Miami MoCAAD x LaPlaca Cohen
Crafting a Launch Strategy for a New Miami Museum
Summary
Client
The Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora (Miami MoCAAD) is a premier art museum shining a spotlight on the art and artists of the global African diaspora.
Context
In 2019, the founder of Miami MoCAAD came to LaPlaca Cohen with a unique ask: help her envision the pillars of a museum devoted to the art of the African diaspora.
Unconstrained by an existing space, governance structure, or fixed collection, we were free to develop innovative ideas for a new blue chip museum based in Miami.
Research Questions
What would be the unique DNA of Miami MoCAAD, and how would the museum go about building its community and brand in the absence of a physical space?
Outcome & Impact
We developed a launch strategy for Miami MoCAAD laying out:
distinct value propositions
a detailed SWOT analysis of its competitive landscape
partnership strategies to build local collaborations
opportunities to integrate technology into its offer
Miami MoCAAD has gone on to do the hard work of bringing this vision to life. For more, see Miami MoCAAD's Instagram.
Process
Team
1 Project Manager (me)
1 Strategist
1 Director of Strategy
My role
Identified and recruited expert interviewees
Assisted on desk research, interviews, and report development
Conducted client communication
Presented in client presentations
Timeline
From discovery to final
report: 6 months
Process Highlights
Step 1
Discovery
In discovery, the research team spoke with the museum's Founder to better understand her vision. We heard clearly that Miami MoCAAD would be a future-forward premier art space for work by artists of the African diaspora.
During this phase of work, the project team also did extensive research to investigate the museum’s contemporaries, both nationally and globally. This later informed both our SWOT analysis and recommendations for future partnerships.
Step 3
Expert Interviewees
LaPlaca Cohen sourced, recruited and interviewed 10 cultural leaders from nationally recognized institutions to discuss Miami MoCAAD’s unique opportunities.
Thematic analysis of these interviews revealed areas of opportunity for the museum's growth and development, which we distilled into value propositions.
“Even though Black art has been used now in most contemporary galleries...it's not really given the kind of visibility that this museum can give it. [Miami MoCAAD] is going to give people a way to understand that the experience is different if you are a Ghanaian artist versus if you are an Afro-Puerto Rican artist.” — Expert Interviewee
Step 3
Community Listening
During Community listening, we conducted a roundtable on-site in Miami and followed up with a survey that was distributed to local leaders of Miami's Black community, as well as students at local, historically black colleges.
Our ambition was to understand how Miami MoCAAD could serve its local community, and also become a partner for local Black-owned businesses.
Step 5
Final Report
The culmination of all our research, the final report we delivered to Miami MoCAAD laid out:
distinct value propositions for the museum
provided a detailed SWOT analysis of its competitive landscape
made suggestions about potential institutional partnerships locally, nationally and globally
delved into ways Miami MoCAAD can be uniquely technologically forward, particularly as it secures a permanent physical space
Miami MoCAAD has gone on to implement a number of these ideas, commissioning artwork in partnership with artists, holding exhibitions in public space, and drawing much needed attention to the work of Black artists of the African diaspora. To see more about what the museum is up to, take a look at their Instagram.
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© Jacqueline Gufford, 2023