Audience Development and Visitor Engagement - the research tool kit

One way of attracting visitors - good cakes in the café!

How should you set about visitor market research as part of a programme of audience development and visitor engagement? The case study on the link below sets out a method for understanding the profile and background of past and current visitors to a major multi site museum and heritage attraction that can then lead on to creating an audience development programme for attracting new visitors, encouraging repeat visitors and importantly ensuring that both are entertained and engaged during the visit. The case study covers the requirement to gather and measure the views of visitors and ‘non visitors’ on the attraction ‘offer’. Overall the approach is aimed at determining who the visitors are, where they come from, what their needs are in terms of the visit and to identify gaps in both the product offering as well as communications, pricing, on site facilities etc.

Click here to see the case study

Marketing, Event and Exhibition Opportunities in 2012

2012 is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the bi-centenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, the year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Cultural Olympiad and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and there is whole host of other anniversaries and events. So there are great opportunities for visitor attractions to refresh and develop their visitor offer and develop relevant shows, events and exhibitions around these activities and anniversaries given suitable research and interpretation even on modest budgets.Ideas for Writers has a free download for January 2012 here of anniversaries and will also sell you a book for the whole year!.  The only thing to be aware of particularly with the Olympic Games is the question of copyright and use of logos and combinations of words. For those hoping to do something around the Olympic Games attention is drawn to the official Olympic Games website here



To discuss how Attract Marketing can help you  in developing, planning and implementing interpretation themes, ideas, events, festivals and exhibitions please contact Nick Booker at Attract Marketing on +44 (0)1926 864900 or drop us an email - see the right hand column

Charles Dickens, Titanic, Queen's Diamond Jubilee - 2012





New award for Attract client

Canterbury for Culture Award

Attract client, the Canterbury Westgate Towers has won the inaugural Canterbury for Cultural Landscape Award, an award given to a cultural organisation, group or individual making a significant positive impact to Canterbury's environment, architecture or public space.

Interpretation initiatives include turning the Westgate Gaoler's diary into wallpaper which has been put in the gents - Charles Lambie, Westgate Towers' custodian and operator is now worried that visitors will stay seated on the Thomas Crapper toilets for too long reading the news from 1798!
The official opening is the end of July with the next few weeks spent finalizing the opening offer. However from July 1st accompanied tours and familiarization visits through the newly connected 1830 Gaol and café space are on offer.

It's believed that Westgate Towers is the first scheduled ancient monument to reopen under a public /private initiative under the current climate of public spending cuts.

Dunstan, the Westgate Towers' mascot

Refreshing the offer - Coming Of Age at the Ace Café



The Ace Cafe Exhibition - Coventry 



A good time was had by Attract at the launch of Coventry Transport Museum's new visiting exhibition - 'the story of the fashion, the bikes and the music that defined a generation' and (that) 'takes you on a journey through the history of the iconic Ace Café, its customers and what it meant to be a British teenager in the 1950s and 60s'.

It was opened by Dudley Sutton one of the stars of the film The Leather Boys and the evening featured live music from The Zodiacs Rock n Roll band, Rock n Roll dancing , the Antelope Motorcycle Club and the owner of the Ace Café Mark Wilsmore. We enjoyed Cafe-style dinner and drinks.

The exhibition is another simple example of how a museum can develop, target and appeal both to the older generation who may remember the Ace Café and tell a story that will appeal to a younger audience and bring in people who might otherwise not have visited the museum . There were certainly all sorts there on a June Thursday evening!

Coming of Age in Coventry

Researching, Developing and Marketing Tourism Products

Speakers from Attract can offer the following content for conferences workshops, seminars and academic courses - all tailored to fit the audience

 

1. Tourism - Destination Marketing

 Marketing is one of the core functions of a destination manager. The module provides advice on adopting a strategic approach from the outset i.e. defining the product, market planning and targeting, identifying the right media and implementing campaigns.

