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© The Audience Agency 2015
Cambridge University Museums
benchmarking 2014
Aggregate report
Pamela Pfrommer, Head of Learning Resources
&
Daniel Cowley, Research Manager
January 2015
© The Audience Agency 2015 2
Contents
Executive summary ......................................................................................... 3
About this report ............................................................................................ 4
Key theme summaries ...................................................................................... 6
Theme 1 – Demographics and mapping.................................................................. 7
Theme 2 – Group type and size, visit frequency and dwell time .................................16
Theme 3 - Motivations .....................................................................................20
Theme 4 – Visitor behaviour and knowledge ..........................................................22
Theme 5 – Marketing awareness and effectiveness ..................................................25
Theme 6 – Satisfaction levels ............................................................................29
Theme 7 – Crossover of visitors .........................................................................31
Audience Spectrum and Mosaic profiles ...............................................................34
Further analysis ............................................................................................41
Visits and visitors ......................................................................................... 41
Crossover with other UCM museums ................................................................... 43
Recommendations ..........................................................................................44
Appendix .....................................................................................................48
1.1 Comparative data .................................................................................... 48
1.2 Audience Spectrum pen portraits ................................................................. 50
1.3 Mosaic Group pen portraits ......................................................................... 52
© The Audience Agency 2015 3
Executive summary
Summary – existing audiences and potential 2014
In total 920,199 visits were made across the eight sites in 2014
The most prominent age group was 55-64, accounting for around one in five visits
More than half (54%) of all visits were made by adult groups
Although two thirds (65%) of visits were made by those identifying as White British, 13%
we made by those identifying as BME, an increase of 4% on 2013
Over half of visits (54%) made in 2014 were by new visitors; a quarter of visits were
made by frequent audiences (i.e. those who visited the site more than once a year)
In 2014 over a third (35%) of visits were from those visiting whilst on holiday
Visitors are staying longer – the percentage of visits lasting an hour or more has
increased, from 46% to 57%, and average dwell time has increased by nine minutes
Two thirds (64%) of visits to UCM were made by generalists (as opposed to specialists or
those having little or no knowledge of the subject area of the museum), a slight decline
on 2013
Spending time with friends and family was the most often cited motivation, mentioned
as the main motivation for visiting for just under a quarter (23%) of visits
Local knowledge, word of mouth and the museum’s website were among the most
common cited sources of information prompting visits to UCM
UCM visitors rate the overall experience very highly (99% rating their visit Very good or
Good) and are Very likely (96%) to make recommendations to visit
Core Audience Spectrum segments which are found in significant numbers of UCM visits
and are also over-represented compared to the population of the East of England are
Commuterland Culturebuffs, Metroculturals and Experience Seekers. These account for
54% of all visits and just 22% of the population of the East of England
The most under-represented Audience Spectrum segments are Trips & Treats, Facebook
Families and Dormitory Dependables. These account for 52% of the East of England
population but only make 29% of UCM visits.
Whilst Audience Spectrum (and Mosaic) profiles contained in this report are useful to inform
segmentation of current and potential UCM audiences, further qualitative research has also
been undertaken by UCM to explore non visitors’ characteristics, attitudes and behaviour.
Consideration of that research alongside these findings may prove valuable in providing context
for future engagement strategies with hard to reach audiences (e.g. Facebook Families).
© The Audience Agency 2015 4
About this report
Background
Cambridge University Museums’ requirement was for a programme of audience data gathering
for benchmarking purposes to be put in place during 2013. This was repeated during 2014 to
inform the practice and development of their collective partnership working and tell them
more about their individual and collective audiences.
Aims
To create a consistent method of audience data collection and benchmarking for
University Cambridge Museums (UCM)
To provide UCM with usable and practical insights into their visitors to inform planning,
reporting and audience development strategies
To provide UCM with a strategic overview of visitor trends and comparison with other
national museum clusters
Data was collected in three research waves and involved seven museums from Cambridge
University Museums (UCM) and the Botanic Garden working together to understand more about
their own visitors and the context for visits. The participating museums were:
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Museum of Classical Archaeology
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Kettle’s Yard
The Polar Museum
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
Whipple Museum of the History of Science
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
UCM identified a set of key themes they wanted to explore through the research and questions
were chosen accordingly to address the following:
Provenance - where visitors are from and whether they are new visitors
Frequency of visits and visit length
Age and ethnicity
Group make-up and size
Satisfaction levels
Level of knowledge
© The Audience Agency 2015 5
Motivation for visit
Marketing awareness/effectiveness including use of mobile technology
Visitor crossover
Fieldworker training and research fieldwork was carried out in advance of each research wave,
using an interviewer led approach with internal museum staff, volunteers and externally
recruited staff collecting data through tablets and/or paper questionnaires.
This report follows delivery of individual site reports describing each museum’s visitors in
terms of the stated themes and in the context of UCM benchmarks with comparisons between
2013 and 2014.
Reading this report
This report contains aggregate findings for each theme, along with some deeper analysis of
specific areas, as agreed with UCM. The weighted UCM benchmarks describe the combined
audience across eight sites (excluding the Museum of Zoology) and take into account the fact
that sites with more visitors contribute more strongly to the benchmarks. Where appropriate,
some results may instead be compared to the UCM average which describes the average result
across all sites, and does not take into account the relative visitor figures across the museums.
(Full results with raw data for each question asked can be provided in a separate excel
document).
Sample size and margins of error
3,365 questionnaires were completed over the three research waves and across the year
920,199 visits were made (an increase of 14,456 on 2013); this gives an overall margin of error
of ±2% at the 95% confidence level. For questions with fewer responses, this margin of error
will be greater, and for questions where responses diverge from 50%, it may be smaller. Care
must be taken with some of the results of individual museums based on the sample sizes
gathered – specifically, the Polar, Whipple and Classical Archaeology Museums where the
margin of error was greater than ±5.
Analysis should also be considered in the light of UCM’s regular visitors and its scheduled
programme of events, some of which have dovetailed with the research period, e.g. Festival of
Ideas in October - November 2014.
© The Audience Agency 2015 6
Key theme summaries
The following sections describe the findings under 7 key themes:
1. Demographics and mapping
2. Group type and size, visit frequency and dwell time
3. Motivations
4. Visitor behaviour and knowledge
5. Marketing awareness and effectiveness
6. Satisfaction levels
7. Visitor cross over
Full results for each question included in the survey are given in the appendices.
© The Audience Agency 2015 7
Theme 1 – Demographics and mapping
This theme describes the demographic profile of visitors to the UCM group – gender, age,
ethnicity, disability status – along with their place of residence. Apart from an increase in Black
and Minority Ethnic (BME) visitors for 2014, there was negligible change across the demographic
picture in comparison to 2013.
59% of visitors were female and 41% male (the same proportion as 2013)
29% of visitors were aged 16 – 34; 33% were aged 35 – 54 and 39% were aged 55+ with
the most prominent age group being 55-64, accounting for around one in five visits.
65% of visits were made by those who classified themselves as White British, 21% by
those who classified themselves as ‘Other White’ background, and 13% were BME
visitors, the latter an increase of 4% on 2013.
The proportion of visitors with a disability decreased marginally, at 6%.
Which of the following age groups do you belong to?
Differences in age profile
The Archaeology and Anthropology Museum had the highest proportion of visitors
under the age of 34 at 39%, just ahead of the Sedgwick
The Museum of Classical Archaeology had the highest proportion of 35 - 54 year olds
at 42%, followed by the Sedgwick
Kettle’s Yard had the highest proportion of over 55s at 44%, just ahead of The
Fitzwilliam
4%
9%
16%15%
18%19%
15%
5%
3%
10%
15%
17%
16%
19%
16%
4%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
16 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65 - 74 75 or older
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 8
What is your ethnic group? (Grouped)
2014 saw declines in numbers of visits across all categories apart from those visiting whilst on
holiday. 26% of visits were made by those living in Cambridge, 24% from those living outside
Cambridge but not holidaying or on a day trip; 13% whilst on a day trip from home; 35% from
those visiting whilst on holiday (an increase of 17% on 2013) and 2% from outside Cambridge for
professional/study reasons.
Which of the following best describes you?
