The document discusses various examples of organizations implementing audience-led practices to enhance engagement and retention. It highlights case studies from the UK, such as the Everyman Theatre and the Southbank Centre's festival, demonstrating how targeted marketing, community involvement, and creative programming can successfully attract and nurture diverse audience segments. The emphasis is on fostering meaningful interactions and acknowledging audience contributions to cultivate loyalty and satisfaction.

1. It’s
an
honour
to
be
involved
in
this
conference
and
speak
here
today
There
have
been
so
many
interes9ng
ideas
and
conversa9ons
that
have
come
out
of
the
sessions!
I
was
really
pleased
to
be
askedto
do
this
session
in
par9cular
–
about
pu>ng
these
ideas
into
prac9ce
–
as
it
basically
gives
me
an
excuse
to
big
up
some
of
our
clients
and
celebrate
some
great
examples
of
organisa9ons
pu>ng
audiences
at
the
heart
of
what
they
do
So
I
have
a
few
examples
of
how
organisa9ons
are
implemen9ng
audience-­‐led
prac9ce
and
s9mula9ng
the
sorts
interac9ons
we’ve
been
talking
about
today
–
it’s
a
bit
of
a
whistlestop
tour
In
these
examples
I
hope
to
be
able
to
show
you
some
rela9vely
simple
steps
and
prac9cal
ideas
which
can
be
emulated
elsewhere
I
will
say
that
most
of
my
examples
come
from
the
UK
–
where
I’m
normally
based
(I’m
over
here
for
a
6-­‐month
secondment)
But
I
know
there’s
so
much
similar
great
work
going
on
over
here
that
I’ve
come
across
during
m
9me
out
here,
so
I’m
looking
forward
to
taking
lots
of
these
examples
back
with
me
and
sharing
them
when
I
return
to
the
UK
later
this
year!
1

2. Staying
with
HRP
I
want
to
move
onto
an
example
from
some
recent
research
we’ve
done
with
their
members
–
which
emphasises
the
‘communi9es
not
customers’
strand
of
what
we’re
talking
about
2

3. 3
Our
research
showed
that
two-­‐thirds
of
members
ini9ally
join
for
values-­‐based
reasons
–
so
membership
allows
them
to
get
in
for
free
an
visit
as
many
9mes
as
they
like
But
when
it
comes
to
renewing,
members
are
more
than
twice
as
likely
to
have
altruis9c
mo9va9ons
for
con9nuing
their
membership
Our
research
suggested
that
if
these
altruis9c
mo9va9ons
could
be
nurtured,
reten9on
rates
should
increase
Member
feedback
also
suggested
that
they
wanted
more
acknowledgement
and
more
transparency
as
to
how
HRP
used
their
membership
fees
and
support.
These
two
quotes
typify
the
feedback
gathered
in
the
qualita9ve
research.

4. 4
There
were
clear
messages
coming
through
that
amplifying
the
organisa9on’s
charity
status
and
how
important
members’
contribu9ons
are
would
improve
members’
brand
equity
in
and
commitment
in
HRP

5. 5
Focus
is
on
the
‘transac9onal’
benefits
Uses
language
like
‘price
freeze’

6. 6
Focus
is
on
the
‘transac9onal’
benefits
Uses
language
like
‘price
freeze’

7. 7

8. 8
HRP
have
made
the
decision
to
run
more
regular
member
updates
on
where
a
certain
pot
of
money
goes

9. 9

10. The
Everyman
has
a
rich
history
and
has
always
been
a
central
part
of
Liverpool’s
local
culture,
nurturing
talent
with
many
usccessful
actors
star9ng
their
careers
there.
Our
work
with
the
Everyman
was
very
much
about
being
Vision
Led
and
audience
focused
As
part
of
this,
the
Ar9s9c
Director
Gemma
Bodinez
wrote
a
manifesto.
A
central
idea
of
this
manifesto
was
theatre
seeking
to
bring
joy
to
the
audience
and
that
this
joy
comes
in
many
forms
Joy
in
theatre
does
not
just
mean
pu>ng
on
‘happy’
plays,
but
a
heart-­‐rending
tragedy
can
be
a
joyous
experience
if
it
touches
you,
if
the
design
is
mindblowing,
if
you
felt
to
be
amongst
like-­‐minded
people.
Gemma’s
manifesto
talked
about
joy
coming
from
exceeding
expecta9ons
–
something
that
the
Everyman
should
strive
to
do
at
all
9mes.
Next
came
the
difficult
decision
as
to
what
to
programme
for
the
Everyman’s
reopening
show.
Gemma
selected
and
directed
a
produc9on
of
Twel`h
Night
and
used
CS
to
cra`
targebed
messages
10

