Audience Development

Audience development sits at the heart of what cultural organisations do: building relationships with the communities they serve, broadening the range of people who participate in the arts, and making the case to funders that public investment is reaching those who need it most.

At Stephen Browning Associates, our experience of audience development spans research, strategy, planning and delivery. Stephen’s background as Director of Marketing, Press and Public Relations at the Royal Shakespeare Company and as Chairman of the Society of London Theatre’s Marketing Committee gives this practice deep roots

What is Audience Development?

Audience development encompasses the strategies that arts organisations use to attract new audiences, retain and deepen engagement with existing ones, and broaden the diversity and range of people who participate in the arts and cultural life. It is not simply about increasing numbers – it is about building meaningful, lasting relationships between cultural organisations and the communities they serve.

In practice, an audience development programme will draw on programming, marketing, outreach, community engagement, education, digital strategy and partnerships. For Arts Council England-funded organisations, an Audience Development Plan is typically a condition of National Portfolio funding. It supports Arts Council England’s “Let’s Create” strategy and its goals around reaching more people, increasing social diversity, engaging the least active audiences, and improving the depth and quality of cultural experience.

Our approach

We begin with evidence. Understanding your current audience profile, catchment area and patterns of attendance is the foundation on which any credible audience development plan must be built.

From there, our approach to audience development for arts organisations typically covers:

• Audience research and data analysis: reviewing existing audience data, box office records, visitor figures and any previous research to build a clear picture of who you are currently reaching
• Audience segmentation: identifying who you are reaching, who you are not, and where the greatest opportunities for growth and diversification lie
• Identifying barriers to engagement: whether practical (cost, transport, accessibility, opening hours), cultural or psychological, understanding what prevents people from participating is essential to removing those obstacles
• Developing strategies for growth, diversification and deeper engagement: setting out a prioritised, realistic programme of activity with clear rationale for each strand
• Programming and partnership recommendations: how artistic and curatorial choices can open doors to new audiences, and which partnerships and community relationships can help you reach them
• Setting SMART targets and evaluation frameworks: so that progress can be measured, reported to funders, and used to improve future activity
• Creating plans that satisfy Arts Council England requirements for National Portfolio funding and other grant applications

Who is this for?

Audience development support from Stephen Browning Associates is relevant to a wide range of cultural organisations, including:

• Arts Council National Portfolio Organisations needing an Audience Development Plan as a condition of funding
• Museums, galleries and heritage sites seeking to grow and diversify their visitor base
• Theatres and concert halls developing audience engagement strategies and community outreach programmes
• Organisations applying for Arts Council England or National Lottery project funding that requires an audience development strand
• Cultural venues planning new programming, education initiatives or outreach activity
• Local authorities reviewing cultural participation and engagement across their area
• Organisations going through a period of change: reopening after closure, moving to a new building, or re-engaging audiences after a significant interruption – and needing to rebuild their relationship with their community

What you can expect

Working with us on an audience development programme, you can expect:

• A framework for measuring progress, evaluating impact and reporting to funders with confidence
• A clear, evidence-based Audience Development Plan that meets Arts Council England requirements for National Portfolio funding and other grant applications
• Audience segmentation and profiling based on your own data and, where appropriate, sector benchmarking tools
• Strategies that balance artistic ambition with audience growth – audience development should reinforce, not constrain, your creative programme
• Practical recommendations your marketing and programming teams can implement with the resources available to them

Back