2007 08Annual ReviewAudiences Yorkshire

WelcomeOur missionBuilding relationshipsProviding audience insightReaching people with cultural informationA few of the year’s highlightsWhat the future holdsWe’re changing to help you Thrive!Financial accountsOur membersOur trustees, investors and partnersKeep in touch

Contents

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CONTENTS

Building relationships

BuildiNg RElATiONShipS 1

2 WElCOME

Welcome toAudiencesYorkshire’sAnnual Review 2007/08

2007/08 has been a pivotal year for Audiences Yorkshire in completing the draft Business Case for our organisational development programme, Thrive! which is funded by Arts Council England. With Thrive! we have designed a plan to transform our way of working with cultural organisations in order that they can develop their way of working with audiences towards increasing levels of audience engagement over the longer-term.

Membership continues to be at the heart of what we do and it’s encouraging to see that attendance at our new Industry Briefings which are now open to non-members have continued to grow as have levels of membership. However, we knowfrom our own customer research that the current membership model

is not suitable to all types and scales of cultural organisations. Therefore, over the next 12 months, we will be exploring through Thrive! how we can improve on the membership service and make it relevant to a greater diversity of organisations.

Alongside this, we have continued to support member organisations and non-members with a wide variety of marketing, audience research and consultancy needs. Of particular note is the way in which different artform groups are now working collaboratively on benchmarking projects to compare their processes, practices and performance in order to learn from one another.

The region’s theatres have engaged with and developed The Big Picture benchmarking research project. The results from this comparative data study have been used by individual theatres to strategically

inform their business planning decisions including pricing and funding policies. Similarly, we have delivered an exit survey of visitors to nine of Yorkshire’s largest visitor attractions for the third year running. The research has been used to refine marketing strategies and support internal planning across entire organisations. It’s been great to see that Audiences Yorkshire’s work in this area in particular has been recognised at a national level though the Audience Data UK resource (see www.aduk.org).

Next year, we’ll be consulting widely on how we can build on these developments as part of our programme of continuing improvement so that we can enable and sustain more effective and collective development of cultural participation. We look forward to having your insight and input into our future plans.

WElCOME 3

Clive lawrenceChair

Alison EdburyChief Executive

4 OuR MiSSiON

missionOur

Audiences Yorkshire is the region’s strategic audience development agency. Our mission is to work collaboratively with the cultural sector to grow and nurture audiences. By building strong relationships we support the sector in attracting audiences to the vibrant mix of cultural activity that the Yorkshire and humber region has to offer.

looking back, looking ahead Audiences Yorkshire continues to lead the region’s cultural sector in developing knowledge about audiences and building relationships with them. This Annual Review showcases the diverse range of initiatives we delivered in 2007/08 to support our strategic aims. We have also included a glimpse of our exciting plans for the future.

There are five strategic aims that underpin our work:1. Champion audience development

by understanding and responding to the marketing needs of audience-based organisations by being knowledgeable about audiences and their different needs

2. Increase awareness of the cultural provision in Yorkshire and the Humber

3. Embrace and promote diversity in the cultural sector

4. Support cultural agencies and organisations in developing a robust and sustainable infrastructure

5. Ensure long-term sustainability for Audiences Yorkshire.

OuR MiSSiON 5

“Becoming a member of Audiences Yorkshire this year has been of enormous benefit – we’ve worked together to target our leaflet distribution to an ever wider audience base and supported this with information on digyorkshire.com. The regular e-bulletin has helped inform industry colleagues of our recent news and achievements, as well as keeping our staff up to date with the latest news and audience engagement opportunities.”

Ian Richardson, Yorkshire Air Museum

Buildingrelationships

6 BuildiNg RElATiONShipS

The continued support of our members, stakeholders and partners enables us to deliver a broad programme of marketing, training and networking initiatives that increase audience engagement throughout the region.

