In March 2015, the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA), located in San Diego’s Balboa Park, implemented a pay-what-you-wish admissions policy. It was meant to have a six-month life span, officials at the nonprofit said, and initially applied to just Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. But the new policy proved so successful — admissions revenue and attendance increased —that it was extended twice and expanded to six days a week. The Chronicle asked membership officer Angela Venuti about the steps MOPA took to get its alternative admissions policy off the ground.
1. Identify Values (Institutional Strategy Phase)
Ask your staff: What are the most important values of your organization?
For MOPA, we decided a vital focus is “people” (visitors/users). This established the priority of building community, and indicated that we value the mindset that art should be for everyone who wants to view it.
2. Establish Goals (Planning Phase)
After you thoroughly outline your values and vision as an organization, ask yourselves: What are the goals for this new type of admissions policy?
People were our primary focus. We created procedures to establish the metrics we would track throughout the process. At MOPA, some of the most important trends we watched were changes in the number of visitors and admissions revenue. We also knew we wanted to track the number of people who completed our visitor survey while on site.
3. Communicate Inside and Out (Communication Phase)
No program is successful without proper buy-in from all stakeholders. In communicating the idea of a new type of program, emphasize its value as an experiment. Distributing timely, clear, and consistent messages to the public and all supporters about why you are trying something different will help those who are affected understand and feel included in the process.
During the rollout, MOPA conducted several online campaigns using email and social media that emphasized our “art is for everyone” philosophy and described the upcoming changes.
4. Train Staff (Training Phase)
You’re almost ready to rock and roll! Training all staff, institution wide, is incredibly important. Although the front-line or visitor relations staff is usually the first to make contact with the public, each department should understand how these experimental changes may affect programs and constituents.
Proactively prepare for all questions that may be asked, and share responses. This will help train all staff (including volunteers, interns, and board members) on the strategy and purpose of the new rollout.
We created a variety of fact sheets for members of our planning committee to understand how best to explain the changes, including tips on how to discuss membership, public programs, and donor opportunities. Two months before launch, we expanded training to include all staff members.
Practicing is key! After the public announcement, MOPA invited new museum visitors to serve as test audiences as staff members explained the new policy, so we could learn which aspects needed to be changed slightly before the launch date.
5. Launch (Implementation Phase)
With training and your first few rounds of practice complete, the gates are open, and you’re off! Consistent marketing is needed to promote the change and support your hard work.
We integrated “pay what you wish” language into all of our outreach to ensure the new policy was being promoted whenever possible. We also ensured the same language was used on our website, social media, newsletters and digital signs in the museum. We also added the message to print pieces as appropriate (e.g., rack cards) and outdoor signs to raise awareness among people who had not yet visited the museum.
6. Analyze and Adapt (Evaluation Phase)
It is important to periodically evaluate the program. Check to see if visitors and supporters see the new policy as a reflection of the museum’s values, and if you are hitting your main goals.
To accomplish this, MOPA included links to news articles about the program in member emails, and invited our members, volunteers and donors to give us their feedback. Some members responded on social media, some called us, and many told us personal stories at the front desk. All of these forms of feedback are valuable, and staff members took time to capture them and share with all staff.
Adapting to the various circumstances that come up is the secret to ensuring success of a new program. So continue to review, analyze, and report progress by comparing new data to the metrics originally set. This is crucial to maintain the integrity of testing a new program.
Angela Venuti is a membership officer at the Museum of Photographic Arts.