UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCES: Adopting Big-Data Thinking in the Arts

1. UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCES:Adopting Big-Data Thinking in the Arts

2. WHAT IS ARTSBOSTON? Shared Learning Civic Collaborations ArtsBoston Audience Initiative ArtsBoston.org Social Media Outreach Media & Community Partnerships BosTix Discount Ticketing Discounted Advertising Tourism Outreach Email Marketing

3. The ArtsBoston Difference The area’s largest and most comprehensive nonprofit arts service organization and one of the leading organizations of its kind in the country. $55,000,000 reinvested into the regional arts economy residents and visitors in Greater Boston reached regional arts & cultural organizations promoted arts & cultural organizations promoted years of arts and cultural community service 20,000,000 2,300 165 38 Boston Ballet

4. IDENTIFYING A CORE NEED IN THE COMMUNITY Arts groups need access to more comprehensive patron data in order to understand WHO is in their audience. To address this, ArtsBoston partnered with TRG Arts, widely acknowledged as the industry leader in developing community databases, to create the ArtsBoston Audience Initiative (AAI) WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

5. How the ArtsBoston Audience Initiative Evolved • 2013 • 2nd annual AAI conference held in Boston. • ArtsBoston plans and facilitates 1st national convening of community databases in Philadelphia. • 2012 • ArtsBoston Audience Initiative (AAI) launches with 48 participating organizations and 1.2 million households in database • 2011 • Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and ArtsBoston develop pilot program for Berkshires region. • 2010 • Market knowledge task force convened to explore creation of a community database for Greater Boston • 2004 • ArtsBoston launches the ArtsBoston Big List

6. BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS ADVOCATE / INVESTOR PATRONRELATIONSHIPS DONOR LONG-TERM COMMITMENT To do this, you need their DATA! SUBSCRIBEROR MEMBER LOVE MULTI-BUYER COMMITMENT REPEAT BUYER COURTSHIP NEW BUYER THE FIRST FEW DATES PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS MEET CUTE

7. HOW DOES THE ARTSBOSTON AUDIENCE INITIATIVE WORK? Start with Organizational Data Compile, Clean and Match Append with Axciom Data Organizations Access Research and Reporting Tools Organizations Receive Technical Assistance and Collaborative Learning Opportunities Demographics Geography Psychographics

8. AAI QUICK FACTS • 56 Participating Organizations • 5+ Million Records Uploaded • 1.3 Million Unique Households • 750+ Reports Run • 1+ MillionAddresses Traded

9. METRO BOSTON PRESENCE 1 out of every 3 homes in Metro Boston is currently in the database.

10. AAI Participant Demographics The broader we can go, the more different types of organizations we can invite in, the better picture we’ll have of what the potential is for the arts in Greater Boston. David DalenaHuntington Theatre Company

11. ArtsBoston Audience Initiative (AAI) Participants Actors' Shakespeare Project American Repertory Theater ArtsBoston ArtsEmerson Blue Heron Blue Man Group Boston Ballet Boston Baroque Boston Center for the Arts Boston Chamber Music Society Boston Classical Orchestra Boston Early Music Festival Boston Gay Men's Chorus Boston Lyric Opera Boston Midsummer Opera Boston Philharmonic Boston Symphony Orchestra Boston University College of Fine Arts Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra Broadway in Boston Cantata Singers Cappella Clausura Celebrity Series of Boston Central Square Theater Chameleon Arts Ensemble Chorus pro Musica Citi Performing Arts Center Company One Danforth Art Discovery Ensemble Emmanuel Music From the Top Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts Huntington Theatre Company Improv Asylum Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre Lexington Symphony Lyric Stage Company of Boston New Repertory Theatre Opera Boston - DATA ONLY Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra Radius Ensemble Revels Rockport Music SpeakEasy Stage Company Stoneham Theatre Symphony Nova The Boston Conservatory The Handel and Haydn Society Walnut Hill School for the Arts Wellesley College WGBH Zumix

12. How Are Arts Groups Using It? These services are valued at more than $415,000 And are all included at no extra cost to participants. January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012 • Participants pulled: • 341 Mail or Email lists • 295 Demographic Reports • 214 Segment Penetration Reports • 118 Zip Code Penetration Reports • Quarterly NCOA on 1,956,125 records

13. Sample Organization Report Arts groups can pull up a variety of reports that compare their data to all patrons included in the AAI as well as contextual data for all of Greater Boston. Data points include age, race, marital status, education and income level.

14. 24/7 ONLINE ACCESS Participants have 24/7 access to their own patron data and community-level reports, plus automated mailing list trading, through TRG Arts’ online data management system, eMerge.

