Particpants can use the training material to help refresh what they learned at the training courses or to prepare other colleagues before attending future courses.

The Source Data Training courses – Data Control, Data Police and Data Detective – are planned to run for a third time in April/May 2011.

Annual Reports
We have reached another important milestone in the Source as each participating venue and company  has now received their second Annual Report – January to December 2010.

For the second time 42 performing arts organisations, including 5 National Companies, across Scotland have each recieved a full year of standardised reports that allows them to monitor their audiences and continue to highlight significant trends.

Additionally, each organisations data has been compared to overall regional benchmarking trends, building a robust picture of arts audiences across Scotland.

Spring Forums
The next Source Forums will take place in April or May 2011. More details to follow soon…

November 2010
Early last year the Source team worked with Baker Richards to develop and deliver a programme of data training courses in response to feedback from marketing and box office staff in arts organisations.

In November, the Data Control, Data Police and Data Detective courses were repeated in locations across Scotland. This was an excellent opportunity for those who missed out first time around or for previous participants to attend other modules of the training.

Each course was accompanied by a workbook, containing tasks and guidance, which participants could take home.

The courses were well attended by organisations across Scotland including: The Arches, CCA, Tron, Platform, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Renfrewshire Arts & Museums, National Theatre of Scotland, Aberdeen Performing Arts and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

“Helpful tips, thought provoking exercises and the opportunity to share experiences with other marketing colleagues made this a valuable experience.” Data Training Participant

Data Control Workbook

At the latest Forums, Experian discussed ways in which other sectors have used Mosaic profiling to their benefit – so that we in the arts and cultural sector can benefit from their knowledge.

In addition, the Source project team presented the Scottish arts attendance benchmark to date, so practitioners can gain valuable insight and intelligence about arts attenders both nationally and regionally.

The forums are open to anyone operating in the arts and cultural sector in Scotland, not just those involved in the Source project.

Download the tools and resources from the forums here:

Mosaic Visualisation Tool
An interactive guide which enables a higher level of detail from your Mosaic profiles.

Sense Scotland Case Study
An example of how geodemographic profiling enabled charity Sense Scotland to improve donor response.

Source Forum Presentation July2010

21st July 2010

Following  the Data Training sessions we held in April, it was evident that there are specific questions and issues surrounding individual ticketing systems.

With this in mind, we are putting together ‘ask the system expert’ type sessions for three of the main ticketing systems – Databox, PatronsEdge and Enta – to be rolled out in September/October 2010.

What this space for details of dates and venues and how to register!

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SUMMER FORUMS 2010

21st July 2010

We hope you are all registered for the upcoming Source Forums taking place in Glasgow, Perth and Edinburgh, but if not there are still a few places available at each of the venues – just email your preferred venue to Nina Honeyman e: nina@culturesparks.co.uk

Forum venues and dates:

West | 27th July 2010 | 10.30am – 12.30pm
Scottish Opera, Weir Hall, Elmbank Cresent, Glasgow

North | 28th July 2010 | 2 – 4pm
Horsecross Arts, 185 High Street, Perth

East | 24th Aug 2010 | 10 am – 12 noon
Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh

What to expect from the Forums:
Now in its second year, the Source works closely with Experian to deliver Mosaic Scotland audience data analysis to arts organisations participating in the project.

At the upcoming forums, Experian will discuss ways in which other sectors have used Mosaic profiling to their benefit – so that we in the arts and cultural sector can benefit from their knowledge!

The forums are open to anyone operating in the arts and cultural sector in Scotland, not just those involved in the Source project.

In addition, the Source project team will present the Scottish arts attendance benchmark to date, so you as a practitioner can gain valuable insight and intelligence about arts attenders both nationally and regionally.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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SPRING 2010 UPDATE

26th May 2010

Reporting: Milestone

We have reached an important milestone in the Source as each participant  has now recieved a full year of reports about their audiences.

