Suzie Dergham is the CEO of Guru Experience Co., an app specialist for the cultural sector, and a digital experience partner for museums around the world. Guru offers a scalable grow-as-you-go mobile app platform that caters to the digital engagement needs of museums, historical sites and other cultural attractions.
The Guru story began when one of the founders visited a US national park in 2016. Once she got to the gate, she was handed a CD in exchange for the entry fee. The CD was an integral part of the experience, providing insight into the wonders of the park.
However, while riding around and listening, she wondered if there was a better way for venues to operate, rather than forcing visitors to use clunky and outdated media players.
Back then, app development was coming to the fore. Playing content on disks seemed old school, and many of today’s younger audiences would be unfamiliar with this outdated technology.
Speaking to blooloop following the company’s recent acquisition by Live Current Media, Inc., Dergham explains more about Guru’s journey from this humble origin story. She also talks about the firm’s mission to help cultural institutions and attractions create, evolve, and refine their digital visitor experience, and how the company is continuing to grow and innovate.
A passion for museums
Dergham started her career by obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in printmaking at SUNY Plattsburgh. She wanted to work at her favourite museum, MoMA, in New York City.
“I was very quick to find out that I was not even qualified to be a ticket taker. They have very high standards and many ticket takers have master’s degrees! After selling artwork on the street of Manhattan for a couple of months, I quickly realized I was not going to be able to pay my rent regularly. Getting a “real job” was going to have to be the path.”
When doing research into feasible routes into the museum and cultural sector, Dergham discovered the ‘hidden side’ of operations which relied on third-party vendors.
“I became really interested. I still saw an opportunity to work at MoMA, but on the vendor side of things in their tour department. That was very compelling to me because I’m your typical audio tour user. I tend to not read wall labels. So, if a museum doesn’t have something that can help explain things to me, I will flow right through and not even understand what I’m looking at.”
A turning point came when she was viewing a Jackson Pollock piece at the NY museum.
“I still had that mindset of “Well, I could do that. Why can’t I be here.” Not until taking the audio tour did I start to realize why that piece was important, why it was in the museum, and what it meant for the period when he was creating it.”
Engaging all museum guests
Labels aren’t just an obstacle for those looking to speed through exhibits. People with poor vision, low levels of concentration or those not reading in their native language have their experience impaired. On the other hand, sometimes they don’t provide enough context. Especially in times when the historical origin of exhibits has been placed under the microscope.
Dergham says that the groundwork is there for improved availability of content:
“Curators spend so much time researching their collection and the general public should benefit from that.”
Taking on a role with Antenna International in 2013, Dergham achieved her goal of working at her favourite museum as the manager of MoMA’s audience work program from the vendor side, excelling in particular at the management aspects of the role. Following a series of promotions, Dergham was then in charge of running the US operations for all of Antenna’s on-site staff. This included those at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and The Statue of Liberty.
“I very much enjoyed working with and ensuring that our teams were creating the best experience on-site for museums, as though we were museum staff.”
Transition to Guru
During her time at Antenna, Dergham noticed that, whilst the museum sector was still providing innovative exhibition content, a growing number of sites weren’t communicating them successfully across a broad audience.
“I decided that the technology wasn’t evolving as much as I saw there was a need for it. Even before the pandemic, I felt strongly that apps being provided to museums took so much effort to update.”
The main reason for this was that museums largely outsource app development and content completely. This means that traditionally even small changes can be costly and time-consuming.
Back-end developers with no knowledge of the artefacts themselves would be responsible for ensuring everything was up to date and correct.
“If you’re a member of a museum and you open an app, and it looks the same as it did six months ago, it’s not going to be relevant to you. It’s not going to help or benefit your experience there. So, it excited me that there was an app platform that solved this problem for museums. I very much felt like I wanted to shout: “Guys, this exists. You don’t have to use developers to do this stuff, there is a platform that does this.”
“That’s what drew me to Guru in the first place. They had a cloud-based CMS where museums could update content in real time on the fly. It didn’t require a developer to execute new and evergreen content.
“This job specifically allows me to combine all of my favourite things. Being part of the cultural space is something that I’m very passionate about. I’m excited about new projects, but it also allows me to utilize the side of my brain that is tech-focused.”
New parent company
Late last year, Live Current Media, a Canadian public company, acquired Guru. Live Current Media has collated a select group of companies that provide services to clients driven by innovation and communication.
