Does this situation sound familiar?

You’re the executive director of a local symphony orchestra, and you’ve just spent thirty minutes reviewing last year’s patron research with your board. The average age of your patrons is up slightly - to 54 years old, the same as other symphonies across the U.S. You season ticket sales are in a slump (but it’s probably because of the economy.) Single ticket sales are holding steady, but somehow the performance hall seems more empty…and your conductor and musicians are growing worried.

One of your energetic board member pipes up, “Maybe we need to look downstream and reach out to our local young professionals. The repertory theater has got young people lined up around the block for their performances. What are they doing to bring in these younger audiences?”

Harry, another board member, grunts, “Young people love theater. They’re just not interested in symphonic music.”

A lively debate ensues. Can the symphony attract new, younger audiences?

Yes, it can. And so can you.

Research we’ve been conducting in Indianapolis for five years affirms that any arts organizations can develop younger audiences…if it refreshes how it thinks about its art and its audience(s).

The rules of audience engagement have always been simple: find new ways to delight your audience, execute well, and your audience will do the rest. Unfortunately, many arts organizations are stuck-in-a-rut of “we perform, you watch.” This isn’t engaging for the next generation.

In 2004-2005, we completed a survey of over 800 arts patrons in Indianapolis, and trained local teams of interviewers to conduct in-depth interviews with 20- and 30-something patrons.

The results were striking:

• YPs are willing to pay. The average ticket price paid was $22; the highest average was $78
• Younger patrons - and their Baby Boomer elders - make commitments to attend an event just two weeks beforehand
• When choosing an event or performance, young patrons are looking for experiences that offer Connecting, Learning, and/or Multi-sensory experiences.
  

In successive years, we’ve continued to work with Indianapolis-based arts organizations to put these findings to the test. Many have re-energized their marketing efforts, enhanced their programming, and created relationships with their local YP organization, Indy Hub. In each case, the on-ramp to attracting new audiences was to offer greater opportunities to Learn, Connect and have Multi-sensory experiences. Here are some tips on how to put build these to work for your organization.

1. Connecting

Young patrons (YPs) who value “Connecting” say things like, “I attend the arts to be with my friends” or “I go to support an artist or organization I know or care about.”

In follow-up research to the 2004-2005 study, we found that 89% of patrons placed great value (ranking it “Very Important” or “Important”) on connecting socially with the people with whom they attend the arts event.

Although many arts organizations focus on the number of “single ticket sales” generated for each performance or event, most patrons don’t attend alone. They bring their partner or spouse, a date, or come with a group of family members or friends. Perhaps a better unit of measurement for arts organizations is multiple ticket sales, and ticket promotions that focus on “family packs” or other multi-ticket offers.

Because younger patrons also attend the arts to support organizations and/or artists, it’s important for your organization to introduce YPs to your organizations and mission. We see two trends across the U.S. supporting this idea: offering your space to young professionals organizations for their events, and using “sampler packages” to introduce new patrons to your organization.

• The Indianapolis Museum of Art has incorporated a “Connect” tab on their homepage , with links to classes, lectures and videos.
• Indy Hub has started a Passport to the Arts , program that provides time before each event for YPs time to network and hear from the creative or executive director about the organization and the art they’re about to enjoy. Passport to the arts offers a series of five arts/culture experiences. 
• The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra designed a 3-show sampler package  and marketed it to “busy young professionals.”
• Discover Jersey Arts joined with New Jersey Young Professionals to design and co-market an annual “Gen Next”  series.

In addition, 83% of patrons said it was important that “ushers, greeters, and customer service representatives are friendly, helpful, and attentive.” Research shows, for example, that when the door to your venue is help open for patrons, their overall impression of the experience improves. Only 71% felt they received a great customer service experience at their most recent arts event.

Finally, to improve younger patrons’ sense of connection at your next event, consider how you can provide more opportunities for them to socialize with one another before, during (intermission) and after your event.

Start by taking a fresh look at your space. Are there places where patrons can comfortably mingle and socialize? Is the space comfortable so audiences feel that they can linger? Think about your favorite coffee house, then think about your venue. Which one feels warmer, more inviting?

2. Learning

Young professionals have been taught to be life-long learners. When they attend your event, they say, “I want to be intellectually stimulated.” Lucky for you, our early research showed that Baby Boomers also wanted to be intellectually stimulated. When you focus on the Learning on-ramp, you satsify the desires of two demographics. What’s more, in a recent survey, we found that:

• 73% of patrons “enjoy learning about the history, background, or context of the performance or exhibit,” while 54% of respondents said their expectations in this regard were being met. This is a 19% gap between what patrons hope to experience and what they actually experience.
• Similarly, when asked if they would be interested in learning about how the art was designed, composed, or created, 59% were interested, but only 40% reported their expectations were being met in this area, another 19% gap.
  

