We ran a series of workshops to support arts and culture venues to think creatively about how to improve their Access for Disabled People. This is what we learned.

In this blog, our Client Relationships Exec Catherine talks about all the things to consider for filling your space with experiences audiences will love.

Our CEO Fiona attended the Family Arts Conference and learnt a lot about ticket prices. Read her blog to find out her key takeaways.

Read our latest guest blog from the Changed Future series, written by Holly Foskett.

Get to know Jan, our accessibility persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

If you're interested in arts attendances in the Republic of Ireland this report is for you.

The Continuous Household Survey is an annual public survey done by the Northern Irish Government. Here's how to access the results, and why you should read it.

Get to know Frank and Nancy, our Older Frequent Attender persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

Get to know Jill, our Young Family persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

Get to know Darren, our Young Infrequent Attender persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

Research into the media preferences and habits of over 25,000 US performing arts customers.

This in-depth qualitative study looks at arts audiences from 20 organisations across the UK, uncovering why people attend shows, events, and galleries - and what holds them back from engaging more.

In this snapshot, find out how NI audiences' engagement with culture online has changed, what they enjoy about it and what they don't.

In this audience snapshot, find out how NI audiences feel about returning to in-person events.

This research explored UK audiences' behaviours during lockdown, their wants and needs post-Covid and marketing opportunities for arts & culture organisations moving forward.

Conversations and views from the public and the arts sector on what Arts Council England should focus on.

Insights from the ticketing data of up to 343 cultural organisations across the UK, Ireland, USA, and Canada.

This report from NISRA gives the overall picture on who is living in Northern Ireland, and covers population growth, travel and transport, technology use and more.

Global Web Index's report on millennials' online behaviors and their attitudes to digital and marketing.

Have the confidence to gather the data you need.

Mystery shops to understand and improve your visitor experience.

Get an evidence-based strategy to deliver your objectives.

Uncover the insight in your box office data.

Book a free one-to-one chat about your audiences.

Practical ways to create an email strategy that increases sales and improves customer loyalty.

There is a two-way relationship between you and your most loyal audience members. Understanding this relationship thoroughly and using this understanding to develop similar feelings of loyalty with other members of your audience is the key to increasing retention. Let's Talk Loyalty at our next free workshop!

A webinar to share our findings for NI and ROI with the sector, 3 weeks into the 'After the Interval' survey.

Your website is often where your audience member starts their visit. If it's not accessible - what message are you sending to potential disabled and d/Deaf audience members? Here are some practical steps to make your website more accessible.

How Hull Truck Theatre improved the accessibility of their website and online booking process.

Author: Danielle McLoughlin

In this blog, we’re giving you some easy tips for writing great copy.

Advice and checklists to make sure your venue or event is accessible to disabled people.

How Dorset County Museum used focus groups to make their museum more accessible for visitors with autism.

Author: Jack Welch, Medium

How Young At Art create relaxed performances and an accessible festival experience for their young audience members with additional needs.

In this blog, our Research Executive Victoria explores the different benefits of having a ticketing system.

How National Theatre of Scotland is using digital creatively to improve access and grow Deaf audiences.

There is wealth of free information about your current and potential audiences available through your social media and website. Here's how to access it and build a picture of your online audiences.

How can you know more about your audiences? We're listing free tools that you already have access to and tips on how to use them.

Outburst Queer Arts Festival introduced their own ticketing strategy 'More if/Less if' to make their programme more accessible. They're one of our 2019/2020 Audience Delight Winner.

If you're a producer that brings work to receiving venues, you may think it's difficult to get a hold of your audience data for those shows. This blog clears up who has a right to the data. Plus, you'll get tips on how to work with venues to share this data, and increase audiences for everyone.

A checklist of practical information to give to your potential visitors or event attendees.

This toolkit will help you to make small and easy changes to your venue and online presence to welcome disabled audiences.

A guide to language in Disability for Non-Disabled People

Want to say hello? Here's how to find us.