15. ORGANIZATIONAL REPORTS “I can run a demographic report on our audience in 15 minutes. There’s no way we could get this level of accurate insight with a traditional audience survey.” -Henry Lussier, Director of Marketing for The Lyric Stage Company of Boston • ZIP CODE PENETRATION • SEGMENT PENETRATION • DEMOGRAPHIC OVERLAY

16. Big Picture Sector Data: What the AAI Tells Us AUDIENCE FACT Multi-buyers are great prospects since they have a proven track record of participation. Q: Of those attending more than one organization (24%), how many did they attend? A: 2 Orgs: 14% 3 Orgs: 5% 4 Orgs: 2% 5+ Orgs: 3% AUDIENCE FACT New patrons can be incented to come again and become regular arts attendees! Q: How many households were brand new to the orgs in the database? A: 22% from Patron Origination Report

17. NATIONAL NETWORK OF SHARED LEARNING Because TRG Arts manages 20 databases across the country, participants can benefit from national best practices and national market research.

18. Training: Small Group Workshops To provide technical assistance and encourage shared learning, ArtsBoston hosts monthly small group sessions with 5-10 people to learn more about system tools, and help users turnresearch into action. Workshop topics include: Digging into eMergel l Targeting and Engaging Audiences with the AAI Individual Donor Trends and Tracking l l Next Level Segmentation Strategies

19. AAI Knowledge Exchange e-Newsletter ArtsBoston‘s monthly Knowledge Exchange Newsletter keeps participants informed on how to take full advantage of the system, and is one reason AAI usage rates are so high. John Beck 617.262.8632 x 240 johnb@artsboston.org

20. Best-In-Class: National Usage Rates Thanks to ArtsBoston’s multi-faceted training and technical assistance, Boston’s arts groups have actively embraced our community database as a practical tool for analyzing and building audience participation. (5+ inquiries through system)

21. DATA=POWER. BUT HOW DO YOU COLLECT IT? Ticketed Events: Encourage patrons to buy in advance, and train box office staff to collect data from walk-up sales. Norman Rockwell Museum Non-Ticketed & Free Events: Much trickier… Here are two examples of how others have tackled this challenge: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Norman Rockwell Museum installed a kiosk where guests can enter their information for a chance to win a special prize. It works! The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has interns and volunteers who approach visitors with an iPad to ask for their information. It works too!

22. DATA=POWER. BUT HOW DO YOU COLLECT IT? Ford Hall Forum (free lectures)gathers patron data using Eventbrite:

23. AAI Case Studies The Huntington Theatre Company is utilizing the reporting tools in the AAI to track participation in its new Community Membership program, which reaches out to clients of local social service agencies. American Repertory Theatre used the AAI to identify prospects for its annual new subscriber mailing. Analysis showed that although the standard 1-2% bought subscriptions, an extraordinary 20% of those who received the subscription brochure went on to purchase single tickets at some point during the season. Handel and Haydn Society is using the AAI to develop a new single ticket buyer loyalty program. An AAI workshop allowed them to work with ArtsBoston staff and colleagues to explore how they should establish a baseline and what benchmarks would indicate “success.”

24. CASE STUDY: DENVER BUTTERFLY PAVILION Situation • Goal: Prove that the Pavilion is serving a wide audience in order to receive funding from the City of Denver. Solution • Reporting: Pulled a demographic match report & zip penetration on all of their data. Result: They were prepared and ready for the presentation to the committee. Funding Received!

25. CASE STUDY: NORTHLIGHT THEATRE SKOKIE, IL Situation • Traditional marketing for the company focused ONLY on Skokie residents until a new marketing director became concerned about marketplace saturation Solution • Searched the co-op and discovered pockets of theater-goers traveling “past” Skokie to get to downtown theaters • Targeted marketing efforts at theater-goers North and West of Skokie promoting “high quality theater, more convenient to where you live” Result:Discovered whole new markets for their product

26. CASE STUDY: EMP MUSEUM SEATTLE, WA Situation: Needed to increase admissions to achieve a more financially sustainable business model Solutions: • EMP recognized the value of data, learned how to act on it, and used what they learned to inform marketing decisions for increased ROI/cost of sale • EMP re-set pricing, simplified and streamlined discount policies • Instituted discount for online advanced sales • Improved messaging to communicate unique value proposition Result: Online purchases have gone from 1% to 22% in 2013 (and growing)

27. For more information contact: Deputy Director John Beck at johnb@artsboston.org Executive Director Catherine Peterson at catherinep@artsboston.org Or click: http://www.artsboston.org/page/audienceinitiative THANK YOU!