1. Pricing for Pee Wees:
Applying Disney World’s child-centric event pricing to art events
Prepared for: Board of Trustees, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Prepared by: Nicholas Nelson, Business Analyst for The Bee’s Knees Consulting Firm
Date: May 11, 2015

2. Section 1: Executive Summary
Section 2: Business Opportunity behind the Child Market
Section 3: Application of Child-centric Pricing to Art Events
Section 4: Revenue Projection under Child-centric Pricing
Section 5: Opportunity to do Social Good
Table of Contents
TableofContents|2
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3. Section 1: Executive Summary

4. ExecutiveSummary|4
Executive Summary
Purpose of Report
The report that follows explains why the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Nelson-Atkins) should apply Disney World’s child-centric event pricing
structure to its own art events. Additionally, the report illustrates how the Nelson-Atkins could apply Disney World’s pricing structure to its own
event prices. After describing the business opportunity presented by the child market, the report describes how Disney World’s pricing structure
can be applied, illustrates how a child-centric pricing structure affects art event revenue, and explains why child-centric pricing does social good.
The report concludes by delineating an action plan for implementing a child-centric pricing structure for art events.
Explanation of Opportunity behind the Child Market
Children will remain loyal to the Nelson-Atkins as they become adults, increasing short-term event attendance and long-term event attendance.
Child loyalty now and subsequent adult loyalty long-term is particularly important in light of declining national art event attendance, a trend which
may continue into the future.
Description of Disney World’s Child-centric Event Pricing
Disney World charges children and infants lower rates for its special events relative to adult rates. Specifically, children pay a discounted rate
compared to adults while infants pay nothing. It follows that children, infants, and adults all pay different prices under Disney World’s child-centric
pricing structure for Disney World events.
Reasons for Adopting Disney World’s Child-centric Event Pricing
The Nelson-Atkins should adopt Disney World’s event pricing structure for the following reasons:
• Discounted child event prices will generate more event revenue
• Child discounts will increase children in need’s access to art
• Exposure to art develops children’s hearts, minds, and capacity to achieve
Synopsis of Action Plan
First, members of the Nelson-Atkins Board of Trustees and Bee’s Knees Consulting Firm (BKCF) analysts will attend the museum’s May 19th
annual financial performance review. Second, trustees and analysts will reconvene one week later to analyze individual event attendance
trends. Last, trustees and analysts will apply individual child discount rates to individual events according to the events’ historical child
attendance volume.

5. Section 2: Business Opportunity behind the Child Market

6. BusinessOpportunityBehindtheChildMarket|6
Children remain loyal to early brands
Children exposed to brands early are more likely to:
Buy from the Brand in the Future
Researchers from Cornell University instructed a focus group to, first, recall their
experiences with the Coca-Cola brand and, second, take a brand survey. Post-
survey, researchers discovered that participants who had recalled childhood (as
opposed to adulthood or adolescent) experiences with Coca-Cola were more
likely to buy Coca-Cola products.
Hold Positive Attitudes towards the Brand
In the same experiment, when participants read experiences coming from the
childhood memory session, those who connected with the earliest childhood
memory stories indicated the strongest positive attitudes toward Coca-Cola in
the survey.
LaTour, K., LaTour, M. S., & Zinkhan, G. M. (2010). Coke is it: How stories in childhood memories illuminate an icon [Electronic version]. Retrieved 18 Apr 2015, from Cornell University, SHA
Loyal children increase attendance now and later
Thus, if the Nelson-Atkins can attract the child market now by discounting
child event prices, it will see not only higher child attendance in the short term,
but also higher adult attendance in the long term as these children become
loyal adult guests.

7. BusinessOpportunityBehindtheChildMarket|7
Museums are brands
Art museums like the Nelson-Atkins are:
Unique Brands
According to brand consultant strategist and professor Robert Jones of Wolff
Olins and the University of East Anglia, “If a brand is what you stand for, then the
truth is that there have always been museum brands. Institutions like the British
Museum, the Met and the Prado have always had a strong identity.”
Unique Experiences
Art museums, by virtue of offering guests unique works and unique private
events, offer unique guest experiences. Following are several of the Nelson-
Atkins’s many unique collections:
• Shuttlecocks, Sculpture
• Peonies Blowing in the Wind, Stained Glass
• Impressive View of the Go River, Painting
Jones, Robert. "Curators May Be Skeptical but Branding Is Vital for Museums." TheGuardian.com. The Guardian, 1 May 2014. Web. 7 May 2015.
"Collections." Nelson-Atkins.org. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art |, n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.
The Nelson-Atkins is a brand
Nelson-Atkins events are unique experiences offered by the Nelson-Atkins
brand. Accordingly, Nelson-Atkins events fit the framework that early brand
exposure leads to loyalty.

