UK tourism is big business. According to VisitBritain.org nearly 4 million people currently work in the sector and it’s expected to generate £257.4 billion by 2025 (1). Thousands of attractions from castles and galleries to wildlife parks compete to attract domestic and overseas visitors.  There are 2,500 museums alone in the UK (2). What is more, visitor expectations have grown exponentially. Visitors demand more bang for their buck, and will holler loudly on social media and review sites if they don’t get it.

Museum on a Mission

Today’s museums need clarity of purpose, specialist skills and marketing teams to win the war of visitor attraction. The Tank Museum, situated in Bovington Camp, Dorset, is great example of how the modern museum must change to succeed. The museum has a clearly stated purpose, "To tell the story of tanks and the people who serve with them (3)". Its mission can be summarised as “to conserve, develop and interpret the national collection of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles to educate and inspire people (4).”

The museum started out as little more than a shed that housed a small number of important military vehicles from the First World War. In 1947, the museum opened to the public. By 1981, it had around 120 armoured vehicles in its collection. The arrival of a new curator saw a period of expansion, as the museum refocused its efforts on vehicle restoration and conversation. In the noughties, a second period of expansion saw the restoration of Tiger 131, introduction of the annual Tankfest flagship event, an upgraded arena, new museum entrance, display hall and Vehicle Conversation Centre. Today, The Tank Museum holds the world’s largest collection of tanks, attracts over 200,000 visitors annually, and plays an important educational role (5).

Wargaming.net

The Tank Museum’s marketing success has taken time and lots of moving parts. The engine of this growth and innovation has been the museum’s partnership with Wargaming.net, the award-winning developers of the massive multiplayer online game World of Tanks. Since 2011, Wargaming.net has sponsored The Tank Museum’s main summer event, Tankfest. In 2013, they sponsored the creation of The Tank Museum’s state-of-the-art Education Centre. In 2014, Wargaming.net sponsored the ‘Fury’ exhibition, which celebrated the museum’s involvement in the making of David Ayer’s war movie (6).

At Tankfest 2015, Google partnered with Wargaming.net and The Tank Museum to create the UK’s first virtual reality (VR) military museum experience (7). In recent years, the museum’s Vehicle Conservation Centre has become the gaming hub of Tankfest with an array of activities that are streamed live across various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Wargaming.net offers gamers special premium versions of classic tanks such as The Tank Museum’s ‘Fury’ Sherman for limited periods. Opened in April 2017, World of Tanks supported the Tiger Collection exhibition, which brought together every member of the Tiger tank family in one display for the first time. Wargaming.net also supplied a virtual reality Sturmtiger, when arrangements for the loan exhibit fell through (8). The company has also been instrumental in bringing guest vehicles, such as the Char B1 medium tank and “Bretagne” Panther, from the Musée des Blindés (French Tank Museum), to appear at Tankfest.

Meeting Audience Demand

In a survey by the American Alliance of Museums, millennials (those born between 1980s and early 2000s) said that traditional museums were “static places for exhibiting things”. The survey found that millennials want interactive, immersive and participatory activities from museums (9). Today, technology makes it possible to create these interactive, immersive experiences. However, most museums lack the funds and expertise to harness technology themselves. Instead, they need like-minded corporate partners and sponsors such as Wargaming.net and Google.

A New Reality

Sponsorship works best when the parties involved share similar values, target the same audiences and have closely aligned objectives. Wargaming.net have created a variety of educational activities, from dedicated websites, augmented and virtual reality experiences to education centres. One of the game developer’s stated aims is “to promote an interest in history and show that education can be an engaging and even enthralling experience.” The virtual recreation of the Sturmtiger for The Tank Museum’s Tiger Collection exhibition is just one example of how Wargaming.net is working with military museums across the world to create amazing, interactive “mixed reality” experiences. Together, institutions like The Tank Museum and companies like Wargaming.net are changing visitor experiences from something static and one-dimensional into something interactive and immersive. What’s more, the experience is no longer confined by geography, physical exhibition space or artefact availability. The digital world knows no bounds. Of course, the ability to create more engaging, memorable visitor experiences delivers commercial benefits for the museum and its sponsors from brand building and increased visitor numbers to selling more premium features on your game platform and merchandising. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Education

In 2017, 6,924 schoolchildren and accompanying adults visited The Tank Museum as part of formal education programmes, an increase of over 1,500 from the previous year. The museum runs activities and events that relate to science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) for primary and secondary schools. It has also developed partnerships with a number of universities. The museum’s educational programmes help anchor the institution within the local community, engage with completely new audiences and preserve the history of armoured warfare for generations to come (10).

The Tiger Workhorse

Today, Tiger 131 is the world’s most famous tank. It is also The Tank Museum’s most popular exhibit. Captured in April 1943, Tiger 131 was inspected by King George VI and Winston Churchill before being shipped to the UK where it went on public display. Next, the tank was subjected to an extended period of testing and evaluation. In 1951, Tiger 131 was sent to The Tank Museum. After a long period as a static exhibit, restoration work started in 1990. By 2003, the tank had been returned to running order, making it the world’s only operational Tiger 1. In 2014, Tiger 131 featured in the Hollywood war movie ‘Fury’. The last time a genuine Tiger tank had appeared in a film was 1950. In 2017, Tiger 131 was centre of attention again when the museum opened its Tiger Collection exhibition. The tank has also appeared in a number of history documentaries. The Tank Museum now runs two dedicated Tiger Day events every year. In 2017, these events attracted 4,500 visitors to the museum. Regular ‘Ride the Tiger’ online auctions and raffle ticket sales generate much needed income for on-going preservation and maintenance work. Tiger 131 merchandising, from t-shirts and mugs to World of Tanks special packages, make sure the vehicle earns its keep (11).

