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2024 Brand Workshop ReadoutMoPOP Brand Foundations 

March 2024

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MoPOP is on a journey

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We’re blowing it up. We are going to make a difference in the community we serve and we are going to change the game of how museums are looked at in this field. ��Two words: Positive. Disruption. � -MICHELE SMITH, CEO

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DESIGN HELP

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Redefining what a museum can be

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Source: 2024 Stakeholder Interviews

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SOCIAL IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE

DIVERSITY AS CENTRAL, NOT AN ADD-ON

RESPONDING TO AND SHAPING CULTURE

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LOCAL ROOTS, GLOBAL IMPACT

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In a constantly changing �cultural landscape

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Shifting power dynamics, gate-keeping and unheard voices

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Algorithmic attention, echo chambers and false polarization

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Culture that is constantly reinterpreted and reinvented

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FROM�CATEGORY LEADER

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TO�CATEGORY CREATOR

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We need revised brand foundations to imbue that spirit into every aspect of MoPOP

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CULTURE AND OPERATIONS

STRATEGIC ROADMAP

RECRUITMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

EXHIBITS

MARKETING AND COMMS

DONOR ENGAGEMENT

PARTNER ENGAGEMENT

USE OF SPACE

INNER

SOUL

EXTERNAL

REPUTATION

BRAND FOUNDATIONS

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Brand foundations

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VISION�The world we seek to create��MISSION�Our purpose and how we deliver on it��AUDIENCE �Our core audience and what drives them��COMPETITIVE SPACE�How we fit in the broader cultural and museum landscape��BRAND BELIEFS AND BEHAVIORS �What we believe and how it drives what we do��BRAND PERSONALITY�How we behave and our tone�

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Our vision

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A world where everyone sees and wields their cultural power

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VISION

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Our mission

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We activate the world-shaping power of pop culture through participative experiences, discovery, and play.

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MISSION

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Our audience

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Defining our audience

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TERTIARY AUDIENCE

We want to not alienate

Single visitors – City Pass, Tourist, Rainy Day

SECONDARY AUDIENCE

We want to overhear

Fans of single niche fandoms – a few single visits

PRIMARY AUDIENCE

We want to move

Culturally-curious (potential) repeat visitors

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The culturally curious who are eager to investigate their passions and discover the pull and power of other parts of pop culture

Peeling back the layers of pop culture energizes them, even if it means being challenged on the things they love

Independent thinkers who prefer to get their information from equitable and transparent sources

Media savvy and attentive to detail

Love geeking out – it’s playful and illuminating all at once

Conscious consumers who want to contribute to the greater good

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Our competitive space

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CATEGORY LEADERS

MIRRORS OF CULTURE

A FIXED STORY

PASSIVE CONSUMPTION

WORLD REFLECTING

WORLD SHAPING

CATEGORY CREATORS

DISRUPTORS OF CULTURE

AN UNFOLDING STORY

ACTIVE EXPERIENCE

To activate the world-shaping power of pop culture through participative experiences, discovery, and play

‘The GRAMMY Museum believes that music is a gateway to learning. Our mission is to explore and celebrate the enduring legacies of the creative process behind all forms of music through immersive and interactive exhibits and essential music education programs.’

TeamLab’s ‘collaborative practice seeks to navigate the confluence of art, science, technology, and the natural world…Everything exists in a long, fragile yet miraculous, borderless continuity.’

‘MoAD, a contemporary art museum, celebrates Black cultures, ignites challenging conversations, and inspires learning through the global lens of the African Diaspora’.

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MoPOP is tearing up the museum playbook

Category creators who defy conventional rules and paradigms rather than conform to them

Cultural disruptors who challenge and shape culture rather than mirror it

An unfolding story shared through dynamic modes and mediums rather than a static story with a fixed end

Active experiences that inspire participation, discovery, and play rather than passive consumption, object worship, and viewership only

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Our beliefs + behaviors

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We bring pop culture stories to life and illuminate what pop culture was, what it is, and what it could be

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Pop culture is powerful

It's a theater, an open world, and a runway where we can imagine new worlds and try them on for size

BELIEF

BEHAVIOR

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We create opportunities for audiences to explore and activate their cultural power

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Pop culture is who we are

It defines us and we define it.

BELIEF

BEHAVIOR

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We break down siloes and bring diverse communities together to tell the interconnected story of pop culture

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Pop culture connects us

In an era of digital and physical isolation, pop culture is a connective force

BELIEF

BEHAVIOR

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We embrace nuance in a way that deepens joy and understanding

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Pop culture is complex

We have the responsibility to explore and expand the scope of every story

BELIEF

BEHAVIOR

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We keep on the pulse of culture and create new modes of storytelling that push the boundaries of what it means to be a museum

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Pop culture is alive

It’s constantly moving and changing both form and medium

BELIEF

BEHAVIOR

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Pop culture is powerful

It's a theater, an open world, and a runway where we can imagine new worlds and try them on for size

Pop culture is who we are

It defines us and we define it

Pop culture connects us

In an era of digital and physical isolation, pop culture is a connective force

Pop culture is complex

We have the responsibility to explore and expand the scope of every story

Pop culture is alive

It’s constantly moving, changing form and medium

BELIEF

We bring bring pop culture stories to life and illuminate what it was, what it is, and what it could be

We create experiences for audiences to explore and activate their cultural power

We break down siloes and bring diverse communities together to tell the interconnected story of pop culture

We embrace nuance in a way that deepens joy and understanding

We keep on the pulse of culture and explore new modes of storytelling that push the boundaries of what it means to be a museum

BEHAVIOR

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Personality

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Curious afA contagious enthusiasm for every topic we cover_______A playful illuminator�We help people see the world differently and embrace the fun_______��Fearless and irreverentWe defy conventions and challenge established norms_______��Clear-eyed idealists �We see the world as it really is and dream to make it better_______

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Ava DuVernay

Clear-eyed idealist

Matilda

Curious

Willie Jack

Playful illuminator

Donald Glover

Fearless + Irreverent

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