Survey of Museum Visitors December 2013 The McNay Art Museum Visitor Study Introduction As part of market study and communications assessment, Audience Research & Analysis conducted visitor intercepts at the end of October and in early November. The purpose of this module was to develop a benchmark profile on which the Museum hopes to build. Methodology ARA intercepted the visitors as they entered the Museum and asked them to complete a two-sided questionnaire. In appreciation for their cooperation, each respondent was offered a beautiful art book from the Museum Store. Over six days, ARA collected a total of 393 questionnaires as shown below: Day and Date Respondents Thursday, October 31 (1:00 to 4:00pm) 40 Thursday, October 31 (4:00 – 6:30pm)1 50 Friday, November 1 45 Saturday, November 2 98 Sunday, November 32 135 Wednesday, November 6 25 Total 393 1 Family Halloween event with film “Frankenweenie,” as well as Thursday NIghts free general admission (4:00 to 9:00pm) 2 First Sundays (free general admission) Audience Research & Analysis - 2013 1 The McNay Art Museum Visitor Study Intercept Questionnaire Topics included: • History of visiting the McNay • Whether a member of the McNay • Awareness of free general admission on Thursday Nights and First Sundays • Sources of information including websites, social media, print, personal recommendation • Awareness and attendance of programs • Visiting www.mcnayart.org before arriving, and type of information sought • San Antonio museums and attractions attended in the past 12 months, and membership or subscription • Media habits o Regular use of social networking websites (e.g., Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube) o Regular readership of newspapers or magazines • Party composition • Geography • Demographics o Age, gender, marital status, race or ethnic background o Currently full-time student; highest level of education o Children under 18 living in the household Audience Research & Analysis - 2013 2 The McNay Art Museum Visitor Study Key Findings Geography • More than half – 57 percent – of all visitors lived in San Antonio. Another 29 percent resided elsewhere in Texas. o The proportion living in San Antonio jumped to 71 percent on Thursday Nights during free admission hours. o During times when admission is charged, the proportion of San Antonio residents declines to 47 percent. Demographics • About seven out of ten were female across all times. • Mean age was 42 years; the median (half below and above) was 36 years. o On Thursday Nights, the museum welcomed a younger constituency with a mean age of 35 years. o During paid admission times, mean age rose to 45 years. • At all times, about four out of ten were single (never married). The incidence of married/partnered couples was about 40 percent on days with admission and First Sundays, but rose to 58 percent on Thursday Nights. • On days with admission as well as First Sundays, about one-fifth had children under 18 years living in the household. The incidence rose to one-half on Thursday Nights. • Overall, 28 percent of visitors were full-time students , but this significant proportion was impacted by the 49 percent of Thursday Night visitors who were students. o Among non-current students, about three-quarters were college graduates with one- third having a graduate or professional degree . Nearly 40 percent, however, on Thursday Nights had not graduated college. • Among San Antonio visitors, 48 percent were white , non-Hispanic and 37 percent were Hispanic or Latino . However, three-quarters of visitors from San Antonio’s primary tourist feeder markets – Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Waco – were white , non-Hispanic compared with 14 percent of Hispanic of Latino heritage. o On Thursday Nights, the largest ethnic share was Hispanic or Latino at 48 percent. • Overall, mean annual household income was $91,000, although San Antonio residents averaged about $10,000 less. o On Thursday Nights, annual household income dropped to $62,000. Audience Research & Analysis - 2013 3 The McNay Art Museum Visitor Study Visiting the McNay • Thirteen percent of visitors were McNay members , 85 percent of whom lived in San Antonio. • Overall, 42 percent of visitors were not aware of either First Sundays or Thursday Nights . • Three out of ten, each, were accompanied by a spouse/life partner or friends, although the ratio among McNay Members was 2:1 spouse/life partner to friends . o On days with paid admission, one out of ten brought children under 18 . This rose to 50 percent on Thursday Nights, but only one out of six on First Sundays. • A little more than half were returning visitors including 67 percent of San Antonio residents who had been to the Museum previously. o Among prior visitors, 40 percent had been there in the past six months , and 60 