Slides from Mo Craig's presentations based on her focus group research for the Engage 2020 initiative

1. Engage 2020
Research & Think Jam
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2. Attendance Participation
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3. Fads vs. Trends
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4. James Gordon Bennett
1835
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5. Read Only Culture
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6. 1980
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7. + High broadband penetration
+ Cheap storage
+ Powerful computers
= Social Production
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8. Social Production radically
redistributes power
(A trend, not a fad)
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9. 9

10. • 51% consume content created
by others
• 40% make their own content
• 32% think of themselves as
broadcasters
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11. 11

12. Semiotic Democracy
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13. The core competency of successful
web 2.0 companies is
database management.
Perpetual beta.
Fail fast, learn fast, fix fast.
Know thy audience.
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14. What We Did: 12 Focus Groups
Cultural
Enthusiasts
Engagement
Movable Middle
Rejectors
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15. Convergent Inquiry
Convergent Context, Values
Emotional Bonds & Barriers
Functional Desires,
Behaviors
Divergent
Ideas Ideas Ideas Ideas
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16. How do you spend your spare time?
Gardening
DVDs Eat Facebook
Hobbies
Casinos
Movies Read
Museums
Sleep
Volunteer
Time with Shopping
Kids
Surf the Web
Watch TV
Restaurants Bars, hanging out
Twitter Travel with friends
Attend sports
Talk on events
Walking Clubs Cook
the Phone
Time with Play an
Work Out Sports on TV
Dancing Grandkids instrument
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17. Values that Drive Leisure Behavior
Inert
Me De-Stress Me Home based
Solitary
Active
Me Recharge Me! Hobbies
Solitary or group
We Social
Me Connect Intimate or Mass
Me Participatory
Personal growth
Me Become Me Societal Improvement
Challenge, Discovery
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18. Arts & Culture: Off the Radar for Most
Bad News:
• Late mentions, except
for older respondents ?
Good News:
• A & C delivers on 3
of the 4 Leisure values
• Posturing & Bragging
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19. Defining Arts & Culture: Card Sort Exercise
Bars, Clubs, Historic Sites
Restaurants
Comedy, Open Mic Zoo, Aquarium
Cultural Exhibit Movies Art Museum
Concert Ethnic Festival
Dance
Theatre
Performance
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20. Defining Arts & Culture
Bars Sports Rock
Concerts
Clubs Chuck E
Movies Cheese
Dancing
Comedy Museums, Orchestra
Club Opera, Theatre, Dance, Ethnic
Historic Sites Restaurants
Open Mic
Please
Jazz Travel Touch
Ethnic Zoo,
Festival Aquarium
Exhibits
Arts & Culture is more edu than tainment.
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28. Smack Down: Arts & Culture vs. Sports
Sports are more fantastic than the arts.
It’s more interactive.
People care more about sports.
0
Sports are family and arts have age brackets.
The arts are when you want to be in solitude and calm and
sports are when you want to wow out and drink a beer.
[With sports I feel] way more comfortable.
The 76ers are playing the Magic. You’re in at the ground level.
The game starts with the 1st quarter, 1st tip off and everyone is
there at once seeing what happens at the same time.
You all know when to root and when to boo.
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29. Smack Down: Arts & Culture vs. Bars
You’re way more able to find people
to go to a bar with you than a play.
At a bar you’re interacting throughout.
There’s no gamble. You find a place you like so you’re
going to go back. With a play, you may see it and hate it
and think if was a waste of time.
If I were going with my friends
I’d rather be in a bar where I can talk and interact and catch up.
When you’re at a play you’re sitting side-by-side and there’s
no interaction with the people you’re with.
When I talk with people who
have engaged in all types of plays and museums,
I don’t feel as educated or cultured. When I see a play I can talk
about it with people who have also seen it. It’s a different
experience that you can discuss with people
besides going to a bar.
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30. How about the feeling that you’re kind of exposed
because you don’t know what everybody else knows?
…and everyone looks at you…
…and you’re feeling like an outsider.
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31. Summary: The Barriers
• Risk, reward & relevance
• Effort
• Group dynamics (kids of different ages, friends with
different preferences)
• Product; boring, hard to access/understand
• Attitude: snooty, overly intellectual, serious
• Can make me feel stupid
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38. Focus on
Mapping the Bonds Satisfy why & how,
Curiosity Raise not just
Out of Memories Multi-
Multi- well-
well-rounded what
the sensory kids
Immersive Ordinary An event Food
Challenge
Opens Learning My
Views
Escape, Oasis your mind
Universal
More My place themes
engaging in the
Lose My identity
Live track of world world
Being
Transported energy time
Makes
you more Intimacy,
engaging Connecting
bonding
Transcendence,
Becoming
Different
Shared
cultures Buzz
cultural
Spiritual A more tolerant reference
Legacy points
Renewal society Family Code
Language
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39. Knitting It Together
Leisure Values Arts & Culture Barriers Bonds
• De-stress • Awareness is • Risk/Reward Ratio • High social value
• Recharge low for most • Expensive • Well-rounded kids
• Connect • Imagery is • Effort • Oasis
rooted in more • Group dynamics
• Become • Learning
traditional
forms of • Elitist, snooty • Connecting
culture • Hard to understand • Transcendence,
• Boring becoming
We need to temper the most spiritual benefits of arts & culture with
the lighter side, or we risk reinforcing some of our biggest barriers. 39

