Cultural Research
Martin & Stowe works with visual and performing arts companies to enrich and enliven understanding of their audiences in order to stimulate fresh thinking and create more powerful strategies, programs and communications.
We have conducted hundreds of interviews and focus groups for cultural organizations. We are fortunate to have among our clients many of the nation’s leading museums, orchestras, opera companies and performing arts organizations. We invite you to visit our client page and to ask us about our experiences.
The Full Spectrum Of Audience Research
Motivations & Barriers
Maintaining current audiences and growing new audiences is essential. Martin & Stowe works with cultural clients to explore and understand what factors – rational and emotional – motivate or stand in the way of attendance or of engaging audiences at a deeper level.
Branding & Positioning
We uncover existing perceptions of museums and performing arts organizations, discover how they fit into the broader cultural landscape in which they compete and explore how to leverage this understanding in shaping their future.
Concept Research
We work with our clients to explore new concepts in programming, membership, education and other important areas using audience reaction and input to shape and enhance these ideas as they are being developed or to re-tool them as needed for future success.
Audience Experience
Increasingly, organizations want to make sure they deliver the best possible experience to their patrons from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave. As the world of entertainment options continually expands, they realize audiences need not only to be satisfied, but richly rewarded throughout their experience. We have developed special techniques to explore these issues with audiences and to unlock opportunities for visual and performing arts organizations to enhance their overall “product.”
Exhibition and Communications Research
We work with clients to build the best strategic platform for their communications and to refine creative work as it is being developed. We explore what is being communicated to audiences and if the desired emotional response is being generated, and, as importantly, if it’s not, how to strengthen these communications. We have helped many visual and performing arts organizations in development and refinement of exhibition advertising, web site design, logo selection and assessment of naming alternatives.