Recommendations to Improve Learning

Learning can happen in various formats prior, during, and after an arts/culture experience.
                                       
Some of the most requested ways that young patrons prefer to learn such as backstage or behind the scenes tours, understanding the history, context or background on how the experience was designed, created or composed are emphasized in the following examples:

• MOMA has a page dedicated to learning including web-only features, from interactive printmaking demonstrations to artists’ projects.
• The Metropolitan Opera Guild offers backstage tours . “Visit the stars’ dressing rooms, then go three stories underground to rehearsal rooms where world-class productions first take shape.”
  
• The Guthrie Theater offers four tours : Backstage, Self-Guided Audio Tours, Architecture Tours and Costume Rental tours.
• The Art Institute of Chicago offers “Reading between the Lions,” a series of recommended books and book discussion guides, related to the AIC’s exhibits. Local book clubs can choose a recommended title related to their exhibitions, download the books’ discussion guides, and share their thoughts about the books and exhibitions via an enewsletter.
• Selling tickets to rehearsal events and taking time to educate patrons throughout the performance.
  

For more ideas on how to embed Learning into your events, check out The Arts Experience Initiative by Lynne Conner , funded by the Heinz Foundation.

3. Multi-Sensing

Offering multi-sensory experiences is the most challenging on-ramp for many arts organizations. The board chair of a symphony said, “If we offer Video Games Live (VGL), our season ticket holders will go crazy. They’ll revolt.” Mark Newman, VP of Marketing and Communications at another symphony responds to this fear by admitting that long-time patrons do get upset, but the mission of the symphony is to expose new audiences to the art, and VGL is worth it.

Young professionals who were raised in a world of MTV and PS2 agree with the statement, “I crave multi-sensory experiences.” How can you deliver?

Start by adding one additional sensory experience to what your art form naturally delivers. For example, if you’re an art museum (visual), consider adding audio. If you’re a symphony (audio) consider adding video. Survey results showed that 72% of respondents said they would enjoy events that engage multiple senses simultaneously (e.g. visual, audio, touch, olfactory), while only 57% said they were receiving this multi-sensory experience in their last art event, a gap of 15%.

Recommendations to Improve Sensing

• Video Games Live  brings the fun of gaming to symphonies around the world.
• Some symphonies are using texting technology for audience participation. Read more in the New York Times article, “Texting at a Symphony? Yes, but Only to Select an Encore.”)
• Indianapolis’s Cultural Trail is a world-class urban bike and pedestrian path that connects neighborhoods, Cultural Districts and entertainment amenities, and serves as the downtown hub for the entire central Indiana greenway system. Users are encouraged to travel by foot or bike, learn, and view public art.
• Theater performances are beginning to be broadcast in movie theaters where one can eat, drink, and even text message or tweet throughout the performance without being shushed.
• Food and drink offers another sensation. Our research shows that healthy or eco-conscious concessions are a big hit with YPs.
  

Final Tip: Help the Initiators

Several years ago, Alan Brown completed important research that showed that some people are “Initiators” who ask and invite others to attend arts events with them, but most people are “Responders,” those who will attend an arts event if asked. (Read the PDF of Alan Brown’s research here.)

It goes without saying that Initiators are more valuable to your arts organizations than the general public is. Yet, most organizations spend their marketing dollars on “general public” announcements. How can arts organizations provide better tools to their Initiators, who will in turn help spread excitement about the event?

When inviting others to events, Initiators said their top three methods of invitation are:

1. Personal email (75%)
   
2. Face to face communication (70%)
3. Phone (55%)

Providing initiators the tools to tell their friends and family members about an event is essential. From our research, providing a link via email to a friend is the most widely used type of invitation.

More:

• For a short, tangy list of ideas to better prepare your organization to engage younger patrons, read “Seven Ideas to Jump-Start the Arts.” 
• To learn more about our research and how to develop next-gen audiences, plan to join us October 16-17, 2009 for the Next Audiences Summit. See the schedule. Register.

 

 

 

Downloads

Arts Experience Initiative: Heinz Foundation (PDF, 328 KB)

Arts Project Brief: An Arts Experience Initiative by Lynne Conner, Summer 2008 is a great read that focuses on enhancing the learning experience and letting patrons create their own arts and culture experience.

Developing Next Generation Arts Audiences (PDF, 2 MB)

Initiators and Responders (PDF, 104 KB)

Initiators and Responders:  Leveraging Social Context to Build Audiences, Knight Foundation Issues Brief Series, No. 4, Summer 2004
By Alan Brown

Through Their Eyes: The Next Generation Patron Experience in Indianapolis (PDF, 3 MB)

 

 

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