For the first time 42 performing arts organisations, including 5 National Companies, across Scotland have each recieved a full year of standardised reports that allows them to monitor their audiences and highlight significant trends.

Additionally, each organisations data has been compared to overall regional benchmarking trends, building a robust picture of arts audiences across Scotland.

The next quarter (April to June 2010) will see us into the second year of reporting  (2010/11), helping to build an even greater insight of arts audiences across Scotland.

Don’t forget the next Source Forum in July! More details to follow soon…

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TICKETING SYSTEMS BEAUTY PARADE

Low cost or no cost ticketing – lets hear from the experts!

14th May 2010 | the Albany Learning and Conference Centre | Glasgow

Information provided by you through the Box Office  Audit and the Training Needs Analysis highlighted the challenges many organisations face when choosing and affording new ticketing and CRM systems.

Our response to this was a day long session, briefed by Roger Tomlinson, on ‘lower cost’ ticketing systems and demonstrations from four carefully selected suppliers: PatronBase, Audience View, Ticketsolve and Spektrix.

Roger is currently working with the Citizens Theatre as part of Amb:IT:ion Scotland and undertook a detailed investigation and evaluation of ticketing and CRM systems as part of the project. They generously suggested that we shared this information with their colleagues across the arts sector involved in the Source project.

It was an action packed day from start to finish. The suppliers were put through their paces by the ever enthusiastic venues, as they were given the chance to ask questions, hear about costs and to explore the opportunities for collaborating on procurement.

In attendance: The Citizens Theatre, The Arches, The Tron, Cumbernauld Theatre, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, The Brunton Theatre, Arts & Theatres Trust Fife, The Caird Hall and Edinburgh International Book Festival.

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DATA TRAINING COURSES: A SUCCESS!

30th April 2010

Thank you!

To everyone who attended the Data Training Courses in April. We hope you found it useful and had fun – we certainly did! Over a third of participating venues were represented at one or more of the courses.

I’m sure everyone who attended will agree that each course was packed with information and everyone left more confident about how to manage, protect, share and interrogate their data.

For those of you who missed the training course, don’t worry! We plan to roll out more at the end of the summer – so watch this space for more details.

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DATA TRAINING COURSES: FULLY BOOKED!!

15th April 2010

The Source Data Training Programme has been very popular indeed! All three training courses, Data Control, Data Police and Data Detective, are now FULLY BOOKED!!

Marketing, Front of House and Box Office staff from across Scotland will be participating in the events, which are taking place in Glasgow and Edinburgh over the next few weeks.

Dont worry if you dont have a place on one of these courses, there will be plenty more training opportunties over the next few months.

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DATA TRAINING PROGRAMME

22nd March 2010

The Source has developed a new programme of training courses in response to the results of the national box office audit and the training needs analysis, which many of you took part in last year. Aimed at those working in marketing and box office in arts organisations, the first set of training courses are taking place next month, led by Debbie Richards of Baker Richards.

Data Control

Managing and understanding data entry, running standard systems and marketing reports. Best practice in data management – appliance and compliance.

Culture Sparks Offices Glasgow

Tuesday 20th April, 2pm – 5pm

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Data Police

Information and practice on how to protect and share data.

Culture Sparks Offices Glasgow

Thursday 22nd April, 2pm – 5pm

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Data Detective

How to interrogate standard sales and system reports and what they mean. How this information can be best used by all individuals within an organisation.

Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

Tuesday 27th April, 10.30am – 1.30pm

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Each course is accompanied by a workbook, containing tasks and guidance, which participants can take home.

To book please contact Charlotte Wilson with your choice of training course(s). Spaces are limited to 15 per course maximum, allocated on a first come first served basis. However, there will be opportunities to attend additional courses taking place across the country over the next few months.

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The Source 2010 Update

10th February 2010

2009 marked the first year of The Source – Scotland’s first national data and benchmarking project.

What’s Happened So Far?

Venues  have received April to June 2009 and July to September 2009 reports.

National Companies will have had reporting schedules agreed based on touring schedules.

