Stoke

Background
Hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is the internationally-acclaimed visual arts museum of the Pacific Northwest. With over 25,000 pieces in its permanent collection, a noted curatorial history for special exhibitions, and the celebrated Olympic Sculpture Park, SAM provides endless opportunities to "Connect Art to Life."

Challenge
SAM is centered in a vibrant city hosting countless museums, galleries, events, concerts, and restaurants, each tenaciously competing for the public’s limited time, money and attention.

In partnership with the team at Seattle ad agency, Copacino + Fujikato, Stoke was charged with assessing "The SAM Experience," to drive consumer awareness and interest in the arts, through SAM.

Qualitative and quantitative research sought to understand customer needs, brand perceptions and competitive positioning opportunities. An organizational identity assessment included one-on-one interviews with 20 key internal stakeholders, with an online survey of all employees.

Stoke also conducted a Customer Experience Audit to understand how perceptions of the SAM brand were created (or frustrated) by facility design, policy, communications, technology, design, culture and process.

Outcome
A brand position was adopted, establishing SAM’s role as "Cultural Integrator," an organization which serves to "engage, enrich and expand the human experience through visual art."

SAM’s brand strategy is being used to focus a 5-year strategic planning process.

A new nomenclature system and visual identity system is in development. The design of a new SAM Visitor Experience is being incorporated into a signature exhibition scheduled for late-2010.