The Math of Diversity: How Much Your Audience Can Grow When It Looks Like Your Community
Episode 3 • 2nd April 2024 • The Offstage Mic • Aubrey Bergauer
00:00:00 00:38:47

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The need for diversity in our audience and for the audience to reflect the community is a hot topic in the arts these days. And rightfully so.

There is a moral imperative to do this work at arts organizations, but I am also a fan of the business case for diversity. And in this episode, we are talking about what the numbers look like if and when the audience actually does look like the community — and wow, is there money on the table when the audience becomes more diverse.


This episode looks at just how many more tickets would be sold in a year if your audience makeup mirrored that of your community, or at least came close. We talk through the numbers, and I have a free download that does the math for you so you don’t have to.


Get your free Demographic Revenue Calculator and see the potential for sales growth in three easy steps.

Transcripts

Aubrey Bergauer:

Hey, everyone.

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As I'm recording this episode,

I am about to head out on my

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next National Parks adventure.

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If you've followed me for a while,

or if you've listened to season one

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episodes, especially, I have talked

about my semi recent obsession.

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I mean, it's a few years old

now, I guess, but my semi recent

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obsession with the National Parks.

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Like many people, I promise

this eventually has to do with

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something arts related, but,

you know, Hang on for a minute.

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Like many people, I got into the National

Parks during lockdown, and now four

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years later, continue to, you know,

check some off the list when I can.

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They are like an arts organization,

the National Parks, that is, in that

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they have an incredibly strong product.

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I always say the National

Parks never disappoint.

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They're just always so

beautiful, always blow me away.

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Similar to us, ticket sales or admissions

do not cover the cost of what they do.

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So that's why, you know, the park

admission fees, the park passes, campsite

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reservations, all that kind of stuff

definitely doesn't cover the cost.

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Now, here's what's different.

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They receive a lot more government

subsidy, as we know, than we

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do in the arts, but also They

raise a ton of money every year.

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This is something that

I've recently learned.

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That's a technical term,

by the way, a ton of money.

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Uh, but totally random fun fact as I

was learning about this, their chief

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philanthropy officer of the National

Park Foundation, that's their fundraising

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arm, their chief philanthropy officer

is a former percussionist, went to

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Peabody, I think, if I recall, was

the head of development at Baltimore

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Symphony several years back.

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And, and, and their past board chair

was also board chair at Fort Wayne

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Symphony in Indiana, and their current

chair is on the board of the Frye Art

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Museum in Seattle, which is where I used

to live before here in San Francisco.

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None of that has to do with this episode.

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I just think all of these little Arts,

parks connections are just very cool.

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So to wrap up my story here, as this

episode drops, I will be just returning

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from my latest national parks trip.

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I'm about to leave.

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There's a group of eight of us going.

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We are renting two big RVs and

doing this road trip across

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Texas to Big Bend National Park,

spending a few days there hiking.

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Canoeing, all that kind of stuff, and then

eventually heading up to New Mexico to

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Carlsbad Caverns National Park, followed

by a stop at White Sands National Park.

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And like I said, I'll just

have returned from all of that

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when this episode comes out.

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So today, to get into it, we are

talking about the math of diversity,

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how much your audience can grow

when it looks like your community.

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This is an episode about abundance mindset

and growth, not how much things cost

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or how can we afford this or scarcity.

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I want to say out of the gate

that there is absolutely a moral

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imperative to diversify Not just

our audience, but our staffs, our

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teams, our artists, and our boards.

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But I am also a fan of

the business case as well.

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That's really the angle we're

coming at this from today.

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I also want to say up front,

I am not an EDI /DEI expert.

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I do not claim to be.

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I am someone on a journey.

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And today we are talking about

what the numbers look like when

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more of us go on that journey.

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And whoa, baby!

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Let me tell you, there

is money on the table.

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So that's the topic of

today, the math of it all.

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I have a free resource to

give you for this episode.

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It is my Demographic Revenue Calculator.

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It's literally a spreadsheet that

walks you through the inputs.

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So the inputs being, what's the

demographic breakdown in your community?

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Look up census data or Wikipedia

or your local government's website.

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It asks, what are your annual

ticket sales currently?

