Engage 2020 Research & Think Jam
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Attendance
Participation
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Fads vs. Trends
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James Gordon Bennett
1835
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Read Only Culture
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1980
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+ High broadband penetration + Cheap storage + Powerful computers = Social Production
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Social Production radically redistributes power
(A trend, not a fad)
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• 51% consume content created by others
• 40% make their own content • 32% think of themselves as broadcasters 10
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Semiotic Democracy
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The core competency of successful web 2.0 companies is database management. Perpetual beta. Fail fast, learn fast, fix fast. Know thy audience. 13
What We Did: 12 Focus Groups
Cultural Engagement
Enthusiasts
Movable Middle
Rejectors
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Convergent Inquiry Context, Values
Convergent
Emotional Bonds & Barriers Functional Desires, Behaviors
Divergent Ideas
Ideas
Ideas
Ideas
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How do you spend your spare time? Eat
DVDs
Movies
Casinos
Read
Museums
Volunteer
Sleep
Time with Kids
Watch TV
Shopping Surf the Web
Restaurants Twitter Talk on the Phone Dancing
Travel Attend sports events
Work Out
Gardening
Hobbies
Walking
Time with Grandkids
Bars, hanging out with friends Clubs
Sports on TV
Cook
Play an instrument 16
Values that Drive Leisure Behavior Me
Me
De-Stress
Recharge
Me
Inert Home based Solitary
Me!
Active Hobbies Solitary or group
We Me
Me
Connect
Become
Me
Me
Social Intimate or Mass Participatory
Personal growth Societal Improvement Challenge, Discovery 17
Arts & Culture: Off the Radar for Most Bad News: • Late mentions, except for older respondents
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Good News: • A & C delivers on 3 of the 4 Leisure values • Posturing & Bragging
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Defining Arts & Culture: Card Sort Exercise Bars, Clubs, Restaurants
Historic Sites
Comedy, Open Mic
Cultural Exhibit Concert Theatre
Zoo, Aquarium
Movies
Art Museum
Ethnic Festival Dance Performance 19
Defining Arts & Culture
Bars
Sports
Clubs
Rock Concerts
Movies
Chuck E Cheese
Museums, Orchestra Opera, Theatre, Dance, Historic Sites
Comedy Club Open Mic Jazz
Travel Ethnic Festival
Exhibits
Zoo, Aquarium
Dancing Ethnic Restaurants Please Touch
Arts & Culture is more edu than tainment. 20
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Smack Down: Arts & Culture vs. Sports Sports are more fantastic than the arts. It’s more interactive. People care more about sports. 0 Sports are family and arts have age brackets.
The arts are when you want to be in solitude and calm and sports are when you want to wow out and drink a beer.
[With sports I feel] way more comfortable. The 76ers are playing the Magic. You’re in at the ground level. The game starts with the 1st quarter, 1st tip off and everyone is there at once seeing what happens at the same time. You all know when to root and when to boo.
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Smack Down: Arts & Culture vs. Bars You’re way more able to find people to go to a bar with you than a play. At a bar you’re interacting throughout. There’s no gamble. You find a place you like so you’re going to go back. With a play, you may see it and hate it and think if was a waste of time. If I were going with my friends I’d rather be in a bar where I can talk and interact and catch up. When you’re at a play you’re sitting side-by-side and there’s no interaction with the people you’re with. When I talk with people who have engaged in all types of plays and museums, I don’t feel as educated or cultured. When I see a play I can talk about it with people who have also seen it. It’s a different experience that you can discuss with people besides going to a bar. 29
How about the feeling that you’re kind of exposed because you don’t know what everybody else knows? …and everyone looks at you… …and you’re feeling like an outsider.
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Summary: The Barriers
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Risk, reward & relevance
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Product; boring, hard to access/understand
Effort Group dynamics (kids of different ages, friends with different preferences)
Attitude: snooty, overly intellectual, serious Can make me feel stupid
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Mapping the Bonds
Out of the Immersive Ordinary
Memories
An event
Live energy
Lose track of time
Transcendence, Becoming Spiritual Renewal
A more tolerant society
Raise wellwell-rounded kids
Learning
Opens your mind
Escape, Oasis
Being Transported
Food
MultiMultisensory
Satisfy Curiosity
More engaging world
My place in the world
Makes you more engaging
My identity
Connecting
Different cultures Legacy
Buzz Family Code Language
Focus on why & how, not just what Challenge My Views Universal themes
Intimacy, bonding Shared cultural reference points 38
Knitting It Together Leisure Values
Arts & Culture
Barriers
Bonds
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• Awareness is low for most • Imagery is rooted in more traditional forms of culture
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De-stress Recharge Connect Become
Risk/Reward Ratio Expensive Effort Group dynamics Elitist, snooty Hard to understand Boring
High social value Well-rounded kids Oasis Learning Connecting Transcendence, becoming
We need to temper the most spiritual benefits of arts & culture with the lighter side, or we risk reinforcing some of our biggest barriers.
