College Audience Participation Study: Survey Finds Viable Arts Audience is Unrecognized

A concern on the minds of many arts marketers is the continuously declining base of subscribers. As the population ages, the core group of devoted audience members is weakening, and the ominous reality is that a younger audience has not yet stepped up to replace them, especially in the performing arts. It has been posited that perhaps college students are exactly that young, savvy crowd to whom arts marketers should be looking. To investigate this theory, the students of our Fall 2006 Audience Development course, led by Professor Ximena Varela, surveyed college undergraduates on their behavior and attitudes regarding their social lives and arts attendance habits. The results of this survey are quite promising for arts organizations.

Over 600 students at nine colleges in the Philadelphia area gave their opinions on, among other things, their social activities, their willingness to spend money (and how much) on arts vents, and how often they attend arts and cultural events. It was not surprising to learn that 49% of students ticked "very interested" in attending a sports event, and that 42% answered the same for clubbing. However, an equal number of students said they would be very interested in attending a musical (48%), a museum (45%), or the theatre (50%). The fact that more students who were surveyed are curious about theatre than sports should be very encouraging to arts marketers.

Yet, the data suggests that college students in the Philadelphia area are not being reached. For example, of the students who answered, "very interested" in attending theatre, a third say they see a play only one time per year, if at all, and less than a quarter said they attend the theatre twice per year. Similar results are found for those who indicated a strong interest in attending musicals; about half go only once a year, if at all.

Naturally, many factors affect the social decisions people make, but it does not appear to be the cost that is deterring students from attending events in which they are interested. For example, of the students who are indicated "very interested" in attending musicals, over 40% are willing to spend $20 or more to attend a performance. Further, when looking at those who utilize student discounts, 37% say they are just as likely to pay the full price.

When asked to mark the factor(s) that affect their decision to attend an arts or cultural event, 65% indicated "friend recommendation" and 66% marked "friends interested in going" as "very important" influences. These two factors surpass other seemingly significant reasons such as "familiarity/interest with play/music/theme," "discount tickets," "good reviews," or "location." That college students are influenced by their friends is no surprise; college students are very social individuals. Eighty percent of all students surveyed indicated that they learn about arts events from their friends, and 85% said that they attend the events with their friends. These figures suggest that college students view arts events as a way to socialize. This realization can be very useful for arts marketers, because if they can assure the attendance of one college student, that student will most likely bring a friend, or two, or more. So by way of stimulating one student to attend, the arts organizations will most likely also sell tickets to several of their peers. This connection is a key component of viral marketing, (sometimes called "word-of-mouth" marketing) a method that is facilitated by people using their existing social channels to promote a message or event.

In addition to being social, college students are also trendsetters, and all signs point to the fact that they do not respond to conventional arts marketing methods that are currently in place. When looking at the survey data, only 9% of students have organizational memberships, and a meager 5.5% hold season subscriptions. The financial outlay required, fluctuating academic schedule, and transitory nature of a typical college student likely precludes most from committing to a full season of plays or to a year-long membership. Arts organizations are not going to be successful drawing these crowds with extensive telemarketing and membership campaigns.

Organizations must be open to using new methods, like viral marketing, to reach this young audience. Arts marketers cannot expect the college students to submit to the traditional marketing strategies, rather, the marketers must learn to alter their strategies to fit the student. As the young college student matures into adulthood and establishes social, financial and lifestyle habits, it would behoove arts organizations to make their offerings as visible and enticing as possible.

Surveys were distributed in the fall of 2006 by students enrolled in Professor Ximana Varela's Developing Audiences for the Arts course. Over six hundred students from the Philadelphia area responded. The questions were designed to assess barriers to college student attendance at arts events, student knowledge of existing incentives such as discounted tickets, and the degree of existing interest in art participation among the target audience

This survey was conducted as part of the larger College Audience Participation Study (CAPS) which will become available later in 2007.

This article is by Elizabeth McClearn and appeared in Artsline Winter 2007.

Comments

[Liz Piercey]

I thought that helping with this survey was a really interesting experience, it really highlighted the fact that there are a lot of college aged students in this city with a genuine interest in the arts.

[Bach]

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[Jordan Hydro]

Crosstalk performers try to use funny conversations to make the audience laugh.