65%
21%
6% 4%2% 1%
71%
20%
5%2% 1% 1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
White British White Other Asian or AsianBritish
Other Mixed/multipleethnic
background
Black or BlackBritish
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
35%
26%24%
13%
2%
18%
39%
25%
15%
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
I am visiting themuseum whilst on
holiday (i.e. atleast one night
away from home)
I live, work orstudy near the
museum(Cambridge city)
I am visiting themuseum from
outside Cambridge
I am visiting themuseum as part of
a day trip fromhome
I am visiting themuseum for
professional/studyreasons
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 9
Of all UCM visitors, 80% were UK resident with 20% from overseas. The notable increase of 9%
in overseas visitors may be the result of the extra data collection wave undertaken during
summer 2014, which did not happen in 2013.
Do you live in the UK?
Differences in tourism
The Museum of Classical Archaeology had the highest proportion of visits from those
who were Cambridge resident or visiting for professional reasons at 54% and 7%
respectively, but the lowest proportion in every other category
The Polar Museum had the lowest proportion of visits from those that were Cambridge
resident at 14%, but the highest proportion of visits from those outside the city at 29%
and whilst on holiday at 46%
The Sedgwick Museum had the highest proportion of visits from those whilst on a day
trip at 16% with the Museum of Classical Archaeology and Kettle’s Yard the lowest at
7%
In 2014, visitors were asked for the first time about which method of transport was used. Over
a third (37%) travelled by foot, which backs up the idea of a core local market, and also likely
includes those who were staying locally but live elsewhere.
80%
20%
89%
11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Yes No
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 10
How did you travel here today?
Mapping
Those who were visiting UCM from the UK provided their postcodes and these have been
mapped as shown on the following pages.
The maps show visitors at regional and local level and can be used (alongside postcodes
supplied in separate Excel data) to illustrate specific areas of high concentration that reflect
current visitor behaviour, and areas of low concentration that are counter to current visitor
behaviour.
On the pinpoint maps, each dot represents a survey respondent, coloured according to the site
at which they were interviewed. On count maps, the colour of the postal sector indicates the
proportion of visits made from that postal sector, with darker colours indicating a larger
proportion of visits.
37%
32%
21%
14%
8%
1% 1% 0%0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
On foot Car Bus Train Bicycle Coach Taxi Other
Benchmark (2014)
© The Audience Agency 2015 11
Regional maps
© The Audience Agency 2015 12
Local maps
© The Audience Agency 2015 13
Performance vs. propensity to visit by postal sector
The first map below shows what percentage of the adult population of each postal sector have
visited any museum in the last 12 months, according to the TGI population survey. The second
map compares this with the number of visits made to UCM sites according to the 2014 UCM
visitor survey, highlighting areas which are contributing more or fewer UCM visitors than might
be expected given the background level of museum-going in that postal sector.
Background level of museum attendance, based on the TGI survey
© The Audience Agency 2015 14
Over-/under-attendance, based on the TGI survey
Reading the maps
Green zones on the map show those areas where UCM are over-achieving compared to what we
know about museum attendance amongst the population of that area from the TGI survey. Red
areas are those where TGI suggests high propensity to attend museums relative to the level of
representation in the UCM audience. Orange areas are those where the level of attendance at
UCM museums matches the level of attendance we would expect to see based on TGI. Areas in
white are those from which there were no visitors in the UCM sample (although this is not to
say these areas yield no visits).
The amount of over or under-representation from each postal sector is based on the number of
UCM visits made from these areas and the TGI data about the proportion of the population who
have visited any museum in the past year. As such:
Areas are coloured green when residents have larger representation in the UCM
audience than the TGI survey’s levels of general museum attendance for that postal
sector would suggest
© The Audience Agency 2015 15
Areas are coloured orange when residents’ propensity to attend museums matches their
observed attendance at UCM sites. This could mean they have a high propensity to
attend museums in general and are also often found amongst UCM vistors, or they have
a low propensity and are seldom seen at UCM sites.
Areas are coloured red when residents have a high propensity to visit according to the
TGI survey but a low representation amongst UCM visitors
Sample size
Although the UCM sample size overall was healthy, when breaking it down to the number of
visitors from individual postal sectors some error is introduced; a larger sample would produce
a more accurate map with, potentially, more pronounced differences between postal sectors.
Distance from Cambridge
The colour of postal sectors on the map does not take into account distance from
venues/accessibility. Given that, generally, the easier it is for people to get to Cambridge the
more likely they are to visit a UCM museum, the expectation would be to see more green areas
closest to Cambridge, and more red areas at further distances. The map broadly show this, but
highlights some areas of interest – i.e. red areas where neighbouring sectors are green, and
vice versa.
Implications
Given the sample size there are pockets of areas in the mapping where the index is higher or
lower than in neighbouring postal sectors and which are close enough to Cambridge (in terms
of distance) to be geographically relevant. The main three areas are:
The yellow patch below Newmarket and around Royston which is not doing quite as
well here compared to surrounding areas were locations for recent UCM focus groups
with non-visitors. These represent opportunities for developing non-traditional
attenders such as Facebook Families.
There are various green patches within a 30 – 45 minute drive time North from
Cambridge, and east of St Ives where UCM is currently doing well in attracting visitors
and where potential remains for development of core visitor groups Commuterland
Culturebuffs and Trips and Treats.
South of St Ives – with no data (white) from this area in the sample, this bucks the
local trend but may or may not be a fertile ground to develop an audience from
© The Audience Agency 2015 16
Theme 2 – Group type and size, visit frequency and dwell time
More than half (54%) of all visits were made by adult groups, 25% by single adults and 20% by
family groups (i.e. at least one adult and one or more under-16 year olds). Of visits made by
groups, the most common group size was two people – 46% of all visits and 61% of group visits.
Differences in group type
The Whipple Museum had the highest proportion of single adult visitors at 32%
Kettle’s Yard had the highest proportion of adult group visitors at 65%, and the lowest
proportion of family visits at 9%
The Sedgwick Museum had the largest proportion of family visitors by some distance,
at 47%, and the smallest proportion of single adult visitors at 18%
Group type
54%
25%
20%
0%
50%
28%
21%
1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Adult group Single adult Family group Unknown group
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 17
Group size
In total, 920,199 visits were made across the eight sites in 2014 and of these, just over half of
visits (54%) were made by new visitors. Half of visits were made by people who had not, in the
last 12 months, visited any UCM sites other than the one at which they were interviewed. Of
those who had visited another UCM site, the Fitzwilliam was the most often visited.
Other UCM museums visited in past 12 months (not including site at which interview took
place)
25%
46%
13%
8%
4%1% 1% 0% 0%
2%
28%
43%
12%
7%3%
2% 1% 1% 0%3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ormoreBenchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
50%
32%
15% 14% 12% 11% 10%5% 4%
36% 37%
23%20% 19%
14% 16%
6% 5%
14%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 18
In the chart below, the average rather than the benchmark is shown as the large number of
repeat visitors at the two largest sites (the Fitzwilliam and the Botanic Garden) means the
benchmark, whilst accurately describing the overall UCM audience, is quite different from the
picture seen at the other sites.
On average three quarters of visits were made by first-time or lapsed visitors, an increase of 7%
on 2013. The increase in first time visits is notable (from an average of 54% to 62%), but likely
to some extent to be a reflection of a notable increase in visits from holidaymakers, who are
less likely to have been before.
Visit history
Differences in visit frequency
The Whipple and Polar Museums had the highest proportion of first time visitors at
84% and 81% respectively
The Botanic Garden had the lowest proportion of first time visitors at 40%
Kettle’s Yard had the highest lapsed visitor rate (i.e. someone who had been before,
but not in the last 12 months) at 21%. The lowest lapsed visitor rates were 9% at both
The Polar and Museum of Classical Archaeology
The Botanic Garden had the highest proportion of visits made by frequent visitors
(45%), followed by the Fitzwilliam Museum at 41%. The Whipple Museum had the
lowest at 4%.
The Botanic Garden also had the highest average annual number of visits amongst
frequent visitors, at 8.6 visits per year.
62%
13%
25%
54%
14%
33%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
First-time visitor Lapsed visitor (not been onanother occasion in the past 12
months)
Frequent visitor (been on atleast one other occasion in the
past 12 months)
Average (2014) Average (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 19
Overall, dwell time has increased by 9 minutes in 2014. In particular, visits of under 30
minutes have fallen from 21% of visits to 13% of visits.
