Explore how to communicate your cultural offerings effectively to Up Our Street:
Tone
Emphasise the experiential benefits that mark cultural activities out as a better alternative to competing leisure activities, and enhance the treat factor.
- Challenges to overcome are not insignificant, including physical, economic and psychological barriers, as people in this group are not affluent, highly engaged or see themselves as arty.
- The goal should be to introduce something with which they’re reasonably familiar and comfortable; any introduction of risk, to which they’re naturally averse, should come much further down the development line.
- They may be open to persuasion for the right tried and tested local offer - e.g. outdoor festivals, theatre and music or live streamed events - perhaps with the encouragement of others in their community, as this group has difficulty with too much choice and so are swayed by other people’s opinions.
- Given their lower propensity to engage, the focus should be on increasing the frequency of visits made; the number of those engaging will, by default, broaden reach into newer audience areas, particularly amongst older, less well off, sometimes socially disadvantaged people in this group.
Channels
Regular readers of tabloid and local print papers, they are also open to postal comms, Tv ads and text messages, though word of mouth is far and away the most effective way to gain their attention and trust.
- As late adopters of technology, engagement with cultural organisations’ websites is low and shouldn’t be used as the only or principal channel.
- Print newspapers, especially The Sun and locals, are widely read (two-thirds read one at least 3 times a week) and an important source of information.
- Television and SMS messaging are also popular channels for receiving information, and they respond comparatively well to postal communications.
- Most important of all in influencing engagement is word of mouth, as they are heavily reliant on recommendations and reassurance from people they know, trust, and consider to be likeminded.
- This is an opportunity that might well be used to good advantage through arts ambassador type schemes: existing audiences from the same segment who are recruited to encourage and incentivise their friends and neighbours to attend could be an effective strategy.
- Community services like media (papers, radio channels), shops, clubs, church groups and healthcare providers will form regular touch points that might make them effective partners for reaching these households.