Q&A with Shannon Gilliam

All over the country, communications professionals at cultural and non-profit organizations are partnering up with their counterparts at corporate institutions to roll out programs that are mutually beneficial. To get some insight into this process we had a brief talk with Shannon Gilliam, Director of Public Relations for the Children’s Museum of Houston.

The following is a Q&A with Shannon Gilliam.

Q. In addition to developing a direct bond with the community and receiving key local media coverage, what are other benefits from partnering up with a cultural organization? Any online programs?

Through museums, corporations can reaffirm their commitment to creating a stronger and more civil society by giving back to the community, particularly through the education of the community’s future leaders/workforce.

Children’s Museums offer tremendous contact with Gen X Moms, which are also big e-mailers and are usually the household decision maker for leisure time spent and products purchased. Offering incentives, discounts, gift cards, etc. (if applicable) to your product via e-mail campaigns or web contests are excellent ways to generate Word of Mouth campaigns with a Museum. Also, supporting museums helps attract new residents, businesses and tourists to your community, which are vital to many corporations!

Q. CMH’s partners want to reach an audience primarily made up of parents and their young children. What are some of the factors to look for when deciding which organization would be right for a program or target audience?

We try to match up corporations with our various programming and exhibits based on their giving history and community outreach goals. For example, an engineering and construction firm may benefit best by sponsoring one of our Engineering themed WonderWeek events, providing an excellent employee volunteerism opportunity for their engineers.

Also, be sure the cultural institution you are considering for partnership can validate what they claim to do. We back up our claims by the accolades we receive and national funding we get (i.e. have been the recipients of six Institute of Museum and Library Services grants, eight National Science Foundation grants and two National Institutes of Health grants – an acknowledgement of our success and corporate money well spent to benefit the community).

Q. What are some of the reasons folks come to you when exploring events, partnerships or similar sponsorship programs?

We offer tremendous exposure to the primary decision maker of most households, Moms. The Museum is able to reach out to Houston families of all income levels and backgrounds, and we have the statistics to substantiate these claims. For example, we have been designated as Houston’s leading provider of children’s services to Latino families by Semana News.

One of the ways in which we are able to impact so many lives is through our Free Family Nights on Thursdays, during which all admission fees are waived and families are able to come to the Museum and experience everything CMH has to offer. We’ve hosted many successful product samplings, demonstrations and distribution of corporate literature during our highly attended Free Family Nights.

Q. As one of the most-visited children’s museum in the country, what are you looking for from partners?

Involvement! We look for partners who see the value and importance in our work and who want to participate in more ways than just cutting a check or promoting the event/exhibit they are sponsoring. We have a number of corporate sponsors that promote our upcoming exhibits/events (even if they are not involved with them via sponsorship) through employee newsletters, Intranet postings, etc. The exposure to their workforce is extremely valuable!

Q. What would you recommend PR professionals do before and when they approach cultural organizations? Is it just a matter of setting up an initial meeting and looking at what the organization has programmed down the pipeline?

The nature of the relationship between corporate donors and museums has become more complex over the past few years. We see value in corporations seeking new ways to give to museums and play a role in their activities, particularly through employee volunteerism, product sampling, giveaways, discounts to our Membership base, etc.. Museums can benefit from and are open to corporate support through other means than just financially, so be prepared to explore all options beyond cutting the sponsorship check!

Q. What are the Dos and Don’ts when partnering with cultural organizations?

Do:

• Find out how both organizations benefit from each other.
• From a children’s museum POV, determine what the organization brings to the plate that is kid-oriented and/or parent-focused.
• Plan a strategy of implementation to educational programming, i.e., social value.
• Get your employees involved as much as possible!

Don’t:

• Allow organization to promote a hidden agenda.
• Place high expectations for ad exposure or pricey collateral pieces to promote the sponsor (understand a non-profit normally does not have the budget to support such materials)

Q. From your experience, what has been a successful partnership and what would you credit that to?

The Children’s Museum of Houston has greatly benefited from a partnership with the office of the Consulate General of México over the years. Through their support and participation of some of our annual Hispanic-focused events (Fiestas Patrias, El Día de los Niños, etc.) the Museum has been able to further our exposure and credibility to this market that we aim to serve. It has also opened the door to other promotional and funding entities that have allowed us to further expand our bilingual programming and our reach into the Hispanic community.

-Thanks again to Shannon Gilliam for making time from her busy schedule as her team gears up for the museum’s Spring Break Jam--to check this and other exhibits and programs, please visit the Children’s Museum of Houston.