Length of visit
Site (2014) Average visit
length (minutes)
Median visit length
(minutes)
Mode visit length
(minutes)
Fitzwilliam Museum 78 65 60
Kettle's Yard 55 49 60
Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology 48 40 30
Museum of Classical Archaeology 49 40 30
The Polar Museum 58 50 60
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences 49 42 30
Whipple Museum of the History of Science 44 40 20
Cambridge University Botanic Garden 95 80 60
Benchmark (2014) 73 60 60
Benchmark (2013) 64 53 60
13%
30% 30%
12%
7%
4%2% 1% 1% 0%
2%0% 0% 0% 0%
21%
33%
24%
11%
6%
2% 1% 1% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
0:0
0 -
0:2
9
0:3
0 -
0:5
9
1:0
0 -
1:2
9
1:3
0 -
1:5
9
2:0
0 -
2:2
9
2:3
0 -
2:5
9
3:0
0 -
3:2
9
3:3
0 -
3:5
9
4:0
0 -
4:2
9
4:3
0 -
4:5
9
5:0
0 -
5:2
9
5:3
0 -
5:5
9
6:0
0 -
6:2
9
6:3
0 -
6:5
9
7:0
0 o
r lo
nger
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 20
Theme 3 - Motivations
Motivation was investigated through two questions. The first asked visitors to consider all
possible reasons for visiting, illustrating the mixture of different motivations, and the second
part asked which their main reason was, identifying their most important motivating factor.
For the first question where all possible motivations were asked, To learn something was the
most common choice (42%), followed by To spend time with friends and family (40%), To enjoy
the atmosphere (38%) and intellectual stimulation (37%). However, when we look at visitors’
main motivation, To spend time with friends and family on 23% was highest by some margin,
followed by To learn something (10%), To enjoy the atmosphere (10%) and To be intellectually
stimulated (9%).
Though social reasons were most often cited as the main motivation, learning and intellectual
stimulation are also important to visitors, but are usually interpreted differently, with
‘learning something’ being more to do with discovery and the attainment of ‘interesting facts’
whereas being ‘intellectually stimulated’ has more to do with being excited and encouraged to
think about and imagine things in a different way.
Which of the following describe your reasons for visiting today? (Main reason only)
23%
10% 10% 9%8%
7%5% 5%
4% 4% 3%3% 3% 2% 2%
1% 1% 1%
21%
14%
2%
8%10%
8%
6% 6% 6%
1%3%
0%
3% 3%2%
1% 1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
To s
pend t
ime w
ith
frie
nds/
fam
ily
To l
earn
som
eth
ing
To e
njo
y t
he a
tmosp
here
To b
e inte
llectu
ally s
tim
ula
ted
Oth
er
To b
e insp
ired
For
the p
eace a
nd q
uie
t
I w
ante
d t
o b
ring m
y c
hildre
n
To b
e e
nte
rtain
ed
Muse
um
's r
eputa
tion
To d
o s
om
eth
ing n
ew
/out
of
the
ord
inary
For
academ
ic r
easo
ns
Vis
itin
g m
use
um
s is
an im
port
ant
part
of
who I a
m
Childre
n w
ante
d t
o c
om
e
I tr
y t
o v
isit
muse
um
s as
oft
en a
sI can
For
pro
fess
ional re
aso
ns
To e
scape f
rom
every
day lif
e
For
refl
ecti
on
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 21
Differences in motivation
We can see that visitors’ combination of motivations has a similar pattern across the UCM
group - where learning and intellectual stimulation, socialising and wanting to be inspired
were amongst the most important factors where all motivations could be considered.
The Whipple Museum had the highest proportion of visitors who cited learning as a
reason for visiting (59%) and the Botanic Garden the lowest at 27%
The Botanic Garden had the highest proportion of visitors wanting to spend time with
friends and family at 52%, followed by the Sedgwick at 48%
The Whipple Museum had the highest proportion visiting for intellectual stimulation
at 54% closely followed by Kettle’s Yard at 52%
The Museum of Classical Archaeology had the highest proportion of visitors for
academic and professional reasons at 16% and 7% respectively
Kettle’s Yard had the highest proportion of visitors citing inspiration (54%) and the
museum’s reputation (28%) as reasons for visiting
The Botanic Garden had the highest proportion of visitors motivated by the
atmosphere (61%), for peace and quiet (50%) and reflection (23%)
The Botanic Garden and The Whipple Museum had the highest proportion of visitors
wanting to satisfy their interest in the subject matter, accounting for 32% and 31%
respectively
The Sedgwick Museum had the highest proportion of parents wanting to bring children
(32% of visits), followed by the Museum of Classical Archaeology (26%), whilst the
Sedgwick rated highest (20%) for children wanting to come.
© The Audience Agency 2015 22
Theme 4 – Visitor behaviour and knowledge
Visitor behaviour addressed what visitors did as part of their visit. The majority of all visits
involved seeing the permanent collection (86%); 38% of visits took in the shop, 37% a temporary
exhibition and 25% the café and 3% attended a talk, screening or workshop.
2014 saw increases in those visiting for a general visit and for a temporary exhibition in
comparison to 2013 figures. Visits for temporary exhibitions were significant in some individual
museum instances, for example 30% at Kettle’s Yard.
When we look at the main thing people visited for, more than two thirds (71%) of visits were
‘general visits’ – i.e. not driven by a desire to see or use any one aspect or facility in
particular, while 16% of visits were made to see specific exhibitions, displays or works. All
other aspects were in line with 2013 benchmarks which also indicated the majority of UCM
audiences (albeit a slimmer one) were not visiting with a specific purpose in mind.
Why did you visit the museum today? (Main reason only)
71%
16%
4% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1%
55%
11%6%
3% 3% 3%6%
1%0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
For
a g
enera
l vis
it
To s
ee a
specif
icexhib
itio
n/dis
pla
y/w
ork
For
anoth
er
ele
ment
of
the
muse
um
To u
se t
he c
afé
Stu
dy/Rese
arc
h
For
a t
alk
, sc
reenin
g,
work
shop o
r oth
er
event
To u
se t
he s
hop
To l
ook a
t th
e b
uildin
g
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 23
Differences in elements driving a visit
Kettle’s Yard and The Fitzwilliam had the highest proportion of visits to see a specific
exhibition at 30% and 25% respectively
The lowest proportion of visits made for ‘general’ reasons were made at Kettle’s Yard
and the Museum of Classical Archaeology, both at 57%, whilst the highest proportions
were at the Sedgwick and the Botanic Garden with 83% and 82% respectively
The Museum of Classical Archaeology saw the highest proportion of study/research-
driven visits at 8%
Kettle’s Yard recorded the highest proportion of visitors whose main purpose was to
look at the building at 5%
Across the board, relatively few visits were made for the café or shop. The largest
proportion of visits made for these reasons were found at The Fitzwilliam, at 5% and
3% respectively
In relation to knowledge of subject matter, two thirds of visits (64%) were made by those with
a general knowledge of the subject area of the museum, a quarter (25%) by those with little or
no knowledge and just over one in ten (11%) visits by those with specialist knowledge of the
subject matter.
How would you describe your knowledge of the subject matter of this museum?
11%
64%
25%
10%
67%
24%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Specialist General Little or no knowledge
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 24
Differences in knowledge
A similar proportion of visits were made by generalists at all sites, but three were some
notable differences in the proportions of visits made by those with specialist or little.no
knowledge.
The highest proportion of general visits was seen at the Fitzwilliam at 69% and the
lowest at the Botanic Garden at 61%
The highest proportion of visits made by those with little or no knowledge was seen at
the Botanic Garden at 31% with the lowest being the Fitzwilliam at 19%
The largest proportion of visitors who considered themselves specialists was seen at
Kettle’s Yard (15%), with the lowest proportions at the Botanic Garden and Polar
Museum both at 8%
These differences may reflect the subject areas or levels of specialism of each site’s
collections/exhibitions as much as the level of knowledge of the visitors. For
example, it is likely that more specialist collections will attract specialists, and
discourage those with little or no knowledge.
When looking at visitors’ involvement in the subject matter, an almost identical picture can be
seen when comparing 2013 and 204 figures:
Are you involved with this museum/subject matter in your everyday work through any of the
following?
5% 6% 3% 6%
81%
5% 7%3% 5%
82%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Teachin
g
Stu
dyin
g
Pro
fess
ionally e
mplo
yed
in t
he c
ult
ura
l/m
use
um
/heri
tage s
ecto
r Oth
er
Not
involv
ed in t
his
subje
ct
in m
y e
very
day
work
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 25
Theme 5 – Marketing awareness and effectiveness
This theme was investigated through three questions. Visitors were asked to consider what
information sources they were aware of in advance, then what information sources had given
them the strongest encouragement to visit and finally what the most important source of
information was in their decision to visit.
