Opera’s push into the mainstream

Interesting article on the BBC website by Alex Stranger on how Opera is changing it’s image through new initiatives. One quote stood out for me early on in the article: La Scala spokesman Carlo Maria Cella saying “Every theatre has to cultivate a renewal of its audience. As someone wrote: new blood for the old ceremony.”

You play the part…

I was recently the Librarian (with a dark secret) in Coney’s production of  ‘A Small Town Anywhere’ at BAC – my first experience of participative theatre (as an adult)…  While I’m still digesting how we managed to oust the Mayor, not find out who the Raven was and hold back from a town hanging, overall I really enjoyed the set-up and filling in my back story, but was not so good personally at getting involved with the politics of the town.  So, the question is when you leave the participants to work things out for themselves, do you lose the sense of dramatic tension central to a theatrical experience? On the other hand, maybe you just can’t compare apples with oranges and I should just relish the experience for what it was!

Top tips for charity communications

I recently went to the Directory of Social Change’s Charity Communications training day, and good value it was too. I attended some very good seminars by ngo media and virtual construction (set up by a very nice chap called Matt Haworth I used to work with in Manchester!).  The sessions were practical, encouraged networking and were definitely thought provoking, I recommend DSC training days very much.

My top tips from the day are:

1. Always ask for something – whether it’s just a signature or a donation, it never hurts to ask but do try to offer something for free in return!
2. Keep active – good for SEO and client relationships and trust. Keep your content fresh.
3. Personalise – when sending communications make sure it’s from a real person that your clients or supporters can interact with should they wish to.
4. Plan - communications plans do take a LONG time! Never underestimate how many people will want to give you their input, and how hard it will be to get the input from the people you need it from!
5. Evaluate - always try and track your communications, who they reach, who reads your stuff and what kind of impact it’s having on your business.

Changes to the MRS Code of Conduct

I recently attended the Market Research Society Code of Conduct Roadshow.  Unfortuntately there was no Bruno Brookes but in his place Barry Ryan, the MRS Standards & Policy manager, told the assembled throng all about changes to the Code of Conduct which will be coming into force in March 2010.  So, for your enjoyment, here’s a quick rundown of the main points:

• Incentives – currently, if an organisation is running some audience research they might want to offer an incentive for taking part, such as free tickets or a meal at their restaurant.  This will no longer be allowed under the Code of Conduct, as it constitutes direct marketing.  The basic idea is that offering your own product or service as a prize is a form of promotion, which is not allowed in market research.  So, if you do want to offer something which is related to your organisation as an incentive, you should abide by the Direct Marketing Assosciation’s guidelines, which are much stricter, particularly around who you can and cannot contact.
• Promotional messages: similar to the above point, you won’t be allowed to have any promotional messages in your market research.  For example, in some introductory text you might have the phrase “Theatre X, the UK’s leading new writing theatre…” – this would constitute promotion, and as such you would have to abide by the DMA Code of Conduct.
• Age of interviewees: presently, the MRS Code of Conduct is a bit confusing when it comes to interviewing people under the age of 16.  So, to make it simpler, from March 2010 parental/in locl parentis constent will be required before interviewing under 16s.  This includes any form of research with under 16s, even those not conducted face-to-face (such as e-surveys).

As a member of the MRS, and any research we at Audiences London are involved in is required to uphold the Code of Conduct, so we’ll be going with the above guidance.  Even if your organisation is not a member, we’d recommend following their guidelines, as they outline best practice in the research sector pretty comprehensively.  And if you are a member, Barry’s available on the MRS Codeline to answer any tricky questions!

If you’d like any more info, have a look at at the MRS website.

The power of the Staycation continues

A while back I logged a  post on here detailing the rise of the British ’staycation’ and it’s effect on London’s arts. The BBC website published a news story today claiming that museums and galleries are seeing an increase in visitors, most likely due to the recession. An interesting quote by the Director at the Arts Fund, Andrew McDonald, stood out, “It’s clear that when times are tough our cultural institutions provide both a great value-for-money experience and a distraction from financial worries.”

Transparency Rules OK

It’s not going to be an astounding revelation to any of us but Nielsen’s latest Global Online Consumer Survey shows that word of mouth is the most powerful form of communication when it comes to getting people to trust your brand. No fanfares there.

What I think is interesting is the second highest result in this league table of “trusted sources” – ‘Consumer opinions posted online’. The opinions of strangers posted on online forums and review sites are now incredibly powerful portals for gaining consumer trust, and there’s not a thing the brands can do about it! Although I do wonder if this will provoke some corporations into trying to infiltrate the message boards… My advice? Focus on good CRM and values that you believe in and stick to and let the quality of your product shine through, and this fits perfectly well with cultural organisations too. The consumer (audience) is king!

Bolder and Wiser is upon us!

Our Bolder & Wiser event takes place at NCVO tommorrow. While the event is now fully booked, we’ll be posting highlights from the day on our upcoming Youtube channel. We’ll post more news on this blog as it happens. If you are attending, go to our Bolder & Wiser page for details on the breakout sessions and the delegate list.

Also, check out our Older People tag here on the blog for more info, and please do join in and comment on what we’re writing. You can also follow us on Twitter @audienceslondon for the latest news, and we’ll be using the hash tag #bolderandwiser to collect together what people are saying about the event.

Older People and Voluntary Arts: Steps to Meaningful Participation

The Voluntary Arts Network is the national development agency for arts participation. They regularly publish the VAN Briefing, a handy set of factsheets that offer loads of tips on how to encourage participation in the arts. One particular Briefing, called ‘Older People and Voluntary Arts: Steps to Meaningful Participation‘ adapts information from the Age & Opportunity report, Guidlines for Working with Older People and the Arts and breaks down the information into three steps: Planning, Implementation and Monitoring & Evaluation.

Age and opportunity

In just over 15 years, older people will represent the majority of the population.

In what way is this a challenge and in what way is it an opportunity?

The Learning Lab at NESTA are researching these questions right now. We’ll be thinking about them from the perspective of the cultural sector this Thursday and will be feeding back soon….

What do you think?

How growing old became fun

An ineteresting article posted on yesterday’s Guardian website examined the link between older people’s improved state of healthcare and their resulting need for more varied lifestyles. One quote by Emma Soames from Saga magazine really stood out for me, “Old age is often painted as a place of vulnerability, frailty and great expense. But you can – people already do – have a good quality of life in your 70s. I don’t want to live to 120, but I would like the end of my life to be active and valid.” This begs for the question: What could the arts sector do to fit in to this desire for activity and validity?