Merchandising

Retail marketing and merchandising has an important role to play at The Tank Museum. Naturally, it encourages secondary spend, money generated over the price of museum entry. Retail marketing also improves the customer experience, increases perceived value and strengthens brand engagement. As part of the museum’s recent makeover, the restaurant, gift shop and product mix of souvenirs have been better aligned with the museum’s brand values, personality, narrative and visual identity.

The Tank Museum gift shop and online store offer a wide selection of branded merchandise from mugs, books, wall art and apparel to model kits (12). In partnership with a number of manufacturers, the museum has created unique souvenirs such as branded versions of the classic board games Monopoly and Cluedo. Shoppers can buy a wide selection of Tiger tank themed items such as Tiger 131 premium lager, COBI Tiger 131 model kits and a reproduction of the Tigerfibel, the original Tiger tank crewmember’s manual. The gift shop’s design, layout and choice of merchandise aims to surprise, delight and extend the visitor experience. The gift shop enables visitors to continue learning about the history of the various exhibits. It also creates an opportunity to transform the one-time visitor into a lifelong ‘Friend of the Museum’.

Overcoming Geography with Social Media

The Tank Museum is Dorset’s highest ranked visitor attraction on TripAdvisor and has won numerous tourism awards. However, the museum’s location in rural Dorset also poses a challenge. It takes the average visitor 2-hours to travel to the museum. To extend its reach and build lasting relationships, The Tank Museum has turned to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

In 2017, the museum’s YouTube subscribers reached 100,000 with over 7 million views of its content. Today, the museum has over 208,000 subscribers with a view count of 32.5 million. YouTube is particularly effective at reaching young men aged between 15 and 25. Traditionally, this is a difficult demographic for organisations within the heritage community to attract. In 2017, The Tank Museum was the most ‘liked’ military museum in the world on Facebook with 300,000 followers. The total reach of the museum’s content through Facebook was over 37 million users for the year. The museum’s Facebook page also integrates with its online store and YouTube channel. Currently, the museum also has 26,500 Twitter followers (13).

According to the online traffic statistics from SimilarWeb, the museum’s website receives around 280,000 visitors annually. 83% of all traffic is direct or from search. Just 8.42% comes from social. However, it’s a different story when you look at the online store analytics. This site receives 100,000 visitors per year. 41% of the site traffic comes from referrals and 11.23% from social media with YouTube being the most effective (14). To increase engagement, promote learning and generate additional income, it makes sense for the museum to experiment and invest in social media. After all, people are naturally passionate about their hobbies and interests. Unlike many organisations, who fail to understand the basic premise of social media, the museum has found that ‘likes’, ‘follows’ and ‘views’ can translate into visitors, supporters and sales.

Clear-Sighted Strategy

Heritage and tourism are highly competitive markets. In order to compete, institutions like The Tank Museum must have clear-sighted, long-term commercial strategies that enable them to pursue their objectives. In order to remain relevant, museums must diversify, adapt and make the most of their assets. Back in 1998, The Tank Museum began to build the infrastructure it would need to succeed in the future. It has expanded its education programme, demonstrations and events. These activities have steadily increased visitor numbers from home and abroad. In order to attract a younger audience, the museum has established an extremely successful on-going partnership with online game developer, Wargaming.net. They have provided much needed funds and technical expertise to build a new Education Centre and pioneering virtual reality experiences. The museum has not been shy about sweating its assets. A restored Tiger 131 is forever in the spotlight. Finally, the museum has used the Internet and social media to overcome the challenge of its rural location to reach new demographics. According to the Charity Commission, The Tank Museum generated an income of £5.8 million in 2017 (15). This money will help ensure the story of the tank and people who serve with them continues to be told, now and in the future.

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Sources:

1.       Britain’s visitor economy facts, Visitbritain.org website: https://www.visitbritain.org/visitor-economy-facts

2.       The Museum Association website https://www.museumsassociation.org

3.       The Tank Museum Limited, Trustees' report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, Page 2.

4.       The Tank Museum Limited, Trustees' report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, Page 2

5.       The Tank Museum website, Museum History page, https://www.tankmuseum.org/about-us/history

6.       Wargaming.net website news pages https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/press/wargaming-sponsor-education-center-tank-museum-bovington-england/ and The Tank Museum website news pages https://www.tankmuseum.org/year-news/bovnews53146

7.       War History Online website, Wargaming Unveils its First Virtual Reality Tank Battle Reenactment, https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/wargaming-unveils-its-first-virtual-reality-tank-battle-reenactment.html

8.       Deep South Media, Tank museum leads with world with augmented reality, Nik Wyness, Head of Marketing, The Tank Museum, webpage: https://www.deepsouthmedia.co.uk/8519-2/

9.       American Association of Museums, Demographic Transformation and the Future of Museums report, Elizabeth E. Merritt, founding director. Download a PDF copy of the full report: https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Demographic-Change-and-the-Future-of-Museums.pdf

10.   The Tank Museum Limited, Trustees' report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, Page 5.

11.   The Tiger Tank website https://blog.tiger-tank.com/

12.   The Tank Museum’s online store: https://tankmuseumshop.org

13.   The Tank Museum Limited, Trustees' report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, Page 5.

14.   SimilarWeb provides a free online tool that generates real-time website traffic statistics.

15.   The Tank Museum Limited, Data for financial year ending 31 December 2017, Charity Commission website: https://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1102661&subid=0