The information sources with the highest level of awareness by visitors in advance of their visit
were Friend, colleague and family member (22%), Other (19%) and the Museum’s website
(15%). The most common ‘Other’ responses were about having local knowledge, with not
insignificant numbers citing maps and tourist information.
24% of visits were made by people who had not seen any information in advance, indicating
that visitors knew of the site before considering a visit, and may have visited previously.
Which of the following had you seen or heard before your visit today?
22%
19%
15%
12% 12%
8%
4%3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0%
24%25%26%
22%20%
5%
14%
8%
4% 5%3%
2%
5%
2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2%
11%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
A f
riend/colleague/fa
mily m
em
ber
Oth
er
The m
use
um
's w
ebsi
te
Sig
ns
and info
rmati
on o
uts
ide t
he
muse
um
Lam
ppost
banners
for
the m
use
um
Muse
um
leafl
et/
bro
chure
/oth
er
pri
nt
pic
ked u
p
Muse
um
post
er
els
ew
here
Em
ail f
rom
the m
use
um
New
spaper/
magazin
e f
eatu
re o
r list
ing
Guid
ebook
Cam
bri
dge t
rain
sta
tion p
ost
er
Featu
re o
r list
ing o
n a
websi
te o
r blo
g
Muse
um
leafl
et/
bro
chure
/oth
er
pri
nt
post
ed t
o m
e
Info
rmati
on a
bout
the m
use
um
on p
ublic
transp
ort
*
Advert
isem
ent
in n
ew
spaper/
magazin
e
Info
rmati
on a
bout
the m
use
um
in t
he
UCM
Shop
Em
ail f
rom
anoth
er
org
anis
ati
on
Fro
m a
noth
er
pers
on o
r org
anis
ati
on o
nFacebook/Tw
itte
r
Muse
um
's F
acebook p
age
Muse
um
's T
wit
ter
Advert
on a
websi
te o
r blo
g
Radio
/te
levis
ion f
eatu
re
None o
f th
ese
I did
not
see o
r hear
any info
rmati
on…
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 26
Word cloud for literal responses to ‘Other’
A similar picture was seen when looking at visitors’ main information source, with word of
mouth (19%) and Other (17%) again coming out on top.
And which was your main source of information for your visit?
19%17%
10%
7%6% 5%
2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
25%
19%
24%
15%
9%
1%
7%
2%1% 1%
3% 2% 1%0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% 1%
11%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
A f
riend/colleague/fa
mily m
em
ber
Oth
er
The m
use
um
's w
ebsi
te
Sig
ns
and info
rmati
on o
uts
ide t
he m
use
um
Lam
ppost
banners
for
the m
use
um
Muse
um
leafl
et/
bro
chure
/oth
er
pri
nt
pic
ked u
p
Guid
ebook
Featu
re o
r list
ing o
n a
websi
te o
r blo
g
Em
ail f
rom
the m
use
um
Muse
um
post
er
els
ew
here
New
spaper/
magazin
e f
eatu
re o
r list
ing
Muse
um
leafl
et/
bro
chure
/oth
er
pri
nt
post
ed t
o m
e
Cam
bri
dge t
rain
sta
tion p
ost
er
Muse
um
's T
wit
ter
Advert
on a
websi
te o
r blo
g
Fro
m a
noth
er
pers
on o
r org
anis
ati
on o
nFacebook/Tw
itte
r
Info
rmati
on a
bout
the m
use
um
on p
ublic
transp
ort
*
Advert
isem
ent
in n
ew
spaper/
magazin
e
Em
ail f
rom
anoth
er
org
anis
ati
on
Info
rmati
on a
bout
the m
use
um
in t
he U
CM
Shop
Muse
um
's F
acebook p
age
Radio
/te
levis
ion f
eatu
re
None o
f th
ese
- I d
id n
ot
see o
r hear
any info
rmati
on…
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 27
Responses to visitors’ use of the museum’s website and mobile technology were explored in
questions asked for the first time in 2014. Just under two thirds of visits (62%) were made
without either having visited the museum’s website or planning on visiting it post-visit. Of
those who did use it, reasons were to do with finding out information to inform their visit in
advance: the highest proportions being to check opening hours (19% of visits), to find out what
was on before visiting (13%) and for directions (8%).
How have you used, or do you intend to use, the museum's website in relation to today's visit?
Ownership and use of mobile technology was also explored for the first time in 2014. Over two
thirds (72%) owned a smartphone, the most popular being an iPhone - 34% of visits being made
by iPhone owners. Use of a smartphone in relation to planning a visit was undertaken by a
minority visitors with just 8% accessing a website via their phone and 6% using an app in
relation to their visit.
19%13%
8%6% 5% 5% 4%
1% 1%4%
62%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
To c
heck o
penin
g h
ours
To f
ind o
ut
what
was
on
befo
re v
isit
ing
To f
ind o
ut
how
to g
et
here
To f
ind o
ut
more
about
part
icula
r obje
cts
or
exhib
itio
ns
I sa
w t
oday
To l
ook a
t th
e c
ollecti
ons
and o
ther
online c
onte
nt
To f
ind o
ut
more
about
part
icula
r obje
cts
or
exhib
itio
ns
befo
re v
isit
ing
To r
ese
arc
h s
om
eth
ing in
part
icula
r
To b
row
se t
he o
nline s
hop
To b
uy s
om
eth
ing f
rom
the
online s
hop
Oth
er
I have n
ot
and d
on't inte
nd
to u
se t
he w
ebsi
te in
rela
tion t
o t
oday's v
isit
Benchmark (2014)
© The Audience Agency 2015 28
Do you have a smartphone?
Did you use a smartphone to help plan your visit to this museum?
34%
27%
5%
35%33%
27%
5%
36%39%
23%
5%
35%
40%
32%
4%
25%
32%29%
2%
40%
29% 29%
3%
40%38%
31%
5%
28%29%
33%
10%
30%34%
27%
5%
36%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Yes, an iPhone Yes, an Android phone Yes, anothersmartphone*
No
Benchmark (2014) Fitzwilliam Museum (2014)
Kettle's Yard (2014) Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (2014)
Museum of Classical Archaeology (2014) The Polar Museum (2014)
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences (2014) Whipple Museum of the History of Science (2014)
Cambridge University Botanic Garden (2014)
8% 6% 4%
83%
10%5% 5%
82%
8% 8%2%
82%
6% 4% 2%
88%
2%6% 6%
88%
4%9%
4%
83%
12%5% 4%
80%
11%7% 3%
80%
7% 5% 4%
85%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Yes, I used a website viamy phone
Yes, I used an app* Yes, in another way* No
Benchmark (2014) Fitzwilliam Museum (2014)
Kettle's Yard (2014) Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (2014)
Museum of Classical Archaeology (2014) The Polar Museum (2014)
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences (2014) Whipple Museum of the History of Science (2014)
Cambridge University Botanic Garden (2014)
© The Audience Agency 2015 29
Theme 6 – Satisfaction levels
Overall, 99% of visitors rated UCM Good or Very good in terms of their overall experience, and
all other areas were rated favourably. Besides the overall experience, ease of access (92%
Good or Very good), staff welcome (84%) and information about the objects/collection (79%)
were also rated highly. The least favourably rated elements were signage inside museums (72%
Good or Very good) and external signage on the street (60%).
96% of visitors were either Likely or Very likely to recommend a visit to a museum with the
Whipple Museum having the lowest proportion of visitors likely or very likely to recommend at
91% and the Botanic Garden the highest at 98%.
How likely are you to recommend a visit to the museum to your friends/family?
68%
28%
3% 1% 0%
72%
25%
3% 1% 0%0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Very likely Likely Neither likely norunlikely
Unlikely Very unlikely
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 30
How would you rate the following?
65%
58%
41%
29%
47%
38%
29%
20%
40%
40%
36%
33%
24%
24%
22%
52%
38%
64%
57%
33%
41%
50%
58%
43%
47%
48%
52%
45%
46%
48%
48%
55%
53%
52%
41%
55%
30%
37%
1%
1%
8%
12%
7%
10%
17%
22%
11%
11%
12%
14%
15%
18%
17%
5%
5%
5%
5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
The whole experience (2013)
The whole experience (2014)
Shop (2013)
Shop (2014)
Bar or café facilities (2013)
Bar or café facilities (2014)
Information about the accompanying programme of events (2013)
Information about the accompanying programme of events (2014)
The temporary exhibition (2014)
Information about the objects/collection (2013)
Information about the objects/collection (2014)
Signage around the museum (directions) (2013)
Signage around the museum (directions) (2014)
Signs outside the museum (2013)
Signs outside the museum (2014)
Ease of access in and around the Museum (2013)
Ease of access in and around the Museum (2014)
How welcoming the staff were (2013)
How welcoming the staff were (2014)
Very good Good Neither good nor poor Poor Very poor
© The Audience Agency 2015 31
Theme 7 – Crossover of visitors
Individual museums were interested to know to what extent their visitors also visited other UCM museums in the group. The following table
describes this crossover, with each column showing what percentage of that museum’s visitors had also visited each of the other sites in the
past 12 months.