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Mentors
Mom Leisure
Mom & Dad Grandparents
Teachers, Schools
Friends
Mom was far and away the most commonly mentioned mentor. Over the long term, women are disproportionately valuable customers. 40
How Do You Hear About Cultural Events?
Inquirer Word of Mouth
PFG Google
Comcast
Ticketmaster
Banners
TV
GoPhila
Fandango
Venues
CityGuide.com
VisitPA.com
Member Newsletters
UrbanPhilly.com
Philly Magazine Craigslist Philly Weekly
WHYY
Daily News KYW
AOL
City Paper
Transit Posters Philly Gay Calendar
WRTI
WDAS
Wild Postings
Yelp 41
What Do You Hear About Cultural Events?
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What Do You Hear About Cultural Events?
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Arts & Culture Experience Parameters Product ARTISTRY
Logistics COMPETENCE
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Lives up to expectations Talent, quality Looking forward to it Deeply engaging Audience energy Surprises Talking about it afterward
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Affordable Not too crowded Good pacing, little waiting Good seats, acoustics, sightlines Stress-free logistics; parking, ingress, egress, wayfinding Gesture of gratitude Genuinely welcoming service
Everyone has fun Multi-sensory, interactive Creates a memory
Extremely predictable list; Similar to most retail categories
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Let’s talk about the day I nearly killed my mother-in-law.
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Increasing Attendance • • • • • • • •
Free Parking, discounts, gestures of gratitude Pre-show information (online like a movie trailer) Socializing Opportunities Targeted scheduling Behind the Music/Meet the Maker Mini-season subscriptions, more flexible ticketing options More variety—and more knowledge of what’s already available Blend participation & attendance
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Participation makes art accessible
Attendance Inspires Participation
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Participation Self-Expression
Pride, Accomplishment, Mastery
Self-Actualize It makes you feel a little less ordinary.
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Attending & Participating •
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Participation trumps attendance for solid majority
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Expertise Masculinity
Barriers to Participation were relatively few
Motivation
Time
Fear
Money
Participation can help chip away at the elitist image of the arts. 56
Leisure Values
African Americans
A&C Barriers
Hispanics
A&C Bonds
Asians
Mentors
History Buffs
Media
Implications
Attendance
Ideas
Participation
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What’s It Like Being African American in Philly? It’s still hard for a black man to get a cab sometimes. I go out culturally so late at night I’m not getting on SEPTA—I’m getting a cab. I’ve had good and bad experiences with cabbies.
We’ve all experienced racism. It’s a blue collar town and I think that has a lot to do with it.
Television makes it a dividing line. For example, the news. I cringe every time somebody gets shot. They pick the worst (black bystander) to interview. A person with poor dentition, scars, they don’t speak well… …It’s offensive. They just took us back another 400 years with that kind of thing. 58
Arts & Culture Bonds: African Americans Raising Our Sights
Art addresses root causes of racism
Finding my place
African Americans often spoke of culture as a pathway toward a more tolerant, open society. The stakes are high. 59
Arts & Culture Barriers: African Americans
Sell out, bougie
Self-limiting
Feeling unwelcome
Safe product
Poor Service
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African Americans: Summary •
They see themselves as a flesh and blood link between the past and future
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Arts & Culture defines their place in society, reinforces their identity, helps foster understanding
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Sharing culture is a conscious act; they are intentional mentors Appetite far exceeds the available product They feel unwelcome in many arts venues Community-based outreach, invitations
Based on these groups, the African American market represents significant untapped, under-served demand. But we need to address service issues first.
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What’s it Like Being Hispanic in Philadelphia?
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What’s it Like Being Hispanic in Philadelphia? I was born in East L.A. I hesitate to say because I’ve only been here two years. It’s too sparse.
We don’t have political representation on the scale that other groups have.
You would also think with Hispanics being the number one minority that it would no longer be a minority. You would think you would have more representation. Another problem is the representation you have is inadequate and incompetent.
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Hispanics: Summary •
Based on this one group, Philly’s Hispanic community isn’t very cohesive
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Small in number, dispersed geographically, not culturally homogenous An internal, political power struggle; ‘old school vs. new school’ Not the dominant ethnic force in Philly that African Americans are
That said, these respondents…
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Often spoke about “seeing things through their children’s eyes”
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Many had not been exposed to admission-based culture as kids None of them spoke of wanting to leave the kids at home
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Appreciated the “special” nature of the arts
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Dancing & food are potentially powerful in-roads 64
Hispanics: Summary •
These respondents did NOT refer to specifically Hispanic experiences as their core ‘cultural diet’ (unlike the two African American groups)
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Perhaps because there isn’t much Hispanic product to choose from
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They did NOT evidence dissatisfaction with service/treatment
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They DID evidence a strong preference outdoor culture; zoos, festivals, parades, Unity Day, etc.