11. Here
we
can
see
an
example
aimed
at
the
S9mula9on
segment
–
they
were
invited
to
be
the
first
to
see
inside
the
new
building
and
to
lead
the
launch
party
With
Enrichment
–
a
very
different
segment
in
terms
of
mindset,
but
also
core
to
Everyman’s
audience
were
welcomed
back
to
their
familiar
but
refurbished
home,
acknowledging
all
the
history
and
ins9tu9onal
status
of
the
theatre
11

12. And
the
last
line
of
the
play
–
sung
in
repe11on
by
the
whole
cast
for
the
curtain
call
–
was
no
accident.
We
will
strive
to
please
you
every
day.
Which
was
also
printed
on
the
last
page
of
the
season
brochure.
This
was
the
promise
that
the
Everyman
Theatre
was
making
to
audiences
of
Liverpool.
It
treated
audiences
as
a
fundamental
part
of
its
thinking
while
being
led
and
inspired
by
England’s
na9onal
poet.
12

13. Here’s
another
symbolic
embodiment
of
the
Everyman’s
intent
to
its
audience
Balloons
with
the
op9mis9c
and
intriguing
opening
word
of
the
play
‘if’
cascaded
from
the
ra`ers
–
a
message
which
referred
to
the
infinite
possibili9es
of
the
future
of
the
Everyman
and
its
audiences
13

14. A`erthe
opening
event,
all
audience
members
were
sent
a
thank
you
card
acknowledging
their
role
in
the
important
event
It’s
a
great
example
of
the
art
and
the
audience
both
holding
equally
central
roles
in
the
minds
of
both
the
ar9s9c
director
and
the
marke9ng
team.
Both
took
inspira9on
from
the
play
and
both
considered
how
audiences
would
respond
at
all
9mes.
14

15. 15

16. The
first
example
I
have
to
share
with
you
is
from
The
Rest
is
Noise
–
a
2013
fes9val
at
the
Southbank
Centre
in
London
which
took
audiences
on
a
chronological
journey
through
the
most
significant
music
of
the
20th
century
The
London
Philharmonic
Orchestra
formed
the
backbone
of
the
fes9val,
playing
more
than
30
concerts
With
it
being
20th
century
music
–
much
of
it
coming
from
the
‘business
end’
end
of
the
20th
century,
the
LPO
were
very
aware
that
it
was
not
an
easy
sell,
and
that
they
would
need
to
reach
significant
numbers
of
new
audiences
to
supplement
their
loyal
core
bookers
To
meet
that
challenge,
and
something
that
the
fes9val
did
fantas9cally
well
was
to
go
beyond
simply
moun9ng
a
series
of
concerts
–
instead
there
was
a
whole
programme
of
accompanying
talks,
films
and
debates
that
drama9sed
the
century’s
massive
poli9cal
and
social
upheaval
–
around
race,
gender,
faith,
poli9cs
–
revealing
the
stories
behind
the
composi9ons.
This
kind
of
programming
posed
a
significant
opportunity
to
abract
the
S9mula9on
segment
–
who
we
know
is
a
group
constantly
looking
for
new
and
different
experiences
and
thrive
from
new
twists
and
angles
on
things
and
love
linking
ideas
and
context
together
through
different
ariorms.
The
fes9val
presented
S9mula9on
16

17. This
is
an
example
of
how
the
fes9val
was
marketed
–
a
fic99ous
Centurion
newspaper,
designed
to
pique
the
interest
of
S9mula9on
by
being
out
of
the
ordinary
–
it’s
a
simple
analogue
form
but
unexpected
and
different
–
key
to
catching
S9mula9on’s
aben9on
The
LPO
published
four
different
issues
of
the
paper,
following
the
style
of
the
part
of
the
century
the
fes9val
had
reached
Its
content
focused
primarily
on
the
non-­‐musical
hooks
–
so
the
historical
and
poli9cal
context.
Although
the
quirkiness
and
content
was
designed
to
appeal
to
S9mula9on,
the
LPO
was
also
mindful
of
its
core
Essence
audience.
We
know
that
Essence
like
unmediated
and
clear
lis9ngs
so
that
they
can
make
independent
and
informed
decisions,
so
the
design
incorporated
these
green
boxes
housing
complete
lis9ngs
that
were
easy
to
spot.
Cri9cally,
the
publica9on
contained
not
a
word
of
marke9ng
copy
and
in
many
ways
became
an
extension
of
the
programme
itself.
17