“They are creating an ecosystem that combines the compelling technology of multiple different companies to better serve the creator economy,” says Dergham. “Guru fits in with the vision perfectly. The museums are the creators, and Guru offers the tool to bring that content to their audiences and analyze its performance. We’re looking forward to introducing new integrations from our parent company that help museums further their missions even more deeply.”
Live Current Media was interested in Guru for its long-standing advancements in AR technologies, and the potential that will be unleashed by pairing some of the companies that they’ve been acquiring with what Guru excels at already.
For example, Gofamer, another acquisition, tracks and supplies data on social media content, providing an accurate representation of how successful it is.
“Thinking about these complementary products and how they could enhance our partnerships with clients is the way that the group is looking at evolving the larger ecosystem. We are excited to be part of this strategy. It means working with like-minded companies, learning from one another, and implementing any of their tools that will make our platform even better.”
Notable projects
Guru Experience Co. has partnered with many popular and well-respected museums around the world. Its apps have a high adoption rate, particularly in the US.
For example, the firm partnered with the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Mississippi Museum to enhance A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration. This exhibition required a custom user-generated story platform that allowed users to tell their own migration story.
The exhibition will tour the US, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the California African American Museum. It won a Southeastern Museums Conference Gold Award last year.
“Visitors to the exhibition can create and edit their story on-site or at home. So, they have full control of the story that they put out there, how long they want it to be available, and when it comes down from being viewable by the public.
“There is also the whole back-end side of things, which is the core of all Guru projects. The museum is able to approve and monitor the user-generated stories on the content management system, and even categorize the content for more user-friendly story exploration on the front end…”
The Guru Experience Co. difference
There has never been a shortage of website or app builders available on the market. However, there are only a few that fully understand and can deliver on the requirements, of the museum and cultural sectors.
Guru works alongside clients to advise on the best content types, as a partner which will guide museum teams in applying, deploying and smoothing out the process of getting buy-in from institutional stakeholders.
“Without those things, it’s just not going to be successful,” says Dergham. “If the museum doesn’t feel like this is their content, their app, their story that they’re putting in their visitors’ hands, it won’t be promoted as such. And, therefore, it will not be successful.
“What makes us different is the level of support that we’re providing our clients and the customization that we’re capable of. We have a development team who has built our platform from the ground up. Should a client want a new feature set, that’s something we can build out with them.”
Working together with a shared vision
Whilst some digital or content agencies seemingly forget about their projects as soon as they’re completed, Guru Experience Co. works with its clients on a closer level to determine their needs and ensure apps match the desired way that they want them to operate.
Suzie DerghamWe spend a lot of time doing discovery with them – really understanding what their visitor journey is in order to make sure all departments are seeing how they can utilize the app as a true tool for a better visitor experience.
“We do it in a way where we’re an extension of their digital team, like their app team,” says Dergham.
“Our clients are aware of who our developers are. They are perhaps in contact with myself, Mary, Bridget and Dana, and accessing us as though we are an extension of their team. We also spend a lot of time doing discovery with them – really understanding what their visitor journey is in order to make sure all departments are seeing how they can utilize the app as a true tool for a better visitor experience.”
The Guru experience remains true to its origins
Utilising “A Partnership Approach” is the first of Guru’s four key values that museums and cultural venues can expect. Story and ROI are other values held in high regard by each of its clients. Another is “Innovation Always”. The team is committed to continuous improvement of its platform, looking for new ways to evolve and improve the museum experience each day.
Each museum may be looking to integrate apps for different reasons, whether it be to improve wayfinding, eliminate unnecessary paper waste or benefit from communicating with live notifications.
“Focusing on all departments is what we try to do in order to have something agile and flexible, yet serving all of the departments within the museum so that it enhances the visitor experience on a holistic level. We are not fans of technology for the sake of tech.”
Weathering the storm
The pandemic, saw museum boards make critical decisions relating to funding, and cutbacks in investments. How did this affect Guru Experience Co.?
“During the pandemic, I will say I was quite surprised, and it was heart-warming that our partners felt very strongly that we were part of their team and that this was an important component to ensure that their visitors continued to receive updates and content from them. So, if anything, we were slightly busier, but focusing on helping our current clients.”
Guru still gained new sales during this period, however. It was helping museums to realize the full potential of their apps, and ensuring visitors were getting updated content and vital information on things like opening procedures, what was available, and COVID-safe ways to get in touch.
