Webinar Recap: Communicating with Audiences through Closure: Lessons from The Atlantic Magazine
May 5 (Replay at end of page and slides here)
Given the tremendous success of The Atlantic in growing audience engagement across the past decade, and even more so in recent months, we invited Julie Dixon, Director of Strategy at Atlantic 57 and Trinity Reding, Group Engagement Director at Atlantic 57, to join our May 5th. webinar on Communicating with Audiences through Closure. Julie and Trinity shared key lessons on how arts organizations can meet their audience’s needs during Coronavirus.
What Audiences are Looking for in Content
Trinity kicked off our discussion with some interesting insights about Americans’ general consumption of media content today. She shared that adults in the United States spend an astonishing 12 hours a day connected to some form of media. This number was steadily growing for a number of years but plateaued in 2018. Part of the plateau can be explained by the fact that the number simply cannot grow much higher, but Trinity also believes it points to a bigger issue: people no longer need more content, they need better content. In response, The Atlantic reduced its content by 7.5% last year. During that same period, they hired more journalists and saw their audience grow.
Trinity shared a few key statistics that illustrate a shift in audiences’ content consumption behaviors.
41% of adults sometimes or often avoid the news
74% report they are actively avoiding advertising
55% say that trusting a brand now matters more than ever.
Right now, audiences’ expectations are high, there is greater competition, and there is a premium on trust. Trinity pointed out that a couple of these facts bode particularly well for arts organizations. The avoidance of news signals a need for some kind of escape, which arts organizations are well-positioned to provide. Additionally, there is not an inherent distrust of arts organizations. That said, arts organizations cannot rest on their laurels right now and wait for audiences to come to them, particularly at a time when their most obvious touchpoint for trust-building—live performances-- has gone away.
In terms of what audiences are looking for specifically as a result of Coronavirus, Trinity believes it is 1) truthful sources of information that tell them what’s going on, 2) guidance to make informed decisions, and 3) support in managing their emotions. She called out the huge opportunity arts organizations have to play a part in meeting that third need.
Three Lessons from the Atlantic
As mentioned above, The Atlantic has seen a steady growth in audience across the past decade. However, their growth has accelerated significantly since they started covering Coronavirus. Their audience doubled in both March and April, and more people are reading articles to completion. To help arts organizations think through how to grow their engagement with audiences during the time of closures and beyond, Julie shared three key lessons from The Atlantic’s journalism:
Position your brand for service over commerce. Audiences right now trust brands that put service over commerce. About a year ago, The Atlantic put up a paywall for its content. However, they made the decision to make access to their coronavirus resources free, and that decision to put service first has actually led to commerce for the organization. In March and April, they saw 3x the number of new subscriptions purchased. Right now, The Atlantic is focused on bringing the most value to every interaction someone has with any form of their content – whether it’s a long form article or a tweet. The ingredients they have found to be most important for their coronavirus content are 1) having an original idea, 2) showcasing credible expertise, and 3) aligning emotionally with the reader. These ingredients will differ for each organization, but Julie emphasized the importance of finding what differentiates you from your peers.
Many arts organizations have also taken the “service over commerce” approach. The staff at La Jolla Playhouse took time to call their patrons for no reason other than simply asking how they are doing. The Berlin Philharmonic made its very highly produced online content free. And the Atlanta Opera took requests for individuals who needed their spirits boosted and delivered singing telegrams.
Match Your Mindset to Your Audience’s Mindset. Everyone is processing emotions in different ways and at different speeds right now. It is critical to understand the variety of audience mindsets and how they are shifting. At The Atlantic, Julie attributes this understanding to equal parts judgment and data. They consider it a hand in hand approach – data aids, but does not replace, judgment. In the early days of Coronavirus, they launched a poll to understand what their audience was looking for and through the results they built a framework of what they needed to deliver to meet their audience’s needs:
What is going on? (info on the virus and how it is spreading)
Is this under control? (how are governments responding)
What should I do about it? (guidance on how to protect themselves and others)
How do I live this new life (how to quarantine and social distance)
Julie encouraged participants on the webinar to consider how arts audiences’ needs have shifted in this moment and how they might address those needs. Our team at The Advisory Board for the Arts has been tracking arts organizations’ engagement with audiences since closures, and a few key examples stand out as ways to meet the new needs of audiences:
The Getty Museum allows people to insert their art into the popular Animal Crossing video game.
Ballet Hispanico is hosting Facebook watch parties to watch their performances
Dance Church allows people recharge their body and soul twice a week with a virtual dance classes
EduHam at Home is an extension of the Hamilton Education Program, a classroom initiative that walks through Miranda’s Hamilton creation process and ends with students making and performing their own musical theatre pieces.
Be nimble now, for endurance later. Julie highlighted one unintended consequence of the pandemic: a revelation of the mismatch between organizations’ internal structures and the speed and agility needed to respond to a crisis. Now is the time to break down siloes, reduce red tape, and remove internal hurdles. She shared an example of how The Atlantic was forced out of its comfort zone in producing a new podcast called Social Distance. While they have been somewhat slow moving in the podcast world given a desire to produce the highest quality podcast possible (both in terms of content and production), their team came to the idea for the Social Distant podcast in early March and they decided to launch it the next day. The production quality is minimal compared to their traditional work, but it has been hugely popular. They were forced to tear up their traditional playbook to create it, but now they are questioning how much of that playbook is really necessary moving forward. Julie emphasized that this is an ideal time to test and experiment – organizations should prioritize ideas and agility over process. And they will likely end up with innovations that will serve them well beyond the crisis.
The other area Julie emphasized in this lesson related to staff. Arts organizations should give team members this time to focus on their strengths and allow people follow ideas that may not typically fit into their workflow.
Moving Forward
Overall, arts organizations need to pivot and adapt their engagement in a way that will connect to the current needs of their audiences. The first wave of this for arts organizations primarily took the form of putting archived content online. As Trinity noted in the webinar, however, consumers aren’t looking for more content, they want better content. Curation is key.
As arts organizations move to the next wave, they should consider ways to replicate the social experience that so many arts attendees value. Finding ways to create that feeling of connectedness not only to the art, but also to others, will result in an experience that feels more personalized to an individual organization. Julie suggested having artists share their unique stories, or creating a chat function to allow viewers to engage with one another while watching the art. Most importantly, arts organizations’ success will depend on being nimble and creating engagement that feels like a clear extension of their existing brand.
For more examples of how arts organizations have been engaging audiences during closure, access our digital engagement library on the Arts Resilience Center.
Do you have additional questions for Trinity? You can email her here
Watch the Recording Here
