd Ackla nd Ar t
Museum in Nor th Ca r olina . The initia tiv e a t
Rubin Museum
the B r ooklyn Museum is sp onsor ed b y
a d id a s, p r ov id ing insp ir a tion on how
b r a nd s ca n g et inv olv ed . Outd oor yog a
sessions a r e a lso g a ining tr a ction, w ith The
d eCor d ov a S culp tur e Pa r k a nd Museum
or g a nising yog a in the p a r k a nd the V&A
summer ser ies fea tur ing yog a , coffee a nd a
tour of the museum.

Visitor s a t the Na tiona l Ja zz Museum in

Ha r lem ha v e the op p or tunity to ta ke p a r t in
a n hour -long v inya sa flow a ccomp a nied b y
liv e ja zz, cr ea ting a uniq ue immer siv e
Brooklyn Museum Metropolitan Museum of Art
exp er ience.
Selfie culture
S ome museums a r e b lur r ing self-exp r ession
a nd eng a g ement, encour a g ing selfies w ith
sp ecific ha shta g s or ca lls-to-a ction.

The Museum of S elfies in L os Ang eles

la unched in Ap r il 2 018, exp lor ing the
cultur a l p henomenon sur r ound ing selfies.
The tw o-month p op -up is ha lf infor ma tiona l
a nd ha lf inter a ctiv e, a llow ing v isitor s to
lea r n a b out selfies w hile ta king them.

B a ck in 2 014 , #MuseumS elfieDa y w a s

cr ea ted b y a r t consulta nt Ma r Dixon. The
@MuseumSelfieDay
ha shta g – w hich is celeb r a ted ev er y 17th
Ja nua r y – w a s esta b lished to b r ing out the
p la yful sid e of v isiting a museum. To d a te,
the ha shta g ha s a ma ssed 15k p osts on
Insta g r a m w hile #MuseumS elfie ha s mor e
tha n 54 k ta g s. The a ct of ta king p hotos w ith
w or ks of a r t w a s fur ther fuelled b y B eyonce
a nd Ja y-Z' s p r iv a te tour of the L ouv r e,
w hich cr ea ted v ir a l cha tter .

In L ACMA' s " F a ces of Amer ica " exhib it, the

museum a ccep ted v isitor selfies to b e a
p a r t of the collection on show . S imila r ly, the
Getty Museum r olled out a p hoto cha lleng e
a sking v isitor s to str ike a #MusePose b y
imita ting the a r t on d isp la y.

@beyonce
Accessing art in Asia
Accor d ing to Da xue Consulting , the numb er
of Chinese museum v isitor s ha s g r ow n 55%
fr om to 2 006 to 2 015, w ith museums
r a nking hig h a s a p op ula r leisur e p la ce. In
2 015 a lone, ther e w er e ov er 781 million
Chinese museum v isitor s (Na tiona l B ur ea u
of S ta tistics of China ), p ointing tow a r d s a n
incr ea sed inter est in a r ts a nd cultur e.
In Asia , socia l med ia is imp a cting the w a y
a r t is a ccessed . Most Chinese museums
ha v e incor p or a ted mob ile p a yment op tions
Daxue Consulting
for ticketing , a nd WeCha t' s integ r a tion into
consumer s' ev er yd a y liv es mea ns tha t
institutions ha v e ha d to a d a p t. Alr ea d y, 6 5
of 9 6 fir st-cla ss museums in China ha v e
la unched a n officia l WeCha t a ccount
a llow ing for d ir ect a ccess to exhib it
infor ma tion a nd a ha nd ful of ser v ices.
The S ha ng ha i Na tur a l Histor y Museum uses
WeCha t to sha r e cor r esp ond ing a ud io
g uid es for v isitor s to a ccess d ur ing their
v isit. At the S a nxing d ui Museum, WeCha t
user s a r e a b le to v iew the museum thr oug h
a 36 0° online p a nor a ma d isp la y. The
function d ir ects w hile p r ov id ing contextua l
infor ma tion.
Culture Pavillion
A WeCha t-b a sed a r t p r oject know n a s
Cultur e Pa v ilion is using the a p p ' s Moments
feed a s a mod er n sp a ce for show ca sing
contemp or a r y a r t. F ound ed b y a r tist Chen
Youtou a nd cur a tor B a o Dong , the p a ir a r e
not only ma king a r t mor e a ccessib le b ut a r e
a lso emp ow er ing consumer s to cr ea te –
a nyone w ith a WeCha t a ccount is w elcome
to a p p ly to the v ir tua l g a ller y.
An ed uca tion sta r t-up ca lled Aha S chool is
d emocr a tising a r t b y p r od ucing v ir tua l
tour s of ten g lob a l museums. The p r oject,
d ub b ed “100, 000 K id s Tour ing the Wor ld ’s
Top 10 Museums”, hig hlig hts the p ositiv e
imp a ct a nd r ea ch liv e-str ea ming ca n ha v e
on und er p r iv ileg ed a nd r ur a l stud ents. “The
child r en her e d on’t ha v e a ccess to a ny
museums, let a lone fa mous ones, ” Ma
Xia oya n, a tea cher a t the Akeli Center
S chool in a r ur a l cor ner of the southw ester n
p r ov ince of S ichua n, told The New Yor k
Times. “F or ma ny of them, ev en g oing to the
closest tow n is d ifficult b eca use their
fa milies d on’t ha v e money for tr a v el. ”
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