On Wed, 18 Jun 1997, Jennifer Jaskowiak wrote:

:| A tough decision to make.  To charge or not to charge. On a personal note,
:| I remember when the Art Institute of Chicago's admission was donations
:| based.  Though AIC suggested donations, as a kid I would walk in a drop a
:| quarter in the box (I even remembered to return my metal button--that said
:| to all guards that I paid admission). During the major renovations (the
:| Rice wing was added, the skylights repaired, etc.) the donations policy was
:| changed to a standing admission price (with reduced rates for students
:| and--I think--a free day a month or a week).  As a visitor, I was a little
:| tiffed.  After all, I was able to see the Hopper and the Seurat for a
:| quarter before.  But as a museum professional, an art historian, and a
:| person who truly appreciates the AIC, I understood and handed over the
:| dollars.

I remember when I first moved to Chicago, the AIC's 25-cent donation
policy (along with their downtown location) was the reason I spent
more time there than at MSI, Field or Adler.  While I understand the
rationale behind the change, it was a shame to see it go.

:| In other words, I didn't mind paying the admission fee every now and again
:| for the quality experience which I knew that I would receive.  I would say
:| to keep your admissions in place.  Perhaps initiate a sliding scale with
:| reduced rates for students, or a free day, or reduce admission by a 10 or
:| 15% standard--maybe as a summer special or something.

One other thing to keep in mind is an advance purchase policy.  Set
it up so folks can purchase a coupon book of, say, 10 entrance
tickets and they get the 11th free (or whatever makes sense).  The
advantage to this sort of set up is that you reduce the stress of
your front door people having to make change and you get the money
up front.

Also, make the coupons transferable, so a family that might not use
all of their tickets in one season can give them as presents to
friends and family.  This is another way to increase your attendance
base through the best advertising of all, word-of-mouth.

Rich Johnson
Director of Marketing
Cotton Expressions, Ltd.
Science, Nature and Humor Imprinted Apparel
http://www.cottonexpress.com