The Audience Business is a membership organisation working on behalf of over 35 subscribing organisations who pay an annual subscription of between £600 and £5,500. Subscription is currently open to venue-based organisations in Edinburgh and its environs, as well as touring companies performing in the city. Our future plans commit us to expanding our subscriber base by offering relevant services to the wider cultural sector across East Central Scotland.
Current subscriber benefits include:
Customised benefits
Consultancy
Each subscriber is allocated a certain number of free research/marketing consultancy days against their subscription which can be used for qualitative/quantitative research, media evaluation, data processing and analysis or marketing/audience development planning or reviews. In addition, subscribers can benefit from a reduced daily fee of £250 for any additional consultancy work they wish The Audience Business to carry out on their behalf (normally costing £350 a day for non subscribers).
Audience & Organisational Development Projects
Each subscriber will be eligible to participate in one or more annual short or medium term city-wide audience development projects. This year the key projects are Audience Segmentation and Management Information Audits.
The Audience Segmentation project will involve working closely with performing arts subscribers to establish robust demographic profiles of their current audiences. We will use this to identify key target markets as the basis for future projects, i.e. identify potential new audiences drawn from under-represented demographic types with an established propensity to attend and/or participate in any given art form.
The Management Information Audits will involve Our Research Manager and/or Chief Executive undertaking in-depth interviews with subscribers' senior managers to establish organisation-specific information needs, and assessing how best TAB's market intelligence resources can be harnessed and exploited by each subscribing organisation over time.
Market Intelligence — Snapshot Edinburgh
This is the umbrella project title for all of The Audience Business’ market intelligence gathering across the Edinburgh catchment area in 2006-8.
Subscribers participating in our Vital Statistics analysis of current box office data will receive user-friendly overview reports, as well as a 1:1 briefing. The overview report will provide up to date information on audience and attendance trends, booking behaviour, competition analysis, and market analysis across the performing arts in Edinburgh (we plan to deliver complimentary data on the visual arts in future years). Participating organisations will also receive an annual confidential report outlining their own data against city-wide information, including catchment area analysis and venue / art form crossover.
The Audience Business carried out a quantitative Perceptions Survey across a representative sample of the Edinburgh population (up to 800 on-street interviews) during 2006/07, with a particular focus on non-attenders. All subscribers were referenced in the survey, and will be in the resulting report.
The Audience Business ran several focus groups through Summer 2007 to enhance the indicative findings of the Vital Statistics analysis and the Perceptions & Attendance Survey. The groups will be consulted on city-wide issues, either art form related or else as representatives of a niche audience (eg. teenagers, families, young professionals, etc.). All subscribers will be referenced.
The findings of all of this work was presented to subscribers and key stakeholders at an Edinburgh Snapshot Briefing Day on 31 October 2007.
Core benefits
Marketing Services
Subscribers can place unlimited free listings on www.wiZkidZ.org.uk, a website for families with children under 12. They can also include listings and news in weekly email bulletins to students, arts workers, families, frontline staff in the tourism and leisure industries etc. We organise four familiarisation events a year, providing our subscribers with a high-profile opportunity to promote their product(s) to frontline staff across the leisure and tourism industries.
Marketing Planning
The Audience Business will conduct a confidential marketing audit of each subscriber, and supply a report on its findings.
Information Services
The Audience Business can offer subscribers bespoke interpretation of current Area Profile demographic information on the Edinburgh catchment area, with a particular focus on targeting potential attenders across a range of artforms. In addition, as a member of Network (the UK consortium of audience development agencies), we have direct access to information on a wealth of research and campaign activity around the UK which we can access on our subscribers' behalf.
Marketing and Research Support
The Audience Business supports subscribers on an ongoing basis by phone and email, providing information, fact-finding and contacts. We can offer guidance on undertaking in-house research projects, monitoring and evaluation, and can also help with writing marketing and campaign plans, funding applications, and marketing / audience development planning and monitoring sessions. One to one update meetings between The Audience Business and each subscriber are held three times a year.
Partnership and Collaboration
The Audience Business brokers strategic arts and non-arts partnerships in order to meet subscribers' audience development priorities individually and collectively. In particular it co-ordinates city-wide Joint Festivals, Managers, and Press and Marketing Meetings, and collates a clash diary.
Networking
Subscribers are invited to attend two subscribers' forums each year, where they can listen to high calibre speakers discussing topical arts issues and enjoy excellent professional networking opportunities.
Information Reference Library
The Audience Business has established a resource of research reports, practical marketing guides and other relevant information focusing on all aspects of audience development and the arts. Links have been developed with Scottish Arts Council, Arts Council of England and others to ensure access to key publications. These publications (currently over 200) are available for subscribers to reference at our office in Edinburgh city centre.
E-news bulletin
Each quarter, The Audience Business provides an update on its activities, subscriber news and useful Scotland/UK wide audience development information.
Projects and action research
The Audience Business works on behalf of subscribers to create, lead, organise, liaise, deliver and evaluate targeted audience development campaigns involving existing and new audiences across Edinburgh.
Advocacy
The Audience Business represents subscribers at key fora and feeds back regularly on relevant issues and activities. We lobby on behalf of our subscribers based on their expressed views, priorities, experiences and successes.
Subscriber Handbook
All subscribers will receive a copy of the TAB Subscriber Handbook outlining all the TAB projects and services on offer, and who to contact about each one. The handbook will also include notes on suppliers currently used by subscribers (eg. printers, designers, distribution companies) as well as space to store current research reports.
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Training
All subscribers will be entitled to discounted rates at any TAB training courses. A short series of induction level courses are planned for Autumn 2008/09 eg. An Introduction to Commissioning Market Research, An Introduction to Audience Development.