“I got quite a few phone calls from our contract holders telling me that they want our product to still be there, and they were making it a point to ensure we were a priority for payments. We didn’t lose any clients during the pandemic. We are so grateful that we didn’t have the hardships that I know many others did.”
Adapting to clients’ needs for the ‘new normal’
An example of adapting to change comes from the San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA), which began the Masterpiece Minute Podcast. Curators would select specific pieces of the collection to present, and release content on predetermined days. This was paired with information in the app to communicate with the community and provide ways to access content that wasn’t on view at the time.
Suzie DerghamThere are a ton of other things that visitors are going to do throughout their whole ‘museum journey’. Having an app provide or navigate through those touch points is important to a seamless, stress-free, and engaging museum visit.
Dergham says that the majority of attractions approach Guru looking for a holistic visitor experience. Museums are now more conscious than ever of the whole visitor journey, encompassing the pre- and post-visit as well as the day out itself.
“There are a ton of other things that visitors are going to do throughout their whole ‘museum journey’. Having an app provide or navigate through those touch points is important to a seamless, stress-free, and engaging museum visit.
“The main goals of any museum are to have visitors come in their door, understand or connect with their mission, and enjoy. Hopefully, they’ll tell their friends and family. And that brings more people into the museum to see and understand what they have.”
Merging realities
App usage has changed dramatically over the last decade, with some of the most successful becoming interactive exhibits in their own right. One of Guru Experience Co.’s specialities is augmented reality (AR), popular with modern-day clients.
“We’re not doing AR just for the sake of something flashy. It’s meant to deepen the visitor’s connection,” says Dergham. “So [for AR] we sit down with the curators and storytellers. We go through the important components or themes to bring to life within any given piece of art or artefact. The aim is for visitors to experience a richer and deeper connection through a more evocative medium. It’s not just about seeing something ‘cool’ or flashy.”
“We try to work with clients based on their budgets. AR doesn’t have to be super expensive, there are ways to do it that are cost-effective but still have a great impact. Museum apps that have AR have much higher usage rates from what we have seen. Visitors are then utilizing AR apps for all its other functions because they now have it on their phones, thus increasing the level of in-app engagement per user.
“From the data we have seen from our clients, AR greatly increases the success of the app, in both download rates and actual in-app use/interaction rates.”
Guru stays ahead of museum trends
As with the transition from CDs to phones, progress continues to happen fast in the app space. Apps are continuing to use better hardware and improved operating systems, thanks to the skilled teams at companies including Guru Experience Co. But how are museums using these capabilities to improve their experience?
“Everybody’s a creator in this day and age, people want to create their own content,” says Dergham. “I’m excited about how and where that can go, whether it’s allowing users to create NFTs on behalf of museums, or how people are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered content.”
AI is something that has piqued Dergham’s interest. This is an area that Guru is scoping as to how people would benefit most from it in a practical museum or gallery environment.
“You don’t necessarily have to be an amazing artist [to use AI]. If you want to create a cat riding a surfboard in the middle of the night, you can tell an AI-generated art programme to create that for you! Whether it has a space or not, is yet to be seen. But I’m interested to see how we can leverage it to enhance our platform and offerings.”
Future projects
Guru Experience Co. believes in forming long-term partnerships with clients – and delivering a reliable service which makes them a port of call for future projects. With this in mind, Guru will soon return to one of its earliest clients, Balboa Park. Here, it will create a new mobile app for San Diego’s 1,200-acre urban cultural district. Attractions include the San Diego Air and Space Museum, the San Diego Museum of Art and the San Diego Natural History Museum.
“The visitor expectation has changed from 2015 when we first collaborated. The visitor and what they expect within an app have evolved. So, Balboa Park has contracted us to renew the app and use more contemporary methods to create a more compelling experience for their visitor.”
At Balboa Park, the app will serve as a truly holistic guide to the entire park, complete with tours, trails AR, and sneak peeks or glimpses into the various collections. There will also be other interactives to inspire visitors to step inside the walls of each institution.
“The app experiences will run the gamut from interpretive, to playful, to functionally practical.”
The future looks bright for Guru, with a new backer, long-standing clients and new museums jumping on board to realize the potential of new technologies. Dergham also is looking forward to what’s to come, saying:
“I feel good about the stuff that we are working on at Guru. I very much enjoy it; it makes me feel happy and fulfilled that what we are doing can really make an impact on the overall experience and relationship a visitor has with any particular institution.”