40. Mentors
MomLeisure
Mom & Dad
Grandparents Teachers,
Schools
Friends
Mom was far and away the most commonly mentioned mentor.
Over the long term, women are disproportionately valuable customers.
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41. How Do You Hear About Cultural Events?
Inquirer
PFG Word of Mouth
Google Comcast Ticketmaster
TV Banners
GoPhila VisitPA.com
Fandango Member
CityGuide.com Newsletters
Venues UrbanPhilly.com
Philly Magazine
WDAS WRTI
Craigslist
Philly Weekly
WHYY
Daily News AOL
KYW City Paper
Transit Posters
Wild Postings Yelp
Philly Gay Calendar
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42. What Do You Hear About Cultural Events?
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43. What Do You Hear About Cultural Events?
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48. 48

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50. Arts & Culture Experience Parameters
Product ARTISTRY Logistics COMPETENCE
• Lives up to expectations • Affordable
• Talent, quality • Not too crowded
• Looking forward to it • Good pacing, little waiting
• Deeply engaging
• Good seats, acoustics, sightlines
• Audience energy
• Stress-free logistics; parking,
ingress, egress, wayfinding
• Surprises • Gesture of gratitude
• Talking about it afterward • Genuinely welcoming service
• Everyone has fun
• Multi-sensory, interactive
• Creates a memory Extremely predictable list;
Similar to most retail categories
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51. Let’s talk about the day
I nearly killed my mother-in-law.
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52. 52

53. Increasing Attendance
• Free Parking, discounts, gestures of gratitude
• Pre-show information (online like a movie trailer)
• Socializing Opportunities
• Targeted scheduling
• Behind the Music/Meet the Maker
• Mini-season subscriptions, more flexible ticketing options
• More variety—and more knowledge of what’s already available
• Blend participation & attendance
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54. Participation makes art
accessible
Attendance Inspires
Participation
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55. Participation
Self-Expression
Pride,
Accomplishment,
Mastery
Self-Actualize
It makes you feel a
little less ordinary.
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56. Attending & Participating
• Participation trumps attendance for solid majority
• Expertise
• Masculinity
• Barriers to Participation were relatively few
Motivation Time Fear Money
Participation can help chip away at the elitist image of the arts.
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57. Leisure Values African Americans
A&C Barriers Hispanics
A&C Bonds Asians
Mentors History Buffs
Media Implications
Attendance Ideas
Participation
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58. What’s It Like Being African American in Philly?
It’s still hard for a black man to get a cab sometimes.
I go out culturally so late at night I’m not getting on SEPTA—I’m getting a cab.
I’ve had good and bad experiences with cabbies.
We’ve all experienced racism.
It’s a blue collar town and I think that has a lot to do with it.
Television makes it a dividing line.
For example, the news. I cringe every time somebody gets shot.
They pick the worst (black bystander) to interview. A person with
poor dentition, scars, they don’t speak well…
…It’s offensive. They just took us back
another 400 years with that kind of thing.
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59. Arts & Culture Bonds: African Americans
Raising Our Sights
Art addresses root
causes of racism
Finding my place
African Americans often spoke of culture as a pathway toward
a more tolerant, open society. The stakes are high.
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60. Arts & Culture Barriers: African Americans
Sell out,
Self-limiting
bougie
Feeling
unwelcome
Safe product Poor Service
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61. African Americans: Summary
• They see themselves as a flesh and blood link between the
past and future
• Arts & Culture defines their place in society, reinforces their
identity, helps foster understanding
• Sharing culture is a conscious act; they are intentional mentors
• Appetite far exceeds the available product
• They feel unwelcome in many arts venues
• Community-based outreach, invitations
Based on these groups, the African American market
represents significant untapped, under-served demand.
But we need to address service issues first.
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62. What’s it Like Being Hispanic in Philadelphia?
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63. What’s it Like Being Hispanic in Philadelphia?
I was born in East L.A.
I hesitate to say because I’ve only been here two years.
It’s too sparse.
We don’t have political representation
on the scale that other groups have.
You would also think with Hispanics
being the number one minority that it would no longer be a minority.
You would think you would have more representation. Another problem is
the representation you have is inadequate and incompetent.
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64. Hispanics: Summary
• Based on this one group, Philly’s Hispanic community isn’t very cohesive
• Small in number, dispersed geographically, not culturally homogenous
• An internal, political power struggle; ‘old school vs. new school’
• Not the dominant ethnic force in Philly that African Americans are
That said, these respondents…
• Often spoke about “seeing things through their children’s eyes”
• Many had not been exposed to admission-based culture as kids
• None of them spoke of wanting to leave the kids at home
• Appreciated the “special” nature of the arts
• Dancing & food are potentially powerful in-roads
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65. Hispanics: Summary
• These respondents did NOT refer to specifically Hispanic experiences as
their core ‘cultural diet’ (unlike the two African American groups)
• Perhaps because there isn’t much Hispanic product to choose from
• They did NOT evidence dissatisfaction with service/treatment
• They DID evidence a strong preference outdoor culture; zoos, festivals,
parades, Unity Day, etc.
• Unmet demand: They wanted more ways to immerse themselves and
their children in their own ethnic culture
• We’re in the shadow of Spanish Harlem and the Puerto Rican Parade
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66. What’s it Like Being Asian in Philly?
I’m not immersed in Asian culture.
I’m from the DC area and I’ve been here 10 years.
I didn’t seek out an Asian community so I don’t know how it is in
Philadelphia. There is a mini Koreatown in Upper Darby where I’ve
been able to find an Asian market and a Korean restaurant.
I would like my daughter to learn the language. We didn’t learn it and
we’re not fluent in it ourselves. That’s the art of being a parent—
being a hypocrite.
For myself, growing up I was very Americanized. …Sometimes I
actually thought I was Caucasian because all my friends were and I was
immersed in American Culture. It was only as I got older and started
respecting my background, my culture and my parents and where they
came from. I wanted to be a part of that and make that connection
for my children.
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67. Asians: Summary
• Emphasis on self-improvement and learning that stood out from the other
groups (candidates for Participation?)
• Our most educated group
• Very highly assimilated—even more than the Hispanic group
• Food—specifically restaurants and to a lesser degree, Asian markets—
was the pillar of their Asian cultural identity
Lunar New Year is a chance to connect with their own culture and
share it with others. For the rest of the year, their cultural consumption
patterns were not distinct from the general market groups.
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68. History
Love History Hate History
Curious Boring
Drama Dry
Compelling Narrative Cramming Facts
Connects Me to We Irrelevant
Verbs Nouns
We have an opportunity to expand the appeal of history through
more compelling narrative and more participatory experiences.
There is a LOT of headroom for growth here. 68