MembersWe value the opportunity of working together with our members to create a mutually beneficial networkof cultural organisations with a shared interest in audience engagement. In 2007/08, our membership grew to 108 as we welcomed six new organisations:

Burton Constable HallJazz YorkshireLeeds City MuseumYorkshire Air MuseumYorkshire Museum of FarmingWest Yorkshire Archive Service.

StakeholdersA wide range of stakeholders provides essential support to Audiences Yorkshire. Our board of trustees continues to govern the organisation and work with the management team to develop our strategic plan. In addition, our investment partners, strategic agencies, consultants and other

regional audience development agencies all play a vital role in our ongoing development. In 2007/08, we received notable support from the following organisations for specific projects:

Arts Council EnglandMLA YorkshireRenaissance YorkshireYorkshire Forward.

partnersAudiences Yorkshire continues to develop partnerships outside the region through its involvement with Network, the umbrella body for audience development agencies in the UK. As a member of Network, we work in collaboration with other agencies and share best practice. In June 2007, Audiences Yorkshire’s Chief Executive, Alison Edbury, was appointed Chair of Network.

Building on previous work, we also developed partnerships with Higher Education institutes. Evah Mwando from Leeds Trinity and All Saints became the first student on our new five week work placement scheme. We aim to extend the scheme to provide practical experience of working in the arts and to support individuals who want to pursue a career in the cultural sector.

“We’re delighted that Audiences Yorkshire support us… It gives students the opportunity to gain valuable experience of the working environment and specialised knowledge relevant to their course of study, while giving them a real insight into the arts sector.” Jess Sewter, Employment Supervisor, Leeds Trinity and All Saints

Events overview 2007/08This year we have continued to invest in audience-focused training that meets the continuing professional development needs of the sector. We ran six specialist courses on marketing, creativity, technology, research, diversity and PR and also created bespoke training packages for five organisations that made a real difference in how they approach audience engagement.

Our Annual Conference in November, ‘Let’s Stick Together: bonding with your audience’, focused on customer relationship management (CRM) as a response to members’ own efforts in addressing the current personalisation agenda in the arts. Delegates heard Professor Moira Clark from The Henley Centre for Customer Management and other experts explain how CRM can improve audience attendance and business performance.

We also repositioned our regular networking events as Industry Briefings to create more opportunities to engage organisations from across the arts and cultural sector. Events over the year included ’Getting Engaged – working with communities’, ‘Call it a Tenner – the role of pricing in the arts’ and ‘Think Big – maximising your PR potential.’

“I had high expectations and they were met!” Jo Kay, Arts About Manchester - Delegate at ‘Call it a Tenner’

“The networking event was a great chance for me to catch up with press officers... Hopefully those listening found it as useful as I did to be talking!”Nick Ahad, Arts and Cultural Correspondent, Yorkshire Post – Speaker at ‘Think Big’

BuildiNg RElATiONShipS 7

audience

8 pROvidiNg AudiENCE iNSighT

insight

“The quality and depth of Audiences Yorkshire’s benchmarking work has been hugely valuable in informing national benchmarking projects. They have set a very high standard of sharing information amongst arts organisations and established a really practical, useful framework based on the needs of the organisations themselves.” Kate Sanderson, ADUK Associate Consultant

providing

Throughout 2007/08, our research and consultancy services helped arts and cultural organisations enhance their market intelligence. We helped cultural organisations get closer to their audiences by providing real insight on which to base marketing and development decisions.

The Big pictureWorking with 12 of the region’s theatres, we delivered year two of this benchmarking project. By providing detailed comparative analysis of box office data as well as mapping and profiling of bookers, The Big Picture is designed to help participating theatres benchmark their audience data against other theatres in the region. Through detailed data analysis, participants are now in a stronger position to understand their audience engagement trends.

Yorkshire’s Magnificent Attractions group Exit SurveyFor the third year running, this survey of visitors to nine of Yorkshire’s largest visitor attractions was conducted in partnership with Bonner & Hindley Communications. The survey covers the demographic profile of visitors, awareness of publicity, motivations for visiting,

information about their visit and their experiences of the attraction. The ongoing success of the project highlights how regular audience research can inform marketing decisions and strategy in a practical way.

