Headlines from the Visitor Studies Conference 2024

Article by Senior Research Manager and Culture Lead, Vicky Mullis.

 

This year’s Visitor Studies Conference in London, The cost of culture: measuring barriers affecting the visitor experience, proved to be a full-day of fascinating and inspiring presentations. Here are my key take outs from the event, which come from different presentations but highlight a common theme – the importance of putting the needs of people at the heart of both our research projects and practices.

Create a bold and clear vision that places your community at the centre

 

The first presentation of this 2024 conference certainly set the tone for the day. The case study entitled, Radical culture and unapologetically ‘Rotherham’ – connecting the community with an ambitious culture strategy in Yorkshire, was exactly that - radical and unapologetic.

 

Sarah McLeod, CEO of Wentworth Woodhouse, and Kate Rolfe, Director of the Revels Office, set out how they engage their local community, building relationships that encourage the people of Rotherham to feel a sense of belonging and connection to this historic house on their doorstep. Their strategy, founded on five key principles, intends to provide as many opportunities as possible for the community to engage with culture and demonstrate every day why Wentworth Woodhouse does, and should, exist.

 

What I found so interesting about the ways they engage their community was every single example was people-centred; if an idea (and they had many!) did not fit with their values, it was rejected. The needs of their community is paramount, not the ticket-sales or KPIs. It is the ‘who’ and the ‘why’ in their strategy that is driving decision-making.

 

To attract under-represented audiences you must understand them first

 

Most of my research career has been spent collecting, analysing and interpreting data on cultural audiences. In those 10+ years, one of the key research priorities for organisations has always been the question ‘Are we attracting new and diverse audiences?’ For me, the Imperial War Museum’s presentation was a fascinating reminder that achieving that ambition requires a deep understanding of needs, hopes and fears of these audiences. Assuming that tackling practical barriers alone, such as cost, will open the door to new audiences is an oversimplification; this singular approach risks not addressing often deep-rooted emotional barriers and overlooking the importance of pre-existing value systems. Research tells us that the barriers to cultural engagement are complex and multi-faceted: if only it was as simple as the price of a ticket. 

Meaningful audience research starts with clear objectives – and

getting everyone on board

 

Getting senior ‘buy in’ for audience research from the very start creates a strong business case, not only for simply doing the research in the first instance, but it also builds in that crucial step which requires you to consider what your organisation, or project, is trying to achieve and how you will be able to measure its impact.  Getting this right from the beginning ultimately helps you embed the learnings across the entire organisation.  

In my experience ensuring stakeholders are part of the process is often a critical factor in a successful project, which is why I always work collaboratively with my clients. If you'd like to find out more about the collaborative, people centred research we conduct across the Culture sector please do get in touch - vmullis@djsresearch.com.