SECTION 2 Case Study 30 Marks

You should note that although the following questions are based on the case study above, you will need to make use of knowledge and understanding you have gained whilst studying the Course.

[1]A new start for art

Just a year after its opening in May 2000, Tate Modern emerged as the most popular museum in the world, with 5.25 million visitors - twice the projected number. It also became one of the ten most talked-about brands of the year.

While the quality of the art it displays is undoubtedly part of Tate Modern's attraction, this did not appear to be the primary reason for attending for many of its visitors in its early days. The experience of Tate Modern has been likened to a theme park, where the architecture, the restaurant with a bird's eye view overlooking the river Thames, and the trend-setting brand identity are as important as the exhibitions themselves. 21 per cent of early visitors cited the building as a major factor for visiting. Entry to the gallery's permanent collection is free, courtesy of a special grant from government, but only 100,000 of its visitors were sufficiently enthusiastic to pay to see the first major international charging exhibition, Century Cities.

Before its opening, Tate had taken care to establish its brand firmly in people's minds: one Tate, comprising four galleries - the new Tate Modern and its forerunner, now Tate Britain, in London, plus smaller galleries in St Ives and Liverpool. The aim of the associated marketing activity was to target the 'cuspers' - people who had the potential to attend a gallery but needed enticing. Tate was careful to distance itself from the image of galleries as boring and fuddy-duddy and sought a market position as a place which always had something new, different and challenging to offer. A new corporate identity was created to cover all four sites, including four versions of a new logo, new print and signage, front-of-house uniforms by designer Paul Smith and a branded range of shop merchandise. A range of non-commercial promotions trumpeted the coming of the new Tate, including 6 million Tate-branded coffee cups for Coffee Republic, Wagamana chopsticks promoting the Friends of Tate scheme, an in-store concession at the department store Selfridges, a special Tate Beer and a Royal Mail stamp. Merchandising and catering remain a key element of Tate's operations. During its first-year visitors bought 1.5 million postcards and 850,000 teas and coffees were served. Ranges of merchandise are continually refreshed, and include items inspired by top designers and exhibitions, and special Christmas ranges.

The most popular exhibition ever held at Tate was the Matisse Picasso in 2002, in collaboration with the national galleries in Paris and New York. The UK exhibition ran for 100 days and attracted over half a million people between May and August. To accommodate the crowds, extended opening hours were a key feature. The exhibition ran until 10pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and then every night in August, culminating in an all-night session to complete the run. Over 100,000 people attended during a late-night opening. 24,100 catalogues and 400,000 exhibition postcards were sold on site.

Questions

1.Describe the core product, the actual product and the extended product being offered by Tate. [10 marks].

2.What factors will influence whether Tate can sustain its current levels of success? [10 marks]

3.What implications does the success of Tate Modern have for the other galleries under the same brand? [10 marks]

[1] Sources: www.tate.org.uk/home/news; Kellaway (2000); Kennedy (2001)