Communication is a useful tool of museums, especially in the 21st century – a century of science and technology. Museum communication can be understood as the process of transshipping the information; it is a type of social interaction, sharing the rules and common signals between at least two subjects, the public and museum. At the same time, this is an indispensable activity for a modern museum aimed at propagandizing, popularizing it's exhibition and activities with the purpose of attracting visitors, improving the reputation and brand name of the museum.
Exhibition is a basic duty and function of each museum. Museum exhibition aims to serve the demand on research, education, sightseeing and enjoyment of the cultural values of the public. The success of the exhibition depends firstly on the result of the research, collection, exhibition, and the number of visitors. How to help the museum convey its information to the visitors quickly, efficiently and attract the interest of the public, and make them consider the museum as a destination for studying, experiencing, enjoying historical, cultural and civilized values of mankind? The communication work plays a very important role. So, a good promotion and communication for museum's activities, particularly for the exhibitions is very important to attract the visitors to the museum.
At present, the exhibition activities of the Vietnam National Museum of History include:
- Permanent exhibition: Nearly 8,000 documents and valuable collection of objects, of which many have been recognized as Vietnam's National Treasures were exhibited in a total area of 3,700 m2 in two locations: No. 1 Trang Tien (introducing about Vietnamese history from prehistory period to the end of Nguyen dynasty in 1945) and No. 216 Tran Quang Khai (introducing about Vietnamese history from mid-19th century to present).
- Temporary exhibition (within Vietnam National Museum of History, across the country and overseas).
-Traveling exhibition: A kind of temporary exhibition in compact form, easy to transport to some localities, governmental agencies or the local training centers.
Up to now, the communication work of exhibition activity has been deployed by the Communication Department (Vietnam National Museum of History) and initially attained recognizable results.
Communication through mass media: press, television, radio…
Those are the most important and effective channels to communicate with the public. Thus, the Communication Department has tried to hold the press conferences prior the exhibition through such preparation stages: listing journalist contacts, sending invitation letter, building a document for journalists (press release, CD disk for material photographs and other information relating to the exhibition…), the exchange content in the press conference; arranging the press conference's chaired person and coordinators… Before the exhibition, the press release and information related to the exhibition were provided and posted on some creditable newspapers and magazines as well as on the museum's website.
Vietnam National Museum of History held the press conference about the 4th Conference of Asian National Museums Association and the special exhibition “Asia - Cultural diversity, 02/10/2013
Communicational cadres have built close relationship with the press and connect each journalist to be a museum's communicator. This is a basic and necessary condition for facilitating the communication work.
The exhibition programs and the activities of the museum were informed to various newspapers and magazines, even the sectoral and provincial ones. Besides publishing the professional writings, it is important to increase the number of the articles which write about the museum itself. The more newspapers report about the museum, the more promotion we create for the museum; it also means that we attract more audiences. The articles, broadcast programs on television can create a social impact by conveying the messages of the museum to the visitors effectively or changing the behavior, habit and concept of the visitors.
In 2013, there were around 700 news and articles published by printed and online newspapers from the central to the provincial ones and over 30 TV channels of the State, Hanoi and overseas who told the news, made newspaper reports and video clips about the events launched by the Vietnam National Museum of History. After each event, the department gathered, analyzed and evaluated the communicational efficiency resulted from such activities. Then, select a group of reporters and writers who are capable and professional to be the key writers of the museum.
Communication through communication products:
- Designing, printing and providing the guide brochure of the museum's permanent exhibition (Vietnamese, English languages) together with the tickets.
- Leaflets and introduction letters about the museum (Vietnamese, English languages) and name cards have been delivered to over 40 museums, historical relics, hotels, tourist companies… inside and outside Hanoi.
- Compiling, printing, publishing the Guidebook of the Vietnam National Museum of History (Vietnamese, English).
Book “Guidebook” - A communication publication compiled and published by the Vietnam National Museum of History in Vietnamese and English in 2013
- In charge of souvenir products: based on the designs of the museum's artifacts and combined with the cultural values from the traditional villages of Vietnam: such as Bat Trang ceramics village, Ha Dong silk village… to make nice gifts that will be loved by any visitors.
- Completing the design of the museum's logo, producing badge of Vietnam National Museum of History.
In addition, the museum also publishes many publications such as book, catalogue for each exhibition.
In general, the communication products of the museum are rather plentiful and diversified. The publications of museum are always highly evaluated by domestic and foreign researchers and readers for their content and form; they contribute an important part to raise the image of the museum to the public.
Communication through advertisement
- Carrying out the legal procedure for getting the license and hanging advertising banners on many streets in Hanoi (hanging 20 banners in 14 main streets of 6 districts in Hanoi for advertising ANMA 4 Conference and the special exhibition “Asia - cultural diversity”).
