Audience outreach

What audience outreach really means

Of my two specialisms, audience outreach is the one closest to my heart. When a gallery, museum or theatre needs to reach people who will truly turn up and engage, I am the person they trust to make it happen. Sometimes that is a particular kind of audience, a diverse cultural audience, a family with teenagers, a community group, students, families with younger children. Sometimes it is a much broader push because the production deserves a packed house.

What I do is reach out to the people, the groups, the schools and the leaders I have built relationships with over decades, and bring them in. My database is genuinely diverse, in race, gender, age and family makeup, and I can target the right slice of it for the right brief.

How audience outreach works in practice

Most projects move through the same shape, even though every canvas is different.

• We start with the concept. What is the production? What is the venue? What is the audience you want?
• I take that brief away and match it against my list, my groups and my community contacts
• I disseminate the offer to the right people, with the right information at the right time
• I support first-time visitors so they actually arrive, with practical detail and warmth, not just a confirmation email
• I follow up. Feedback comes back from members and groups, and I share it with you so the next round is better

For productions on tour, I work venue by venue, going in to support the local team to find out what kind of access they are giving to schools or communities, and helping them identify and remove the barriers in the way.

Diverse audiences are why long-running shows last

Many of the long-running shows I have worked with, Hamilton, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, would not still be in the West End if they did not have diverse audiences. They run because they have audiences who keep coming back, audiences who reflect who actually lives in this country.

When I do audience outreach, that is the lens I bring. Diverse in the widest sense. Open-minded about who will love what. I have had families from the Black community who absolutely love Classical Music. I have had young people who have never seen live performance go to a ballet and end up on their feet cheering. You do not predict audiences. You invite them, you support them, and you let them surprise you.

When audience outreach is the right fit

Audience outreach with me works well when:

• You have a production, exhibition or event with a specific audience target
• You have an allocation of tickets you need to fill, particularly for school matinees, family performances or community-priced seats
• You are touring and want consistent outreach support across multiple venues
• You want to broaden a venue’s audience for a season, not just one show
• You want somebody who will actually do the outreach, not just write a plan

What I bring you

• A diverse, organic UK-wide list of audiences, groups, schools and community leaders
• Honest, warm communication that gets responses
• The ability to target a particular kind of audience, or to spread wide for general outreach
• Practical hand-holding for first-time visitors, so they have a great experience and come back
• Surveys and feedback so you can see what worked