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Arts-based segmentation How and why different types of people engage – or don’t engage – with the arts

Great art for everyone arts summit 12 September 2008

Catherine Bunting, Director of Research, Arts Council England

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Agenda

segmentation presentation

– background

– introduction to the segmentation

– a segment up close

– using the research

– challenges

group work feedback and discussion

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1. Background

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What is segmentation?

• established market research technique

• breaks down an audience into distinct consumer ‘types’

• enables more precise targeting and tailored marketing and communications

• can be applied at different levels

- existing audience (e.g. Tate and RSC segmentations)

- local area population

- a particular ‘field’ (e.g. music lovers)

- entire population

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Arts Council segmentation

• segmentation of all adults in England

• based on data from the Taking Part survey

• commissioned to gain insight into:

- arts consumers in England – how do people engage with the arts, and why?

- how the arts and the Arts Council currently meet the needs of different audience groups

- which groups offer the most potential for increasing their arts engagement

- how we can reach different groups through policy, practice and communications

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Methodology

Data analysis conducted by Enlightenment (BMRB)

Three-stage process:

1. Segment the population using Taking Part data on arts attendance, participation, motivations, barriers

2. Statistical fusion of Taking Part and TGI consumer database

3. Produce in-depth profiles of each segment, including demographics, arts engagement, leisure interests, media profile, web activity, attitudinal data on various aspects of life

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2. Introduction to the segmentation

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The overall segmentation

Urban arts eclectic 5%

Some engagement

Not currently engaged

Highly engaged

participate onlyattend &

may also participate

Traditional culture vultures 4%

Fun, fashion and friends 18%

Mature explorers 11%

Dinner and a show 20%

Bedroom DJs 3%

Family & community focused 11%

Mid-life hobbyists 4%

Retired arts and crafts 3%

Time-poor dreamers 7%

A quiet pint with the match 8%

Older and home-bound 6%

Limited means, nothing fancy 2%

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3. A segment up close

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Fun, fashion and friends 18% of English adults

In the early stages of developing their career and/or starting families. Fairly well qualified, they have career aspirations and take time to indulge their interests in fashion, travel and cuisine, as well socialising with friends at pubs or over a meal. They relish new experiences and are willing to pay for quality. Their taste in the arts is mainly contemporary but shows signs of widening given their inclination towards experimentation.

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Typical demographics

• two thirds aged 16–44

• two thirds female

• third have children in the household

• mostly white (93%)

• better educated than average (a third hold degrees)

• comfortably off and slightly above average socio-economic position

• most are working, a fifth part-time

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Lifestage and attitudinal traits

discovery/ experiencing

long hours, time-poor consumerists

striving for success

full of opportunities

few responsibilities will pay for quality

appetite for novelty

conscious about the environment and

ethics

balance between seeking recognition and wanting to fit in

living in the present

early adopters

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Leisure and media interests

fitness

time to have fun

fashion

travelling – off the beaten

track and city breaks

socialising – pubs, bars, eating

out

occasional cultural outings

entertainment and celebrity news – Heat

magazine

TV – E4, Jonathan Ross, Grand Designs

online: work, networking

Radio – music charts, Chris Moyles, Jo Wiley

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Arts engagement

• infrequent attenders at ‘mainstream’ events: musicals, panto, pop concerts, plays, exhibitions

• active participants: painting, playing an instrument, textiles, computer art

• positive attitude towards the arts; typically encouraged to engage when young

• into what they see as contemporary, trendy, social

• work constraints – last-minute access/arts on demand

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4. Using the research

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Wide range of data

Large amount of information on segments from Taking Part and TGI:

• demographics

• arts, culture, sport engagement, volunteering, cinema

• other leisure – outings, holidays, eating out, socialising

• hundreds of attitudinal statements e.g. arts, culture, environment, social awareness, self-perception, family life, consumer habits

• media use

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Potential uses

• improve general understanding of national arts engagement patterns

• spark debate about our collective reach – who are we trying to engage and why?

• identify areas of potential growth – new audiences, new forms of activity and experience

• insight and ideas for specific targeted projects and campaigns

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Local level insight

• geodemographic modelling of the segments

- how many? Local area breakdown by segments

- where are they? Estimation of segment distribution by postcode sectors or local authority area

- what’s my audience like? Analysis of postcode databases by segments

• modelled data – indication of likely trends, not actual local level survey data

• piloting of the system to commence next week

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Finding out more

Website: www.artscouncil.org.uk/audienceinsight

• PDF version of the summary publication

• Technical report and FAQs

• Further data on all the segments

Detailed consumer data

• copyright protected but can be shared with regularly funded organisations via audience development agencies

• contact oliver@audiencesyorkshire.org.uk

Local level modelling

• for more information contact emily.penn@artscouncil.org.uk

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5. Challenges

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Some tough questions

• current ‘core’ audiences for the arts represent a fairly small and privileged section of society

• huge untapped potential for gaining new audiences

• different groups have different aspirations in terms of their priorities and ambitions in life

• reaching new audiences means communicating, presenting, distributing the arts in new ways…

• …or changing the arts themselves to resonate more closely with peoples’ lives

• how radical do we want to be?

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Group discussion

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Thank you

catherine.bunting@artscouncil.org.uk

emily.penn@artscouncil.org.uk

ann.wallis@artscouncil.org.uk

oliver@audiencesyorkshire.org.uk

www.artscouncil.org.uk/audienceinsight

24 Low Medium High

Lo

wM

ediu

mH

igh

Level of engagement

Social deprivation

Positioning the segments

Dinner and a show

Retired arts and crafts

Older and home-bound

Time-poor dreamers

Limited means,

nothing fancy

A quiet pint with the match

Fun, fashion and friends

Mature explorers

Family and community

focused

Mid-life hobbyists

Bedroom DJs

Traditional culture vultures

Urban arts

eclectic

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Where are they? Fun, fashion and friends as proportion of regional populations

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1516

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17

20 1920

1918

0

5

10

15

20

25

North East NorthWest

Yorkshire EastMidlands

WestMidlands

East ofEngland

London South East SouthWest

Englandaverage

% b

elon

ging

to

Fun

, fa

shio

n an

d fr

iend

s

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Definition of attendance…

exhibition or collection of art, photography or sculpture

craft exhibition video or electronic art event event connected with books or writing street arts or circus carnival culturally-specific festival play or drama other theatre performance such as musicals,

pantomime

opera or operetta classical music concert jazz performance other live music event ballet contemporary dance African people’s dance, South Asian

and Chinese dance other live dance event

Arts attendance is defined as those who have attended in the past 12 months at least one of the following:

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Arts participation is defined as those who have done in the past 12 months at least one of the following:

… and participation

ballet other dance (not for fitness) sang to an audience or rehearsed for a

performance played a musical instrument to an audience or

rehearsed for a performance played a musical instrument for your own

pleasure written music rehearsed or performed in a play / drama rehearsed or performed in an opera / operetta painting, drawing, printmaking or sculpture photography as an artistic activity (not family

or holiday ‘snaps’)

made films or videos as an artistic activity (not family or holidays)

used a computer to create original artworks or animation

textile crafts such as embroidery, crocheting or knitting

wood crafts such as wood turning, carving or furniture making

other crafts such as calligraphy, pottery or jewellery for yourself

written any stories or plays written any poetry