copyright © 1998-2008
Durham Arts Council, Inc.
120 Morris Street
Durham, NC 27701
919.560.ARTS

ARTSMARKET REPORT

This report includes a range of research concerning current and potential audiences for the arts in the Triangle region. Beginning in fall 2001 and continuing through to May 2002, ArtsMarket worked with the following Triangle Region arts organizations to shape and provide research and guidance that has been designed to assist them in expanding, deepening and diversifying their audiences.

• Carolina Ballet
• Carolina Theatre
• Carolina Union
• The Duke Consortium
• Durham Arts Council
• Durham Symphony
• Mallarme Chamber Players
• North Carolina Museum of Art
• PineCone
• Playmakers Repertory Company
• Raleigh Little Theatre
• Saint Joseph’s Historical Foundation

This project was designed as a benchmark against baseline audience analysis conducted by ArtsMarket for these and additional Triangle Region arts and cultural organizations in 1995. Both that study and this one included database analysis to determine the demographic nature and geographic distribution of the evident or known audience for these arts organizations. Both contained focus group analysis to determine motivators and barriers for participation.

The baseline study contained public opinion polling. In its place, as more targeted and actionable research to guide organizations in prospecting for new audiences, this study provides a depth of lifestyle cluster and target marketing research. In addition to the study itself, this process has also included monthly newsletters on audience development and the research findings and workshops. Each participant organization has also received individual data including confidential analysis of their own audience, and confidential summary comments from the focus groups concerning their own marketing and communications materials.

The goal of this research work is to guide audience development. The Durham Arts Council has worked with the participant organizations since the baseline study to explore ways each can continue to work toward the three goals of audience development: broaden, deepen and diversifying participation. Together, the organizations have worked on ways to build a more diverse audience, to address customer service needs as voiced in the 1995 findings, and to increase their geographic reach.

This project has used many of the concepts put forward in the Wallace-Reader’s Digest funded RAND report, A New Framework for Building Participation in the Arts. The participants have chosen to study their audience as:

Audience/Potential Audience Segment	Description	Goal
Stronghold	High indexing, highly active current audiences, members and donors	Deepen, Diversify
Inclined	Moderate indexing, largely single ticket and casual attenders	Broaden, Diversify
Disinclined	Below average indexing, largely non-attenders	Broaden, Diversify

The primary focus of the analysis was to assist participant organizations with strategies to continue to build their stronghold audience, and to make greater in-roads into the inclined or potential audience. The focus groups conducted for this study were all with respondents who were screened to qualify as “inclined. “

You can download the following sections in pdf format by clicking on their headlines. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (a free download) to view the document. Click here to download the Reader.

KEY FINDINGS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER FOUR

DURHAM CLUSTER PROFILES