The Task

For a number of years, The National Gallery has been developing a more audience centric approach, a process that began with the creation and adoption, in 2016, of a new audience segmentation. The segmentation helps to ensure future activity is framed with the audience in mind and, therefore, that the National Gallery’s work stays relevant and continues to resonate with both current and future audiences. Alongside this, a new digital strategy defines the ways that digital tools and technologies will be employed to engage new visitors, build loyalty and increase the likelihood of repeat visits.

Against this backdrop, the Gallery commissioned this piece of research to help them understand, in more detail, the role of digital in a visitor journey. Specifically, The National Gallery wanted to understand:

• The key motivations for digital engagement - whether as part of an on-site visit or a digital only journey.
• The digital behaviours and digital journeys of different types of audiences, including (but not exclusively) the four existing audience segments.
• The highlights of the current digital touch-points and the areas for improvement.
• The opportunities for digital to encourage more in-depth engagement, increase conversations and generate revenue.

The Project

The Audience Agency conducted primary research to explore what drives digital engagement, identify the key digital touch points and assess the quality of the digital experience. This included both quantitative and qualitative research, which collectively provided insight into the size and composition of audiences, motivations and behaviours, and the overall digital experience.

Using digital scenario mapping, the research was able to identify the common digital journeys taken both by those who fall into and outside of the current audience segments. This included identifying the role of digital in a physical Gallery visit.

The Outcome

In addition to a detailed report presenting the research findings, The Audience Agency provided The National Gallery with visualisations of the key digital journeys. These are useful for the team to use when talking to colleagues who are not digital specialists. They provide a snapshot of digital behaviour that focuses on the main touchpoints (including elements such as social media and the use of digital as part of a Gallery visit) and identifies the current high and low points of the digital experience.

To understand more about this project or discuss something similar, contact: Katie.Moffat@theaudienceagency.org