Other UCM museums
visited in past 12 months
Fit
zw
illiam
Muse
um
Kett
le's
Yard
Muse
um
of
Arc
haeolo
gy &
Anth
ropolo
gy
Muse
um
of
Cla
ssic
al
Arc
haeolo
gy
The P
ola
r M
use
um
Sedgw
ick M
use
um
of
Eart
h S
cie
nces
Whip
ple
Muse
um
of
the H
isto
ry o
f
Scie
nce
Cam
bri
dge
Univ
ers
ity B
ota
nic
Gard
en
Fitzwilliam Museum 53% 52% 66% 43% 44% 47% 47%
Kettle's Yard 18% 18% 32% 11% 14% 14% 17%
Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology 14% 13% 32% 16% 25% 19% 14%
Museum of Classical Archaeology 4% 3% 4% 4% 6% 5% 5%
The Polar Museum 10% 13% 13% 26% 14% 13% 9%
The Sedgwick Museum 9% 7% 22% 27% 15% 22% 12%
Whipple Museum 3% 5% 6% 17% 7% 7% 5%
Cambridge University Botanic Garden 16% 18% 18% 32% 15% 17% 13%
No other UCM museums 63% 43% 38% 23% 49% 42% 44% 46%
Base 627 432 447 138 220 485 188 828
© The Audience Agency 2015 32
For the UCM audience as a whole it is worth noting that The Fitzwilliam was likely to be visited by visitors of all other museums, but also the
Fitzwilliam has the highest proportion of visitors who had not visited any of the other museums in the past year. Kettle’s Yard had lower
crossover. This is perhaps to be expected, given the Fitzwilliam’s large number of visitors.
Conversely, the Museum of Classical Archaeology has the highest level of crossover with other museums, with 77% of its visitors having also
visited another UCM museum in the past 12 months, yet visitors to other museums are unlikely to have visited the Museum of Classical
Archaeology. Again, this is to a large extent, a function of that museum’s relatively low number of visitors per year.
High levels of crossover
Notably high levels of crossover can be found between:
All museums and the Fitzwilliam
Museum of Classical Archaeology and all other museums
Archaeology & Anthropology and the Sedgwick – 22% also having visited the Sedgwick in the past 12 months
The Sedgwick and Archaeology & Anthropology – 25% also having visited the Sedgwick in the past 12 months
Whipple and Sedgwick – 22% also having visited the Sedgwick in the past 12 months
The chart below highlights which other local leisure, arts and cultural organisations visitors are engaging with which may have implications
for partnership work and audience crossover campaigns, the most-visited other organisations being London galleries or museums (31%) and
Kings College Chapel (18%). Visits by UCM visitors to almost all the listed other organisations were down in 2014 compared to 2013, and just
over a quarter (26%) had not visited any of the listed organisations.
© The Audience Agency 2015 33
Which of the following have you visited for leisure purposes within the last 12 months?
18%
15% 14%12%
10%8% 8% 7% 7%
6% 5% 5%4%
2% 2%
31%
26%25% 25%
23%
20%18%
12% 12%13%
10%9%
10%8%
4% 3% 2%
44%
13%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 34
Audience Spectrum and Mosaic profiles
Audience Spectrum profiling
Audience Spectrum is a population profiling tool which identifies the differences between
attendance, participation and engagement as well as behaviours, attitudes and preferences at
arts, museums and heritage organisations. It has been built to meet the needs of both small
and large scale, ticketed and non-ticketed organisations from across the cultural sector.
Audience Spectrum has been commissioned for the sector from The Audience Agency, (Arts
Council England commissioned this tool and ACE Relationship Managers have been briefed
about Audience Spectrum and its uses).
Audience Spectrum maximises the benefits of the previous AAI segmentation tool from ACE -
however using new and expanded data sets Audience Spectrum allows users to target and
profile audiences more effectively at postcode level. It provides a more detailed analysis of the
broader arts and heritage market with the practical geo-location benefits of the Mosaic
classification system.
The top Audience Spectrum segments across UCM are below with more detailed descriptions
and pen portraits of segments at http://audiencefinder.org/audience/#segmentation/taa
Audience Spectrum profile
17%
23%
14%
17%
10% 10%
4%2% 3%
1%1%
15%
6%
22%
20%
12%
7%
10%
3% 4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Benchmark (2014) Population (East of England)
© The Audience Agency 2015 35
Commuterland Culturebuffs, Metroculturals, Dormitory Dependables and Experience
Seekers can be said to represent UCM’s ‘core’ visitor base, together accounting for 71% of
visits. Having high proportions of a few core visitor segments has implications for UCM
collectively which can be reflected or countered in some of the recommendations made around
communications, partnerships, programmes, participatory and outreach work.
When we consider the extent to which segments are over- or under-represented amongst UCM
visitors compared to the population of the East of England, we can get a sense of which types
show a particular propensity to attend UCM museum. Commuterland Culturebuffs,
Metroculturals and Experience Seekers are all over-represented amongst UCM visitors – so if
more people like them can be found to live locally, they are likely to be the most easily
reached and converted into visitors. The locations of such prospects could be identified
through further analysis of the local area.
In summary the museums with the highest proportions for each Audience Spectrum segment are
as follows:
Metroculturals
Highly engaged prosperous liberal urbanites, with wide range of arts and cultural interests
High engagement (ranked 1st)
17% of UCM visits
1% of East of England population
Top museums - Botanic Garden, Kettle’s Yard and Museum of Classical Archaeology
Commuterland Culturebuffs
Affluent suburban and greenbelt consumers of culture, see culture as part of their social
lives
High engagement (ranked 2nd)
23% of UCM visits
15% of East of England population
Top museums - Fitzwilliam, Polar Museum and Botanic Garden
Experience Seekers
Diverse urban audiences, students and recent graduates into a variety of cultural events
High engagement (ranked 3rd)
6% of East of England population
14% of UCM visits
© The Audience Agency 2015 36
Top museums - Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, Kettle’s Yard and Polar
Museum
Dormitory Dependables
Regular but not frequent cultural attenders, living in city suburbs and small rural towns
Medium engagement (ranked 4th)
22% of East of England population
17% of UCM visits
Top museums - Sedgwick Museum, Whipple and Museum of Classical Archaeology
Trips and Treats
Suburban households, often with children, whose cultural activities are usually part of a
planned day out or treat
Medium engagement (ranked 5th)
20% of East of England population
10% of UCM visits
Top museums - Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology and Sedgwick Museum
Home & Heritage
Conservative and mature households who have a love of the traditional cultural and
heritage offer
Medium engagement (ranked 6th)
12% of East of England population
10% of UCM visits
Top museums - Kettle’s Yard and Whipple Museum
Up Our Street
Reasonably comfortably off households, occasional audiences for popular arts &
entertainment, museums and heritage
Lower engagement (ranked 7th)
7% of East of England population
4% of UCM visits
Top museums – Polar Museum, Whipple Museum, Sedgwick and Museum of
Archaeology & Anthropology
Facebook Families
© The Audience Agency 2015 37
Harder pressed and financially stretched suburban and semi-urban households for whom arts
and culture plays a small role
Lower engagement (ranked 8th)
10% of East of England population
2% of UCM visits
Top museums – Whipple Museum, Polar Museum, Sedgwick Museum and Museum of
Archaeology & Anthropology
Kaleidoscope Creativity
Urban and culturally diverse, their arts and cultural engagement happens within their
community and outside the mainstream
Lower engagement (ranked 9th)
3% of East of England population
3% of UCM visits
Top museum - Whipple Museum
Heydays
Older people who now, due to circumstances, find it harder to access arts and cultural
activities that they may once have enjoyed
Lower engagement (ranked 10th)
4% of East of England population
1% of UCM visits
Top museum - The Polar Museum
Mosaic profiling
The Mosaic system of consumer classification segments the population into sizeable groups with
distinct needs and lifestyles. Each profile contains a wealth of information about
characteristics and consumer behaviour and includes newspaper readership, television and
radio consumption habits, predisposition to certain leisure activities and even whether or not a
particular group is more likely to respond to discount promotions or value added initiatives.