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What's the national demographic

breakdown for audiences in

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every artistic discipline?

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It gives you this.

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You don't have to look this up,

but opera, ballet, classical music,

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theater, museums, art galleries.

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on and on.

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That's all in there already, so

you don't have to look that up.

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And basically it walks

you through step by step.

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You input your own current audience

breakdown in terms of demographics, which

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a lot of you have that from like grant

applications and things like that already.

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You drop it in and then after walking

you through those inputs, poof, it

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tells you some ticket sales potential.

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This can be used to help you set targets.

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It can be used for future

revenue projections.

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Everyone wants new and more.

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varied revenue streams, right?

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This can help start to wrap your

brain around the potential there.

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Or, speaking of potential, it can just

help you see what it could look like.

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So again, we are here for abundance

and growth and what the future

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could be when our audience

looks more like our community.

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Get this free download, the

Demographic Revenue Calculator, that

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is at my website, aubreybergauer.

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com / 24.

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That's number two for for episode 24

and have some fun playing with that.

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I hope you do.

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Now we have some business to get to.

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You are here for season three,

episode three of the Offstage Mike.

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The math of diversity, how much

your audience can grow when

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it looks like your community.

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Coming right up.

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I'm Aubrey Bergauer, and

welcome to my podcast.

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I'm known in the arts world for

being customer centric, data

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obsessed, and for growing revenue.

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The arts are my vehicle to make the

change I want to see in this world,

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like creating places of belonging,

pursuing gender and racial equality.

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Developing high performing

teams and leaders and leveraging

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technology to elevate our work.

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I've been called the Steve

Jobs of classical music and the

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Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony.

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I've held offstage roles managing

millions of dollars in revenue at

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major institutions and as chief

executive of an orchestra where we

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doubled the size of the audience and

nearly quadrupled the donor base.

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And now I'm here to help you

achieve that same kind of success.

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In this podcast, we are sorting through

the data inside and outside the arts,

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applying those findings to our work,

leading out with our values, and bringing

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in some expert voices along the way.

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All to build the vibrant future

we know is possible for our

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institutions and for ourselves as

offstage administrators and leaders.

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This podcast is about

optimizing the business around

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the art, not sacrificing it.

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You're listening to the Offstage Mic.

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Have you read Course Storm's, new

State-of-the-Art Report, yet it's a

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data-driven resource for all things

arts education in the past year.

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This one is for all the executive

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Teaching artists and other leaders

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Imagine tapping into more than 10

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insights for your organization.

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Things like what day and time is

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programs that not only weathered the

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Yes, you heard that right.

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Thriving.

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I love that the State of the

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software company, CourseStorm.

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I got to see trends discovered

from CourseStorm's analysis of more

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than 1 million class registrations.

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And you'll want to see them too.

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So if you're ready to elevate your

education program, don't miss out

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on the state of the arts report.

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Visit Course Storm.

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the acronym for state of the arts

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and download the free report today.

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Is it just me, or does

this sound terrible?

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Wait, I think I heard of someone

who might be able to help us.

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There's this company called Novo Music.

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They provide across the board

audio solutions, from recording

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repair to audio editing to original

music and sound design and beyond.

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Well, what are we waiting for?

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Now that's better.

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Novo Music.

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Conducting your creative vision.

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Find out more at novomusic.

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co

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There is a talk I give called

The Future of Arts and Culture,

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Creating a Sense of Belonging.

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And in that presentation, I talk

about user experience research and

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how do we design or create places

where audiences feel welcome.

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like they belong, right?

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And at the top of the talk, as I'm

outlining some of the challenges

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we face in the industry of arts

and culture, I talk about how often

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we are asking, in my opinion at

least, asking the wrong questions.

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There's a few quote unquote wrong

questions I think we're asking in general

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across the sector, but one of those

that fits today's topic is, Do we serve

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the art or do we serve the community?

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I think this is the wrong

question because these two things

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are not mutually exclusive.

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And in fact, one begets the other.

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So what I mean by that is if we don't have

an audience funding our work via ticket

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sales and donations, we don't exist.

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I mean, at least if we want to get

paid, we don't exist if we don't

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have somebody funding that work.

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We know we do not get tons of

government subsidies here in the U.

