MuseumNext Dublin 2016

1. To Charge or Not to Charge?
The Admission Dilemma
Silvia Filippini Fantoni
@silviaff20

2. An Institutional Dilemma
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3. A Personal Dilemma
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4. Your Dilemma
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5. @silviaff20

6. Context
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7. @silviaff20

8. @silviaff20

9. 2005: Museum Extension@silviaff20

10. 2009: Miller House
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11. 2010: 100 Acres Park
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12. IMA Attendance did not Increase
Consistently after Extension
Partially closed for
extension
@silviaff20

13. • 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
@silviaff20

14. Charge for Parking: $5
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15. Increase Exhibition Charge:
from $8 to $12 to $18 to $20
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16. • 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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17. • 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. • $18 admission to galleries
and outdoors (except 100
Acres) including exhibits
• Free parking
• Free community days (5/7
per year)
• Free first Thursdays after 4
pm
• Access Pass (1$)
• Membership stayed the
same ($55 and $75)
Change in Business Model
@silviaff20

19. 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

20. 18 Dollars: Why?
• Survey about charge
• Other institutions in
similar socio-demographic
contexts
• Other institutions in town
($13-$32)
• Make the membership
“more appealing”
@silviaff20

21. The Reaction
Reaction
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22. "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

23. The Reaction
Staff Morale Was Low
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24. Impact
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25. 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

26. 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.
@silviaff20

27. Membership Grew by 60%
6146
7114
9618
12629
15750
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
2012 2013 2014 2015 Today
@silviaff20

28. 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

29. Time Spent at the IMA Increased in 2015
(138 vs. 117 min. average)
0 1 2 3 4locations
n=53
location
n=568
locations
n=105
locations
n=99
locations
n=11
minutes
minutesminutes
minutes
minutes
79
126
161
209 210
minutes
minutesminutes
minutes
minutes
@silviaff20

30. 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%
@silviaff20

31. Exhibition Attendance Increased
April-Dec 2015 exhibitions April-Dec 2014 exhibitions
69%
81%
42%
32%
22%
67%
Gustave
Baumann
(n=181)
Dream Cars
(n=351)
Georgia
O'Keeffe
(n=113)
Face to Face
(n=127)
Robert Indiana
(n=119)
Matisse
(n=162)
@silviaff20

32. Store and Café Awareness, Visitation
and Purchases increased
41%
34%
23%
1%
58%
20%
10%
12%
Aware, but did not
visit
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
@silviaff20

33. 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
@silviaff20

34. Revenues Increased Even If Not as
Much as We Had Projected
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35. Considerations
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36. • Better balance between
membership vs. general
admission
• Aggressive implementation
timeline
• Better communication
about changes
• Efforts to build consensus
in the community about
access
Issues
@silviaff20

37. • Monitor attendance
and demographics
• Evaluate membership
growth
• Segmentation and
community
engagement studies
• Invest in the gardens
What’s Next?
@silviaff20

38. 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
@silviaff20

39. Questions?
sfantoni@imamuseum.org
@silviaff20