8. BusinessOpportunityBehindtheChildMarket|8
Children hedge against declining attendance
2013 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Washington: National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Note: Graph depicts all years since 1992 in which surveys have been conducted.
Since 1992, all surveys conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts indicate that art event attendance has been consistently
decreasing. Put simply, fewer and fewer American adults are attending art events each year. And forecasting the survey data over five year
intervals to 2030 reveals that national art event attendance may drop six percent in the next fifteen years.
National art event attendance has and may continue to decline
Again, if the Nelson-Atkins can capture the child market now by providing discounted child rates for events, it will see not only higher child
attendance in the short term, but also higher adult attendance in the long term as these same children become loyal adult guests. It follows
that increased long-term attendance may counteract current trends in art event attendance if these trends continue into the future.
Loyalty now will increase attendance later

9. Section 3: Application of Child-centric Pricing to Art Events

10. ApplicationofChild-centricPricingtoArtEvents|10
Disney World events use tiered, child-centric pricing
Disney World uses child discounts to attract children
In line with its organizational goal to be a magical destination for the child market,
Disney World charges children discounted rates for its special events. Indeed, children,
infants, and adults all pay different prices.
Tier 3
Infants pay
nothing.
Tier 1
Adults pay the
highest rate for
the event.
Tier 2
Children pay a
discounted rate
relative to adult
rates.
"Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party." DisneyWorld.disney.go. Walt Disney Company, n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.

11. ApplicationofChild-centricPricingtoArtEvents|11
Nelson-Atkins can use tiers for its event prices
adult | $3.75 child*
*Children under 3 don’t need a ticket.
For example, the current event featuring Ferran Adrià could be recalibrated as follows:
The Nelson-Atkins charges one rate for events
Currently, the Nelson-Atkins charges adults and
children the same rates for its art events. Thus, the
Nelson-Atkins does not currently tier its prices as all
potential attendees pay the same rate.
Tiers would provide discounts for children
Applying Disney World’s event pricing model of
discounting prices for children, the Nelson-Atkins could
discount its own art event rates for children relative to
adult rates.
The above rates are meant to be illustrative of how child discounts could be applied to the Nelson-
Atkins’s events. Exact event prices can be determined later after analyzing events’ historical
attendance trends.
"Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity." The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 08 May 2015.

12. Section 4: Revenue Projection under Child-centric Pricing

13. RevenueProjectionunderChild-centricPricing|13
Child discounts will generate more event revenue
2013 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Washington: National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
• Exactly 10,000 people are very interested in going to Event A over the course of Event A’s lifetime
• Per trends identified by the National Endowment for the Arts, 38% of these potential attendees do not attend due to cost
• Event A discounts child tickets by 45% relative to adult tickets
Assume the following
The increase in volume of child attendees and accompanying adults offsets and outpaces the decrease in child ticket price.
Event A, with child discounts, generates more than $4,000 in additional revenue.
For the sake of illustration, let’s say that child discounts reduce the number of people who can’t attend due to cost by 10%.
• Event A sees more child attendees through child discounts as it becomes more affordable for children
• Event A sees more adult attendees as at least one adult typically accompanies each child attendee
• In total, Event A sees 1,000 more attendees through its child discounts
Event A sees more child and adult attendees

14. Section 5: Opportunity to do Social Good

15. OpportunitytodoSocialGood|15
Discounts increase children in need’s access to art
2013 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Washington: National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
"Digest of Education Statistics." Nces.ed.gov. National Center for Education Statistics, 2014. Web. 9 May 2015.
"Kansas City's Failed Schools Leave Students Behind." NPR. NPR, 18 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 May 2015.
According to the 2013 National Endowment for
the Arts public participation survey, 38% of
adults and children do not attend art museums
because of cost. It comes as no surprise that
cost would strongly affect children from
socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds
as such children come from families with less
disposable funds to spend on art museums.
Cost is a significant barrier to entry
According to a 2014 report from the National Center
for Education statistics, institutions with a high
percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-
price school lunch saw a 13 percent decrease in
visual arts instruction. Further, the Kansas City
school district’s closure of 26 schools in 2010 and
loss of accreditation in 2012 have further limited
Kansas City children’s ability to learn from art
teachers and participate in art activities.
Children in need see less art in school
Discounted event prices for children will make
art events more accessible, particularly for
children in need. To be sure, children of
financially disadvantaged backgrounds come
from families with less disposable funds to
spend on art museums. Because cost is one
of the biggest barriers to entry for children in
need, reducing child event prices increases
children in need’s access to art as events
become affordable. And in reducing its event
prices for children, the Nelson-Atkin’s will be
providing art access to those children who
have been unable to access art in their
Kansas City schools.
Discounted prices increase access
Children in need are less likely to attend art museums and access art in school
But…

