We Rotterdam and culture/ Wij Rotterdammers en cultuur

Analysis of data and trends from five years of audience research


Audience research is currently very topical. The need to cut in budgets is often coupled with "the interests and wishes of the public '. The demand for knowledge about audiences is therefor currently very great. Rotterdam Festivals coordinates since a number of years research into the Rotterdam culture public. Based on the material collected in recent years, it made perfect sense
therefore to collect and present the knowledge we have built up over the (potential) audience for a broader public access. The publication provides a lot of factual information.

In addition, the Rotterdam  culture audiences have their own say. Nine characters talk about their cultural likes and dislikes, their relationship with and their tips for Rotterdam and the cultural world. The results are compiled in the publication We Rotterdam and culture and was presented on
September 11. It is intended as a reference for anyone professionally involved
in the cultural sector.

The main points of the analysis are:

-     Rotterdam is and will stay younger and more multicultural than the rest of the Netherlands, with relatively more people with low income and low education. This has consequences for the cultural
offerings, the distribution of this offer and the way audiences should be sought and addressed to.

-   The festivals reach all kinds of audiences. The venues and museums serve mostly particular groups of audiences who take culture for granted (heavy users), except for  Zuidplein Theatre and the Local Cultural centers who are successful in reaching the audiences that see culture as an option in their
leisure time (medium users)  and culture groups that experience culture by chance (low users).

-   The cultural offer in Rotterdam is well appreciated by the residents. The supply of arts and culture in the city is rated a 7 on average, more than one third gives an 8 or higher in overall assessment and only 3%, a 4 or lower.

-   Social and  competency barriers form  a major obstacle to new audiences, while existing
public within a particular culture form find more obstacle with practical barriers. Removing practical barriers (such as entry costs and the absence of information) and social barriers (such as the atmosphere and surroundings) offers opportunities to groups with an interest in culture (medium users), such as students to reach. If one wants to reach the public  that has little or no culture interest at
forhand (low users) it is important to first try to remove the social and competence
thresholds (such as the lack of necessary foreknowledge).

In addition to factual information, there are nine portraits of the different target groups for culture included in the booklet. They indicate their preferences and cultural barriers for cultural visiting. With each their own personal story, the various groups are mapped.

For example, a student says that she sometimes lacks clear information on websites: "I think venues and museums should be a little more aware and should try in different ways than they otherwise use to reach us and to speak to us. How? With you tube clips for instance. "

For families with children are other aspects more important: "I like to know where I stand,
both practical and substantive, and I do not like surprises. So I would like to know beforehand for which
age representation it is appropriate, if a drink is included in the ticketprice or that I can take my own refreshments with me, where I can park my car, that sort of things. "

Margot, Jasmina, Herman & the rest
It is through making the objective data subjective, ie by creating characters and  giving them a voice and a face we have tried to bring an extra dimension to the data and figures. Characters made ​​up of research. Margot, Jasmina, Herman and the others, after so many months I have learned to know them well and go even a little as far as loving them. They are no longer fictional. In fact, I recognize them in the people around me. In the supermarket, on the platform waiting for the train, in the theatre. It provides inspiration to continue. Invent new products, new ways to create a bond with the audience. I hope that the readers of the publication will have that same experience and are inspired to apply it in their work; start a conversation with their public in order to continue to build on their a relationship with their audiences .

Cynthia Dekker/ Audience development Rotterdam Festivals