Brian Hubber
Towards the end of 2001 there was considerable
press coverage of the substantial increases in the number of visitors
to British museums - a direct result of the abolition of entry
fees. In Wales, where fees were scrapped early in 2001, admissions
soared by an average of 87%. The experience in England has been
similar. The Museum of London reported that visitor figures were
up fivefold! The Australian experience is almost identical. After
the National Gallery of Victoria abolished admission fees in 1996,
the number of visits almost doubled. Gillian Savage, in a crucial
paper on this topic, demonstrates that the introduction of admission
fees in the 1980s and 90s decreased visitation by something between
40 and 80%. Conversely, the abolition of fees at the Museum of
Contemporary Art (MCA) resulted in an increase of 100% and at
the Newcastle Regional Museum of 300%!
I'm a librarian by profession and have been
virtually weaned on the philosophy of a free library service.
Australia's excellent public library system was established in
the 1940s-50s on the back of the Free Library Movement, a loose
but dynamic network of professional and political supporters.
Librarianship has a strong historical commitment to free library
services, and this commitment has resulted in both political and
community support - over 50% of Australians are active subscribers.
If the museum/art gallery sector want that sort of community and
political support, maybe it is time for the profession to articulate
a free museum service policy.
But galleries and museums are not libraries
- they have different missions, products, funding, governance
structures and relationships with stakeholders. Even so, perhaps
there are strong business reasons for abolishing admission fees.
Pricing, of course, is just one element of
the marketing mix - and the admission fee is only one element
of pricing. Consideration of all elements of the mix - pricing,
product, promotion, people, place - results in a variety of marketing
approaches, each determined by the environment in which the individual
institution has to operate. In the business sense, each institution
has to make up its own mind whether to charge an admission fee
and how much it should be.
Let's examine the costs and benefits if the
Geelong Gallery, for example, were to abolish its admission fee
- currently $4 for adults, $2 concession and children, free on
Mondays. The most obvious cost would be the loss of income from
fees. In 1999 Geelong Gallery collected $11,433 in admission fees,
in a total income of $444,184 - i.e., about 2.6%. Some memberships
might also be lost - why be a member when the gallery is free?
So in this case, the loss of income would be relatively small,
and the effect on membership not known.
On the face of it, an increase in visits should
result in an increase in sales in shops and cafˇs. This seems
to have been the case at the MCA and the Newcastle Regional Museum,
and Alison Fitzpatrick, President of the Museum Shops Association
of Australia, reports similar findings both in Australia and overseas.
Moreover, Karen Quinlan of the Ballarat Art Gallery reports a
similar increase in shop and cafˇ sales following abolition of
its fee in 1998. However, at the Perth Mint, shop sales decrease
on free days, and the Powerhouse Museum reports that shop sales
actually went up after the introduction of fees (despite a decrease
in the number of visitors). The bulk of the evidence suggests
that shop sales would increase, but there are some contrary findings.
Donations may well also increase, especially
if free admission is marketed as 'Entry by donation'. After dropping
its admission fee, the MCA reported an increase in donations.
Entry donations at the Bendigo Art Gallery have more or less replaced
its admission fee of $2. At the Geelong Gallery donations would
probably off-set the abolition of admission fees in a reasonably
substantial way.
Although the evidence is anecdotal, free
entry also seems to attract more sponsorship. There are two possible
reasons for this. First, sponsors may want to be associated with
a free cultural institution, thus adopting the role of patron.
Secondly, Sue Ernst at Geelong Gallery has pointed out to me that
showing potential sponsors around a well-attended gallery is more
likely to result in support.
Finally, free admission may be the means of
increasing membership. Marketing textbooks tell us that one of
the hardest things to do is to bring your product to the notice
of the public. Free entry, properly promoted, can help do that.
Moreover, free entry will result in more repeat visits, thus encouraging
the development of a relationship with a new clientele. The challenge
then is to convert repeat visits into membership. This can be
done by adding value to the basic product, through public programs
for example. Thus pricing, product and promotion can be dovetailed
to increase revenue from membership and public programs.
In conclusion then, I think there would be
real political and community benefits in adopting a "free museum
service" policy across the sector, but even before such a policy
can be articulated and discussed, there might be benefits from
abolishing admission fees at the enterprise level, especially
if such a move is well-planned, promoted and capitalised upon.
Brian Hubber
State Library of Victoria