Not for the likes of You In partnership with MLA Yorkshire, we were able to run this programme for a second year. Focusing on attracting a broader audience through organisational change, participants included Barnsley Library Service, North East Lincolnshire Cultural Services, Hull History Services and Yorkshire Dance.

“The NFTLOY programme has supported our improvement. It is different to anything we have done before and has sparked a good deal of creative thinking. It has made us realise that we are serving many complex client groups and that by focusing much more closely on specific groups we can effect change and improvements more easily.” Steve Hipkins, Head of Cultural Services, North East Lincolnshire

ConsultancyDuring the course of the year, we delivered marketing consultancy for a wide range of cultural organisations. This included audience research and a marketing programme for Connect, the £1.97m Heritage Lottery Funded redevelopment of Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, as well as support for Arts Council England on the Family Friendly initiative and consultancy for Trinity Church Osset, Site Gallery, Yorkshire Forward, Yorkshire Museum of Farming and Museums and Galleries Month.

“I could not conceive of working on a project involving audiences and marketing without involving Audiences Yorkshire.” Dr Nima Poovaya-Smith, Director, Alchemy and Project Director, Connect

pROvidiNg AudiENCE iNSighT 9

10 REAChiNg pEOplE WiTh CulTuRAl iNfORMATiON

Reaching peoplewith culturalinformation

As e-marketing becomes an essential new tool for reaching audiences, traditional print distribution also remains a vital channel when informing the public about what’s happening in the region. Through AY Creative Services and digyorkshire.com we continue to fulfil the demands of audiences for both offline and online cultural information.

AY Creative Services Delivering leaflets since 1991, AY Creative Services (AYCS) is the region’s market leader in print distribution for the creative sector. AYCS restructured in 2007/08 with Managing Director Tony Mackinnon now supported by a Distribution Manager and Logistics Manager.

In 2007/08, AYCS commissioned a report into print distribution trends and identified that print is expected to be an important communications tool well into the future with greater emphasis on environmental and technological factors. These findings will feed into service improvements including a website redevelopment to enable clients to better analyse their print distribution.

In January, funding was secured from Yorkshire Forward for a complete redevelopment of digyorkshire.com. The site will relaunch with improved design and functionality in April 2009.

Over 30 million leaflets distributed by AYCS

25,000 ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ packs distributed by AYCS to the region’s Holiday Parks

2,626,002 page views of digyorkshire.com

42% of respondents to the digyorkshire.com Reader Review have been to a new venue because of digyorkshire.com

93% satisfaction rating with the customer service for digtickets

“Thank you so much for giving Mum and I a wonderful and lasting experience. Mum was still talking about it days later. In fact, I purchased two tickets to the next show by the same director, simply because I enjoyed the production I saw with the winning tickets so much!” Tracey Platt, digyorkshire.com/York Theatre Royal competition winner

REAChiNg pEOplE WiTh CulTuRAl iNfORMATiON 11

digyorkshire.comdigyorkshire.com is the ‘what’s on’ website for cultural events in the region and a proven audience development tool for the arts.

In 2007/08, digyorkshire.com developed its editorial coverage to include more reviews and features. It also introduced a new solution for its e-marketing service, enabling clients to measure the impact of their online marketing campaigns.

A one-off event licence for digtickets was also created so that festivals and small theatre companies could implement online ticketing. Grove and Rawdon Theatre Company, Ilkley Amateur Operatic Society, York University Concert Season and Wakefield Arts Festival all became new digtickets clients.

“I think this [digtickets] is brilliant and a real asset to this rural venue.” Anthea Rathlin-Jones, The Mart Theatre

12 A fEW Of ThE YEAR’S highlighTS

A few of the year’s highlights

digyorkshire.com introduces a new service enabling clients to receive statistical

feedback on their e-marketing campaigns. Over the year, 38 campaigns are delivered on behalf of 24 clients.

