ICO AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – NOVEMBER 2013 The Irish Chamber Orchestra Audience Development Planning Programme in partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland. Without an audience - there is no concert.

CURRENT ENVIRONMENT Challenging economic conditions: Box-Office Arts Council Funding Staff Reduction Marketing Spend Reduction

THE POSITIVES GÁBOR TÁKACS NAGY PRINCIPAL ARTISTIC PARTNER JÖRG WIDMANN PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR/ ARTISTIC PARTNER Music excellence Artistic leadership International profile Community engagement

Artistic Planning – ICO Artistic Committee Marketing challenge / disconnect relating to programming Need to change how we think and do things Touring - our window of opportunity Collaborations Diversity of people and places Find a balance of popularity in programmes THE PRIORITIES – PROGRAMMING & CONCERTS

Strengths A world class cultural ambassador Arts Council Funding A spirited, loyal and committed orchestra and staff. Exceptionally high quality product. Two of the finest Artistic Directors in Europe. World class Soloists A growing international reputation and audience. Major increase in European profile and presence. Ability to adapt to changing market conditions. Much improved CD output Competitively priced tickets Successful community engagement programme with national recognition. Weakness Small audiences on the domestic market. Lack of budget and staff resource to raise our profile. An inability to demonstrate our international audience successes to our own Irish audiences. Progressively, decreasing Arts Council funding. Lack of sponsorship opportunities. Venue challenges Centralised booking through Ticketmaster in Dublin’s RDS Artistic planning does not marry with marketing Opportunities Exploit successful Community engagement programmes. Encourage Artistic directors to be worthy ambassadors both home and abroad. Develop more diverse & imaginative programmes to win new audience segments Attract more students to concerts Develop new and imaginative ways of growing a young audience from our Sing Out project Threats The overall financial crisis in both Ireland and Europe. The older age profile needs to be continually refreshed and nurtured Venue challenges : Limerick – out of town; Dublin – online booking Lack of music education for young people in Ireland. Competition from other arts organisations for limited audience/potential audience spend Lack of internal resources i.e. staffing SWOT

MARKETING AUDIT Venue Relationships The Price/Ticketing /Promotion Resources Audiences

LOCATION ANALYSIS Graph indicates a closer personal relationship between orchestra/ audiences in Limerick, whereas Dublin shows heavier reliance on word of mouth, indicating a much less direct relationship with audiences.

AGE ANALYSIS In Limerick, our audience is strongest in the year categories. In Dublin the year category rings through. Concurring with TGI, classical music has shown an increase of older attendees, particularly in the 65+ category.

OBJECTIVE This graph indicates the age profile that the ICO wants to raise over the next three years.

STRATEGIES Market Penetration Grow audience for core programme Market Development Social Inclusion; corporate market Product Development Develop ICO product awareness

UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCES Engagement Surveys/Feedback Digital Media Analytics Box Office Feasibility Study by 2015* * Subject to available resources

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Mailing Lists Contact cards / Surveys Audience Engagement/concerts Loyalty programmes Player engagement & participation post-concerts

ENGAGE BROADER AUDIENCE Audience Development – include in ICO Planning Program/Audience diversification Collaboration / New venues Audience quotes / endorsement Campaign -> UL Students Open rehearsal strategy – schools/community

DIVERSIFICATION Alternative venues Lunch-time concerts Corporate patron venues Streaming concerts online

AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION Baby Bachs 5-14 Year Olds Double Incomes year olds Cold Feet Year Olds The Yuppies Year Olds Maturing Upwardly Mobiles year olds Golden Oldies 66+

IN SUMMARY… Changing Lives Through Music Reputation Build on ICO’s international reputation in the home audience. Community We need to marry the needs of our community segments Audience We need to retain/ build audiences and drive to be more relevant Music Presentation We need to develop new and innovative ways of presenting music. Break the Mould We need to be less formal, be innovative and be collaborative. Legacy We need to be inclusive and leave a lasting impression.