How London Symphony Orchestra changed their mindset and activities to make sure they are inclusive of all families.

Author: Fabienne Morries, London Symphony Orchestra

A run-down of all the ways to find out about your current and potential audiences. These range from simple and no-cost solutions, to more sophisticated box office systems.

The Age Friendly Guidelines from Family Arts Campaign provide practical steps to welcome older audiences.

Colleen Dilenschneider argues that free admission matters less than we may think - and backs it up with ticketing and attendance data from the US.

Author: Colleen Dilenschneider 

Working with the Barbican to gather insights into what young people want from their membership in future.

How popular is online booking with Northern Irish arts ticket buyers - and how does it differ between urban and rural contexts?

Practical steps that arts and cultural organisations can take to get more working class people employed and leading in the sector.

Author: Danielle Rose

Carrickfergus Museum transformed an empty space within their building into an area specifically designed for a new audience. We're looking at how they succeeded and how they integrated it into their regular programming.

A comprehensive toolkit and checklist to help you welcome LGBTQ+ audiences to your venue, festival, or event. Produced in collaboration with Outburst Arts.

Time to nominate your favourite NI organisation and celebrate how they have found new ways to connect with their audiences in spite of the year's challenges.

We worked with Shannon Yee to find an audience for her immersive theatre installation. An example of how communication with box office and front of house staff is vital for marketing alternative theatre.

When audiences visit your organisation for the first time, what can you do to build a lasting relationship with them? Read our blog to find out.

How trying to serve and attract everyone can harm your cultural organisation.

For our new themes for 2021/2022, we take a closer look at a typical audience journey, from the first time they hear about you to when they become loyal customers, and all the steps in between. Read our introduction and first step of the audience journey.

We are now taking registrations for wave 2 of Missing Audiences in Northern Ireland, which will open on 31st January 2022.

Want to know why some of your most loyal audiences haven't yet come back to your organisation? There's a way to find out. Take part in Missing Audiences.

The Arts Collaboration Network have issued a statement following discussions about the impact of Covid-19 on the NI Arts and Cultural sector #InThisTogether

Margaret Henry reports back from the Creative Industries Federation Brexit Conference and asks if we're missing some Northern Irish voices in the debate.

We've talked audience development with hundreds of organisations across Northern Ireland (and further afield!). So here are some of the most frequently asked questions we hear about understanding and growing cultural audiences.

This Spring, Let’s go on an Art-venture and get back to our city centres!

Thrive's Claire Rose Canavan shares the latest arts marketing news and resources from this year’s Arts Marketing Association conference.

Our Client Relationships Exec Catherine talked to the person behind the hilarious (and informative) social media accounts of The Museum of English Rural Life. Read our case study to find out how they succeeded in diversifying their online audiences with a single tweet.

Good writing can be the difference between an amazing show, exhibition, or event enjoyed by many, or an amazing show in an empty venue. Here are our top tips.

Why green issues matter to audiences and how the cultural sector is well-placed to make a positive impact on the environment.

What ticketing data can tell us about the effects of funding cuts on the arts in Northern Ireland.

Change in the cultural sector is often associated with fighting funding cuts - but organisational change is essential to survive and thrive in our fast-paced environment. Our CEO Margaret Henry shares her thoughts and experience on the challenges and benefits of change.

In this guest blog, Paul Kane from Belfast Over the Hill Music Collective shares his views on the way art and artists are perceived in our society and what he wants to change.

The action-research report from Cinegi profiles their efforts to bring filmed theatre, ballet, and opera to libraries and village halls across England.

Colette Fahy shares her thoughts as an arts marketer new to Northern Ireland’s geographical, cultural, and political landscapes.

Libraries are routinely reaching audiences that other cultural organisations struggle to. What can we learn from libraries about attracting a more diverse and representative audience?

Today is a new chapter for Audiences NI as we launch a new brand but also a new name – Welcome to thrive.

