How to bring cultural heritage back to life ? An exploratory investigation of the Palace Museum in Biejing on the enhancement of museum brand equity through brand extension strategy

Abstract

In China, with the improvement of material living standards, the spiritual and cultural needs of the public have grown rapidly. Their cultural consumption abilities have been greatly enhanced, and the aesthetic level has been continuously improved. Today, in order to revitalize cultural heritages and meet the spiritual needs of the new generation, many museums have begun their own branding path. And brand extension is one of the strategies commonly used. This thesis takes the Palace Museum in Beijing as an example, through interviews with three stakeholders, explores the impact of brand extension on the brand equity of museums, and gives suggestions on how museums can use brand extension strategies to enhance their brand equity. This paper believes that museum branding is an inevitable trend. And the use of brand extension strategy is a feasible solution. In order to allow museums to effectively use brand extension strategies to enhance brand equity, this paper develops a brief implementation process and emphasizes the priority of each process for the reference of people concerned. Finally, this thesis hopes to attract the attention of museums and stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries, and suggests that they reasonably avoid the problems mentioned in this paper when implementing museum’s brand extension strategy.