This is rich information that can be used to inform aspects of an audience development or
communications plan.
Liberal Opinions, Professional Rewards and Alpha Territory groups may be said to represent
UCM’s ‘core’ visitor base, together accounting for 54% of visits. When comparing UCM visitors
with the population of the East of England as a whole it is clear that the Liberal Opinions
© The Audience Agency 2015 38
group is strongly over-represented amongst UCM visits (26% of visits compared to 5% of the
population). Alpha Territory (11% compared to 4%) and Professional Rewards (17% compared
to 12%) both show notable levels of over-representation.
See http://audiencefinder.org/audience/east for Area Profile Report comparisons for both
Audience Spectrum and Mosaic profiles comparing East England to England as a whole.
Mosaic group profiles
Mosaic group profile
Liberal Opinions: Young, professional, well educated people who are well read,
cosmopolitan in their tastes and liberal in their views. Neighbourhoods can contain a high
proportion of the country’s students living in term-time accommodation. Highly engaged
with arts and culture.
Professional Rewards: The UK’s executive and managerial classes, often in their 40s, 50s or
60s, some may be owners of small or medium sized businesses whilst others will have risen to
senior positions in large national or international businesses. Engaged with arts and culture.
Alpha Territory: The most wealthy and influential individuals in the UK who have risen to
positions of power in the private and public sectors. Very engaged with arts and culture.
11%
17%
5%
7%
4%
8%7%
3% 2%0%
2% 1%
3% 3%
26%
4%
12%
5%
14%
5%
13%
8%7%
8%
2%1%
4%
7%
4%5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Benchmark (2014) Population (East of England)
© The Audience Agency 2015 39
Mosaic type profile
The top ten Mosaic types below accounted for 44% of all UCM visits:
From the Alpha Territory group: Voices of Authority (6%)
From the Liberal Opinions group: Crash Pad Professionals (7%), Convivial Homeowners
(7%), and University Fringe (4%), Bright Young Things (3%)
From the Professional Rewards group: Dormitory Villagers (4%), Yesterday's Captains
(4%), Mid-Career Climbers (3%)
Top ten Mosaic types
Crash Pad Professionals: Young, single professionals, highly educated, often in their late 20s
or early 30s, living in modern purpose built flats in suburban locations, particularly in outer
London and surrounding areas who prefer to live in a clean, functional and well maintained
block. The Crash Pad Professionals type are significant within Cambridge city and have much
in common with other types within the overall Liberal Opinions group.
Convivial Homeowners: Well educated people in their late 30s and 40s, who are bringing up
a young family in an area of pleasant, older style housing in a middle ring suburb of a large
city with comfortable but not exceptional incomes from their employment.
Voices of Authority: Many of the most influential figures in British society, aged between 36
and 65 and of British origin, who exercise thought leadership in politics, media, universities,
7%
7% 6%
4% 4% 4%
3% 3% 3% 3%
9%
7%7%
4% 4%
5%
3%4%
3% 3%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
Benchmark (2014) Benchmark (2013)
© The Audience Agency 2015 40
hospitals and law. These are people whose letters are published in the correspondence pages
of The Times and whose opinions are shared with listeners to Radio 4’s Today Programme.
Often find it more convenient to live close to cultural centres, which is where many of them
also have their formal place of work. Spend time browsing arts, entertainment and sports
websites and buying tickets online.
Yesterday's Captains: Yesterday's Captains are mostly older professionals and managers who
live in attractive and spacious houses in well-established suburbs; they have active minds
and interests and are approaching retirement or already there. Their tastes are relatively
conservative and they are active supporters of local cultural events, particularly concerts.
Television and newspapers are a good way to reach them; their Internet use is limited.
Dormitory Villagers: This is a somewhat upmarket version of Middle England, characterised
by middle class, middle-of-the-road attitudes. Most commute to white-collar and
professional jobs in nearby towns, choosing to bring up their children in a village setting.
Dormitory Villagers make a distinction in their minds between spending on daily necessities,
where they are careful not to waste money, and on more occasional treats. They are heavy
Internet users and if they go out in the evenings, it's normally with their families.
University Fringe: A mix of students living alongside graduates who are starting out on
careers whilst still enjoying the city student lifestyle. University Fringe is a very young type –
almost everyone is under 35. There are people here from many different ethnic backgrounds
and most households are shared houses. They may be single people, or co-habiting couples in
some cases.
© The Audience Agency 2015 41
Further analysis
Visits and visitors
In total, 920,199 visits were made across eight sites in 2014. By comparing each site’s number
of visits with the proportions of those at each museum who had visited on another occasion in
that year, and the average number of visits in the past year for those who had, we can see how
many individuals attended each museum.
When we consider repeat visits in 2014 by frequent visitors, we see that, although on average
accounting for 25% of visits, these individuals accounted for on average just 6% of individual
visitors - so a relatively small proportion of people (6%) are making a relatively large
proportion of visits (25%).
Visits and visitors are often taken to mean the same thing – for instance “visitor figures”
usually actually describe the number of visits made to a venue in a time period, and do not
take into account the fact one individual may have made multiple visits. Therefore the
number of visitors in a given time period will always be less than the number of visits made
in the same time period (or the same, if each visitor only visited once).
Visit: an instance of an individual entering the museum or site.
Visitor: an individual who entered the museum or site during the time period. A visitor may
have made multiple visits in this time period.
In order to calculate how many individual visitors were present in a year, we need to know:
How many visits were made in that year
What % of visits were made by people who only visited once in the year and what %
of visits were made by people who visited more than once in the year
The average number of visits per year of those who visited more than once
So, for example, these figures break down as follows for the Fitzwilliam Museum:
340,542 visits in 2014
59% only visited once in 2014 = 201,601 visitors making 201,601 visits
41% visits made by those who had visited on at least one other occasion in 2014 =
138,941 visits
Average visit frequency for these visitors = 6.1 visits per year
Number of these visitors = 138,941 / 6.1 = 22,777 visitors
Total number of visitors in 2014 = 201,601 + 21,777 = 224,378 visitors
© The Audience Agency 2015 42
The table below shows for each site what percentage of visitors make what percentage of
visits. For example, at Kettle’s Yard frequent visitors account for 11% of individuals but make
32% of visits, and on average 62% of visits are made by first-timers, who account for 76% of
visitors. For the Botanic Garden, just 4% of visitors make 45% of all visits, so a large number of
visits are being made by a small core audience.
Museum
First time Lapsed Frequent
% visitors % visits % visitors % visits % visitors % visits
Fitzwilliam Museum 68% 45% 22% 15% 10% 41%
Kettle's Yard 62% 47% 27% 21% 11% 32%
Museum of Archaeology
& Anthropology 79% 71% 16% 14% 4% 15%
Museum of Classical
Archaeology 79% 64% 11% 9% 10% 27%
Polar Museum 88% 81% 9% 9% 3% 11%
Sedgwick Museum of
Earth Sciences 79% 62% 16% 13% 5% 25%
Whipple Museum of the
History of Science 86% 84% 13% 12% 1% 4%
Cambridge University
Botanic Garden 70% 40% 25% 15% 4% 45%
Average (2014) 76% 62% 18% 13% 6% 25%
For all sites, the results in this report describe visits not visitors. For example the benchmark
of 99% rating a visit positively means that 99% of visits resulted in a positive rating, not
necessarily that 99% of individuals rated their experience positively. As frequent visitors are
more prominent in the sample (being more likely to be on site to be interviewed than people
who visit less often), sites where frequent visitors account for a particularly large proportion of
the audience may see their results being skewed towards the profile, motivations, experiences
etc. of frequent visitors.
Given that first-time, lapsed and frequent visitors are likely to have different needs and
expectations of a visit, and may also have a different demographic profile, it may be worth
exploring these areas in more detail in order to best serve these three types of visitor.
© The Audience Agency 2015 43
Crossover with other UCM museums
In the previous analysis of whether or not visitors to each site had visited one or more of the
other UCM sites in the previous year, those who were visiting that site for the first time were
included in the analysis. Those who have were visiting the museum at which they were
interviewed for the first time are more likely than those who have visited the museum before
to have also visited other UCM sites. Therefore, first-time-at-this-museum visitors were
removed from the following analysis of attendance at other sites:
UCM museums visited in past 12 months (not including first-timers)
When first timers are removed, a more accurate picture of those in the market for crossover
can be seen, which makes it easier to draw out the differences between the sites, and makes
the characteristics of those visitors more pronounced. For example, the above chart shows
high levels of crossover from the Museum of Classical Archaeology and the Museum of
Archaeology & Anthropology to other UCM sites, and low crossover from the Fitzwilliam to the
other UCM sites. This difference is more pronounced than then first-timers are included in the
analysis.
