Audience Research 2021

Foreword

In December 2021, Fremantle Arts Centre embarked on its first major audience research activity in several years, surveying its entire existing database, facilitated by peak arts research organisation Culture Counts. This existing audience pool of over 100,000 individuals includes students, concert goers, arts industry stakeholders, artists, local Fremantle residents and other FAC visitors. Securing over 1,600 survey responses, the significant data gathered provides meaningful business insights and highlights the many areas where FAC exceeds industry benchmarks. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive, reporting extraordinary brand equity and visitor loyalty, and demonstrating the diverse cross section of the community who engage with FAC on a regular basis and place high value on the cultural contribution FAC makes in Fremantle, across the state and beyond. Some highlights include:

• 99% of respondents reported having a positive overall experience
• Net Promotor Score = 77 (above 0 is considered to be good and above 50 is considered excellent)
• 98% of respondents agreed that FAC provides an important addition to the cultural life of the area
• 97% of respondents agreed that they enjoy attending events at FAC
• 96% of respondents agreed that FAC reflects the unique character of the area and its people
• 96% of respondents agreed that FAC made them feel safe and welcome
• 99% indicated they intend to return to FAC in the future

Despite the positive results, the report also clearly highlights the need for investment in the following areas:

• Accessibility
• Café
• Toilets
• Parking
• Public Transport to FAC
• Heating and cooling across the precinct

The report also clearly demonstrates opportunities for audience growth and diversification. Some of the key insights include:

• Significant potential to attract and engage new visitors
• Significant opportunity to increase audiences aged 20-29 and 30-39, consideration to be given for increased programming for these segments, including family events
• New marketing channels could be adopted to reach youth audiences, e.g. TikTok, and particular existing channels – e.g. Instagram – could be better leveraged to reach new audiences
• Opportunity to build on strong audience diversity by engaging more people who speak languages other than English (6%); identify as living with disability (6%), and identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (3%)
• Large audience interest in film programming (71%) presents an opportunity to attract new visitors
• Reported influencing factors which drive visitation indicate raising the profile of FAC’s shop, café and grounds could attract new demographics
• The reported effectiveness of FAC’s quarterly printed program is low (13%). Consider redirecting this investment into growing FAC’s strong-performing digital assets

Additional investment in branding, marketing and promotion would increase FAC’s ability to reach and engage new audiences. The report demonstrates FAC’s strength at building community, engaging with its audience to ensure retention and promoting specific events, but commentary throughout speaks to the limits to increase brand awareness and grow without increased resources. The data in this report will form the basis of FAC’s audience development framework and provide benchmarks moving forward as the organisation strives for continuous improvement in both the quality of its cultural contribution and creating a welcoming, inclusive space that is enjoyed by the whole community. The next iteration of this survey will be conducted at the conclusion of the 2022-23 summer season.

Methodology

Fremantle Arts Centre (FAC) is a major multi-disciplinary contemporary arts organisation in Western Australia and the City of Fremantle’s premier arts service. Housed in an extraordinary gothic heritage building and lush leafy grounds, FAC presents an annual program of contemporary visual arts exhibitions, a diverse range of multi-disciplinary performance, music, conversations and public programs. FAC supports a unique artist in residence program, extensive arts learning workshops and is home to a café and the FOUND shop – celebrating the highest quality creations of WA makers.

Evaluation Methodology

Fremantle Arts Centre engaged Culture Counts to conduct an evaluation of their general audience and attendees of the Centre. The evaluation was conducted by surveying members of the general public who had engaged with or visited FAC in December 2021. Surveys were delivered through QR codes and intercept interviews.

1617 responses were collected from public attendees.

Each survey contained a range of ‘dimension’ questions, asking stakeholders about their experience of the event. These dimensions have been developed and tested in collaboration with industry, practitioners, and academics to measure the impact and value of arts and cultural events and activities.

Appropriate dimensions were chosen based on their alignment with FAC's strategic objectives.

Dimensions are assessed on a Likert scale, in which respondents move a slider to a point that indicates whether they agree or disagree with the dimension statement. An example of a dimension question in the Culture Counts survey tool is presented below.

Attendee Profile

Demographics

Survey respondents were asked to provide their age, gender, and identity. This data identifies the demographic sample of people who responded to the survey and took part in the event. It enables data to be matched to the wider population and responses to be filtered to understand differences in demographics.

The following charts show the proportion of survey responses captured for each of the age, gender, and identity demographic questions.

Location and Postcode

Survey respondents were asked to provide their current living location and postcode. This data identifies the demographic sample of people who responded to the survey and took part in the event. It enables data to be matched to the wider population and responses to be filtered to understand differences in demographics.

The following charts show the proportion of survey responses captured for respondents' identified living location and top suburb results.

Travel Methods

Respondents were asked to indicate how they normally travel to Fremantle Arts Centre. Responses can be seen distributed on the chart below.

