Impact of media coverage...

Journal of Arts Marketing Issue 25 – April 2007 Media coverage: why bother Heather Maitland delves into some research about the effects of media coverage You may not have to pay for media coverage but it still costs because getting it is so time consuming. So why invest all that time and energy? Politicians are understandably interested in whether media coverage works. Pippa Norris explored how the media affects the way people vote in her analysis of the 2005 General Election. She looked at the direct effects of communications on the priority voters placed on particular...

Doors sales and advanced bookers...

Journal of Arts Marketing Issue 22 – February 2007 On the trail of the missing hordes Walk-ups, advance bookers and non-bookers: a study commissioned from Cultural Intelligence by the Arts Councils of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. My first reaction to this recently published research was to congratulate the box office staff at the 23 venues that took part. On average, they capture the names and addresses of 80% of their ticket buyers. And that includes 58% of walk up bookers (that’s defined as people who buy tickets less than an hour before the performance)....

Customer data for audience development...

Arts Professional: Essential Audiences 20 November 2006 Are You Stalking Your Audience? Heather Maitland sees too many arts organisations squandering opportunities to use their customer databases for effective audience development I come across too many organisations who are not making effective use of the information they hold about their ticket buyers. It’s not just that they are wasting a valuable resource, they are probably actively putting off their potential customers too. Their strategy for using their customer database is to send direct mail about an event to people...

Customer experience...

Journal of Arts Marketing Issue 23 – October 2006 Customer experience Heather Maitland warns about making assumptions when researching your customers’ experience Researching how satisfied people are with the experience your organisation offers is not straightforward. It is all too easy to research the things that your colleagues think are important rather than what really matters to your customers. Ellen Garbarino and Mark Thompson analysed the experiences of audiences at an off-Broadway repertory theatre to try and identify the factors that create customer satisfaction...

Audiences for unfamiliar work...

Arts Professional: Essential Audiences 3 July 2006 Trainspotters and Trendsetters Heather Maitland considers the nature of audiences for unfamiliar work by unfamiliar artists I can’t think of many arts organisations that don’t want to stretch their audiences and their staff by programming outside their comfort zone. That means we are all dependent on the visitors, participants and audiences who are willing to follow us into unknown territory. At its annual conference in May, Audiences Central invited speakers and participants to explore the world of trainspotters and...

International partnerships...

Journal of Arts Marketing Issue 22 – July 2006 Developing International Collaborations Heather Maitland has recently been delving into the world of international relationships and offers advice based on what she has found Anne Roberts and I have been researching consortia for a forthcoming book commissioned by the touring department of Arts Council England. Those we spoke to said that collaborative working across borders can offer myriad benefits to group members both when importing (bringing work from overseas into the UK) or exporting (taking UK work abroad). This...

Managing success...

Arts Professional: Essential Audiences 24 April 2006 Making ‘sold out’ mean success When an arts organisation has been successful at attracting audiences, the problems don’t stop there. Heather Maitland looks at ways of managing success. A couple of weeks ago I visited a small arts centre mid-morning and couldn’t get through the front door. The coffee shop was packed, the queue for the box office snaked right across the entrance and Mini Music Makers had just ended so the place was knee deep in toddlers. So why, when I finally fought my way upstairs to the admin office,...

Developing a culturally diverse audience...

Journal of Arts Marketing Issue 21 – April 2006 How to develop a culturally diverse audience The recently published book on cultural diversity and audience development, Navigating Difference , lists well over 100 information resources relevant to arts organisations trying to develop culturally diverse audiences. Read them and you’ll come away with two clear messages. Firstly, ‘culturally diverse’ is a confusing term that can be used to mean both ‘ethnically diverse’ and its opposite, ‘culturally specific’ so many arts organisations don’t really know what...

Marketing choice...

Arts Professional : Essential Audiences 26 March 2007 Something for Everyone? Niche marketing may be commonplace in the arts but most arts venues offer a range of events. Heather Maitland explores the marketing of choice. One consequence of arts organisations’ work to broaden their audiences, visitors or participants is that many end up trying to offer ‘something for everyone’. There are very few venues in particular that single-mindedly pursue a single audience. Contact Theatre in Manchester is one that does, focusing on young adults aged 13 to 30. But even here director,...

Profiling online ticket buyers...

Journal of Arts Marketing Issue 20 – January 2006 Profiling on-line ticket buyers Each year since 2001, ts.com has sent out email questionnaires to people who purchased tickets from client organisations who want to participate in the research. In 2004, we joined forces to explore in more detail customers’ attitudes to the online purchasing process, ecommerce and new technology. 18 organisations participated in the project resulting in 6,931 responses to the email survey and a useful profile of on-line customers. Does online purchasing attract new audiences? 5% of all...