Arts audience segmentation
Findings and implications
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Contents
1. Context
2. Introduction to the segmentation
3. Three segments up close
4. Some initial reflections
5. Sharing and using the findings
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1. Context
3
Purpose: understanding audiences
4
•
lots of data on arts engagement patterns and attitudes
towards the arts from Taking Part survey and the arts debate
•
segmentation commissioned to draw out insights on:
-
arts consumer ‘types’ among English adults – how do people
engage with the arts, and why
-
how the arts and the Arts Council currently serve the needs of
different audience groups
-
which groups might offer the most potential for increasing their arts
engagement
-
how we can target different groups in terms of policy, arts offers,
programmes of activity, marketing and communications
2. Introduction to the segmentation
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Methodology
Data analysis conducted by BMRB (Enlightenment)
Three-stage process:
1. Segment the population using Taking Part data on arts
attendance, participation, motivations, barriers, background
2. Statistical fusion of Taking Part and TGI datasets
3. Produce in-depth profiles of each segment – looking at
people’s overall lives, including demographics, arts
engagement, leisure interests, media profile, web activity,
attitudinal data on various aspects of life
-
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profiling draws on data about people’s actual behaviour and
how they describe themselves, not on our assumptions
about them
Definition of attendance…
Arts attendance is defined as those who have attended in the past 12 months at
least one of the following:
 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,
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






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
… and participation
Arts participation is defined as those who have done in the past 12 months at least
one of the following:
 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’)
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 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
Key findings: 13 audience segments
Highly active
Occasional
engagement
attend &
may also
participate
Urban arts eclectic
5%
Traditional culture
vultures 4%
Fun, fashion and
friends 18%
Bedroom DJs 3%
Mature explorers
11%
Mid-life hobbyists
4%
Dinner and a show
20%
Retired arts and
crafts 3%
Family & community
focused 11%
Unengaged
9
Time-poor dreamers
7%
Older and homebound 6%
Sofa, pub and the
simple life 8%
Relaxing on a budget
2%
participate
only
3. Three segments up close
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Focus segments
Highly active
Occasional
engagement
attend &
many also
participate
Urban arts eclectic
5%
Traditional culture
vultures 4%
Fun, fashion and
friends 18%
Bedroom DJs 3%
Mature explorers
11%
Mid-life hobbyists
4%
Dinner and a show
20%
Retired arts and
crafts 3%
Family & community
focused 11%
Unengaged
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Time-poor dreamers
7%
Older and homebound 6%
Sofa, pub and the
simple life 8%
Relaxing on a budget
2%
participate
only
1 Fun, fashion and friends
Highly active
Occasional
engagement
attend &
many also
participate
Urban arts eclectic
5%
Traditional culture
vultures 4%
Fun, fashion and
friends 18%
Bedroom DJs 3%
Mature explorers
11%
Mid-life hobbyists
4%
Dinner and a show
20%
Retired arts and
crafts 3%
Family & community
focused 11%
Unengaged
12
Time-poor dreamers
7%
Older and homebound 6%
Sofa, pub and the
simple life 8%
Relaxing on a budget
2%
participate
only
Fun, fashion and friends– about them…
In the early stages of developing their career and/or
starting families. Fairly well qualified and around average
income profile, they have career aspirations and take time to
indulge their interests in fashion, travel and cuisine, as
well as making time for socialising with friends at pubs or over a
meal. They relish seeking out new experiences and are willing
to pay for quality. Despite this self-indulgence, they exhibit
responsibility to the environment reflected in their choice
of brands. Although their taste in the arts is confined mainly to the
contemporary it shows signs of widening given their inclination
towards experimentation.