Our client director, Fiona Bell, shares her thoughts about our new normal during lockdown and how it impacts the Arts.

Our Client Relationships Executive Catherine looks at examples of how organisations outside of the arts and culture sectors exceed their audiences' expectations. Read her blog to find out her key takeaways.

Audience development is about building relationships and this is what we will be focusing on to support the sector over the next 12 months.

We've asked Zoe Seaton at Big Telly Theatre Company what it's like to adapt live theatre online, how to price digital performances and tips for NI organisations.

Queen's University Belfast student Isaac Ellis looked at our audience survey data to identify hidden trends and insights.

How much will your audience pay for a show or experience? And do lower prices de-value your product? Here's the research behind effective pricing strategies.

Fiona Bell asks whether arts venues go out of their way to be truly welcoming to everyone - or are we in danger of simply talking the talk?

Read our third guest blog from the Changed Future series, written by Charmain Jones.

How you can use images to connect with your audiences.

Amanda Neylon from NHS Digital tells us what exactly 'digital' means and what it means for the everyday person.

As we're noticing the impact of the latest Apple update on social media advertising, we wrote a blog to explain what it's all about and the challenges it brings to arts and culture organisations.

A message from the thrive team to the Arts, Culture and Heritage sectors about COVID-19.

Every year, we mine box office data to uncover insights into audiences for venues and festivals across Northern Ireland. Data includes overall benchmark figures for NI, as well as differences by Belfast venues and regional venues.

How can the NI arts and cultural scene adapt to social distancing measures after the lockdown? Our Chief Executive Margaret Henry tries to find out.

The ISLAND Arts Centre is our Audience Delight Award winner for best socially distanced festival for families. Read our case study to find out how they did it, how their audience found it and tips for doing it yourself.

An interview with Sarah Hughes, on how business partnership can be as an audience development tool.

How GDPR still applies in times of crisis and tips on how to ensure you've got it right

We have partnered with the Insights Alliance (Indigo Ltd, Baker Richards and One Further) to deliver the Missing Audiences survey in Northern Ireland.

Avoid the awkward when you're writing surveys that ask about gender, and be sure you're asking about the right things in the right ways.

Thrive's visitor profiling project to learn more about the visitors to six Northern Ireland museums.

Our top tips for designing and running a survey. Find out how to create useful survey questions and get the response rates you need.

Paul Connolly, lead singer of the Wood Burning Savages writes our third dream blog in which he reimagines NI cities and town centres where empty buildings are filled with arts and culture for the common good.

Our client director Fiona shares her tips on how to facilitate a meeting or ideas session. How do you get everyone working towards the same goal, get those ideas flowing, and actually agree on some practical action points by the end of the day?

Using scenarios can help develop a rounder view of your audience, and give insights where personas just don't apply.

A recent visit to Dundee shows a city that is investing in people-focused culture and heritage. What are the lessons for Belfast's future cultural strategy?

The Duncairn is our Audience Delight Award winner for Best Community Vibes. Read our case study to find out what is it about them that makes their audiences click.

Last August, we invited Olly Davies from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to share his experience of using audience data to make positive lasting changes to their overall strategy.

Read our third guest blog from the Changed Future series, written by Paul Connolly.

How using focus groups helped The Crescent understand how their audience sees them, and led to a new brand and website that's showcasing the best of what they offer.

The Earagail Arts Festival asked their audience and wider public about their motivations and barriers to attend the festival. They uncovered data that helped them to evaluate their impact and refine their purpose.

'Legitimate Interests' could be the saving grace for many arts and culture organisations who want to hold on to their marketing lists.

In our latest guest blog, Niamh Kelly, Youth Ambassador at Reimagine, Remake, Replay writes about co-curation with audiences, and in this instance, with young people. Could it change museums' relationships with their audiences for the better?

Our latest Dreams guest blog is by Damien Coyle, Chief Executive of University of Atypical. He reflects on the past 12 months, what we can learn and what we must remember.