69. 12 Things We’ve Learned
1. We’re not yet a player in the attention economy
2. We can create an arts ecosystem where attending and
participating are mutually reinforcing, not just co-existing
3. Time & money are alibis for non-attendance; the real issue
is relevance
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70. 12 Things We’ve Learned
4. Arts imagery is dominated by the most traditional experiences;
we need to open it up, democratize access
5. The Arts Oasis may be a Mirage
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71. 6. The imagery surrounding travel is ours for the taking;
adventurous and active, not ponderous and ethereal
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72. 12 Things We’ve Learned
7. Think about curating the experience, not just housing the event
8. Mentors—predominantly Moms—play a powerful role; we need
to empower and thank them
9. We lose teens without putting up enough of a fight
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73. 12 Things We’ve Learned
10. African Americans are ready to buy; we need to invite them in
and serve them better
11. Food is an untapped asset
12. Our historic interpretation needs to get ready for primetime
What is OUR narrative as a sector?
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75. Content Opportunities in the Arts Sector
Intentional
Outdoor Events,
Parent Targeted, migratory path
Festivals,
Teen-Inclusive from Zoo & TFI to
Happenings
other venues
Sampling
Opportunities
Better storytelling Multi-Generational
at cultural exhibits, Appeal
historic sites (Legacy Building)
Connections to
Food
Participatory Overt connections Hands on History
Experiences to ethnicity
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76. Ideas
• Entire 8th grade goes free all year
• Web
• Mood-o-meter on the PFG website
• Streamlined process & resource for producing theatre ‘trailers’
• PhillyStudio.com
• Reciprocity, reviews, rankings
• Target and develop our own citizen experts
• Stages in City Squares
• Program the Nights & Weekends, culture sampling, open mic, etc
• DramaCam; a citywide video storytelling event
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77. Ideas
• Experience Audit to address curation and service issues*
• Art Car: dress a SEPTA train like a stage and provide on-train
entertainment
• iPhone App
• Urban Stage, Drama Queen
• Encourage individual orgs to develop more participatory events
• Valley Forge Super-Soaker battle
• Paints and canvas at the Museum
• Topiary event in Fairmount Park
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* Shameless self-promotion

78. Ideas
• Travel/tourism ideas (OPM)
• Monitors or kiosks at the airport; promote PFG to incoming travelers
• Host with the Most: show an out of towner’s airline ticket and get a
discount on cultural attractions
• Drive social connections, empower our best advocates &
mentors
• Frequent flyer program
• Buy 3, get 1 free
• City Subscriptions
• Grandparent pricing, timing, opportunities to capture, package
intergenerational experiences
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79. Ideas
• Catch participators where they live
• Lowe’s, Michaels, Ikea, Flickr
• Develop targeted listserv to connect the dots between participation
and attendance
• Map the purchase funnel to increase conversion
• Community-based outreach into ethnic communities
• Partnership with Comcast: projection screen
• Partnership with WHYY’s On Canvas
• Advertorials for upcoming works
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80. Phew!
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81. Thank you.
Maureen Craig
Mo@MoStrategy.com
609-760-949881