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To Charge or Not to Charge? The Admission Dilemma
Silvia Filippini Fantoni
@silviaff20
An Institutional Dilemma
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A Personal Dilemma
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Your Dilemma
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Context
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2005: Museum Extension @silviaff20
2009: Miller House
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2010: 100 Acres Park
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IMA Attendance did not Increase Consistently after Extension
Partially closed for extension
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• Debts to sustain
expansion
• Endowment draw reached
over 8%
• Endowment lost over
150M during the
recession
• Projection: IMA would
close its doors in 20/30
years
Financial Issues
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Charge for Parking: $5
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Increase Exhibition Charge: from $8 to $12 to $18 to $20
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• Two rounds of layoffs:
2009 and 2013
• Operating budget cuts
• Reduce the number of
exhibitions
• Focus more on the
permanent collection
Reduce Costs
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• Focus on audience-
research and evaluation
• New visitor-centered
exhibition development
process
• New approach to
programming more
participatory and
experiential
Change in Focus
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• $18 admission to galleries
and outdoors (except 100
Acres) including exhibits
• Free parking
• Free community days (5/7
per year)
• Free first Thursdays after 4
pm
• Access Pass (1$)
• Membership stayed the
same ($55 and $75)
Change in Business Model
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New Business Model: Why?
• Stop nickeling and diming
visitors
• Be less dependent on
unstable sources of funding
(e.g. endowment and
sponsorship)
• Increase earned revenues
• Increase number of members
(engage visitors in a long
term relation)
@silviaff20
18 Dollars: Why?
• Survey about charge
• Other institutions in
similar socio-demographic
contexts
• Other institutions in town
($13-$32)
• Make the membership
“more appealing”
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The Reaction Reaction
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"While I understand the need for a financial sustainability, you have effectively transformed one of city's gems from an oasis of culture into a privileged club for those with disposable income.“ Antony Basso
"Admission fees are one thing, but charging that much for individuals in the Indianapolis market is wrong.“ Nicole Wall
“I loved the IMA, that is until the Board of Directors decided to fence the gardens and close off access to the Elder greenhouse …The gardens were my home away from home, a place I truly felt at peace. I loved visiting there. “ Coleen Stone @silviaff20
The Reaction Staff Morale Was Low
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Impact
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Attendance Dropped
• Based on check-ins at the main desk, attendance drop by 15% (this doesn’t include people that previously went directly to the gardens or did not check in)
• Attendance at Lilly House dropped by 40%
@silviaff20
120,919
102,569
90,000
95,000
100,000
105,000
110,000
115,000
120,000
125,000
2014 Apr/Dec 2015 Apr/Dec
28,594
16,801
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
2014 Apr/Dec 2015 Apr/Dec
Check-in main desk Check-in Lilly House
Attendance Outdoors Decreased
89%
14%
25%
7%
57%
34%
10%
59%
41% 43%
16%
30%
24% 24%
Galleries Lilly Gardens The Park Store Café Greenhouse
2015 (n=835) 2014 (n=731) *
* 2014 data may be biased because data collection methods followed quotas set for collection at each location.
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Membership Grew by 60%
6146 7114
9618
12629
15750
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
2012 2013 2014 2015 Today
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Demographics & Psychographics
Visitors are more likely to be Explorers and Professional/Hobbyists
Drop of 5.5% in family visitors
Increase of 5% in Caucasian visitors
More likely to be 55+ and less likely to be 18-34
More likely to earn $60K-$124,999 and less likely to under $60K
In Apr/Dec 2015 compared to Apr/Dec 2014:
@silviaff20
Time Spent at the IMA Increased in 2015 (138 vs. 117 min. average)
0 1 2 3 4 locations
n=53 location
n=568 locations
n=105 locations
n=99 locations
n=11
minutes
minutes minutes
minutes
minutes
79
126
161
209 210
minutes
minutes minutes
minutes
minutes
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Visitation to the Permanent Galleries Decreased in 2015
54%
50%
47%
47%
46%
37%
38%
35%
32%
33%
25%
22%
European Art
American Art
Contemporary Art
Textile and Fashion Arts
Contemporary Design
Asian Art
Clowes Pavilion
African Art
Decorative Arts and Furniture
Glick Glass
Ancient Art of the Mediterranean
Native Art of the Americas
*Clowes Pavilion not asked in 2014 survey, so comparison is not possible.
*
-20%
-10%
-8%
-7%
-13%
-13%
+6%
+6%
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Exhibition Attendance Increased
April-Dec 2015 exhibitions April-Dec 2014 exhibitions
69%
81%
42%
32%
22%
67%
GustaveBaumann(n=181)
Dream Cars(n=351)
GeorgiaO'Keeffe(n=113)
Face to Face(n=127)
Robert Indiana(n=119)
Matisse(n=162)
@silviaff20
Store and Café Awareness, Visitation and Purchases increased
41%
34%
23%
1%
58%
20%
10%
12%
Aware, but did notvisit
Browsed
Made a purchase
Unaware
2015 (n=835) 2014 (n=737)
64%
34%
4%
63%
24%
13%
Aware, but did not visit
Visited
Unaware
2015 (n=836) 2014 (n=737)
Store Cafe
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Satisfaction Stayed the Same (out of five)
4.85
4.59
4.85
4.86
4.65
4.88
4.4 4.45 4.5 4.55 4.6 4.65 4.7 4.75 4.8 4.85 4.9 4.95
Services and facilities
Orientation
Overall experience
2014 April/Dec 2015 Apr/Dec
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Revenues Increased Even If Not as Much as We Had Projected
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Considerations
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• Better balance between
membership vs. general
admission
• Aggressive implementation
timeline
• Better communication
about changes
• Efforts to build consensus
in the community about
access
Issues
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• Monitor attendance
and demographics
• Evaluate membership
growth
• Segmentation and
community
engagement studies
• Invest in the gardens
What’s Next?
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Concluding Thought
“There is no such a thing as a free museum. The issue is who is going to pay for it.”
Richard Evans, Beamish Museum of the Living North
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