Audiences Yorkshire’s training programme delivers ‘Owning Diversity: Understanding Diversity and Placing it at

the Heart of your Organisation’. Feedback shows that 100% of participants intend to make changes in the workplace as a result of the course.

Alison Edbury is appointed Chair of Network, the umbrella organisation for UK regional audience

development agencies. The collaboration helps broaden our national relationships and provides a platform to share best practice and market intelligence.

We receive a record number of visits to our website www.audiencesyorkshire.org.uk – 300% up on July 2006.

Our website continues to be a vital way to develop relationships with our members, stakeholders and the public.

Delivery of marketing consultancy for ‘Crossing the Waters’, the first exhibition for

the Connect redevelopment at Bradford’s Cartwright Hall Art Gallery. Its success leads to the exhibition touring to Leicester and Bristol.

‘Not for the Likes of You’ enters its second year with Barnsley Library Service, Hull History Services, North

East Lincolnshire Cultural Services and Yorkshire Dance. Visits to North East Lincolnshire libraries grow by 8.5% and visits to museums by 7% as a result of the programme.

A fEW Of ThE YEAR’S highlighTS 13

As part of Black History Month, our Yorkshire Vybe campaign was covered by BBC Look North, BBC Radio

Leeds, the Sheffield Star, Yorkshire Evening Post and Leeds Guide. Our work is nominated for a Black History Foundation Award.

Audiences Yorkshire completes collaborative research for Yorkshire’s Magnificent Attractions

Group for the third consecutive year. 4,000 questionnaires are completed and analysed. The results prove critical to the marketing planning of the participating attractions.

digyorkshire.com secures redevelopment funding from Yorkshire Forward to completely rebuild

the site with improved design and functionality. digyorkshire.com will relaunch in April 2009.

90 delegates attend our Annual Conference ‘Let’s Stick Together - bonding with your audience’ on

building relationships with audiences through customer relationship management. 74% of respondents rate Professor Clark, from the Henley Centre for Customer Management, keynote’s presentation as ‘excellent’.

digyorkshire.com supports Renaissance Yorkshire by developing www.chinainyorkshire.org.uk

and provides content management and listings for the site. Over the year, there are 34,663 visits to www.chinainyorkshire.org.uk.

Delivery of four workshops for York and North Yorkshire Festivals. Feedback shows that

80% of delegates intend to make changes in their organisation as a result of the event.

What thefuture holds

14 WhAT ThE fuTuRE hOldS

in today’s fast moving, digitised world we recognise that the relationship between culture, creativity and audience engagement is becoming ever more complex.

By listening to how the needs of cultural organisations are changing and taking steps to respond, we will be transforming the way we operate and the services we offer.

We can now reveal an insight into how our plans are developing.

WhAT ThE fuTuRE hOldS 15

Thrive!

16 WE’RE ChANgiNg TO hElp YOu ThRivE!

We’re changing to help you...

WE’RE ChANgiNg TO hElp YOu ThRivE! 17

Our future is dependent on the support and participation of organisations across the cultural sector. We’re seeking to strengthen these relationships, so that we can work together more intelligently to nurture audiences for the future and build a sustainable cultural infrastructure for our region.

To achieve this, we have embarked on an exciting period of development. Supported by Arts Council England’s Thrive! programme, we will be refocusing our service around the three key areas of Networks, Communications Solutions and Insight.

NetworksWe will refocus our efforts on facilitating the exchange of skills and knowledge across the sector, extending our relationships and championing audience engagement amongst wider networks.

Thrive! will help us deliver a host of new ways to support organisations with their continuing professional development.

Communications SolutionsWe will develop a fresh suite of communication tools by integratingour online and offline services to support the targeting of specific audience groups. Thrive! will help deliver new ways to trial emerging technology and pilot new methods of audience interaction.

insight Through Thrive! our research and consultancy teams will become integrated to deliver a powerful,insight-focused service. New benchmarking studies and research partnerships will help create new opportunities for development and collaboration.

We want to create better audience understanding at the heart of cultural organisations, helping to turn audience insight into effective business intelligence.