67%56%
71%
87% 88%
74% 79% 78%71%
33%44%
29%
13% 12%
27% 21% 22%29%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Not visited other UCM museums in the past 12 months
Visited other UCM museums in the past 12 months
© The Audience Agency 2015 44
Recommendations
Audiences
UCM is already successful at attracting significant numbers of visits given its location and the
geo-demographic profile of the local population. Its visitor profile is representative of its local
population and it attracts a wide range of visitors beyond its city boundaries. This puts it in a
strong position to broaden its reach and in particular to attract audience groups that it could
develop further:
Less mature, under 55, mainstream audiences who are not currently visiting UCM in
large numbers and do not feature amongst current audience groups.
‘Typical’ museum audiences (Experience Seekers) younger, highly educated, digital
natives, open minded and busy – are, as we would expect, already represented amongst
UCM visitors, but not to the extent they might be expected given their representation
within the wider population.
UCM already reaches a family focused demographic (certain sites such as the Sedgwick
and Archaeology and Anthropology museum are more successful than others, where we
know visitors are actually making visits with their children), however there are
significant proportions of these people within a 30 minute drive time for potential to be
increased within these groups.
Less confident audiences within a 30 minute drive time (Facebook Families), especially
those who are not prepared/or are unable to travel further afield and may require
events with low barriers to engagement. Feeling self-conscious, embarrassed and under-
pressure is commonly experienced by less privileged families who are new to cultural
venues and UCM should specifically look to avoid activities or scenarios that could evoke
those feelings. This could be through the type of content, the
format/presentation/setting and communication messages, examples of which are
contained in the qualitative research report UCM commissioned based on focus groups
with family non-users.
Increasing Black, Minority Ethnic and disabled audiences is more about access and
representation than communications and exhibitions. Increases in numbers of BME
audiences however can be seen in 2014 though under-representation of some other
ethnic groups may require additional consultation and events aimed at reducing barriers
to attendance within identified communities.
© The Audience Agency 2015 45
Audience development planning
By using findings from postcode profiling, UCM can see which segments make up their current
audience; it will almost certainly be the case that some of the segments will be much better
represented than others. The top ones represented in this report may be said to be UCM’s
‘core’ audience. By looking at audiences in this way, UCM can use these profiles to try and
identify more people of the same kind to try to engage. For example, Audience Spectrum pen
portraits contain a range of suggested engagement strategies which can help to inform events,
marketing and communication messages. On the other hand, it may be the case that some of
the less well represented profiles within UCM could form new target audiences for UCM to
reach with new programme offers. These could be segments that form the basis for outreach,
audience development, access or inclusion work.
There are a number of tools to help UCM set a strategic direction, one classic tool is the Ansoff
Matrix which is contained in the Audience/Visitor Finder online audience development planner
http://audiencefinder.org/plan/
The matrix can help consider the relationship between the museum programme offer and type
of visitor, to help balance your efforts across four potential strategic approaches for long-term
audience development.
Partnerships and collaborative activity
In terms of working with partners to develop audiences, there are a range of possible options
for hosting and creation of exhibitions including working with Cambridge/shire arts
organisations or organisations which combine both arts and science (e.g. other university
partners) and using venues which are arts, science or neutrally based. Each type of
organisation and venue will to a certain extent bring its own type of audience with it, but
present barriers to different audiences. Likewise, each will bring particular sets of skills and
expertise.
Since the majority of UCM’s audience is generalist, rather than specialist, the greatest
potential for development of crossover audiences could come from working with other arts-
based providers. These opportunities could also bring with them relevant front-of-house and/or
audience development expertise. Working with partner organisations encourages more active,
ongoing engagement with new and different ideas and approaches to developing audiences,
however partners should be selected based on the potential for long-term relationships and
mutual benefit, with time and resources to develop those links planned in.
© The Audience Agency 2015 46
Interpretative materials
There were no changes to satisfaction levels in 2014 with regard to information about the
objects/collection. Striking a balance within interpretation between the needs of different
types of visitors however is a real challenge facing museums. There is potential for greater
differentiation for different audience needs from the research findings. Any group review of
interpretation materials should consider all three sorts of visitor types - generalists, specialists
and those with little or no knowledge, alongside differentiation of events for ‘families’ and
those for children, even if they need to be accompanied.
Clear and accessible interpretation within UCM is important as new visitors are less likely to
read large amounts of written information. It could be a useful exercise for UCM staff to review
exhibition interpretation from the perspective of different types of new visitor to ensure
information is accessible and engaging and that content supports visitors with social
motivations as well as those who attend to learn. Special activity sheets or guides designed for
less traditional family and adult visitors who are new to museums could be explored as a way
to achieve this.
Links between the collections and references to different aspects of popular culture could be
used as an engagement strategy. For example, participants from family focus groups suggested
a screening of Night at the Museum within the Museum of Zoology. There are also examples of
projects that have successfully used film to engage hard to reach groups. The Family Friendly
Film Festival in the North West engaged families through film screenings and hands on
activities (often connected to collections) programmed within cultural venues. This festival
provided an entry point to the sector through fun and familiar activities.
UCM’s Festival of Ideas, Science Festival and Twilight are all examples which have regular
annual attenders and offer wider promotional opportunities for other UCM events. It may also
be useful to signpost events which require more advanced prior knowledge and/or
understanding. This will not only help ensure that those specialists with more knowledge are
more likely to attend and be satisfied, but implicitly offers assurances to others of the level of
prior knowledge expected.
Word of mouth (Ambassador Approaches)
Given the high percentage of visitors likely to recommend a visit and high first time visitor
rates, re-attendance and word of mouth is a valuable asset. UCM Ambassadors could be
recruited through volunteers, Members or Friends to identify people from each target visitor
segment for face to face networking. It will probably be most effective (and not too resource
© The Audience Agency 2015 47
intensive) to create two ambassador groups, one for Experience Seekers and one for Facebook
Families. Once ambassadors have been recruited, they can be briefed with information about
forthcoming UCM programmes and events and potentially provided with targeted marketing
materials. They then use their local contacts and networks to spread the word, encouraging
their contacts to attend and potentially even accompanying people on their first visit. For
further details of the variety of different ambassador approaches used in the cultural sector
see case studies on www.culturehive.co.uk
Digital
The UCM website is a key promotional tool in providing benefits led information to potential
visitors about UCM’s entire offer, and in particular, practical information about visiting,
directions, location, opening hours etc. As part of Visitor Finder www.visitorfinder.org UCM
also have access to digital metrics through an online dashboard. The Hitwise analytics tool can
provide information about traffic to UCM websites and the online behaviour of internet users,
including some top level information about which websites audiences visit prior to arriving at
UCM website and where they go post visit. Hitwise collates information regularly at a
household level, (data is representative of a household rather than each individual internet
user within that household). This can be a tool for marketers and web content developers in
understanding traffic referrals from search engines and can be used to improve SEO. However,
in order to get a complete picture of the behaviour and profile of UCM’s web visitors, it is also
recommended that UCM use this information in conjunction with insights from their Google
Analytics accounts. A range of downloadable resources created by Culture24 addressing all
aspects of digital development, including Google Analytics guidance can be accessed at
http://audiencefinder.org/articles/culture24-digital-resources
© The Audience Agency 2015 48
Appendix
1.1 Comparative data
The figures below demonstrate the nature of regional attendance patterns within the
population of East England. The similarities between the different geo-demographic profiling
systems mean that there is likely to be a high degree of accuracy in these identifications. From
a purely business case point of view, this macro data represents a market place of great
potential and should help inform the core parts of any subsequent collective UCM audience
development activity.
Taking Part in the Arts: 2013/14
Taking Part is a government led household survey in England and measures cultural
participation from the view point of the individual. The overall figures for visiting arts,
museums and galleries in East England in 2013/14 show a relatively stable position since
2012/13.
