Communications and Media

The National Museum of Australia has a formidable online presence at  HYPERLINK httpwww.nma.gov.auindex.html httpwww.nma.gov.auindex.html. The objective of presenting an online platform is, to inform and educate the citizens and others interested about the policies and programs of the Museum. This also serves as a way of marketing itself to those interested in historical perspectives of the country. Kotler (1974) termed marketing as a set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges. The exchange can be in the form of products or services. As we move into the IT era, the consumption behaviours as well as the methods of reaching out to the prospective consumers have undergone a drastic change. Online platform is one such innovative form of information exchange in which both the service provider and the consumer can evaluate the alternatives without even interacting with each other. The website presence of National Museum of Australia is one such attempt, which caters to different segments like researchers, kids, exhibitors, general visitors, historians etc.

Communication as such, is a dynamic process which involves exchange of thoughts ideas, messages, information, knowledge etc. amongst two or more entities with the help of some associated tools. In general a simple communication requires a sender, a receiver and a channel or medium. The communication would be termed effective if the exchange proves to be useful, and achieves the intended goals of different communicating ends. Effective communication in turn depends upon the credibility of source and the accessibility of the channel. The online presence has the added advantage that it can be accessed from anywhere around the world. To what extent the portal is able to attract the net-surfer, depends upon the attraction of the content and presentation.

The PAIBOC principle broadly underlines different aspects of the communication process. It starts off with the purpose of the communication process. If the purpose is well identified, devising the content and arranging the platform becomes far more convenient. In this case the purpose of online presence is to inform the online community about the heritage of Australia and the efforts being made to preserve the cultural heritage. For example, the website proudly informs that the National Museum has undertaken the task of Museum development to present the historical perspective of Australia and its people.

In general the website can be accessed from anywhere around the world, but the key target audience in this case is the Australian citizens, who can gain an insight into the historical past of the country. Students from schools and universities form an important segment for such visits, as they are the ones who have to provide optimum support and cooperation in preserving the heritage. In addition the website content is also aimed at overseas visitors, who can be an important source of tourism related revenues for the country. The web portal provides comprehensive information about different types of prized collections, ongoing and planned exhibitions related to culture and history, researches and scholarships on offer, educational material for kids and families etc.

Porter (1996) pointed out that a company will be able to outperform its contemporaries and rivals if it is able to establish its difference and subsequently it is able to preserve it. Today there is no dearth of enticing and inviting websites, offering variety of content. Therefore, it becomes all the more necessary for the website of the National Museum that it is able to sustain the interest of the visitor. It is therefore all the more necessary that the visitor is informed about the benefits of visiting the national museum in particular and the offers that the city of Canberra has for both domestic and international visitors. In the kids section, the website also offers couple of games like A Penny to Remember, The Day I was history, Is this an introduced species etc. These games while testing the skills of kids also proves quite useful in the learning of historical facts and figures. In fact theres lot more for kids in this section.

The medium is the message is considered one of the best publications from Marshall McLuhan. This famous aphorism highlighted the importance that the communication medium has in making the process of communication more effective (Kappelman, 2001). Therefore, in todays context internet is one of the most prevalent and popular medium amongst almost all age groups in general and the youth in particular. Therefore, strengthening the website presence not only helps online visitors in knowing more about the national heritage, but it also helps the government in saving lots of revenues which otherwise wouldve been spent on planning exhibition and advertisement campaigns.

OECD (2008) in one of its reports on the use of information technologies has pointed out that the convergence of data, voice and video over the Next Generation Networks results in integration of a range of services together with a more competitive environment for all such services. Therefore, it is abundantly clear that technology has a formidable role towards all types of marketing efforts. Similarly, a report from Business Insight indicates that the global market for unified communication is on an upward journey and despite recent downturns in economy the global market for unified communication technologies is projected to attain the figures of 37.3bn with a CAGR of 12 percent by the year 2013 (Eastwood, 2009). Such projections are an indication towards the times to come, when the online platform will become a prerequisite for effectively communicating the desired message.

The National Museum website informs prospective visitors that a planned visit to Canberra would not only prove to be a learning experience, but the visitors can actually enjoy their way out with their family and kids. The National Museum Shop, Caf and Restaurant provide the right kind of ambience for people with multiple aims during such visits. Sections indicating Whats on for families and researchers etc. provide a range of alternatives to chose from. A separate section exclusively reserved for Education offers variety of educational material depicting the historical past of the country. In addition it has also been indicated that visits of students in groups is also facilitated by making it more interactive. Schools and institutions can book such group visits by dropping an email on the address provided at the relevant webpage of the website or by simply getting in touch with the concerned person at the designated telephone numbers being provided over the internet.

Having analysed the internet presence of National Museum of Australia, it is quite clear that for being able to identify and strengthen the sustainable competitive advantages, an organisation needs to adopt a total integrity approach, which involves reaching out to the people with all available channels. This helps in strengthening the value proposition and quality service offering to all target segments.