Joyce’s strategy produced important financial resources quickly. In planning the new JMZ, she helped prioritize experiences that would be crucial to our opening. A key one required a substantial addition of money, already denied by our two main funding sources. Joyce provided a new voice that spoke to both of those audiences, public and private, and changed minds. We got the funding, and we’ll open a more sustainable institution because of it. Joyce’s work will benefit the JMZ and the community well into the future.
John Aikin Executive Director - Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
Joyce has a depth of experience branding institutions so they are positioned for fundraising. She brought valuable strategic thinking to our branding, and helped to advance our thinking around key goals, a structure to guide the process, a format to involve key stakeholders, and a realistic timeline to ensure a successful launch of the brand.
Barbara French Vice Chancellor, University Relations
University of California, San Francisco
The Hall is a great organization--the talented people, the quality programs and materials they create, and the diverse portfolio of services we provide. The number one recommendation of our long-range planning consultants was to work on communicating our story in a more coherent and compelling way. Joyce has listened to us, to our current stakeholders, and to the audiences where our message isn't getting traction. She's held up a mirror and challenged our thinking, created a couple of fresh and powerful statements to serve as a foundation for our brand strategy work going forward. She's a delight to work with!
Elizabeth Stage Director
Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, CA
Marketing used to be a dirty word at museums and marketing people were essentially treated as second-class citizens -- a necessary evil, but not a colleague, and not someone that exhibits people or education people could benefit from talking with. Joyce Gardella has helped change that relationship, and I personally observed the benefits of that at three museums where she worked. At the most fundamental level, she shows people that marketing is ABOUT programming, not a separate activity. That breaks barriers and stimulates cross-departmental conversations, such as exhibit people now asking, "who's our audience?" and realizing that understanding your audience can enhance creativity rather than limit it. And while she masters all the tactics involved with marketing and audience development (e.g., choosing formats, knowing what to get from a media buy), she is a grand master of thinking strategically: rising to the institution's mission and vision, uniting the many needs in clear messages that connect with audiences. If you are thinking about hiring Joyce, feel free to contact me for specific examples.
Jeff Hayward Director & Owner
People, Places & Design Research
Joyce brought tremendous professionalism, energy, and insight to our grand opening marketing campaign. She worked quickly with staff and stakeholders to articulate our brand, position BAMPFA with key markets, and deliver strategic partners of enormous immediate and long-term benefit. She got real impact from modest resources and was the ideal person to lead us through the uniquely challenging process of marketing BAMPFA at our new location.
Larry Rinder Director, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive
Joyce is one of the most strategic thinking marketing professionals in the field. She excels at thinking about the big picture and the long-term impact of communications and marketing. Her work with the Science Center helped us understand key audiences, our positioning in the community and the value of maintaining a focus on our core mission and messages. The value of Joyce's work is that it brings benefits across the museum, now and well into the future.
Jeff Rudolph President and CEO
California Science Center, Los Angeles
Joyce is a master at strategic thinking about marketing and brand. She was an instrumental part of the team that led the Exploratorium to its new home on the Piers. She helped us reposition the organization, especially in the eyes of the local community. This set us apart and proved vital in our successful fund raising efforts. She also is one of the best in the business in thinking strategically about media and other partnerships that gave us access to new and broader audiences and in some of the most cost-effective ways possible. This has set us up beautifully for the future.
Dennis Bartels CEO
Exploratorium, San Francisco