Catchment areas

Living or working in a place for any length of time usually lends us some insight into the characteristics of the local population. It might seem obvious, for instance, that many of the people on your local high street are elderly, or that a particular part of the city centre attracts a young, affluent clientele after office hours.

For audience-focused cultural organisations, however, hunches based on observation are insufficient grounds on which to base important business planning or audience development decisions.

Accurate information is required about the market place they are operating in and the people within that market place they might wish to engage with.