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How to Use Audience Spectrum to Inform Your Programme and Engage with Diverse Audiences

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Arts, culture and heritage organisations can effectively leverage Audience Spectrum segmentation to create more personalised and engaging programmes that resonate with a wide range of diverse audiences.

Utilising audience spectrum segmentation can support decision making for arts, culture and heritage organisations to create more inclusive and diverse artistic programmes while engaging a wider range of audiences.

By understanding the unique preferences and characteristics of different audience segments, organisations can tailor their programming and outreach efforts to resonate with a broader demographic. This step-by-step guide outlines how to use audience spectrum segmentation to inform an art organisation's artistic programme and foster greater audience diversity.

Here we have outlined how to apply Audience Spectrum Segmentation to your programme production, curation, or event booking. We know that everyone will be at various stages in their journey in applying the segments directly, so we have broken our guides into sections.  This guide offers some practical support about how to use the segments day to day and create a common language between your teams about audiences you are trying to reach and represent within your programme. Let’s get started...

The Steps

Step 1

Familiarise yourself and team with Audience Spectrum Segmentation

  • If you are starting from scratch, make sure you spend time with your teams to read up on Audience Spectrum. Audience Spectrum is a segmentation tool that classifies the UK population into ten distinct groups (plus 10 subsegments, more on this later) based on attitudes, behaviours, and demographics and most importantly their engagement levels.. This is the basic first step, understanding how the model functions.
  • Familiarise yourself with how Audience Spectrum's segmentation applies to different artforms and genres you intend to programme. Understand the underlying principles, shared characteristics and criteria used to group audiences.

Step 2

Data Collection and Analysis

  • Segment Data: Use Audience Spectrum to identify which segments are of most interest to you based on their behaviours, preferences, engagement levels, and location and then give further consideration as to how this might align with the programme offer you are hoping to define.
  • Gather as much additional data as you can: collect a wide range of data points. This may include analysis of the Audience Spectrum profile of attenders to your existing programming as well as looking at the segments that may be important in the population of your geographical catchment. To do this you can use Audience Answers or tools such as the TAA Population Profile Reports (PPR).
  • Analyse Preferences: Dive into each segment's characteristics. Look for patterns such as preferred art forms, themes, times of attendance, and geographic locations. TAA have provided easy to use Motivation Guides for each of the segments which will support a deeper understanding of what might motivate each segment to engage with a certain artform or experience.

Step 3

Tailoring your Programme Offer

  • Identify Programming Gaps: Analyse your existing offer to identify any gaps or areas where the preferences of specific segments relevant to you are underrepresented.
  • Develop diverse themes: Create a range of thematic concepts that resonate with the preferences of each segment. For example, Experience Seekers show a strong interest in participatory and contemporary art experiences, so to engage them plan exhibitions and events that cater to that interest.
  • Collaborative curating and programming: Taking an audience-centred experience design approach, involve representatives from different segments in the curation and programming process. This can help ensure that the programming is authentic and appeals to a diverse range of tastes and community groups. Consider ambassadors and/or champions within those communities with a deeper knowledge of the types of programming that may appeal.

Step 4

Develop an outreach and engagement strategy

  • Community Partnerships: Collaborate with local community organisations, schools, and other cultural institutions to co-create events or projects that align with the interests of your target segments. This can help you tap into existing networks and create more relevant experiences.
  • Personal Invitations: Reach out to influential individuals within your target segments, such as community leaders or well-known figures, and invite them to unique events or exhibitions. Their presence and advocacy can attract others from the same segment.
  • Curated Experiences: Offer tailored experiences like guided tours, interactive workshops, or behind-the-scenes access to exhibitions or performances. This provides deeper engagement opportunities beyond traditional attendance.
  • Audience Participation: Involve your audience in decision-making processes. Allow them to vote on upcoming programmes, suggest themes, or contribute ideas. This fosters a sense of ownership and engagement.
  • Inclusive Programming: Incorporate content that resonates with specific segments' interests and perspectives. This might involve developing interpretation, hosting discussions or panels, or programming performances that address themes relevant to their experiences.
  • Collaborative Projects: Engage your target segments in co-creative projects. Invite them to design and contribute to public art installations, creative community projects, or exhibitions etc, fostering a sense of involvement.
  • Diverse Representation: Ensure that the artists, performers, and speakers you programme are diverse and representative of the segments you are targeting. This demonstrates your commitment to inclusivity and is likely to sit alongside your workforce diversity strategies.
  • Work with TAA to develop formative research to put your outreach and engagement plans into action; whether a one-off report to give you some specific insights into your engagement opportunities or are looking to collaborate on a larger development project, check in with the TAA team for support with this.

Step 5

Execution and Evaluation

  • Implement the Programme: Launch your tailored programme according to the developed themes. Ensure that each targeted segment's interests are well-represented.
  • Monitor Engagement: Continuously track attendance, ticket sales, platform interactions, and other engagement metrics for each segment. Audience Answers or a commissioned report with TAA can support you in categorising your programme and monitoring engagement with different segments.
  • Gather Feedback: Conduct surveys via Audience Answers or solicit feedback from attendees to understand their thoughts on the events they attended. Use these insights to fine-tune future programming.

Step 6

Iteration and Improvement

  • Analyse Results: Examine the engagement metrics and feedback collected to identify segments that responded particularly well to the programming.
  • Refine Approach: Use insights gained from successful increases in diverse or targeted segments to refine your programming. Adjust themes, formats, and outreach strategies to better suit the needs of specific segments.
  • Expand Outreach: Leverage success stories to attract similar audiences. Use targeted communication and outreach methods to engage new segments that share characteristics with your most engaged groups.

Step 7

Continuous Learning and Adaptation

  • Stay Updated: Regularly update your audience data to stay current with changes in demographics and preferences.
  • Evolve Strategy: As audience dynamics change, adapt your segmentation and programming strategies accordingly. New audiences may emerge, and existing ones might evolve.
  • Keep talking to your community: consider a community consultation toolkit; this simple, evidence-based toolkit uses real data and insight from your local area to support you and your organisation to develop, manage and deliver your own community consultation, empowering you to gather meaningful results.
  • Maintain Diversity: Keep a strong focus on diversity and inclusivity, what this might mean to your organisation and how this is then developed in your programming. Ensure that your efforts are consistently reflective of the varied interests within your audience.

Step 8

Get to know the Audience Spectrum subsegments.

  • For more specific audience engagement and programming projects, you might wish to consider delving deeper into the segments by exploring the subsegments, this allows for greater differentiation of groups, particularly useful in places where there are large dominant segments (e.g., Metroculturals, Kaleidoscope Creativity and Experience Seekers in London). Review the impact so far and consider whether further segmentation might allow for a more in-depth outline of need for specific sub-segments within your community.

Step 9

Keep up to date with improvements and advances in segmentation

  • Keep up to date with The Audience Agency's Audience Spectrum improvements or changes by signing up to the newsletter, following the team on social media or signing up to one of the webinars.
  • Book introductory sessions for new team members or refresher sessions with your team to keep this at the forefront of your segmentation approach.
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Remember to comply with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and data protection regulations and ensure that you handle your CRM and Audience Spectrum data in a secure and responsible manner.

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