The futureOur new business model is designed to more effectively respond to the cultural sector’s changing needs and the changing demands of audiences, both now and in the future.

Thrive!

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses in the year and therefore a statement of total recognised gains and losses has not been prepared. All of the above amounts relate to continuing activities.

Audiences Yorkshire is a Registered Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee.

Statement of financial ActivitiesYear ended 31 March 2008(incorporating the income and Expenditure Account)

18 fiNANCiAl ACCOuNTS

unrestrictedfunds

Restrictedfunds

Total funds2008

Total funds2007

£ £ £ £incoming ResourcesIncoming resources from generating funds:Voluntary income 162,860 - 162,860 158,500Commercial trading operations 363,344 - 363,344 324,993Investment income 2,947 - 2,947 8,788Incoming resources from charitable activities 279,400 200,684 480,084 316,325

Total incoming Resources 808,551 200,684 1,009,235 808,606

Resources ExpendedCommercial trading operations 295,776 - 295,776 279,928Charitable activities 543,497 141,155 684,652 747,057Governance costs 8,916 - 8,916 8,655

Total Resources Expended 848,189 141,155 989,344 1,035,640

Net incoming/(Outgoing) Resources Before Transfers (39,638) 59,529 19,891 (227,034)Transfers between funds 37,246 (37,246) - -

Net incoming/(Outgoing) Resources for the Year (2,392) 22,283 19,891 (227,034)Total funds brought forward 72,987 110,909 183,896 410,930

Total funds Carried forward 70,595 133,192 203,787 183,896

These Financial Statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 11 December 2008 and are signed on their behalf by:

Clive Lawrence – Chair.

Balance SheetsYear ended 31 March 2008

fiNANCiAl ACCOuNTS 19

group 2008 2007

Charity 2008 2007

£ £ £ £fixed AssetsTangible fixed assets 21,150 21,662 14,555 12,358Investments - - 100 100

Total fixed Assets 21,150 21,662 14,655 12,458

Current AssetsDebtors 227,452 203,697 180,157 175,449Cash at bank and in hand 146,142 183,517 106,403 133,640

Total Assets 373,594 387,214 286,560 309,089

Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year (190,957) (224,980) (137,205) (178,398)

Net Current Assets 182,637 162,234 149,355 130,691

Total Assets less Current liabilities 203,787 183,896 164,010 143,149

Net Assets 203,787 183,896 164,010 143,149

fundsRestricted funds 133,192 110,909 133,192 110,909Designated funds 5,000 14,113 5,000 14,113Unrestricted funds 65,595 58,874 25,818 18,127

Total funds 203,787 183,896 164,010 143,149

Arts Council Sculpture Collection Arts on Campus (Theatre in the Mill)Bradford Metropolitan District Council, including:

Bolling Hall Bradford FestivalBradford Industrial MuseumBradford LibrariesBradford Mela Cartwright Hall Art GalleryCliffe CastleManor HouseSt George’s HallThe Alhambra TheatreThe Studio Theatre, Bradford

Brontë Parsonage MuseumBurton Constable HallCastle HowardCity Varieties Music HallCompass Theatre CompanyDoncaster Museum ServiceEnglish HeritageEureka! The Museum for ChildrenGarforth Arts FestivalGrand Opera House YorkGrimsby AuditoriumHallam FM ArenaHarewood HouseHarrogate International CentreHarrogate TheatreHull City Council, including:

Hull City Arts UnitHull Museums ServiceHull Theatres and HallsHull Tourism

Hull Truck TheatreIlkley Literature FestivalJazz YorkshireJorvik Viking CentreKala SangamKirklees Cultural and Leisure ServicesLawrence Batley Theatre Leeds College of Music

