Spring is a beautiful thing for those who run the Smithsonian. School breaks and cherry blossoms mean tourists -- and their money. "This is prime time for us now," says Linda St. Thomas, a Smithsonian spokeswoman. "You can see the out-of-town buses lined up on Jefferson Drive from the Castle all the way to the American Indian Museum."
All those kids pouring into the museums are important to the Smithsonian because the Mall is increasingly becoming a mall.
Although admission to the museums is still free, the sales of movie tickets, food and trinkets is soaring. Last year such marketing ventures grossed $156.3 million, returning $26.7 million in profit to the museums -- nearly half the Smithsonian's unrestricted funds, to be spent any way it pleases.
Marketing has become so important that the Smithsonian now knows from surveys that the kids in the school groups that fly through the National Air and Space Museum each have about $5 to $10, and just about that many minutes to spend them. That's why the gift shop at the world's most visited museum is stocked with budget-friendly items such as military dog tags and marbles designed to look like planets. That's why last year 200,000 packs of freeze-dried astronaut ice cream were sold.
There is now a McDonald's at Air and Space, and a Subway at the National Museum of American History. Signs at the two Imax theaters on the Mall list each other's showtimes so visitors can arrange their schedules accordingly.
Then there is the shopping.
The new National Museum of the American Indian has two stores prominently located in view of the grand entrance. Recently a visitor there bought a $55,000 sculpture by Allan Houser. The food court features regional dishes from areas with Native American populations.
In the National Museum of Natural History, there are six shops. Some are directly connected to permanent exhibitions, such as one on mammals; others are open for the duration of a particular show. A small one selling botanical prints, mugs, magnets and silk flowers for the orchids show will close May 1. To entice visitors to a new show on pearls, the main store has set up a large case with pearl items, including a photo album embossed with mother-of-pearl.
Shopping destination
All methods of getting the visitor into a store and sending him home with a loaded shopping bag are being tested. This is not unusual in modern museums, which are giving visitors what they demand -- a full one-stop experience with restaurants and shopping. The new Museum of Modern Art in New York has three restaurants and two stores. The Louvre has eight restaurants and cafes, as well as shops for its reproductions and books.
The Smithsonian has always had the potential of being a high-volume shopping and eating destination. Its museums had 20 million visitors last year; 220,000 people shopped its catalogue and 62,000 made purchases online. Patrons can pick from 18 museums, all with different personalities, that scramble to hook visitors.
But it wasn't until 1999 that the Smithsonian placed all of its profit sectors within a division called Smithsonian Business Ventures. It now provides almost half of the $50 million to $60 million in the Smithsonian's unrestricted account that can be directed anywhere. The rest comes from interest income and private contributions.
"The 2004 figures showed sales from museum businesses and concessions have recovered to the level before 9/11," says Gary Beer, CEO of the business arm, who joined the Smithsonian in 1999 from the Sundance Group. The tourist return continues. Last month, the Smithsonian museums saw a 64 percent increase in visitors from the previous March.
The post-terrorism shock, however, was profound. "The decline in advertising at [Smithsonian] magazine at the same time we lost 40 percent of our visitors was unmatched," he says. "We had to maintain revenue and do what we could to cut expenses." Beer had to lay off 100 employees, reduce hours in some shops, postpone physical improvements, eliminate automatic cost-of-living raises and outsource some routine jobs. Only now is it launching new ventures such as an agreement with HarperCollins to publish reference books and adult nonfiction.
This focus on business doesn't sit well with all of the Smithsonian's huge scholarly staff. Over the years these critics have objected to commercialization, from naming halls and theaters after donors to bringing in vendors such as McDonald's. They say the emphasis on enterprise is at odds with the Smithsonian's culture of collecting and preserving the nation's stories and accomplishments. Branding -- putting the Smithsonian's name on items -- to them is more akin to marketing J.Lo's perfume than preserving a dinosaur.
But the drive to satisfy the customer is relentless. Last year the Smithsonian's office of planning and analysis, as part of its marketing focus, asked 6,000 visitors who they are and what they like, the first comprehensive study of visitors since 1994.
The most important message was for the Smithsonian to keep things fresh while not throwing out the old. The survey found that three in every five are repeat visitors.
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Most of these visitors -- and potential customers -- come with a working knowledge of the country. Nine in 10 live in the United States, exactly the same proportion as 10 years ago. Visitors from metropolitan Washington account for 15 percent in the most recent questionnaire -- down from 23.6 percent in 1994. Those local visitors favor the art museums over everything else on the Mall.
Visitors are also getting slightly younger and more diverse, which the Smithsonian regards as a good sign. The average age is 37, compared with 38 in 1994. Of the ethnic mix, 74 percent are white, compared with 82 percent in 1994. The Smithsonian menu of something for everyone seems to be working. Nearly all -- 97 percent -- say they had an excellent, superior or good time.
‘More discriminating palate’
And what did they like? Three in five visitors say "seeing the real thing" was what they wanted and received. Two-thirds of the visitors say they lost track of time because they were so intrigued with the subject matter.
Beer saw a mandate. "We have to respond to the frequent visitor and the more discriminating palate," he says.
One activity the crowd enjoys is viewing Imax films. Most often, the movies explore the themes of space or natural sciences, but sometimes demographics prompt program directors to grab a marketing opportunity when they see it.
Last year a wide-screen film on NASCAR was offered to the Smithsonian. "We played it at the Hazy Center," says Toby Mensforth, director of the theater division, referring to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Air and Space's annex at Dulles International Airport.
"The demographics of the NASCAR follower and the region around the Hazy matched. It stretched our mandate a little. But we got calls when we took it off-screen," Mensforth says. And officials got calls from another audience when they replaced the Cirque du Soleil film "Journey of Man" at Natural History, he says.
One demographic that Mensforth watches carefully is moms. Officials tinkered with how to present an insect film. "Bugs did not have a great pleasing factor with the matriarch of the family," he says. "We adjusted to call it 'Bugs: A Rain Forest Adventure,' and advertised it with a butterfly pattern."
Most of the visitors say they like to shop after seeing an exhibition. Thus, newer stores, such as the one by the Mammal Hall, are situated near exhibition exits.
One enterprise that attracts both a local and older audience is the Smithsonian Jazz Cafe at Natural History. Every Friday night since 2001 the renovated cafeteria space has been turned into a music hall, with live performances and a catered buffet and drinks. Each year it has expanded its audience.
But the most sophisticated business innovation yet will be in the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum when they reopen in the Old Patent Office Building in 15 months. The target audience is the discriminating art appreciator who will be returning to the shops repeatedly for gifts. So the arts and crafts for sale will probably follow the practice of having three price tiers. You can buy a handmade quilt pin or you can trade up to a handmade ikebana vase.
Or if you are a high roller, you can pop for a full-size handmade silk quilt.