18. The
format
also
lent
itself
to
crea9ve
distribu9on
stunts
which
incorporated
historical
eras
of
the
different
publica9ons.
Distribu9on
was
targeted
at
places
the
LPO
knew
S9mula9on
were
likely
to
hang
out
–
gigs,
venues
and
specific
train
sta9ons
18

19. There
was
also
a
strong
online
campaign
with
rich
digital
content
embedded
in
Facebook
such
as
audio
clips,
films,
interviews
with
ar9sts,
related
ar9cles
and
videos
19

20. And
debate
and
dialogue
was
also
s9mulated
on
Twiber
through
the
rest
is
noise
hashtag
–
here’s
a
genuine
and
very
complimentary
tweet
from
someone
about
the
Centurion
newspaper!
20

21. 21
So
what
were
the
results
of
this
targebed
campaign?

22. 22
My
final
case
study
comes
from
the
Place
–
a
contemporary
dance
company
in
London.
The
Place
has
a
somewhat
challenging
offer
for
audiences:
It’s
exclusively
contemporary
dance
–
so
one
of
the
nicher
ariorms
Most
of
its
produc9ons
are
brand
new,
made
by
young
and
developing
ar9sts
and
rela9ve
unknowns
An
addi9onal
challenge
for
the
marke9ng
department
is
that
the
work
is
o`en
presented
for
one
or
two
performances
–
meaning
there’s
low
poten9al
to
gain
significant
media
aben9on
or
to
build
word
of
mouth
The
Place
is
not
just
a
venue,
it’s
a
dance
school
and
a
sort
of
dance
laboratory
–
in
light
of
the
short-­‐run
produc9ons
and
up
and
coming
producers
and
ar9sts,
rather
than
pu>ng
on
events
they
aspired
to
create
a
‘scene’
with
a
strong
sense
of
belonging
felt
by
its
audiences.
The
Place
wanted
to
gain
more
market
share
of
London’s
contemporary
dance
market
and
through
Culture
Segments
we
were
able
to
iden9fy
where
the
most
poten9al
lay.
Our
Audience
Atlas
research
had
shown
that
the
Place
was
a
big
hit
with
the
Essence
segment
–
which
makes
sense
given
their
high
engagement
with
performing
arts,
opennes
to
taking
risks
and
engage
with
more
challenging
ariorms.
In
fact
Essene
were
so
prominent
they
represented
nearly
half
of
the
audience
–
sugges9ng
that
the

23. 23

24. 24

25. 25

26. 26
The
first
implementa9on
of
this
strategy
was
for
a
new
mini-­‐season
called
Currency
Up
un9l
that
point
shows
were
always
marketed
about
the
ar9s9c
work,
but
here
marke9ng
for
Currency
focussed
on
the
evening
and
everything
it
entailed

27. 27
Here’s
a
strapline
for
the
event:
“Currency
evenings
create
a
fun,
relaxed
environment
for
sharing
your
thoughts
and
ideas
about
new
work.
What
about
it
speaks
to
you?
What
does
it
say?”
The
9cket
included
dinner
at
the
Place
café
–
during
which
there
was
a
pre-­‐show
sharing
of
new
collabora9ons
between
dancers
from
the
Place
and
their
European
peers.
The
event
was
very
much
posi9oned
as
something
to
think
and
talk
about
and
the
environment
in
the
café
also
reflected
this.
Tables
were
moved
together
to
help
generate
discussions
and
the
whole
pre-­‐show
experience
centred
on
the
audience
having
opportuni9es
to
interact
with
ar9sts
and
their
surrounding
audience
members.
Differen9ated
messages
were
cra`ed
for
our
three
target
segments

28. 28
Expression
–
food
for
thought
at
the
place
–
this
was
going
to
be
an
opportuni9es
for
reflec9on
Affirma9on
–
dinner
and
show
with
a
difference
–
it
was
something
familiar
but
also
something
new,
coaxing
in
this
more
risk-­‐averse
segment
Essence
–
more
of
an
intellectual
stance:
an
interna9onal
exchange
of
ideas

