Audiences Central Blog

Following on from our hugely successful (and oversubscribed) Leadership Breakfast, we’re pleased to announce Audience Central’s Conference for 2010: Physical Digital: Engaging And Understanding Audiences.

The last few years have seen a massive shift in the way in which the arts, cultural and heritage sectors engage with their audiences, and much of this change has been driven by, or inspired by, new technology.

Physical Digital, which takes place on Thursday 15 April 2010, looks at this revolution: How it has affected our definitions of ‘engagement’; what tools are available to the marketer, arts producer/ author and venue; and the complex relationship between physical engagement and digital engagement.

From guerrilla marketing and virals, to creating tailor-made visitor/ audience experiences, this conference sets and explores the agenda.

Among the confirmed guests are 1000Heads, whose groundbreaking campaign for the V&A’s Cold War exhibition utilised online and offline communities to dazzling effect, and University Of York, who offer a detailed study of the movement between digital and ‘real’ engagement.

They’re joined by speakers from the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, who use digital innovations to create individually customised visitor experiences, and DShed, who present their innovative experiment Extended Theatre Experience which explored and developed new approaches to the capture and distribution of a live performance event. Also presenting their findings are Art-Sense, The Rural Media Company, Arts Council England West Midlands and Young Disciples, who address social exclusion through music and technology.

Keep visiting our website – www.audiencescentral.co.uk - for more exciting editions to this expanding list.

We hope you will be able to attend – admission is free to Audiences Central members on Momentum and Link packages, one credit (Flex package) or £85 +VAT (other packages), or £150 +VAT to non-members (with a £120 +VAT Early Bird reduction for bookings on or before February 26).

To book your place or get more details of the event, including opportunities to exhibit, email: jan.mcquillan@audiencescentral.co.uk or anita.dinham@audiencescentral.co.uk, or telephone 0121 685 2600.

We look forward to seeing you there!

As we prepare for next week’s event Culture and Couture: Are shopping centres the new arts centres? it’s worth noting the latest development - purpose-built libraries in shopping centres. Westfield London hosts a £2 million library which claims to be one of ‘the most exciting and innovative libraries in the country’. With 25 computers for public use, a bespoke children’s space, a teenage area with computer games, music mixing software, a Work Zone and chilll-out space not to mention meeting rooms and exhibition space, it certainly is a library service for the modern, digital world. Even better that you can squeeze in a visit in between hitting Westfield’s 265 plus shops.

The fact that the library was funded entirely by the centre’s owners suggests they are well aware of the financial benefits of having a cultural offer such as this bang in the middle of their new retail development. I suppose a trip to the shops becomes much more appealing when it can easily include a quick gaming session, a careers advice surgery, or a trip to the new Vue cinema with ‘large-format digital screens the size of four double-decker buses’ (opens today). Or perhaps Westfield’s owners recognise simply that people like to shop – capture them on their territory to maximise visitor experience, and profit.

Which leads onto our hot topic – art and shopping. If people are shopping, why not take culture to the people (and the shops?) Towns across the country put their arts centres and libraries at the heart of the community - Coventry’s Central Library is just a stone’s throw from the town’s main shopping centre, for example. However, what happens when shopping centres go a step further and start programming arts events themselves? Are shopping centres the new arts centres?

Explore these issues at Culture and Couture - Are shopping centres the new arts centres? on Thursday 18 February

At the latest Network conference, Jan my colleague and I presented a short breakout group on the wonders of Digitools, and their application. We primarily focused on Google maps and Google doc’s, podcasting, wordpress and how easy they are to use and apply to sites such as out cultural listings platform, Scene Central.

The main areas of discussions centred around how could this benefit an organisation. Well, they are all free and very easy to set up. Adding all of your events onto the Scene Central website will be an ideal platform to showcase all your events, and you can set up a profile that can have all of them in one place!

For those who are unaware, Scene Central is a free events listing site that any user or arts venue can upload information to. If you have a Facebook page, Twitter account, Flickr or even RSS feeds from your own website, they can all be added to your profile on Scene Central.