- Designing, printing and hanging bands, flags, banners, advertising posters for the exhibition at main gates and surrounding the museum and in the coming time, the news board of museum will be put into use at gate No. 1 Trang Tien.
- Coordinating with some magazines: Emulation and compliment magazine, Cultural heritage magazine of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Heritage World magazine…for introducing and promoting the VNMH Museum
Communication through Website: Website of the Vietnam National Museum of History has been operated since the end of 2012. At present, it is operated by the Communication Department over a transfer from the Material - Library Department on July 15, 2014. The monthly quantity of accessing people has increased gradually over the years: in 2013: 260,000 visits /month; the first 6 months in 2014: 360,000 visits /month and over 500,000 visits /month by now.
Communication through presentation and seminar programs: TheCommunication Department has coordinated with other departments to regularly hold the presentation every month for students, cadres, officials of the museum, researchers, colleagues and the audiences to present issues related to the exhibition; the seminars and the talks always follow the content of the special exhibitions, thus, help to promote the exhibition's value.
Vietnam National Museum of History held a talk for students on topic “Propaganda posters and paintings in the French resistance war, period 1946-1954” with the speaker, artist Ngo Manh Lan, 2014
Communication through social networks (facebook): At present, Vietnamese people, especially the young are not strange to facebook and its impact on the society is very big. Although facebook is not an orthodox channel in the communication activity but it is the channel which is easy to create the trend and attract the community. Therefore, the application of facebook in the operation of museum communication is necessary. Communication through facebook opens the mode of creation for museums to approach the community. Through facebook, museums can implement concurrently two duties, namely, sharing the information, propagandizing, introducing about their museums and keeping contact regularly with the customers, listening to and creating the interactive relationships with the visitors.
The Fanpage of the Volunteer's Club of the Vietnam National Museum of History was established in 04/2013 for the purpose of conveying and updating the information, news and the events organized by the museum, especially about the museum's special exhibitions.
- The fan-page's participants are official members and network members of the Volunteer's Club. At present, the page attracts nearly 5,000 likes.
The Volunteer's Club of the Vietnam National Museum of History
After over one year of operation (established since 4-2013), the Club has contributed an essential part to support the communication work of the Museum. The activities of the Club are held in many forms aiming to promote the image of the museum and Vietnam's history and cultural values to the community in the country and in the world, including:
- The club held the activities at the permanent exhibition system and outdoor exhibition area of the museum: the training on the presentation skills about historical topics; teamwork activities under the form of history discovery game; real visits to some historical and cultural relics related to the museum's exhibitions. In charge of taking note, making video clips, taking photograph for the Volunteer's Club's Fanpage of Volunteers and the museum's exhibitions, implementing quick interviews and customer surveys; Coordinating with the Youth Union of the museum to hold the training and assign the propagandists who are fluent at foreign languages for reception and guide the foreign visitors.
- Within the special exhibitions: participating in preparing the communicational document for the opening ceremony of the special exhibitions; supporting to serve the press conference, participating in the performance program to welcome and support to build the content of the student's seminars under the topic in order to promote the special exhibitions at the museum.
- Within traveling exhibition activity: Volunteer Club proposes the plan, make up the content, construct and guide on the exhibition at sites.
The club always creates plentiful, useful and suitable activities to promote the image of museum and historical information, knowledge, contributing to strengthen the efficiency of the professional activities, connecting Vietnam National Museum of History to the public inside and outside the country.
Developing the services of museum: TheVietnam National Museum of History has paid more attention to the comfort and convenience for the visitors, such as air conditioning, food and drink shops, souvenir shop… With an excellently beautiful architecture, a wide yard and garden space suitable for night parties with the participation of many international visitors. This is one way for the museum to attract tourists.
Attaching the operation of museum to tourism
- The Vietnam National Museum of History has studied, established the relationship between the museum and tourism; many tour conferences were held to connect the museum and tour companies, in which the Vietnam Tourism Association is the key partner.
- The Communication Department supplied the brochure and catalogue, pamphlets and photographs of the museum's exhibition at the Vietnam International Tourism Fair 2013 in Hanoi and Hoi An held by the Hanoi's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Compiling brief descriptions and content of the exhibition of the Vietnam National Museum of History for the tour guide's book for the Hanoi's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The communication work has an important role in creating the success of each museum's exhibition. Communication likes a door to open the exhibition of museums to the public. For a better communication, it is necessary to have the researches to put forth the effective communication solutions, and a well coordination and organization to make the Vietnam National Museum of History a connection bridge to introduce the culture and history of Vietnam, and a reliable destination of domestic and international tourists.
MA. Nguyen Thi Tuong Khanh (Communication Department)