Free, Discount, or Full Admission: How It Impacts Perceptions of Cultural Entities

How can museums and performing arts entities get people to like them more? A popular answer is to offer free or discounted admission. After all, who doesn’t love getting something for free? But does this work?
We measured how thirty-one cultural organizations were perceived by people who visited them for free, with a discount of any amount, or at full admission price. We wanted to know if admission basis impacts visitor satisfaction, the likelihood to endorse an organization, and how well an institution is perceived at carrying out its mission.

[@dlichtenfeld]

Would be interested to know more about related questions, for example: 1. How are the perceptions of full-admission payers affected by the knowledge that the organization offers free/discounted admission to others who need it? (Hypothesis: Positively.) 2. How much more effective is the organization at fulfilling its mission when offering free/discounted/full-price admission or combos thereof? (Hypothesis: More effective, even though some of the constituents who paid free/discounted admission might not value the organization as much as those who paid full-price.)

[@justindionne3587]

Great video. Great study, and GREAT data! Thank you for your work on these important topics. Keep them coming!!