Attendance

Attendance Frequency

Respondents were asked to indicate how frequently they attend Fremantle Arts Centre. Responses can be seen distributed on the chart below.

Prior Attendance

Respondents who indicated that they attend Fremantle Arts Centre 1-2 times a year were asked a follow-up question about whether this was their first time attending.

Outcomes

Insights

All seven dimensions achieved an average agreement rate of 80/100 or higher, an excellent result. Of all seven measurable dimensions, 'Events' (91/100) and 'Cultural Contribution' (90/100) received the highest average levels of agreement overall. This demonstrates that respondents most agreed that they enjoyed attending events at Fremantle Arts Centre and that the Centre is an important addition to the cultural life of the area.

'Facilities' (80/100) was the dimension that received the lowest average agreement rate, indicating that of all comparable dimensions, respondents were least likely to agree that they were satisfied with the public facilities at the Fremantle Arts Centre.

'Diversity' had the largest interquartile range, as well as the shared lowest median score. This indicates that responses varied the most when respondents were asked if they believed Fremantle Arts Centre engaged people from different backgrounds.

At a 95% confidence level, the margin of error for dimensions ranged from 0.6% to 1.0%. This means that we can be 95% confident that if we surveyed the entire visitor population, the average outcome for 'Events' would fall within 0.6% of the average generated by the sample.

Outcome Averages

Outcomes Agreement

All dimensions measured achieved levels of agreement of 88% or higher, an excellent result. The highest level of agreement was seen for 'Cultural Contribution' (98%), 'Events' (97%) and 'Authenticity' (96%). This demonstrates that respondents were most likely to agree that Fremantle Arts Centre provides an important addition to the cultural life of the area, that they enjoy attending events there and that it reflects the unique character of the area and its people.

Out of all dimensions, respondents were least likely to agree with 'Facilities' (88%), demonstrating that respondents were least likely to agree that they are satisfied with the public facilities at Fremantle Arts Centre.

Overall Experience

Respondents were asked about their overall experience of attending Fremantle Arts Centre, with a choice of five options - Excellent, Good, Neutral, Poor, and Terrible.

This chart shows the percentage of respondents that rated the events overall across these five options and the results per event.

Net Promoter Score

Respondents were asked whether they would recommend Fremantle Arts Centre to a friend or colleague. Respondents could choose a number from 0 to 10 from a menu, with 0 meaning 'not likely at all' and 10 meaning 'extremely likely'.

These results can be used to calculate a Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS is a standardised metric that seeks to measure loyalty between an organisation and its audience. Respondents with a score of 9 or 10 are considered 'Promoters'. 'Detractors' are those who respond with a score of 0 to 6. Scores of 7 and 8 are considered 'Passives'.

NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of respondents who are Detractors from the percentage of customers who are Promoters. This means that an overall Net Promoter Score can range between -100 to +100.

This chart shows the proportion of respondents that would or would not recommend Fremantle Arts Centre, followed by the calculated NPS below.

Attendee Behaviour

Intent to Return

Respondents were asked to indicate whether they would be likely to return to Fremantle Arts Centre, based on their recent experience. Those who demonstrated that they were unlikely to return were asked a follow-up question about the reasons why. A selection of responses have been highlighted below.

Reasons for not Returning

Respondents who indicated that they were not interested in returning to Fremantle Arts Centre were asked if they would like to explain their answer. Common responses have been visualised below in the form of a wordcloud, whereby the largest words shown were the most commonly cited.

Interests and Habits

Fremantle Arts Centre sought to understand its typical attendees and their behaviours.

The following charts detail the frequency that FAC visitors attend arts and cultural events, as well as the general interests commonly cited by its attendees and visitors, from the selection of options provided.

Influencing Factors

The following charts detail the factors that generally influence attendees visit Fremantle Arts Centre from the selection of options provided.

Desired Programs

Respondents were asked what programs they'd like to see at Fremantle Arts Centre that aren't already presented. Common answers can be seen in the word cloud below.

Marketing

Methods and Effectiveness

Respondents were asked to indicate how they commonly hear about events at Fremantle Arts Centre. This can be used to assess the effectiveness of various marketing methods and channels. Responses to this question can be seen distributed on the chart below.

Marketing Methods

Marketing Effectiveness

Respondents were asked a follow-up question to rate the effectiveness of Fremantle Arts Centre's marketing and promotional materials (programs, posters, invitations etc.). Responses can be seen below.

Brand Recognition

Respondents were asked to indicate whether they believed that Fremantle Arts Centre has a strong and recognisable brand. Those who responded 'No' were asked to explain their answer and to make suggestions as to how it could be improved. Responses and a selection of comments can be seen below.

Venue Perceptions

Accessibility

Respondents were asked to indicate whether they agree or disagree that they find Fremantle Arts Centre to be accessible to everyone. This question relates to mobility within the venue and experience using the facilities (e.g. galleries, learning areas). Those who disagreed were asked to suggest ways that accessibility could be improved, allowing organisers to better understand the needs of its attendees and audiences. A selection of comments have been highlighted below.