percent, in total, over the past year. • With regard to sources of information that motivated a visit, close to four out of ten cited personal recommendations and half as many the McNay website and blog . o Public radio influenced six percent overall, and eight percent of San Antonians. o Among non-Texans, visitor magazines in hotels were second only to personal recommendations at 14 percent. o More than a quarter of First Sundays attendees cited the McNay website and blog as being an influential source. o Thirty percent of visitors on Thursday Nights acknowledged Facebook or other social media posts as a source compared with three percent during hours with paid admission. Awareness of Programs • All but two percent of McNay Members were aware of at least one museum program , while 41 percent of non-members were not aware of any. o For example, 71 percent of members were aware of Family Programs contrasted with 24 percent of non-members. o Overall, 48 percent were aware of the Museum Shop , 38 percent Conversations, Gallery Talks and Lectures , and 36 percent Film & Video Screenings . Museum Website • About one-half of all visitors logged on to www.mcnayart.org before arriving at the Museum. o Foremost, they looked for hours of operation , followed by current exhibitions on view . o San Antonio residents were relatively more interested in Events at the Museum while out-of-towners had above-average interest in cost of admission and Directions/Parking . Other San Antonio Museums and Attractions Audience Research & Analysis - 2013 4 The McNay Art Museum Visitor Study • Almost half of visitors to the McNay who were San Antonio residents had been to the San Antonio Museum of Art and/or Witte Museum in the past 12 months. Almost 10 percent were members of SAMA . o Among McNay Members, two-thirds had visited SAMA and six out of ten had been to the Witte . o Not surprisingly, almost half of McNay Members had been to art galleries , compared to 20 percent of all visitors from San Antonio. • Among the McNay’s San Antonio visitors, the Witte and SAMA were the most popular “other attractions” in the area. Out-of-town visitors, however, favored The Alamo just slightly more than SAMA , and significantly more than the Witte or any other area museum or performing arts attraction. • Nineteen percent of the McNay’s San Antonio visitors had a membership or subscription to at least one other area museum or attraction, led by nine percent at SAMA , five percent at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens , and four percent at the San Antonio Symphony . Social Networking • Overall, about 80 percent of McNay visitors used social networks led by 66 percent who were Facebook members. o McNay members were significantly less inclined to participate in social networking with other 45 percent using any social media site. o A larger proportion of those attending on Thursday Nights used social media than paying visitors: 90 percent versus 73 percent. In between were First Sundays visitors among whom 84 percent used social media. Readership of Newspapers and Magazines • Overall, about three-quarters of all visitors regularly read a newspaper or magazine in print, online, or both. o The San Antonio Express-News was the most widely read publication overall ranging from 35 percent among those coming on paid admission days to 46 percent of Thursday Night attendees. o While the San Antonio Express-News led The New York Times in overall readership by a margin of 4:3, those who read print publications online favored The Times by a 3:2 margin over the Express-News. o Paying visitors were about twice as likely as Thursday Night visitors to read Texas Monthly, while the reverse was true for San Antonio Magazine. Audience Research & Analysis - 2013 5 The McNay Art Museum Visitor Study Detailed Findings Geography The vast majority of the museum visitors, 86 percent, lived in Texas including 57 percent who resided in San Antonio, about ten percent in the five San Antonio main tourist feeder markets (Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Waco), and one out of five elsewhere in Texas. Geography International, 1.5% Other U.S., 12.2% Other Texas, 17.4% San Antonio, 56.7% Waco, 0.5% Houston, 1.3% Dallas/Fort Worth, 2.1% Austin, 5.6% San Antonio suburbs, 3.1% Geography Percent San Antonio 56.7 San Antonio suburbs 3.1 Austin 5.6 Houston 1.3 86% Dallas/Fort Worth 2.1 Waco 0.5 Other Texas 17 .4 OK,LA,AR 0.5 NY, NJ, PA, DE 1.5 ME,NH,VT,MA,CT 0.5 MD,DC,VA,WV,NC,SC 2.6 FL,GA,MS,AL,TN 1.8 12% OH,IN,MI,KY 0.5 NB,KS,MO,IL 1.0 ID,NV,UT,NM,AR,CO,WY 1.8 CA,WA,OR,AK,HI 1.5 International 1.5 Audience Research & Analysis - 2013 6 The McNay Art Museum Visitor Study The proportion of visitors from San Antonio on free general admission days was significantly higher than on days which required paying admission.