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Fun, fashion and friends – key
demographics
•
slight skew to younger
age groups: two thirds
aged 16–44
•
somewhat better
educated than average –
a third hold degrees
•
two thirds female
•
•
third have children in the
household
comfortably off and
somewhat above average
socio-economic position
•
most are currently
working, a fifth part-time
•
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mostly white (93%)
Fun, fashion and friends –
current lifestage and attitudinal traits
early career
discovery/ experiencing
living in the present
early adopters of
trends
full of
opportunities
striving for
appetite for novelty
success
timepoor
long hours,
few responsibilities/
obligations/ commitments
conscious about the
environment and ethics
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aspiring
consumerists
will pay for quality
balance between
seeking recognition
and wanting to fit in
Fun, fashion and friends – leisure interests
fashion
fitness
socialising – pubs, bars,
eating out
online: work,
socialising
travelling – off the
beaten track and city
breaks
time to have fun
occasional cultural
outings
entertainment and celebrity
news – Heat magazine
TV and magazines
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Current arts activities and how we might
engage with this segment
Arts engagement and attitudes
towards the arts
How might we engage with this
segment
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infrequent attenders at
‘mainstream’ events: musicals/
pantomime, rock/pop concerts,
plays, exhibitions
likely to also take part in some
artistic activities: painting or
drawing, playing an instrument,
textile crafts computer art
•
positive attitude towards the arts
typically encouraged to engage
with the arts when young
•
•
•
•
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•
•
•
•
into what they see as
contemporary, trendy
social arts experiences are
key
positioned as fun, as a special
occasion/outing
appetite for novelty and
experimentation
endorsements from peers,
media, celebrities
work constraints – last-minute
access to the arts/arts on
demand
2 Dinner and a show
Highly active
Occasional
engagement
attend &
many also
participate
Urban arts eclectic
5%
Traditional culture
vultures 4%
Fashion, fun and
friends 18%
Bedroom DJs 3%
Mature explorers
11%
Mid-life hobbyists
4%
Dinner and a show
20%
Retired arts and
crafts 3%
Family & community
focused 11%
Unengaged
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Time-poor dreamers
7%
Older and homebound 6%
Sofa, pub and the
simple life 8%
Relaxing on a budget
2%
participate
only
Dinner and a show – about them…
They are
comfortable with where and what they have acquired
in life. Having worked in higher
level jobs and approaching
retirement, they have accumulated sufficient wealth. They
are relaxed with money
management, young at heart
and view money as a means of enjoying
life – eating,
travelling, making occasional large purchases.
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Dinner and a show – key demographics
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•
key age group 45–64
(37%)
•
no children in household
(72%)
•
55% males, 45% females
•
comfortably off financially
– slightly higher than
average income profile,
56% in higher socioeconomic groups
•
more likely than average
to own their own homes
(78%)
•
average education level
Dinner and a show –
current lifestage and attitudinal traits
comfortable lifestyle
middle-aged, approaching
retirement
children grown, some
have flown the nest
enjoy the fruit of
their work
can afford to enjoy life
consider themselves
less creative
physically active
accumulated wealth
few responsibilities
work constraints
enjoying pursuits they know they like
in-the-know, well-read
practical and down
to earth
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personal growth
and development
some have their first
grandchildren
Dinner and a show – leisure interests
time with partners,
friends and some
with grandchildren
enjoying life
eating
football, rugby, boxing, golf
holidays
wide interests
watching news
and sport
day trips with
grandchildren
walking, parks, gardens
occasional live music
events, rock
concerts, or plays
and musicals
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reading financial,
sports and travel
pages
Radio 1, 2 and Five
Live
Current arts activities and how we might
engage with this segment
Arts activities and attitudes
•
•
•
•
•
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stick to mainstream arts
events: live music events (not
jazz or classical), theatre,
musicals/pantomime
infrequent attendance
but 69% say they would like
to go more often
tend not to actively participate
in creative activities
not particularly encouraged to
attend and participate when
young
How we might engage with this
segment
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•
•
•
•
like ‘approachable’ arts
avoid positioning as
something ‘intellectual’
position the arts as
entertainment, relaxing,
sociable
interest in music
through grandchildren
3 Time-poor dreamers
Highly active
Occasional
engagement
attend &
many also
participate
Urban arts eclectic
5%
Traditional culture
vultures 4%
Fashion, fun and
friends 18%
Bedroom DJs 3%
Mature explorers
11%
Mid-life hobbyists
4%
Dinner and a show
20%
Retired arts and
crafts 3%
Family & community
focused 11%
Unengaged
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Time-poor dreamers
7%
Older and homebound 6%
Sofa, pub and the
simple life 8%
Relaxing on a budget
2%
participate
only
Time-poor dreamers – about them…
Time poor and financially stretched, they have few
interests outside of providing themselves and their families with the
basics. They have hopes of breaking
out of their financial
situation, but are limited by their education. They meet with
frustration and dream of striking it rich. They tend
to be short term in their outlook and are easily swayed
by advertising/opinions so despite financial constraints, they are
impulsive shoppers and spend readily on clothing whilst
saving on household necessities.
