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!

Covid had an impact on how cultural organisations are collecting and using audience data. With our last thrive survey, we were able to find out what changed and what it means for audience data in NI going forward.

In this blog post, our CEO Fiona explains her take on the differences, and how audience development is the only way to meaningful change.

Audience development. It’s an objective that is close to our hearts here at Thrive. This summer, we decided to delve deeper into it, meeting with people from various parts of Northern Ireland’s arts and cultural sector (festivals, producers, galleries, and venues) The aim? To get an insight into the unique challenges each group faces around building and maintaining audience relationships.

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 its second year, the North West Audience Survey is currently gathering data on arts and heritage audiences in Derry and Donegal. Please find our first snapshot of our findings, which looks at audiences with disabilities.

In its second year, the North West Audience Survey is currently gathering data on arts and heritage audiences in Derry and Donegal. Please find our second snapshot of our findings, which looks at the impact of age on audiences.

In its second year, the North West Audience Survey is currently gathering data on arts and heritage audiences in Derry and Donegal. Please find our third snapshot of our findings, which looks at the impact of who audiences attend with.

Over the past couple of years, we have been working on an exciting venture known as the North West project. This initiative revolves around the collection of data concerning arts, culture, and heritage audiences in Derry and Donegal. Now, we've decided to put together all the stuff we've learned from it in one place.

Our Foundations report shows what the ticketed landscape was like in Northern Ireland in 2019-2020. It uncovers insights into audiences for venues and festivals across Northern Ireland and identifies benchmark figures for our region.

Our Foundations report shows what the ticketed landscape was like in Northern Ireland in 2020-2021. It uncovers insights into audiences for venues and festivals across Northern Ireland and identifies benchmark figures for our region.

The raw data from our North West Audience Survey contains survey responses from 4,420 participants across 39 Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council organisations collected from April 2022 to March 2024.

Our Foundations report shows what the ticketed landscape was like in Northern Ireland in 2019-2023. It uncovers insights into audiences for venues and festivals across Northern Ireland and identifies benchmark figures for our region.

Our IMPACT report helps us learn more about who audiences are, how they behave, why they attend and how they feel after attending a variety of artforms.

The iBeholder pilot was developed to help us discover new ways to gather audience data for non-ticketed visual arts organisations and boost the audience experience. This report details everything that happened throughout the project and the insights we uncovered during the pilot.

A national survey from Arts Council of Ireland looking at attendance and participation in the arts in ROI.

Get an evidence-based strategy to deliver your objectives.

Uncover the insight in your box office data.

Unsure where to start? Book a free one-to-one audience development session.

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

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.

Our definitive guide to audience development for arts, culture, and heritage. Use this guide to develop your own unique audience development strategy.

Our Client Relationships Director Laura took a closer look at Taylor Swift's behaviour with her fans and realised it was exactly what we talk about when we talk about audience development.

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

Thinking BIG! is a guide to building and using strategic marketing plans for arts organisations by consultant Stephen Cashman

Some audience development controversy from the Theatre 2016 conference.

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

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

The fifth and last step of audience development is the big scary evaluation. Reviewing what you've done and assessing the impact you've made shouldn't be a chore. Read our blog to see our take on the most important step of audience development.

Our latest news.

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

Our Client Programme Coordinator Sarah 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.

Sarah interviews Katy Raines, a well known arts marketing expert. Katy explains what segmentation is, why it works and includes case studies of successful segmentation.

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.

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.

Kelly-Anne Collins from Dance Resource Base writes on the importance of taking the time to understand and communicate the ‘why’ of your organisation.

VR is an exciting new opportunity for arts, culture, and heritage. But is there really an audience for it, and can it be used as an audience development tool? Fiona Bell reports from the Culture Geek conference.

The focus is often on new audiences coming through our doors, but what does it take to get them to visit your organisation time and time again? Read our blog to find out.

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

This spider chart will help you to visualise how you’re doing at loyalty and to focus your effort on the things you need to improve for strengthening your relationship with your audiences.

Musing on the language around cultural audiences - can we borrow some ideas from sport?

When you're starting any kind of research - the first thing to do is to check what's already out there. Here are our top free online sources of audience information.

Our strategic insights director Chris invites NI festivals and venues with box office systems to take part in a returning favourite, our Foundations bench-marking project.

Our CEO Fiona recently traveled to the North West to chat with a group of older people to understand more about their engagement with arts and culture. She wrote a blog to let us know what she learnt.

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.

Watch our last Fourth Wall Session with Jenna Hall from Belfast Community Circus School to learn more about their evaluation process, how they do it and why they do it.

Happy New Year! We're opening the year with a new theme: strengthening your relationship with your audiences and loyalty. It is as important as ever when our cultural spaces remain closed. Read our blog to find out more.

The lowdown on the newest ways cultural organisations can use digital to connect with their audiences.

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.

Thrive's Sarah Blake Knox shares the latest arts marketing news and resources from this year’s Arts Marketing Association conference.

Three proven ways to get performing arts audiences to re-attend.

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.

How Art UK and the Audience Agency increased visits to their online collection and resources from BAME audiences and those aged 16-24.

Authors: Katie Moffat and Richard Turpin

What our latest ticketing research says about customer loyalty in theatres and arts venues across Northern Ireland.

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

Our latest Foundations report, indicates a fresh wave of individuals engaging with arts and culture in Northern Ireland following the pandemic. We wanted to take a closer look at both emerging and diminishing audiences more closely.

Open House Festival is in the unusual position of having moved location from Belfast city centre to the seaside town of Bangor. We explore why they made the move, and how it has affected their audiences.

How you can use images to connect with your audiences.

We sent Fiona off to Culture Geek in the sweltering London heat. Here's some of what she brought back - the best examples of games to engage audiences in galleries and museums

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

Katy Raines, co-founder & partner at Indigo Ltd and Associate of thrive, writes about GDPR and COVID-19 for arts organisations.

Our CEO Fiona reflects on the latest trends in people's behaviours and attitudes post-Covid.

Our Client Relationships Director Laura Cusick is back from maternity leave. Read her blog to find out more about how she plans to lead our team to further support you and the rest of the sector.

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.

We recently deactivated our Instagram account. We're telling you why in our latest blog.

Grassroots venues play a vital role in maintaining the longevity of the music sector. In this blog, Eve explores the challenges facing local grassroots music venues and what could be done to support their long term success.

Read the Arts Collaboration Network's latest statement on 27th January 2021

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

Our annual benchmarking report Foundations shows consistently each year that the vast majority of customers do not return the following year. And they don’t come more than once during the year. It sounds like we have a commitment problem. Áine explores how to use data to better understand audience engagement.

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

Are cultural organisations too focused on new audiences - at the expense of encouraging and rewarding loyal visitors? Here's how and why arts organisations should be promoting audience loyalty.

Welcome to this year's third theme: What is your real purpose? What is the change you want to see?

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?

In early July, Sarah and Maurane hopped over to sunny Brighton for the Arts Marketing Association
conference. Maurane was invited over as a speaker and Sarah decided to tag along and mingle with over 750 representatives from the UK’s cultural sector. The conference, themed "Be Bold, Be Brave," featured thirty-five talks over two days. Here are some key lessons in bravery that Sarah learned.

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

In 2018, six museums across Northern Ireland hosted late-night events to attract new audiences and change perceptions about museums.

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