Doing data

I admit it. I like data.

Two years ago, I wrote a thesis for my master’s degree on the relationship theater and dance organizations have with audience data. Specifically, I surveyed organizations in Minnesota and Wisconsin on what they collect, why they collect it, how they use it, how they don’t use it, and what they perceive as the barriers (if any) to not using their audience data to its full potential. Those are a lot of questions to ask and a lot of answers to receive. The full story is a full thesis, but in general, nearly all organizations collected data, most used it in various ways and for various reasons, a few saw no need to improve their data collection or use, but most did. Most felt that they did not have the systems to deal with the data, the time to deal with the data, or the knowledge to deal with the data—or a combination of the three.

I was studying for my degree in London when I approached my advisor with my topic choice. He was a bit surprised by my insistence on focusing on if and how organizations use the data they collect. His response was of course all organizations use data, that wasn’t interesting, I should focus on what they were doing with the data or whether they were satisfied instead. He had worked for years with Theatrical Management Association, a service organization for theaters in the UK, and he had started an audience data collection and dissemination program in 1990—fifteen years before I was coming to him with this topic. So he thought my concerns were old news.

Why was I so insistent? I can readily identify three inspirations. Before I left Minnesota to go to grad school, the Performing Arts Research Coalition undertook a national survey in ten cities on arts audiences. The results were released in 2002. The inspirational part for me was not the results themselves but the novelty of having the information—and the fact that while a lot of people were excited about it, not a lot of people knew how to use it to their advantage. My second inspiration was my own experience: I had faithfully collected audience data through surveys and other means, compiled it, then watched the results sit in a file, never to be fully used. My final inspiration was my experiences in London.

Maybe it’s because the UK is a smaller, more centralized country, maybe it’s because there is stronger, government-led support for the arts—whatever the reasons—there are amazing audience data resources available. There are fifteen local audience development agencies throughout the UK, such as Audiences London, Glasgow Grows Audiences, and Audiences Northern Ireland. All of these organizations offer training programs, resources, the opportunity to share information, and more, with the goal of collaborative audience development and marketing. In addition, there are other groups, such as Audience Data UK, for sharing information and training. When I was there, ticketing.org offered information on different box office systems. It also offered a free download of Roger Tomlinson’s “Boxing Clever,” a bible on how to use audience data that is gathered at the box office.

What did I find two years ago when I did my survey? Most organizations collected data to contact their audiences or for marketing purposes. (Contacting the audience can be considered part of marketing, but it was separated out by so many organizations that I thought it important to look at as a distinct use.) While organizations did use the information for funders, I was happy to see that it was not the primary reason to collect the data. Organizations collected contact information, including phone and email, but I was surprised by how few noted the preferred method of contact.

I was also surprised that less than 50 percent of organizations collected demographic information, as that is frequently needed for grant reporting. The results also showed that over 50 percent of organizations did not consistently have access to their own box office data—meaning that they had to rely on other methods to collect data about their audiences.

Do I have any recommendations? I think using data is simple and complex at once. The most important things are fairly easy: looking at the data, analyzing it for trends, inspecting to see if there are any obvious gaps. However, the key is really using the data to understand your audience—asking who they are, where they are, why they come to you, then using that data to help inform your future decisions. Do you want to compare yourself to other organizations? Do you want to reach people you currently aren’t reaching? Is your audience who you thought they were? Audience data can help to answer all of these questions more honestly.

How? Actually look at the data. Take the time to see if people are clustered in certain ZIP codes or if they only purchase tickets as walk-ups. If you use surveys, figure out how they heard about the show, why they actually attended, and what other events they are likely to attend—if you want to find more people who are similar to your current audience, your answers are there. Think about what you want to know and figure out what questions will help you find those answers. If you want to reach new audiences, you can’t successfully do that unless you identify your current audience. I don’t believe that there is a magic formula or a correct answer. Instead, I think it’s a process of using little pieces of information to help create an overall picture.

Still looking for more information? Check out the Web sites of the organizations listed above (or countless others all over the world). Milwaukee was undertaking a citywide audience development initiative as I was writing my original thesis, and other areas have gone through large-scale mapping and survey projects also. Many of these projects make their results and other helpful resources available to others.

And my thesis? My advisor conceded it was more interesting and surprising than he had expected. And, though I’m disappointed that we don’t use it as much and as well as we should (myself included), I still really like data. ❦