Show Me the Data!

1. Show Me the Data! Title slide Show Me The Data! 2012 APASO Conference John Beck, ArtsBoston; Douglas Clayton, LA Stage Alliance; Kendra Lawton, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

2. Session Overview • Creating a Culture of Data Collection & Sharing • What to do with all this data

3. Origins of the ArtsBostonAudience Initiative

4. ArtsBostonAudience Initiative • We are in Year 1 of our program • 50 Organizations Participating • Including BSO, Citi Center, Broadway in Boston, • Over 1 Million Unique Households • Organizations may participate for “Research Only” • There is an administrative fee to participate

5. Creating a Culture of Data Collection and Sharing – What’s Worked • Give ownership to the community • Create a culture of collaboration • Utilize case studies • Engage throughout the year • Build an incentive to utilize the data • Share the results • Collaborate with funders SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

6. Creating a Culture of Data Collection and Sharing LA STAGE Arts Census SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

7. QUICK FACTS: • LA had a BIG LIST through Enertex for ten years, averaging twenty participants and 250,000 households each year. • Late 2009, shifted to the TRG Arts eMerge program • Changed the name of the program to the LA STAGE ARTS CENSUS • Change the framing to a ‘Research and Efficiency Tool, with List Trades as an optional feature’ • Eliminated all costs/fees to participate • Targeted major institutions and thought leaders • Currently 120 participants, 3.8 million unique households • Now have several major funders requiring participation, so expect to triple the number of participating organizations by summer 2013

8. Creating a Culture of Data Collection and Sharing – What’s Worked • Promote a big vision • Remove all barriers to participation • Identify and focus on recruitment of leaders and major institutions • Clearly define the program as intended to serve not just cultural organizations, but also funders and our politicians and other powerful partners • Hands on follow-up and engagement SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

9. Creating a Culture of Data Collection and Sharing – What’s WorkedMake pretty graphs and get powerful numbers 41% of all Los Angeles County Households are in the Census (and over 50% of all Orange County households) SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

10. Creating a Culture of Data Collection and Sharing – What’s Challenging • Large Organization Legal Departments • Organizational Leaders who are defensive and protective of their data, and/or who oppose sharing lists for any reason • Small Organizations often only need to use eMerge infrequently, so they forget to use it for their benefit, and require regular re-training • The need for higher level thinking/consulting for full maximization of benefits of the program. SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

11. Major Obstacles For Data Collection SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

12. Group Brainstorm

13. Cultural Alliance • Since 2003 • 160 organizations, over 2 mil unique households • Currently free • Changes ahead • Rebranding to “Audience Analytics” • Tiered participation structure – pay / service

14. What to Do with the Data • Member requests for research • Share information with partners • Our own aggregate research • Evaluate program

17. Share information with partners

18. Crossover with all orgs in List Co-Op

19. What to Do with the Data - Aggregate • Paid Patronage Study w/ TRG • Arts Voter Analysis • Advocacy Data Points • Demand Analysis

20. What to Do with the Data - Evaluate Exploratory Study comparing CDP data & List Co-Op USAGE data Correlation not Causation • Performing Arts biggest users • Larger orgs more likely to use • The higher the usage & more sophisticated usage, positive relationship with gains in attendance and income. • Attendance gains most noteable for small to mid-size orgs and suburban based orgs

21. Case Study – Huntington Theatre Company • How can we attract and retain younger patrons? • Finding the answer through the database: • First, analyze current audiences using basic demographic overlay report. • Next, segment the portion of the audience under 35 years of age, as well as the audiences of other participating organizations in that age bracket, and create a direct mail campaign that targets these patrons. • Going forward: • The Huntington’s “35 Below” program has become a great success, reaching patrons under the age of 35 throughout the region. SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

22. Case Study–Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute • What are our members other areas of interest? • Finding the answer through the database: • Run a demographic overlay report to show various interests amongst members. • RESULT: A large number of members are interested in gardening (determined by number of subscriptions to gardening publications). • Going forward: • The museum programmed a garden photography workshop last summer (which they are repeating this summer due to its success). • They are also exploring possible partnerships with local botanical garden and other horticultural institutions. SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

23. A Always B Be E Evaluating SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

24. ArtsBoston Audience Initiative Logic Model Activities Outputs Near-term Outcomes (1 Yr) Mid-term Outcomes (3 Yr) Long-term Outcomes (5 Yr) Arts organizations have greater visibility, sell more tickets, understand how to reach new and interested target audiences, and engage current audiences more deeply. Create Market Knowledge Taskforce to evaluate current programs and implement new and improved market knowledge program. Create a user manual with information on how members can best utilize the new tools. Arts Organizations see participating in community database project as essential to understanding audiences. Arts Organizations identify trends, shared challenges, and opportunities in audience development. User sessions with participants to optimize the program and maintain engagement. Arts community understands baseline participation and defines current market of ticket buyers. Develop best practices in Market Knowledge from programs in other regions with APASO colleagues. A collaborative approach to audience development is fostered among arts organizations. The tourism industry, government agencies, funders, and arts service organizations have the tools to analyze, and ultimately increase, cultural participation in Greater Boston and beyond. Heat map of participation Meet with tourism industry, government agencies, funders, and ASOs to ensure that their needs are met. ArtsBoston is positioned as a market knowledge provider in Greater Boston. AAI is comprehensive and representative of audiences in Greater Boston. Report identifying largest areas of potential for increased participation. Arts organizations are inspired to better track their patron data. Develop comprehensive recruitment plan to build representative database. A baseline report for Year One will be created. ArtsBostonis established as an industry leader in the field of market knowledge. Arts community is able to further analyze participation with the use of transactional data. Convene participants on a regular basis to discuss trends, and address shared concerns and opportunities. Participating organizations are actively using the system for both list trading and analysis. Once transactional data is included in the AAI, ArtsBoston will create an annual “state of the arts” document to outline participation. Arts Advocacy groups have the ability to support their arguments with current and accurate data Over time, ArtsBoston will develop strategic partnerships with local universities, credit card companies, and others as needed. ArtsBoston builds a knowledge base of best practices for our region. SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

25. ArtsBoston Audience Initiative Logic Model - Indicators Near-term Indicators Near-term Outcomes The size of the AAI database will be significantly larger than the Big List, going from approximately 250K names to 1 Million. AAI is comprehensive and representative of audiences in Greater Boston. The number of participating organizations will increase from 40 to 60. The number of organizations tracking their audience data will increase. Arts organizations are inspired to better track their patron data. Existing organizations will submit a larger number of names each year because they are better tracking their patrons. The number of groups logging into the system and requesting mailing lists from other organizations will increase. (Based on usage reports from TRG Arts) Participating organizations are actively using the system for both list trading and analysis. Arts groups will convene on a quarterly basis to discuss audience trends. Arts Organizations see participating in community database project as essential to understanding audiences. In a survey to local arts organizations, the majority will respond that the AAI is a valued resource for their audience development. SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

26. ArtsBoston Audience Initiative The Power of Surveys “BAI submission process has forced us to look for effective ways to collect and segment our own data at the various points of entry” “The collaborative spirit that BAI has generated is unprecedented in my 15 years in the Berkshire cultural arena” From the most recent Berkshires Audience Initiative Participant Survey: • “…the fact that we had a sold out house…can be attributed to BAI and the lists of others. There were enough new faces at the concert that they had to have come from somewhere besides word of mouth or our local advertising or our own list…” “The BAI project has made a lasting contribution to improving our ability to market the arts in the Berkshires and to advancing stronger relationships.” SHOW ME THE DATA – APASO 2012

27. Questions?