16. OpportunitytodoSocialGood|16
Art develops little hearts, minds, and achievements
More likely to learn how to think critically
More likely to learn how to interpret subtext
4x more likely to win an academic award
8x more likely to receive a community service award
3x more likely to win a school attendance award
More likely to learn how to be tolerant
More likely to learn how to empathize
Research conducted by psychologists at the University of
Arkansas suggests that exposure to art improves children’s
analytical and emotional intelligences. Thirty-five groups of
students from grades three to twelve were assigned by lottery to
visit a new art museum; 35 other groups had their visit deferred.
Prior to the visit, all students completed an exercise measuring
their critical-thinking and social skills.
Two weeks after the museum visit, both groups were asked to
analyze a complex painting they hadn’t seen before, and their
critical-thinking skills were assessed. On average, students who
visited the art museum performed nine percent of a standard
deviation higher in their ability to reason critically. Museum-
visiting students were also observed to have more positive social
interactions with one another than those students who did not go
to the museum.
Children who view art are smarter and nicer
This Artistic Girl is:
Greene, Jay P., Daniel H. Bowen, and Brian Kisida. "Learning to Think Critically: A Visual Art Experiment." Educational Researcher (2013): n. pag. Fast Company: Co-create. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
Heath, Shirley B. "The Arts Are Basic to Achievement." Stanford University, 1999. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
After tracking a group of students who participated in afterschool
art programs and a group of students who did not, researchers at
Stanford University found that students who participate in
afterschool art activities are more likely to win academic and
community service awards.
Children who view art win

17. ActionPlan|17
Action Plan
Step #1
Attend annual financial
performance review
Step #2
Analyze historic trends in
event attendance
Step #3
Set event discount rates
according to
attendance trends
At the event performance review in Room G1 at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, May 19, we will:
• Identify individual event revenues over the course of the event lifetimes
• Set the individual event revenues as pre-discount benchmarks
Approximately one week after the annual financial performance review, we will reconvene in Room G1 to:
• Identify the volume of child attendees individual events capture relative to total attendees
• Rank individual events according to the volume of child attendees the events capture relative to total attendees
• Apply large discounts to child prices for events that capture few child attendees relative to total attendees
• Apply moderate discounts to child prices for events that capture significant child attendees relative to total attendees
Step #1: Attend annual financial performance review
Step #2: Analyze historic trends in event attendance
Step #3: Set event discount rates according to attendance trends

18. References|18
References
"Collections." Nelson-Atkins.org. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art |, n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.
"Digest of Education Statistics." Nces.ed.gov. National Center for Education Statistics, 2014. Web. 9 May 2015.
"Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity." The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 08 May 2015.
Greene, Jay P., Daniel H. Bowen, and Brian Kisida. "Learning to Think Critically: A Visual Art Experiment." Educational Researcher (2013): n. pag. Fast Company: Co-
ddddcreate. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
Heath, Shirley B. "The Arts Are Basic to Achievement." Stanford University, 1999. Web. 17 Apr. dddd2015.
Jones, Robert. "Curators May Be Skeptical but Branding Is Vital for Museums." TheGuardian.com. The Guardian, 1 May 2014. Web. 7 May 2015.
"Kansas City's Failed Schools Leave Students Behind." NPR. NPR, 18 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 May 2015.
LaTour, K., LaTour, M. S., & Zinkhan, G. M. (2010). Coke is it: How stories in childhood memories illuminate an icon [Electronic version]. Retrieved 18 Apr 2015, from
ddddCornell University, SHA
"Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party." DisneyWorld.disney.go. Walt Disney Company, n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.
2013 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Washington: National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts, 2013. Web. 19 Apr.
dddd2015.

19. ContactInformation|19
Please contact me if you have any questions
Nicholas Nelson
Business Analyst
The Bee’s Knees Consulting Firm
BKCF International Building
2504 West 114th Street
Leawood, KS 66211
Email: ngn8@bkcf.com
Office: 913.708.1234
Cell: 913.708.2246