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Time-poor dreamers – key demographics
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•
skew to younger age
groups – 40% aged under
35
•
a high proportion (42%)
have children in the
household
•
most are currently
working, many in a
supervisory or semiroutine job
•
more likely than average
to have 2+ children
•
higher than average
proportion (17%) from
Black or minority ethnic
backgrounds
•
lower than average
educational profile
•
income profile a little
below average
Time-poor dreamers –
current lifestage and attitudinal traits
living above means
hassled parents
time-poor
limited by
education
frustrated
limited means
financially stretched
impulsive
shoppers
bargain buyer
easily influenced by
others/advertising
live in the present
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appearance
conscious
dream of striking it
rich
culturally disengaged
Time-poor dreamers – leisure interests
shopping –
clothing, bargain
household
necessities
watching TV at home –
entertainment, soaps, sports,
game shows
pub with friends
going out rather than
doings things at home
playing the lottery
take-away foods
read tabloids,
real-life stories,
gossip,childcare
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darts, pool
Current arts activities and how we might engage with
this segment
Arts activities and attitudes
•
unlikely to attend or
participate currently
How we might engage with this
segment
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family-focused, possibly appeal
through pester-power
•
free of charge
•
•
main cited barrier to
engagement is lack of time,
alongside lack of interest
•
•
•
•
not particularly encouraged to
attend or participate when
young
•
•
•
•
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aspirations to strike it rich/
talent/competition/opportunity
art packaged as entertainment
celebrity links
local
drop-in – easy to access
not intimidating
advertising: TV, celebrity
magazines, shopping centres
brand partnerships: Argos, JJB
Sports, Primark, Iceland,
Asda/George
4. Some initial reflections
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Some initial reflections
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•
current ‘core audiences’ for the arts represent a fairly small
(ca 8%) and socio-economically privileged section of society
•
public investment has historically benefited this group, and
targeted the very socially excluded with specific programmes
•
the largest sectors of society, and possibly the biggest areas
of opportunity for increasing arts engagement, are the groups
of ‘ordinary people’ in the middle
•
huge untapped potential for gaining new audiences – but this
won’t happen just through promoting more vigorously what is
on offer already
Some initial reflections
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•
different groups have different aspirations in terms of their
priorities and ambitions in life
•
to increase engagement, the arts offer needs to be presented,
distributed and promoted in new ways – to resonate with
people’s hopes and expectations…
•
…and/or the offer itself needs to be changed to fit more
closely with people’s interests and lifestyles
•
consumer types are not distinguished by artform preference,
but by lifestyle and social scene
•
a ‘one size fits all’ approach won’t work
•
given limited resources, there are big decisions to make with
regards to target audience groups
Positioning the segments
High
Level of
engagement
Urban
arts
eclectic
Traditional
culture
vultures
Medium
Mature
explorers
Retired arts
and crafts Bedroom
DJs
Fun, fashion
and friends
Low
Dinner and
a show
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Low
Family and
community
focused
Mid-life
hobbyists
Medium
Sofa, pub Older and
Time-poor and the
homedreamers simple life bound Relaxing on
a budget
High
Social
deprivation
5. Sharing and using the findings
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Summary profiles are just a tip of the data
iceberg…
A vast amount of further data available from Taking Part and TGI
surveys on each segment, eg:
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•
arts engagement – attendance, participation, frequency
•
cultural and sport participation, volunteering
•
other leisure time activities – eating out, cooking at home, TV,
going out to pubs, theme parks, etc
•
media consumption – TV, radio, internet, newspapers
•
where they shop
•
attitudes towards different areas of life – work, family,
environment, eating, drinking, finance, etc
•
socio-demographic information
Sharing the data more widely
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•
summary profiles to be published in mid-July
•
currently exploring legal restrictions and practicalities around all
other external data sharing
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option to set up a network of data sharing with arts organisations via
audience development agencies
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potential geographic modelling
•
who is in my local area? Local area breakdown by segments
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where are the ‘Time-poor dreamers’? Estimation of segment distribution
by postcode sectors
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analysis of existing audiences (box office postcode data) by segments
Using the findings
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•
generate debate about the reach of public investment in the arts –
who are we trying to engage and why?
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develop the objectives, content and tone of the Arts Council’s
national campaign
•
support arts organisations to work together to increase their
collective reach
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in the long term inform the Arts Council’s strategy and priorities
Further information
•
catherine.bunting@artscouncil.org.uk
•
anni.oskala@artscouncil.org.uk
•
Regional link:
•
simone.lennox-gordon@artscouncil.org.uk
www.artscouncil.org.uk
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