 

• A strategic approach to Destination Marketing
• The product or what to take to market, including branding
• Who to target
• Routes to market – or how to reach the visitor
• Marketing to business tourism organisations
• Selecting the media mix
• Case study

 2. Visitor attractions

This module looks at what constitutes an attraction, examines the general principles of developing an attraction, the focus of different kinds of attraction and in particular looks at attractions in the cultural and heritage tourism sector

 

• Defining Cultural and Heritage tourism
• Basic concepts - setting the scene
• Feasibility studies and business planning
• Audience Development Planning
• Interpretation - developing themes and storylines
• Access for all - physical and intellectual
• Operational issues in visitor attractions
• Case study - based on a visit to a local attraction and a workshop

3. Using market research techniques to help make the right decisions

This module looks at gathering and using data on which to make the right strategic decisions and how to use market research to monitor and evaluate performance.

 

• Key elements of a successful research project
• Developing the objectives of the research project
• Primary and secondary research - differences and when to use
• Quantitative and qualitative research – differences and when to use
• Other techniques’ e.g. online, desk research, diaries, workshops, csultation
• Ad hoc and on-going/continuous research
• Evaluation of marketing activity
• Planning and developing a brief
• Case study

 

Adam & Joe Henson at Cotswold Farm Park

Adam & Joe Henson at Cotswold Farm Park, a photo by Attract Marketing on Flickr.

We have just set up a flickr group for Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park and also loaded pictures onto Attract's own flickr site. Yet another simple and cost effective way to provide inbound links and raise profile. All you need is some good photographs and a bit of time. The Cotswold Farm Park was set up by Joe Henson a pioneer of rare breed conservation, on Bemborough Farm, Guiting Power, near Kineton, Gloucestershire in 1971. The CFP is now a leading rare breeds tourist attraction attracting many visitors young and old and is now run by his son Adam Henson of BBC Countryfile  fame and his business partner Duncan Andrews.

Recent projects by Attract Marketing

Feasibility Study and Business Plan for the Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust
Development Plan and Business Plan for the Charles Dickens House Museum Broadstairs for Thanet District Council

Feasibility Study and marketing/business plan for New College Nottingham (Adams Enterprises) for developing weekend breaks with leisure, arts and crafts themes and thus creating new revenue streams. Now trading as artspaceworkshops offering contemporary creative workshops 'in a relaxed social setting'

Competitor analysis and market research on the events and weddings market for the owner of 19th century mansion in Derbyshire

"How do visitors find out about you?"

Things are changing for promoting visitor attractions and tourism businesses. Is it advertising, recommendation, word of mouth, leaflets, social networking, signs, Twitter, TV, radio etc? To find out more join the professionals networking site LinkedIn and see the discussion in the Visitor Attractions Group at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1945560&trk=anet_ug_hm

Tourism Workshops and Seminars

Attract Marketing offer a range of workshops and seminars tailored to the potential audience and based around the subject of the Development and Marketing of Heritage Tourism Products

The range of workshops/seminars include the following topics:
What is Heritage Tourism?Topic 1: Basic Concepts - Setting the Scene
Topic 2: Audience Development – what is it and who will come?
Topic 3: Interpretation - developing themes and story lines
Topic 4: Access for all - physical and intellectual
Best Practice in Heritage TourismTopic 5: Collections & Conservation Management Plans
Topic 6: Heritage Learning
Topic 7: Feasibility Studies - key elements
Topic 8: Applying the theory - Case Studies
Visitor IssuesTopic 1: Creating an Audience Development Plan
Topic 2: Operating the Heritage Attraction
Topic 3: Creating a Learning and Access Plan
Topic 4: The Marketing Campaign Plan
Case Study based on a visit to a local attraction - Making it betterTopic 5: Analysing the problem - Writing the brief
Topic 6: Developing a new offer
Topic 7: Making it work
Topic 8: Launching the revamped attraction

The clients for this series include a European Union funded workshop for the Estonian Tourist Board where we worked with a local consultant Oliver Loode of Consumetric.
Download the introductory presentation from http://www.attractmarketing.co.uk/Heritage_Tourism_Basic_Concepts_Topic1.pdf for more information.