Together with Theatre Nation Partnership, Indigo analysed drama and non-drama audiences over the last few years to understand their behaviour in relation to drama - from their attitudes and motivations to barriers in attendance.
Following sales analysis, surveys, interviews and and focus groups, we were able to paint a picture of who our typical drama and non-drama audience members are, alongside the creation of a toolkit to help theatres and touring companies reach these audiences.
Below we outline some key findings from the research as well as some top tips to consider. For more insight, you can read the full report and toolkit here.
Key findings
1. Age - non-drama attenders are more likely to be younger than drama attenders, with almost one third of non-drama attenders under 50 years old, compared to less than one fifth of drama attenders.
2. Tastes and preferences - drama attenders are more likely to enjoy a challenge and variety and (try)unfamiliar things - although there are signs of price sensitivity to unfamiliar things due to feeling of risk of enjoyment.
3. Attendance - drama attenders are much more arts-engaged than non-attenders, with 57% attending four or more times a year, compared to 26% of non-attenders.
Top tips
1. What’s the story? - drama audiences are more likely than non-attenders to book from reading a summary or plot of the production, along with other longer-form content such as articles.
2. What do others think? - reviews were slightly more important to drama attenders, but non-drama attenders were more influenced by recommendations from others. Generally word of mouth was influential for three-quarters of new audiences, so this could be a key area to leverage to encourage new bookings and retention.
3. USPs - drama audiences are likely to have more ‘expert’ touchpoints and so are more encouraged to book than non-drama audiences from having heard of the writer, director or title with messaging like ‘from the writers of’ and ‘from award-winning writer and director’.
Commissioned by National Theatre
In collaboration with Theatre Nation Partnerships, primarily led by Curve