A few years ago when I first started working in Arts Marketing, a friend of mine confessed to me that she wouldn’t have a clue what was on at any of the venues I was marketing at the time. She was in her late 20s and was actually what I’d call moderately cultured – but hadn’t been to any of my venues in years. The thing that made me really put my head in my hands was the fact that she basically ignored all the standard marketing channels that we were using and it was actually quite hard to pinpoint where she got her information.
She didn’t (and still doesn’t) read any local newspapers, listen to the news or radio. She very rarely picked up The Crack (the North East’s answer to Time Out) as it got in the way of her regular Heat and Now habit. She didn’t subscribe to any mailing lists and, although working in IT and using the web to get information, she only used listings sites when she was going away for the weekend. The way she mainly found out about events was through her friends. That one conversation really got me thinking about how I could get my (often limited) marketing budget to reach her and people similar to her.
A year or so later, a project in running in the North East came up with a name for people like her – a Lazy Social! Lazy Socials are basically people in their 20s who like to talk the talk, say that they’re culturally-savvy but actually spend most of their free time in the pub. There’s a lot of them out there and it’s our challenge to get them to arts venues.
In fact, the recent Arts Council England: Insight report also recognises these people as one of their thirteen audience segments but (equally as apt) names them Fun, fashion and friends. They estimate that 18% of English adults fit into this category so there’s a lot of them out there for you to reach. But how?
It’s simple stuff but the problem of getting people there isn’t going to be solved by marketing alone. It’s the programming that’s the key. And that’s why a number of organisations have really embraced late night openings as the chance to do something a little bit different and away from the norm aimed at exactly that 18 – 30 year old market.
From Simian Mobile Disco at the American Museum of Natural History to DJ sets at the Guggenheim as part of their ‘Art after Dark’ series, many museums are opening their doors to a new and youthful audience into the early hours instead of the traditional 9 - 5.
Over in Europe, N8 in Amsterdam is a collaborative effort that deserves a mention – the annual museums night in November brings together 40 venues in an effort to share audiences and show them something a little different. With each venue targeting their existing audiences, the aim is to cross promote and encourage people to visit a venue that’s new to them on the same night. Social networking has always been key to getting the word out for N8 and audiences are actively involved – writing blogs and creating their own audio ‘art trails’ as part of the evening.
Closer to home, Late at Tate Britain aims to bring a younger audience to the gallery on the first Friday of every month. Access to the galleries is supplemented with a bar and live music and half price tickets are on offer for their paid-for exhibitions. Their marketing budget was just £150 when the event began and this was spent simply on flyers – mainly given out in local cafes, bars and around neighbouring businesses. Word has now spread and the events have a regular visitor base of 3,000 people.
SUMO worked closely with the North East Regional Museums Hub as part of the North East project mentioned above. During that project, two groups of Lazy Socials were surveyed to find out what would make them visit museums and galleries more. They were chosen specifically for their interest in culture and the fact that they hadn’t visited a museum or gallery in a long time. They said, not surprisingly, that they were interested in events that were specifically for them. Call them ageist if you want but they really didn’t like being grouped with families and older visitors and certainly didn’t want to spend time with them! They were particularly interested in events outside normal opening hours and asked for bespoke talks, tours, music, a glass of wine or even a voucher for a local restaurant or bar to ensure that a visit became more like evening out.
In these cases, the marketing is a lot more about selling a lifestyle that appeals to these highly social people. By combining the venue ‘offer’ with elements that would make an appealing night out to that audience (drinks, food and music) you’re onto a winner.
Useful links:
www.brooklynmuseum.org
www.n8.nl
www.lates.org
www.thelateshows.org.uk
www.artscouncil.org.uk
www.tatetracks.org.uk
This article is taken from a Sumo presentation given at the Audiences North East event: Targeting Specific Demographic Groups. November 2008.