How the Brussels Sewer Museum leveraged audio guide gamification for high visitor engagement
When you think of Brussels, you usually picture the Grand Place, the Manneken-Pis, or waffles. But this year, a house swap experience led us to a much more unexpected discovery: the Sewer Museum. No, the underground experience isn't the only hidden treasure. Stepping away from the monotone voice and the academic explanations, their audio guide took us by surprise.
At the Sewer Museum, we were immediately taken in by Michel, a fictional guide, a sewer worker who plunged us into our "first day on the job" underground. The device is simple, a box to click on three-digit numbers, and the experience is anything but classic, notably due to the possibility of choosing our own path and reactions. This approach of gamification and unique storytelling transformed a simple visit into an immersive experience. But is this impression shared by other visitors?
We couldn’t help but write a fan mail to the Sewer Museum to find out how they pulled it off. They generously shared the insights, offering valuable inspiration that could inspire other museums. The report highlighted that visitors found Michel far more captivating than a “classic” audio guide, with an overwhelming 92% expressing interest in having this style of audio guide available at other museums.
92% would like to see this type of audio guide available at other museums
The reports confirm success in visitor engagement. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at what the visitors say about the experience.
The Sewer Museum in Brussels and Its Partnership
The Sewer Museum, located at the Anderlecht Gate in Brussels, offers a fascinating journey into what is both hidden and essential to the city's functioning, recounting the history, construction, and work of the sewer workers.
The annual report studies data collected from December 2020 to 2021. These reports we received from the Sewer Museums allowed us to take a deeper look into the guest’s review of the experience's quality, including the audio guide, created in collaboration with the creative and technical partner, Demute studio.
The demographics of the respondents were:
Average age: 33 years old (with half under 30)
Language breakdown: French (87%), Dutch (9%), and English (3%).
Meet Mike, an underground fictional guide who captivates success of the Brussels Sewer Museum's Audio Guide
The audio guide content covers the world of the sewers, including how it is built, waste management, what you can discover there, and more. Most importantly, Michel highlights the importance of the sewer worker profession and invites listeners to take action and share the word.
Following Michel's dialogue, a second voice representing the listener's inner thought instructs them to select a path by entering the three-digit number. Both paths ultimately lead back to the same point. The choices offered may be a reaction to Michel’s dialogue or two different follow-up questions.
The guide includes detailed instructions for use. At the end of the tour, visitors are directed to drop off the guide with the staff.
Despite being such an unusual location, visitors rated the comfort of their visit an outstanding 9.2 out of 10.
The Sewer Museum's audio guide is a technical and emotional success, standing out significantly from "classic" devices. Here are the key figures on the audio guide's performance:
Adoption and ease of use:
From the annual report that were shared with us (period 2020-2021): 52% of the 286 respondents used the audio guide.
Only 12% of participants needed to ask a guardian for help to use the device, confirming its great ease of use.
High satisfaction and engagement rates: The majority of participants said they were emotionally touched by the character Michel and found the experience more captivating than a traditional audio guide:
Average emotional impact score by Michel: 8.7/10.
Average engagement score (vs. classic audio guide): 8.9/10
Immersion, local accent, and humor applauded
The audio guide's success largely rests on the character Michel, who is praised for his Brussels accent and humor. Visitors particularly appreciated his originality and his ability to make the visit fun and enjoyable.
“The audio guide makes the experience more fun and enjoyable. It quickly immerses us in the atmosphere and history of the Brussels sewers. Nice to have seen a real sewer.”
“A treat to listen to good Brussels dialect!!”
Even though the device was deemed "a little too childish" by some, and one visitor noted some repetition, the overall enthusiasm is palpable. The average interest score for the device is extremely high: 84% of the 134 respondents found it ‘Very Captivating.’
The Sewer Museum case proves that rich content, supported by an immersive audio guide can elevate even a niche subject into a memorable cultural experience.
The Sewer Museum obtained an exceptional Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75 (based on 564 participants), attesting an outstanding level of satisfaction and a strong likelihood of recommendation. They are a living example of how audio guides can evolve into sophisticated tools for engagement and immersion.
We highly urge museums and heritage sites to be more experimental and creative with audio guides. In the end, the audio guide is not just an explanation; it is a media and profound opportunity for emotional storytelling and gamification that should be fully embraced.
And of course, we strongly encourage you to visit Sewer Museums to experience it yourself!
