You know…for kids!
Saw this today. So, museum attendance is up, but revenue is down.
Want to know why this doesn’t surprise me? Because I have a child.
My local museum has a late night event once a month. It’s incredibly attractive to me because it means a family night out and one less day that week that I have to watch Pixar’s Cars reenacted on my living room floor.
When we go to the museum, it’s a good-sized admission. $10 for adults. Know how much they charge for my munchkin? Nothing. Nada. And he’ll be free until he’s TWELVE!
So guess what we do when we go to the museum? Think we walk through the permanent collection and discuss impressionism? Maybe leave handprints on the giant mirror sculpture (OK, we do that, but still, that’s five minutes)? Nope, we head straight to the children’s area where they have arts and crafts, a playroom for the under-three set, kiddie yoga (for real), and a bedtime storyteller. During all of this, Arturo, the slightly-offensive Latino bird mascot wanders around handing out stickers.
And the solution to pay for all of this is to let the little guys in for free?
Let’s face it. Cultural organizations have it rough right now. They certainly don’t want to look like they are gouging families by charging for their kids. But seriously, these are your core constituents. You don’t want to take advantage of that?
Want a solution? Why not look at the family as a unit? Package two adult tickets, parking and up to three kids for a “discounted” rate? Throw in a concession coupon, and you’ve already made more than you’d ever dreamed. What family goes to the concession stand and doesn’t come out $20 in the hole?
Let me tell you, we want reasons to come to your cultural organization. We are all looking for ways to enrich the lives of our offspring and get them the hell out of the house. We don’t want to spend a ton of money, but we’ll happily spend money on what we think is worth it. So go ahead and charge me for my little guy. If it means that we’ll be printing our hands on the mirror sculpture for years to come, we’re all in.