Centre Name

Respondents were asked to indicate whether they felt that 'Walyalup', the Noongar name for Fremantle, should be incorporated into the name for Fremantle Arts Centre.

Economic Activity - City of Fremantle

Visitors to Fremantle Arts Centre were asked additional questions about their spending, and their intent to engage with local traders in the City of Fremantle. This data can be used to determine economic activity generated by visitors of FAC.

Activity Engagement and Visit Spending

Comments and Feedback

Sentiment Analysis

Respondents were asked to leave any additional feedback about their experience at Fremantle Arts Centre. This feedback has been classified into positive, neutral, or negative categories, with the percentage of feedback sentiment types presented in the following chart.

General Feedback

Feedback helps organisations understand where the value of visitor experiences lies and how they can be improved and strengthened in the future. A selection of comments have been highlighted underneath.

"This is a picturesque venue, shaded, lively and community focused. Talking with the talented crafts people about what they make is such an enjoyable experience. The colour and vibrancy is evident. Maybe my word is inspiring and vibrant. The morning shared was a beautiful experience, and my Xmas shopping completed. What a wonderful continued experience. Thank you to the team and community of artists that are to be commended on the quality of their offerings."

"We are long term East Freo residents - you may want to widen the area in terms of surveying "local" usage of facilities. We love FAC. We got married there, went to concerts there, had mother's group and attended buster the fun bus. We continue to be regulars to enjoy the coffee and the trees, book launches, art courses and music events. You have the balance perfectly right - particularly the content of evening events which seems to attract a safe, happy crowd. Thank you."

"Thankyou FAC for fostering a fabulous vibrant cultural hub. I used to live over the road and have been coming to exhibits and courses and music gigs for over twenty years. Fav place!!! Have introduced all my friends to it. Itsalso been a great way for me to get together with my friends. Thankyou xx i so appreciate it."

"I love coming to FAC every week for ceramics class. Exceptional teachers, lovely people , stunning grounds, amazing food, great shopping and truly unique exhibits. There's something so calming and peaceful for me being there."

"I love the FAC. It has a great sense of community and connection. I feel nourished every time I visit. Thanks for providing such a wonderful place and events, workshops, gigs etc that are wonderful."

"Love the inclusiveness of indigenous art and the diversity of cultural events included in the program (KGLW). Love the gift store. Have attended workshops as an adult participant and also enrolled my children. I find they are a bit short and not great value for money. Would a more family friendly price point, or happy to pay current prices but have a more value for money experience (longer classes). Free workshops also book out very quickly. Having said that our family will continue to support FAC's offerings when we are able."

"Very much grateful for working so hard at getting people out of their homes, away from their TVs to get together and feel since of community, enjoying being with other humans. We need so much more of this. Thank you for your leadership. GRATITUDE and RESPECT."

"Every visit I find staff and tutors effusive about Fremantle Arts Centre. This gives the whole venue an upbeat vibe which transfers to visitors and students enriching our lives."

"There is very much a positive vibe with the arrival of new management. The schedule is buzzing."

"I think FAC accommodates abled people really well and accessibility for courses financially and physically exclude everybody from being able to participate. Staff are generally friendly and welcoming. Last season the Sunday music was too loud but last Sunday, the sound was just right. I do know people in the community stopped going to Sunday music because it was too loud. Maybe offer some workshops down stairs for people who can't walk up stairs. I'm not sure if you accept companion cards but they are good to assist people who require assistance with courses and other activities like concerts. We love FAC in general‚ a wonderful place‚ I'd like to see more dance there."

"Parking is the only tricky part as I have bad knees and it's still a bit of a walk."

"The teachers are actually very good, the reception very helpful, and the cafe is very good. The problem is accessible parking and having to carry art supplies. There is also a security problem with cars being broken into on the street. A return of the parking by the pottery shed would solve all those problems."

"Don't stray too far from the current format. Ensure indigenous art is well represented and dont go too commercial and end up lowering standards."

"Aside from parking issue for elderly & disabled students on site & safety parking at night FAC is offering a broad blend of arts & cultural opportunities for the community."

"Cafe was not great, weird set up, a bit dingey and dirty. Not super friendly like rest of the staff at FAC."

"I attended few art courses and other events, toilets are terrible and disgusting every single time I am there. This is part of customer needs and its part of how this place looks and its really shame. You should improve that alot."

"Accessibility upstairs is my main gripe, although the change to parking is also a concern."

"Food availability and alcohol choices are not always consistent. I would like to support the food outlets but tend to take my own now because of the low number of food vans resulting in long lines."

"There should be etickets for free events to prevent disappontment at the gate like it recently happened for Aboriginal Culture event that had reached full capacity within an hour of it's opening. It was unfair, especially for those people that travel far distance to get there."