Empower the future with digital

In the Arts Council's 2020-2030 Case for Change strategy, concerns were raised regarding a retreat from innovation and risk-taking in the sector, due in part, to the domino effect of fragile funding and a lack of resources.

Overcoming these obstacles and pushing back on these challenges to make the next eight years count requires exactly the innovation and risk-taking mentioned and we've seen,  particularly over the last two years, that these attributes are very much alive in the Arts and Culture sector.

In order for these attributes to be maximised, the sector needs guidance, support, partnership and opportunity to take their offering to the next level by:

• embracing digitisation,
• diversifying their content and
• investing in branding and digital solutions.

Here are some tools and tactics that have helped empower organisations to grasp opportunities, take risks and achieve their business goals.

Build your brand

Your brand is not just your logo.  It is so much more and doing this well is crucial if you want to be seen as a credible organisation worthy of people choosing to spend their time at or money on.  Your brand is everything about your organisation -  the sum of all your parts;  your venue, your company, your team, your history...  It’s your organisation’s culture, your offer and the output of what you do.  Above all, it is what makes you special.

It's important to work closely with your digital agency and take time to deep-dive into all areas of your organisation.  We get insights from your stakeholders, customers, competitors…we get to grips with your strategy - your wins, your fails, your complaints, your reviews.  No stone is left unturned, and once we've finished, these learnings are then used to build a brand that reflects the organisation’s personality - the tone of voice, the colour spectrum, the typography, image assets and so on.  We then work this into a brand language which enables the organisation’s brand to flow across all of your channels from website to social media, to large format print to merchandise, uniforms and everything in between.

Building a memorable brand that appeals to your audiences; that is consistent, cohesive and reflective of your organisation’s values, will ultimately save you time and money to concentrate on maximising how and where your organisation is seen.  A solid brand will give your organisation the stability and reassurance to invest or be invested in, and by investing in your brand you are ensuring that your brand is visible to new and existing audiences and capable of demonstrating the value that it will bring to your audiences’ lives.

This ultimately leads to audience acquisition, retention and loyalty which are key to driving venue bookings, ticket sales and customer loyalty.

Future-proofing ticket sales

Removing Barriers

The most crucial part of the process for an arts organisation needs to be the most pain-free, seamless and streamlined.  This is where the beauty of digitalisation and automation comes into play and where integration and technology can either be your best friends or your worst enemies.

Many of the digital solutions we are asked to deliver for clients in the arts involve a payment gateway or ticketing/booking system linked to their website and there are many to choose from.  We’ve worked with pretty much all of them and have a solid understanding of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Spektrix is a ticketing software solution that we commonly use thanks to the strength of its technology and ease of integration.  As digital partners, we have seen the benefits that Spektrix brings to our clients; making use of a powerful API that can be seamlessly integrated with your website and customised to your user journey.

Spektrix Partnership

A key part of the integration process is looking at your internal business processes and understanding how your customers book, pay and move through the site easily with the greatest amount of accessibility and least amount of barriers, so that you and your team can focus on driving audiences to your site, giving them a first-rate online experience and driving them to convert by booking a visit or paying for tickets.

As digital partners to Spektrix, we benefit from advanced insights, education and training, allowing us to help you get the most out of the integration as part of our holistic approach when developing your digital solution.  The output of which is a fully optimised website solution with cohesive user experience and integration grounded in your organisation’s strategy.

Taking the leap to achieve this level of digitalisation might seem a risky strategy so it's important to appoint with an agency you can trust and that has a track record of success. Check that an agency has worked in the arts, cultural and heritage sector, get testimonials from other clients and explore their level of experience in the areas you need e.g. integration with booking and ticketing software. Ask yourself: will the agency help us maximise our business goals?

However, simply having the integrated plug-in doesn't necessarily mean your ticketing or booking systems are sorted.  You also need to look for User Experience (UX) expertise. This needs to combine an innovative outlook and deep understanding of which website elements work in partnership with the integration to enhance the software, maximise your user's web journey and optimise your ticket sales and event bookings.

Find out more about the Spektrix integration project we delivered for Warwick Arts Centre.

To discuss how we can help with your digital presence and enhance your ticketing/booking user journey email Will at will@grandadlondon.com

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