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Unmet demand: They wanted more ways to immerse themselves and their children in their own ethnic culture
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We’re in the shadow of Spanish Harlem and the Puerto Rican Parade
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What’s it Like Being Asian in Philly? I’m not immersed in Asian culture. I’m from the DC area and I’ve been here 10 years. I didn’t seek out an Asian community so I don’t know how it is in Philadelphia. There is a mini Koreatown in Upper Darby where I’ve been able to find an Asian market and a Korean restaurant. I would like my daughter to learn the language. We didn’t learn it and we’re not fluent in it ourselves. That’s the art of being a parent— being a hypocrite. For myself, growing up I was very Americanized. …Sometimes I actually thought I was Caucasian because all my friends were and I was immersed in American Culture. It was only as I got older and started respecting my background, my culture and my parents and where they came from. I wanted to be a part of that and make that connection for my children.
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Asians: Summary •
Emphasis on self-improvement and learning that stood out from the other groups (candidates for Participation?)
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Our most educated group
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Very highly assimilated—even more than the Hispanic group
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Food—specifically restaurants and to a lesser degree, Asian markets— was the pillar of their Asian cultural identity
Lunar New Year is a chance to connect with their own culture and share it with others. For the rest of the year, their cultural consumption patterns were not distinct from the general market groups. 67
History
Love History
Hate History
Curious Drama Compelling Narrative Connects Me to We Verbs
Boring Dry Cramming Facts Irrelevant Nouns
We have an opportunity to expand the appeal of history through more compelling narrative and more participatory experiences. There is a LOT of headroom for growth here.
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12 Things We’ve Learned 1. We’re not yet a player in the attention economy
2. We can create an arts ecosystem where attending and participating are mutually reinforcing, not just co-existing
3. Time & money are alibis for non-attendance; the real issue is relevance 69
12 Things We’ve Learned 4. Arts imagery is dominated by the most traditional experiences; we need to open it up, democratize access
5. The Arts Oasis may be a Mirage
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6. The imagery surrounding travel is ours for the taking; adventurous and active, not ponderous and ethereal 71
12 Things We’ve Learned 7. Think about curating the experience, not just housing the event
8. Mentors—predominantly Moms—play a powerful role; we need to empower and thank them
9. We lose teens without putting up enough of a fight
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12 Things We’ve Learned 10. African Americans are ready to buy; we need to invite them in and serve them better
11. Food is an untapped asset
12. Our historic interpretation needs to get ready for primetime
What is OUR narrative as a sector? 73
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Content Opportunities in the Arts Sector Outdoor Events, Festivals, Happenings
Parent Targeted, Teen-Inclusive
Intentional migratory path from Zoo & TFI to other venues
Sampling Opportunities Better storytelling at cultural exhibits, historic sites
Multi-Generational Appeal (Legacy Building) Connections to Food
Participatory Experiences
Overt connections to ethnicity
Hands on History
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Ideas •
Entire 8th grade goes free all year
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Web
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Mood-o-meter on the PFG website Streamlined process & resource for producing theatre ‘trailers’ PhillyStudio.com Reciprocity, reviews, rankings Target and develop our own citizen experts
Stages in City Squares
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Program the Nights & Weekends, culture sampling, open mic, etc DramaCam; a citywide video storytelling event
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Ideas •
Experience Audit to address curation and service issues*
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Art Car: dress a SEPTA train like a stage and provide on-train entertainment
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iPhone App
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Urban Stage, Drama Queen
Encourage individual orgs to develop more participatory events
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Valley Forge Super-Soaker battle Paints and canvas at the Museum Topiary event in Fairmount Park
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* Shameless self-promotion
Ideas •
Travel/tourism ideas (OPM)
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Host with the Most: show an out of towner’s airline ticket and get a discount on cultural attractions
Drive social connections, empower our best advocates & mentors
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Monitors or kiosks at the airport; promote PFG to incoming travelers
Frequent flyer program Buy 3, get 1 free City Subscriptions
Grandparent pricing, timing, opportunities to capture, package intergenerational experiences 78
Ideas •
Catch participators where they live
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Lowe’s, Michaels, Ikea, Flickr
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Map the purchase funnel to increase conversion
Develop targeted listserv to connect the dots between participation and attendance
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Community-based outreach into ethnic communities
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Partnership with Comcast: projection screen
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Partnership with WHYY’s On Canvas
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Advertorials for upcoming works
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Phew!
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Thank you.
Maureen Craig Mo@MoStrategy.com 609-760-9498 81