October 27, 2025 - November 13, 2025
Asking the Right Questions
Using Research to Build Your Arts Audience
Whether your arts organization has a dedicated marketing staff or a multi-tasking staff member, this hands-on workshop will help you create audience research to serve as a foundation for your marketing strategy. You’ll learn how to gain valuable insight into current and potential audience composition and behavior. From identifying the specific types of information you need to the “how-to’s” of data analysis and interpretation, you will leave this workshop with the confidence to organize and conduct audience research to set your marketing priorities.
Because this is a hands-on workshop that promotes peer learning, we are requesting that groups meet prerequisites in order to participate. These include a readiness to develop plans for market research and an established data collection practice, as well as a basic understanding of core and target audiences. The application period for this learning circle has ended. If you have questions, please contact Jessica Moore at [email protected].
Location
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E Washington Street
Chicago, IL 60602
Admission
Free for accepted participants
Presenters
Resources
Philippe Ravanas introduces psychographics in this presentation, which was used in the 2009 AEE Learning Circle “Psychographics and the Customer Experience.” Also, be sure to check out this 60 minutes segment on Echo Boomers, which Philippe also presented in the Psychograhipcs workshop.
Find out how Chicago arts organization’s are using psychographics and get some ideas for your organizations. The roundtable report includes a summary of findings and led to the development of our Psychographics and the Customer Experience learning circles.
Michael Organ and Pete Giangreco share the strategies that made the Obama campaign’s online presence so successful.
We want your feedback! If you attended the September 15th Open Forum, then please fill out this short online survey (http://tiny.cc/OpenForumSurvey)
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View more clips from the September 15th Open Forum on Vimeo.
View the presentation by Michael and Pete here:
And here are some of the tools suggested by Pete and Michael:
QuantCast
Compete.com
Google Adwords
Open Secrets
Using these tools or similar ones? Share your successes (or failures) on the AEE forums.
Events
Learn how to broaden, deepen, and diversify your audiences. Find out about upcoming learning opportunities presented by arts service providers, area colleges and universities, and arts agencies.
Upcoming Events
Gaining an Edge Through Collaboration
Website Principles for the Rest of Us
Principles of Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations
5 Keys to Successfully Using Social Media to Build Revenue and Relationships
Advanced Social Media
Social Media 102: Taking Existing Technologies to New Levels
Professional Media Relations
Social Media Marketing
Pitching Online News Sites
Strategic Alliances 101: How to Forge Strong and Healthy Relationships with Strategic Partners
Get Your Story on Air, Online & into Print Using the Workshop’s 2011 Media Guide
How to Write a Quick and Dirty Marketing Strategy
Taking Social Media to the Next Level
Website Planning, Design and Usability
Marketing and Branding
Building Successful Campaigns
Basic Blogging
Nonprofit Social Media All Stars