Elena Benarroch Vila, Marketing Manager Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

ART AND COMMUNICATION: LET’S GIVE THE FLOOR TO THE THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA MUSEUM

This interview with Elena Benarroch Vila, marketing manager at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, marks the beginning of a series of appointments dedicated to the theme Art and communication, aimed at examining the relationship that institutions dealing with culture have with their public.

I tried to understand which role social media play in promoting the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and what Elena Benarroch Vila told me is an innovative vision towards new technologies, which are useful for the museum to attract new visitors, but they are also a powerful tool encouraging the dissemination of culture.

Art and communication.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Image source: account Facebook @museothyssen

Caterina Stringhetta: When did the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum open its first social media channel?

Elena Benarroch Vila: We started with Facebook and Twitter around 5 years ago.
These communication tools turned out to be soon very useful to establish a contact with the audience which is very active on Facebook.
Social networks are essential for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

Caterina Stringhetta: Which is the social media in which the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum can express itself best?

Elena Benarroch Vila: Facebook is certainly our most influential social media channel, even though our Instagram profile has recently grown.
Then, there’s TripAdvisor, which is an indispensable tool because comments visitors leave are very useful both for us and future visitors. 

Image source: account Facebook @museothyssen

Caterina Stringhetta: Since social media channels are very important tools for the Museum, has the communication you have with the public through your profile influenced your exhibitions and activities programme?

Elena Benarroch Vila: Museum strategies haven’t changed. When we plan an exhibition, we always strive for excellence and we try to give the public useful tools to understand each aspect of the collection.
Of course, we take in account the opinion of the public, and in this way social networks are very useful, but it’s our duty also to give people something they didn’t need but which can change their point of view.

Caterina Stringhetta: What would you like the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum leave the public, after visiting its social accounts?

Elena Benarroch Vila:The marvellous thing of social media channels is that visitors can contact us, but our aim is not to use social media channels in order to increase the number of real visitors but to increase the number of virtual visitors.
The fact that many people know the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum without having visited it yet, provides us with the opportunity to promote our works of art and our art collection all over the world.

Caterina Stringhetta: Does the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum follow other museums social profiles? Which museums do you follow on social channels with admiration?

Elena Benarroch Vila: 

We follow several museums profiles. Our models are the Moma and the Tate London.

Caterina Stringhetta: Which role does the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum website play? Which other web tools do you use to build your relationship with the public?

Elena Benarroch Vila: We use all the existing tools to reach the public.

Image source: account Facebook @museothyssen

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