Creating a new Audience Development Plan for Falmouth University’s Arts Centre

AMATA is Falmouth University’s performing arts venue, which seeks to serve the needs of both the students and the local population of Falmouth and Penryn. This requirement to focus on two distinct markets has been a challenge for the team as the two distinct audience groups often have conflicting needs. AMATA also has the challenge of operating in a very rural setting and with limited human and financial resource.

Our key task was to create an Audience Development Plan that balanced the needs of both audience groups and created a framework for the AMATA marketing and programming personnel to be able to use in the years ahead.

In order to create a meaningful plan, four pieces of analysis were undertaken: a market assessment, a competitor review, an appraisal of historical sales and, in close co-operation with the AMATA team, a survey was sent out to University staff and cultural attenders around Cornwall.

These four pieces of work identified two critical strategic challenges:

• Programming needed to be broader in appeal than at present, with a particular emphasis on both participatory activity and professional performances targeted at children and families.
• Awareness of the venue in the local catchment was low and more promotional activity was needed to address this and help to link the University more closely with its local community

Based on the results, Indigo developed a detailed Audience Development Plan which included action plans for marketing, proposals for programming development and a road map for reviewing the AMATA brand.

The AMATA team has already actioned many of the recommendations within the plan and with some significant early successes, including an early initiative to programme additional family shows which sold out in record time.