You can see how all of these Digitools work together on the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) page here … http://www.scenecentral.co.uk/PerformerListing.aspx?performer=6

Find out more by registering at Scene Central here, http://www.scenecentral.co.uk/Register.aspx, or contact one of the Scene Central team via: info@scenecentral.co.uk

Entertainment within large retail spaces has traditionally focused on the simple selling of wares.

For example, a rising pop band have a new album out, an author has published a new tome or a celeb’ has a new DVD to push … so to publicise said product, they make a series of shop-based public appearances where they typically shake hands, sign product, and possibly read a few pages, strum a couple of tunes, and take some questions.

Squeezing in two or three personal appearances in a day alongside media interviews, it’s a well trodden promo circuit popular with such High Street chains as Waterstone’s, HMV and WH Smith, which, in the case of a band, may be followed later in the year by a fully fledged commercial concert tour.

The aims are clear: raise profile and shift units for a particular product.

But over the last few years, there’s been a shift in the relationship between the retail and entertainment sectors as shopping centres are increasingly providing rolling entertainment programmes and host specially programmed events – no longer is it just about drawing in the fans of one particular name to buy one particular product … it’s now about attracting wider audiences for shopping, food and entertainment. It’s a trip. A family day out. An adventure.

The Bullring offers a prime case study. The site of retail activity within Birmingham since the 12th century, replacement of the post-war concrete maze by the new, shiny mall in 2003 drew in a monster 36m visits in the first year, and it remains a huge pull.

And while stores such as Selfridges, Debenhams and others obviously remain the key draw, the Bullring also hosts many high-profile and popular events alongside those tried-and-trusted product-led appearances.

Since opening, the site has been home to a real beach, talent shows, computer game and radio roadshows, concerts and performances, top rated TV shows and even an artist-in-residence - activities previously associated only with arts centres and arts-based venues. And they have all been for free.

Elsewhere in the UK, retail centres have provided homes for local history exhibitions, public art programmes and theatre groups as well as sound, performance, technology, civic and religious festivals.

This shift in the role of these grand malls throws up many questions: are they competing with traditional venues for programming and audiences? If people can see major acts for free at their local shopping centre, why should they pay to see a show elsewhere? What kinds of opportunities exist for arts producers within shopping centres? How can artists and arts providers build and sustain new audiences through relationships with commercial retail outlets?

Explore these questions, and more, at Audiences Central’s Leadership Breakfast: Culture And Couture – are shopping centres the new arts centres? on 18 February

Never mind the Oscars, the BAFTAs or the MOBO’s. The Shortys are the latest desirable gong.

These brand new awards honour the best people and organizations on Twitter. They are for the Twitter community and by the Twitter community.

Online voting is public and democratic, culminating in an awards ceremony that recognizes the winners in 27 official categories as well as those in brand new crowd-sourced ones.

Official categories include art, nonprofit, design, culturalinstitution, advertising and weird. Some of the community created categories are literature, journalism and photography with slightly less serious categories such as bestdrinkingteam, selfdepricatinghumor, beingagreatgirlfriend and delightfulinappropriateness.

The RSC has been nominated for a Shorty Award in one of the official categories, culturalinstitution and is currently in first place.

The Twitpanto has also been nominated in the art category.

If you would like to vote you need to have a Twitter account. Visit http://shortyawards.com/about for more information.

If you would like to like to vote for the RSC, please make sure you vote for @theRSC NOT @RSC.

Here’s a few comments from voters for the RSC so far.

I nominate @thersc for a Shorty Award in #culturalinstitution because their tweets make me feel part of the RSC community

I nominate @TheRSC for a Shorty Award in #culturalinstitution because...they make innovative theatre accessible to all!

I nominate @TheRSC for a Shorty Award in #culturalinstitution because they keep us updated with great backstage news!

If you know of any other cultural organisations in the West Midlands who have been nominated, please add to this blog.

Here’s to organisations engaging audiences digitally!