The headline findings for 2013/14 are:
The proportion of people who have engaged with the arts once or more in the last 12
months has remained stable at 83%
The proportion of people who have visited a heritage site at least once in the last 12
months has remained stable at 74%
The proportion of people who have visited a museum or gallery at least once in the last
12 months has increased slightly since 2012/13 from 51% to 53%
Levels of donations show a downward trend in the last few years and decreased again
from 33% in 2012/13 to 30% in 2013/14
Levels of people who have digitally participated in culture in the 12 months has
remained stable at 45%
Cultural attendance patterns TGI: East England
In terms of arts and cultural attendance, the East has a higher proportion of people than the
England average (average being 100), who say they have attended an arts events in the last 12
months (art galleries, ballet, classical concerts, contemporary dance, jazz, opera, plays,
pop/rock music and theatre), with those who attend art galleries once a month or more having
an index of 383 and those who attend cinema once a month or more an index of 135 (Target
Group Index). Museum visits are also above average, with an index of 149 for people who say
they have made a museum visit in the last 12 months.
© The Audience Agency 2015 49
This report has used both Audience Spectrum and the Mosaic classification system for its geo-
demographic profiling. Audience Spectrum segments that over represented in the East are
Commuterland Culturebuffs, Dormitory Dependables, Trips and Treats and Home & Heritage as
seen below:
Segment East England
Index Count % Count %
Metroculturals 38,708 1% 2,005,864 5% 20
Commuterland Culturebuffs 696,846 15% 5,170,839 12% 125
Experience Seekers 303,262 6% 3,316,530 8% 75
Dormitory Dependables 1,053,457 22% 7,162,472 17% 129
Trips & Treats 960,228 20% 7,268,637 17% 118
Home & Heritage 551,410 12% 3,842,188 9% 133
Up Our Street 343,750 7% 3,027,972 7% 100
Facebook Families 477,606 10% 5,360,779 12% 83
Kaleidoscope Creativity 139,471 3% 4,234,493 10% 30
Heydays 172,172 4% 1,663,933 4% 100
Total 4,736,910 100% 43,057,086 100% 100
© The Audience Agency 2015 50
1.2 Audience Spectrum pen portraits
The following are brief descriptions of the main Audience Spectrum segments. More
information on characteristics, communication preferences and examples of engagement
strategies can be found at: http://audiencefinder.org/audience/
Metroculturals
Prosperous, liberal urbanites, Metroculturals choose a city lifestyle for the broad cultural
opportunity it affords. They are therefore interested in a very wide spectrum of activity, but
many tend towards their own preferred artform or style, but represent good prospects for new
work. Although active museum attenders, more engage with the arts and many on a weekly
basis. Working in demanding but rewarding professions, they are highly educated and have a
wide variety of other interests from food and travel to current affairs and architecture.
Commuterland Culturebuffs
Affluent and settled with many working in higher managerial and professional occupations.
Commuterland Culturebuffs are keen consumers of culture, with broad tastes but a leaning
towards heritage and more classical offerings. Mature families or retirees, living largely in leafy
provincial suburban or greenbelt comfort, they are willing to travel and pay for premium
experiences, their habits perhaps influenced by commuting. Motivations are multiple, ranging
from social and self-improvement, to the pursuit of learning opportunities for older children.
They tend to be frequent attenders and potential donors.
Experience Seekers
An important and significant part of urban arts audiences, these highly active, diverse, social
and ambitious singles and couples are younger people engaging with the arts on a regular basis.
Students, recent graduates in the early to mid-stages of their careers, they live close to city
centres, to have easy access to a wide variety of arts, museums galleries and heritage.
Interests cover mainstream, contemporary and culturally diverse offers and attending is at the
heart of their social lives. They are mostly in search of new things to do and have disposable
income to spend on a variety of leisure activities like sports/arts memberships and frequent
visits to cafes, bars and restaurants. Digitally savvy, they will share experiences through social
media on their smartphones.
Dormitory Dependables
A significant proportion of audiences are made up of this dependably regular, if not frequently
engaging group. Most live in suburban or small towns and show a preference for heritage
activities, alongside popular and more traditional, mainstream arts such as rock/music
concerts. Many are thriving, well off mature couples or busy older families; lifestage coupled
© The Audience Agency 2015 51
with more limited access to an extensive cultural offer means that culture can be more an
occasional treat or social outing rather than an integral part of their lifestyle.
Trips & Treats
While this group may not view arts and culture as a passion, they are reasonably active despite
being particularly busy with a wide range of leisure interests such as sport. Comfortably off and
living in the heart of suburbia their children range in ages, and include young people still living
at home. With a strong preference for mainstream arts and popular culture like musicals and
familiar drama, mixed in with days out to museums and heritage sites; this group are led by
their children’s interests and strongly influenced by friends and family.
Home & Heritage
Conservative in their tastes, this more mature group appreciates all things traditional: a large
proportion are National Trust members, while crafts, classical music and amateur dramatics
are comparatively popular. While this is not a highly engaged group – partly because they are
largely to be found in rural areas and small towns – they do engage with the cultural activity
available to them in their locality. They look for activities to match their needs and interests,
such as accessible day-time activities or content exploring historical events.
Up Our Street
Living reasonably comfortable and stable lives, Up Our Street engage with popular arts and
entertainment and museums, and are also occasional visitors to heritage sites. Many are older
and have some health issues, living on average or below average household incomes, so access
in all its forms can be an issue. Modest in their habits and in their means, value for money and
low-risk are important factors in leisure decision making.
Facebook Families
Arts and culture play a very small role in the lives of this younger, cash-strapped group living in
suburban and semi-urban areas of high unemployment. They are the least likely to think
themselves as arty, while less than a third believe that the arts is important. Nevertheless,
they do go out as families: cinema, live music, pantomime and eating out are their most
preferable leisure pursuits.
Kaleidoscope Creativity
Characterised by low levels of cultural engagement despite living in and around city areas
where plenty of opportunities are within easy reach. A great mix of people comprise this
segment with a wide range of ages, living circumstances, resources and cultural backgrounds
all living cheek-by-jowl. Low incomes and unemployment can present barriers to accessing
© The Audience Agency 2015 52
some cultural provision. Nevertheless, two thirds do engage with more popular and accessible
culture annually, some of this in the local community and outside the mainstream. Free, local
events like outdoor arts, festivals and carnivals may appeal, and so might popular offerings like
musicals and music events.
Heydays
Heydays are the group least likely to attend arts or cultural events, believing that the arts are
no longer as important or relevant to them as perhaps they once were. Many live in sheltered
or specially adapted accommodation for older people, and are excluded from many activities
due to a raft of health, access and resource barriers. If they do engage this is likely to be
participatory such as craft and knitting, painting, reading and writing activities organised by
their housing, church group or community library.
1.3 Mosaic Group pen portraits
Alpha Territory
Alpha Territory contains many of the most wealthy and influential people in Britain. Well
educated, with senior roles in the private and public sector and the professions, Alpha
Territory have significant disposable income. They are able to enjoy a luxury lifestyle, and live
in the most sought after neighbourhoods. They lead busy and stressful lives, yet are frequent
arts goers across arrange of art forms, in particular museums and galleries and classical music.
Professional Rewards
Professional Rewards consists of executive and managerial classes with a comfortable lifestyle.
Often in their 40s, 50s or 60s, some may be owners of small or medium sized businesses whilst
others will have risen to senior positions in large national or international businesses.
Professional Rewards are comfortably off; they seek value for money rather than the lowest
prices, but will pay a premium for reliability and quality. Tastes are generally conservative,
with preferences for good taste over ostentation. They are interested and reasonably regular
arts goers, mainly to mainstream theatre and exhibitions. This group will provide
knowledgeable audiences for theatres and concert halls.
Liberal Opinions
Liberal Opinions contains young, professional people with a university education. Interested in
exploring the world around them, open minded and risk taking, they lead full and busy lives –
often with no clear boundary between work and leisure. For this reason it is often more
convenient for them to live in accessible inner suburbs. The group also contains a high
proportion of the country’s students living in shared accommodation. This group are over-
© The Audience Agency 2015 53
represented in communications jobs, such as journalism, politics, entertainment and the arts,
fashion and design, university education and the Internet.
They have a very high propensity to attend the arts; frequent and broad ranging in their arts
going, providing the core audience for all kinds of contemporary work in particular. They visit
the cinema and the theatre and attend museums, exhibitions and public lectures.
© The Audience Agency 2015 54
Contacts
London Office
Unit 7G1
The Leathermarket
Weston Street
London SE1 3ER
Manchester Office
Green Fish Resource Centre
46–50 Oldham Street
Northern Quarter
Manchester M4 1LE
hello@theaudienceagency.org
www.theaudienceagency.org
Registered in England & Wales 8117915
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