29. 29

30. 30
Their
next
experiment
with
Culture
Segments
was
targeted
specifically
at
Expression.
This
was
a
performance
from
Protein
Dance
called
Border
Tales
–
a
funny
and
tender
look
at
mul9-­‐cultural
Britain.
The
Place
was
provided
with
tour
print
from
Protein
Dance
which
is
shown
here
which
was
just
right
for
Essence
(it
features
ar9sts
they’re
likely
to
be
familiar
with
and
they’re
likely
to
know
the
dance
company
and
therefore
the
style
of
dance
to
expect).
You
can
see
this
campaign
didn’t
give
much
away
in
terms
of
the
actual
content
of
the
performance,
instead
relying
on
Essence’s
prior
knowledge
and
commitment
to
the
Place
and
this
kind
of
ariorm.
So
this
campaign
was
distributed
in
places
where
Essence
were
likely
to
be.

31. 31
Then
they
created
a
new
audience
development
campaign
–
for
the
same
piece
-­‐
to
reach
into
the
Expression
market.
The
show
has
themes
around
prejudice,
casual
racism
and
cultural
misunderstandings
–
spring
boards
for
discussion
and
themes
of
inclusivity
and
diversity
that
would
appeal
to
Expression.
So
The
Place
created
a
series
of
postcards
to
illustrate
this
–
also
marke9ng
the
same
event
–
but
clearly
with
a
very
different
approach

32. 32

33. 33

34. 34

35. 35
It
can
be
really
simple.
Here’s
some
subject
line
tes9ng
which
one
of
our
clients
in
Australia
did
a
few
weeks
ago
Here
we
were
asking
their
bookers
to
fill
out
the
Culture
Segments
golden
ques9ons
survey
–
we
tried
out
3
different
subject
lines
to
work
out
which
led
to
the
most
successful
open
rate

36. 36
Here
are
the
results
–
again
evidence
that
people
respond
to
personal
messages

37. A
final
idea
to
end
on
–
having
big
conversa9ons
is
not
just
for
marke9ng
departments
Key
to
the
success
of
the
examples
I’ve
shared
with
you
is
organisa9ons
taking
a
cross-­‐departmental
and
joined-­‐up
approach.
The
conversa9ons
need
to
happen
everywhere
and
be
maintained
once
visitors
are
over
the
threshold
37

38. It
can
be
really
simple.
Here’s
a
lovely
sign
at
the
Members’
desk
in
MoMA
in
New
York
You
belong
here
MOMA
Museum
of
Modern
Art
in
New
York
38

39. 39
Here’s
an
example
from
Tate
Tanks
Tate
Tanks
–
first
phase
of
a
new
extension
at
Tate
Modern
in
London
which
opened
in
summer
2012.
Tate
Tanks
aimed
to
bring
performance
art
and
video
installa9ons
to
a
wider
public.
At
the
foyer
of
The
Tanks,
a
Comments
Wall
was
installed
for
visitors
to
reflect
on
their
visit
and
their
experience.
The
objec9ve
was
to
provide
a
communal
and
par9cipatory
interpreta9on
resource
where
discussion,
debate,
or
reflec9on
about
live
art
could
take
place.
The
ques9ons
were
quite
challenging,
including:
Does
live
art
have
to
be
experienced?
What
is
the
role
of
the
audience?
How
can
art
change
society?

40. 40
It
was
analogue
and
digital
–
with
visitors
joining
in
through
Facebook,
and
Google+.
They
needed
to
include
the
hashtag
#thetanks,
and
their
comment
was
projected
on
the
Wall
almost
immediately

41. 41
Here’s
an
example
from
Powerhouse’s
Odditoreum
exhibi9on
The
show
featured
eclec9c
objects
from
the
depths
of
their
collec9on.
And
visitors
were
asked
to
create
their
own
text
labels
for
these
strange
objects.
Fantasy
labels
which
encouraged
imagina9ve
play.
In
this
example
a
43-­‐year
old
female
called
Alison
–
who
clearly
has
a
great
imagina9on
–
has
turned
a
pair
of
blue
plaiorm
shoes
into
a
bridge
for
ants!

42. 42
And
here’s
a
lovely
example
from
Massive
theatre
Company
–
it’s
a
really
simple
design
A
visitor
feedback
card
asking
for
a
few
key
details
and
what
they’d
tell
someone
about
the
show
who
hasn’t
bought
a
9cket
yet

43. 43

44. 44