Presentation given in May 2012 by Paul Baron & Tomomi Sasaki, GADAGO NPO in Barcelona for MuseumNext 2012. What happens when Tokyo art goers are presented with a €10 iphone app full of admission discounts to the 30 best museums in town? Learn from our 1.5yrs of running MuPon; a collaboration between a non-profit organization and museums, a sustainable business with 20,000 users, & a low-risk testing ground for cultural institutions to experiment with digital initiatives.

1. MuseumNext 2012
MuPon

2. Our presentation
Gadago Non-Profit
The MuPon experience
Statistics
Business Model
Collaboration with museums

3. “You’ve got to go see these exhibitions!”
↓
“Gotta go”
↓
Gadago NPO
We strive to make art and design a part of
everyone's life.
Our services and activities are bilingual
Japanese/English, independent, neutral
and non-profit.

4. 1,000 cultural institutions
How do we make sense of it all?

5. TokyoArtBeat.com Launched 2004 Tokyo Art Map Launched 2008
@TokyoArtBeat_jp Launched 2009 Tokyo Art Beat App Launched 2010

6. In order to accompany our
users, we’d need to offer
mobility, curation, quality &
exclusivity.

7. The rules of engagement
Mobility: app
Curation: limited list of exhibitions
Quality: popular museums
Exclusivity: coupons, events

8. After
Before
During
The User Experience of Art Going

9. Event list
After
Before
During
Discovery

12. Event list
Notifications
After
Before
During
Reminders

14. Event list
Notifications
After
Before
Twitter
Invite
During
Sharing

16. Event list
Notifications
After
Before
Twitter
Invite
Coupons
During
Incentive

20. Event list
Notifications
After
Before
Twitter
Invite
Coupons
During
Museum Events
Community building

22. Event list
Notifications
After
Before
Twitter
Coffee?
Invite
Coupons
During
Museum Events
Stickiness

24. Event list
Notifications
Twitter After
Before
Twitter
Coffee?
Invite
Coupons
During
Museum Events
Sharing

25. Event list
History Notifications
Twitter After
Before
Twitter
Coffee?
Invite
Coupons
During
Museum Events
Memory

27. Event list
History Notifications
Twitter After
Before
Twitter
Coffee?
Invite
Coupons
During
Museum Events
The User Experience of MuPon

28. app price €10
validity One year
avg. museum entrance in tokyo ∼€12
avg. mupon discount €1∼ €3
150 discounts in 2011 €300+
downloads / tickets used in 2011 8,000 / 10,000
downloads / tickets used in jan~may 6,000 / 5,000
2012

29. From the get go,
MuPon was designed to be
a self-sustained business.

30. Gadago started MuPon with...
A big idea!
Limited budget for the initial build
No budget for the trained staff required
to operate the service
Knowing the service required a certain
number of users and museums to be
of value

31. Create a virtuous circle
better discounts
on mupon
more interest happier users
from museums on mupon
more referrals

32. It’s not enough to launch.
Continuity is key to multiplying
impact.

33. App sales as the source of revenue
Good track record with smartphone
apps
Paid upfront
Not dependent on museum pockets
Keep our independence

34. Create a virtuous circle
better discounts
on mupon
more interest happier users
from museums on mupon
more referrals
more app sales
continuous resources for development
road to happiness!

35. Plan for a financial runway
that allows launch, and
continued development.

36. Technology
Gadago
Museums Art goers
Together, we are strong!

37. have want
gadago Audiences, museum People to go to exhibitions
partnerships
dev team Technological resources Interesting, sustainable
projects
museums Content (exhibitions) Audiences
users Smartphones, some € More, quality museum
experiences

38. Don’t try to do everything
yourself.
Know where your organization
is creating value.

39. Technology
30%
Gadago 30% Apple
sales, management,
promotion
0€ 10€
Museums Art goers
1-2€ discounts
Users pay €10 to download app.

40. Technology
30%
Gadago 30% Apple
sales, management,
promotion
0€ 10€
Museums Art goers
1-2€ discounts
Cost for museums to start = 0

41. Technology
30%
Gadago 30% Apple
sales, management,
promotion
0€ 10€
Museums Art goers
1-2€ discounts
App building covered by revenue share

42. Technology
30%
Gadago 30% Apple
sales, management,
promotion
0€ 10€
Museums Art goers
1-2€ discounts
A new app each year

43. have want get
gadago Audiences, museum People to go to People to go to
partnerships exhibitions exhibitions
(And come to Museum
Next!)
dev team Technological resources Interesting, sustainable Interesting, sustainable
projects project
museums Content (exhibitions) Audiences Bigger audiences
New audiences
users Smartphones, some € More, quality museum Discounts
experiences Selected exhibition
information
Community
participation

44. Recap
Leverage the strengths of your existing
services and environment
Create multiple touch points in the user
experience, both online and offline
Plan for a runway to launch and iterate
Work with others to build a strong
foundation

45. ありがとうございました！
Thank You!
Paul Tomomi
@aka_me @tzs