From word-of-mouth to boca a boca

The first online Glossary of Museum Marketing, Communications, and Audience Engagement for Spanish-speaking museum professionals throughout Latin America and the Caribbean was announced on October 19 at the MIDE, Museo Interactivo de Economía in Mexico City. The International Council of Museums’ National Committee of ICOM México, the International Committee for Marketing and Public Relations, ICOM-MPR, and the New York-based brand strategy and advertising agency, Tronvig, collaborated on the dynamic resource that will contribute to a shared, audience-centered vocabulary, and the development of the museum field at large throughout the Americas.

The first installment of the Glossary, which may be found at GlosarioMarketingMuseos.com, includes some thirty critical but often loosely defined words and terms ranging from “accessibility” to “word-of-mouth.” Each entry is accompanied by a summary of what it means, how it’s used, and why it matters. The words and terms included in the Glossary are relevant to the work of museum marketing, communications, and audience engagement professionals but are also useful to anyone in the fields of museums and cultural heritage. The intentionally incomplete Glossary will evolve with more entries and receive continual feedback from the professional community and public.

Reviewers for the Glossary from Mexico City are Silvia Singer, director, MIDE Museo Interactivo de Economía and Secretary al ICOM México; Maria Emilia Beyer, director general, Divulgación de la Ciencia at UNAM; and Ulises Jaramillo, director of marketing, Parque Explora, Medellín, Colombia; joined by Marijose Garduño, head of institutional engagement, MIDE.

The idea of collaborating on a Spanish-language glossary was brought to ICOM México’s leadership by Deborah Ziska, chair of ICOM-MPR, who learned from James Heaton, founder and lead strategist of Tronvig, about the original English edition created in 2021–2023 by Tronvig and the Museum Marketing Working Group/Collaborative in the United States.

“ICOM México is very pleased to collaborate with ICOM-MPR and Tronvig on the Spanish-language Glossary of Museum Marketing, Communications, and Audience Engagement. We believe it will be an important tool for museum professionals throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to encourage collaboration, dialogue, and debate. We invite our colleagues to use this new resource and send us their comments through the website tool provided for that purpose,” said Gabriela Gil Verenzuela, president of ICOM México.

“ICOM-MPR is grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the dynamic team that brought the Spanish-language Glossary to life in a matter of months. We are very interested in continuing to have a conversation about museum marketing terminology and professional development with our colleagues across the Americas and the globe to enhance their careers and their efforts to better serve their communities,” said Ziska.

“Through working alongside museum professionals to define key marketing, communications, and audience engagement related terms, we at Tronvig seek to open a dialogue so that the field as a whole can work together to better serve their audiences and communities,” said Heaton. Tronvig has funded and made possible the development and maintenance of the Glossary websites, as well the design and printing of the promotional foldout cards that contain a QR code for the websites.

The announcement of the Glossary was made during a weeklong training workshop held in Mexico City for thirty museum marketing and communications professionals from throughout Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean that was organized by the International Council of Museums in collaboration with ICOM México and ICOM-MPR.

ICOM México is one of 120 national committees of the International Council of Museums, a non-governmental organization of some 51,000 members that is based in Paris, France, and is dedicated to the conservation, continuation, and communication to society of the world’s natural and cultural heritage. ICOM-Marketing and Public Relations (ICOM-MPR) is a global committee of museum communicators and fundraisers that is one of 32 international committees of ICOM serving a wide variety of museum professions, specialties, and interests.

More info and comments @GlosarioMarketingMuseos.com