Red Ladder Theatre CompanyRotherham TheatresRoyal ArmouriesRyedale Folk MuseumSAA-ukScarborough Museums & Gallery Sheffield Galleries & Museums TrustSheffield Industrial Museums TrustSheffield TheatresSquare Chapel Arts CentreStephen Joseph TheatreThackray Medical MuseumThe DeepVictoria TheatreWakefield Art GalleryWakefield TheatresWest Yorkshire Archive Service West Yorkshire PlayhouseWord QuakeXscapeYorkshire Air Museum York Museums TrustYork Theatre RoyalYorkshire DanceYorkshire Museum of Farming Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Leeds City Council (which includes departments: Libraries, Arts & Heritage, Events, Film, Music and Arts & Regeneration), including:

Abbey House MuseumBreeze Children and Young People’s Film FestivalFuseKirkstall AbbeyLeeds City Art GalleryLeeds City Museum Leeds Film QuarterLeeds Industrial MuseumLeeds International Concert SeasonLeeds International Film FestivalLeeds Libraries Leeds Museum Discovery CentreLeeds Town HallLotherton Hall and GroundsTemple Newsam House & GroundsThe Carriageworks TheatreThwaite Mills Watermill

Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera HouseLeeds Met Gallery & Studio TheatreMagna Science Adventure CentreMind the GapMusic in the RoundNational Centre for Early MusicNational Coal Mining MuseumNational Media Museum National Railway Museum North East Lincolnshire Council, including:

Arts Development DepartmentEvents TeamFishing Heritage Centre

Northern Ballet Theatre Northern School of Contemporary DanceOff the ShelfOpera NorthPhoenix Dance TheatrePiece Hall Art GalleryPilot TheatrePlowright Theatre

Our membersIn 2007/08, 108 individual organisations were members of Audiences Yorkshire:

20 OuR MEMBERS

OuR TRuSTEES, iNvESTORS ANd pARTNERS 21

Board list 2007/08Clive Lawrence, Clarion Solicitors – ChairMark Skipper, Northern Ballet Theatre – Vice ChairAdam Lumb, Sheffield Galleries & Museums TrustDaniel Bates, York Theatre RoyalHelen Dobson, Opera NorthMadani Younis, Asian Theatre SchoolMurray Anderson-Wallace, AWR Strategic CommunicationsProfessor Chris Bailey, Leeds Metropolitan UniversityPhilip Roberts, BBC LeedsRobert Gibson, Independent ConsultantSheena Wrigley, Clore FellowSu Matthewman, West Yorkshire Playhouse

investment partnersAudiences Yorkshire is a Regularly Funded Organisation of Arts Council England.

partners and consultantsAnita Morris AssociatesAlchemyArcadianetArts Council EnglandAudiences North EastBBCBonner & Hindley CommunicationsBradford Metropolitan Borough CouncilDawn CameronGrosvenor Computer ServicesHenderson Aplin PartnershipHeritage Lottery FundKirklees CouncilLeeds City CouncilLeeds Trinity & All SaintsMLA YorkshireMorton Smyth ConsultantsNetworkRenaissance YorkshireSheffield FuturesSusan RoyceVisit YorkWafer HadleyWonder AssociatesYorkshire ForwardYorkshire Tourist Board

With thanksTo all the organisations with whom we have worked during 2007/08.

Audiences YorkshireStudio 23/24Leeds Design Innovation Centre46 The CallsLeeds LS2 7EY

Telephone 0113 320 0160Fax 0113 320 0161Email info@audiencesyorkshire.org.ukwww.audiencesyorkshire.org.uk

Registered Charity Number 1063886

photography CreditsPage 3, Clive and Alison - Gemma LeakPage 4, Simba African DancePages 6 & 10, Leeds Art Gallery - Nina StromsoyPage 8, West Indian Carnival, Leeds - FotofiliaPage 12, E-marketing – FotofiliaPage 12, Alison Edbury – FotofiliaPage 12, Crossing the Waters – Andy SutcliffePage 13, Delegates - Gemma Leak

design & printWonder Associates www.wonderassociates.com

CopyCopywhite 07940 925865

Our trustees, Keepinvestors and partners in touch

This Annual Review is also available in large print at www.audiencesyorkshire.org.ukPlease call 0113 320 0160 if you require another format.

www.audiencesyorkshire.org.uk