All participant organisations have met one of the Source project team to individually go through your reports and help you get the most out of the information.

The Source isn’t just about reports though and as well as them, participants have taken part in a National Training Needs Analysis and venues have also been involved in a National Box Office System and Skills Audit.

In addition, Project Forums have taken place in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth in both June and November which allowed us to feedback  key highlights from all of the work that’s taken place.

…so quite a busy year!!

Moving Forward

In 2010, we will continue with this momentum, with participating venues receiving their October to December 2009 reports at the end of this month. Other plans and highlights for the year ahead include:

Training - Courses on different aspects of data taking place in April (more information coming soon).

Reports – Continued quarterly reporting for venues and as per schedule for national companies.

Events - Opportunities to discuss the big issues and ideas, dates coming soon for first events in April. Box Office networking groups, we are currently looking into feasibility and linkages with existing groups.

Publications – Quality standards for Box Office and data, scoping now for publication in summer.

Interventions - Meetings with key stakeholders (Scottish Executive, SAC, Creative Scotland) across Scotland to keep them up to date with the project and its key outputs.

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The Source Forums – November

Glasgow
Monday 23 November, 2-4pm
Venue: Theatre Royal

Edinburgh
Wednesday 25 November, 10am-noon
Venue: Royal Lyceum Theatre

Perth
Thursday 26 November, 10am-noon
Venue: Horsecross

First Round of Scottish Venue Audience Trend Reports Out

The first Source reports are with participating venues. They provide a historical picture of their audiences since April 2006 and, amongst other significant trends, show how frequently people are attending, how far they are travelling to the venue and when they book. Postcodes have also been used to visually map the areas from which audiences are being attracted. A further analysis tool (Mosaic Scotland) has been applied to give an insight into the socio-demographics, lifestyles and cultures of the audiences.

Additionally, each venue’s data has been compared to overall regional benchmarking trends (drawing on data from each of the participating venues in their region) and the Mosaic profile has been compared to the local and regional population’s Mosaic picture.

Training Needs Analysis

As part of the Source project, participants receive access to free training on customer care and data. We want to develop a programme which is informed by individual and organisational feedback so have prepared a short questionnaire – the Training Needs Analysis, which is for all members of marketing, box office and front of house staff.

Click through to the Taining Needs Analysis

Please forward the link to colleagues! All responses will be treated as confidential.  To receive a paper version, please email charlotte@culturesparks.co.uk

The deadline for completion is Friday 28th of August.
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The Source Forums
In June 2009, the first of the Source forums took place in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. The forums were an opportunity for project participants to network and hear about project developments since its launch in February 2009.

Presentations, delivered by Charlotte Wilson (GGA) and Clair Gilchrist (TAB), provided information about the benchmark regions and findings from a national box office audit.

Five Regions
For the reporting part of the Source project Scotland has been divided into regions (as defined by Experian) - North, North East, Central, East and West. Project participants will each receive reports on their audience relative to other audiences in their region and also against a national benchmark.

In addition, regional and city population profiles (commissioned from Experian) will allow participants to compare their audience Mosaic profile with local and regional populations.

June Forum Downloads:
the Source Project Update
Regional and City Profiles

Welcome to the Source blog!

the Source is the biggest ever benchmarking and ongoing measure of audience behaviours and demographics across Scotland. It brings together over 40 arts organisations, including major venues and the national touring companies, to share data, provide training and guidance and use collated information strategically to inform programming, marketing and operational planning.

the Source is a two year joint project between the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST), Culture Sparks and The Audience Business (TAB), supported by the Scottish Arts Council (SAC).

The blog will keep you up-to-date with what’s happening, when and where. We will also publish relevant papers, reports and presentations related to the project for you to download.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Source please contact Charlotte Wilson, Project Manager on 0141 248 6864.
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the Source Launch
In February 2009, the Source was formally launched at the Federation of Scottish Theatre Emporium in Perth. Download the launch presentation – the Source launch.