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S., like the national parks or like arts

organizations do in some other countries.

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And I'll say more on this in a

moment, but the point is right here

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is that if we want to pay the bills.

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And not just the bills, but pay our

artists what they deserve, pay our

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staff more competitive wages, be able

to program and commission the new

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exciting works we want to program.

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If we want to roll out new initiatives

and projects, if we want to do any of

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those things or all of those things.

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We need money.

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As we are sometimes painfully

aware, that money doesn't just

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come freely in this sector.

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And by making quote unquote great art,

that alone is not inherently fundable.

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I'm sorry if that's hard

news for anybody to hear.

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I think it is a hard pill

to swallow at some times.

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But I see this all the time when musicians

start an ensemble and then realize, oh,

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I have to fundraise and market and do

all these things to pay for it, right?

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This support does not automatically come,

is the point, and so many of us know this,

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like I said, as we're painfully aware.

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That funding does not automatically

come unless you've got a big donor

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or sponsor footing at all, but

that is rarer and rarer these days.

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So, um, We need audiences and

broad based support, again, in

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the form of ticket sales, and that

forms the pipeline for donations.

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So anybody wanting more on

that, see my long haul model.

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It's all there of how do we move

somebody from a first time buyer to

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a repeat subscriber and eventually

to a donor and renewing donor.

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How do we move somebody along the journey?

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It's all there.

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It's on my website.

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It's on my blog.

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I've got other podcast episodes about it.

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And it's also something we talk about a

lot in my run at Like a Business Academy.

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But for now What I want you to know is

that when we grow those sources, grow

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audiences, grow donors, we gain money

to go right back to funding our mission,

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funding the art we care about so much.

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So this is cyclical.

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This is symbiotic.

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It is not mutually exclusive at

all, this idea of do we serve the

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art or do we serve the community?

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No, one begets the other.

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Really firmly believe that.

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Okay, another wrong question, quote

unquote wrong question, related to

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today's topic is, how do we stay relevant?

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Now, I know on the surface that

probably sounds like a great question,

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and I agree on the surface it does.

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But here's the thing.

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We don't get to decide if we are relevant.

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Our community decides.

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The world around us decides.

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They decide with their wallets.

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So it actually is connected right

back to this idea of who is coming,

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who's buying tickets, who eventually

is donating and supporting us.

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I used to say it would make more

sense, this question of how do we

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stay relevant, it would make more

sense if we were publicly funded.

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So I said I would come back to this

idea of publicly funded and who is and

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who isn't and all this kind of stuff.

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Okay.

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But in that case, like I used to

think like if we were in Europe or

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something and for the European listeners

right now, I used to think like if

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we were publicly funded, maybe we

could ask how do we stay relevant.

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Because we're not so beholden

to the audiences and donors

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like is the case in the U.

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S.

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But then I've realized over the last few

years, in that case, for those places that

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do receive a lot more government subsidy,

Somebody else decides if we are relevant,

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still, like, it's not audiences, in this

case, maybe it's legislators, which, that

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is true, but even to break it down even

more, in these places where organizations,

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arts organizations, receive way more

public funding than here in the U.

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S., so Europe, sometimes in Australia

as well, maybe some other places,

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where is that public money coming from?

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So I used to think, yes, it matters

if we're relevant to legislators,

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but really, at the end of the day,

where's that public money coming from?

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What's the source?

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Usually, the answer is

taxpayers, aka the community.

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So no matter, is now the conclusion

I've come to, no matter how your

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organization is funded, in the end,

that money is coming from the people

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in your region, in your community.

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So I want to put a finer point on it.

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The number one quality of top

relevant brands to this question of,

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you know, how do we stay relevant?

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Even if it's the wrong question, it's

because other people decide this, not us.

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The number one quality of top

relevant brands, this comes

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from a firm called Profit.

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Every year they release

their brand relevance index.

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I write about them in

chapter 10 of my book.

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The number one quality of top relevant

brands, according to this firm, is that

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they are Quote unquote, customer obsessed.

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So when we think of companies like

Netflix, Apple, Marvel, Pixar, Nike,

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PlayStation, Spotify, like I'm literally

reading off the list of top relevant

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brands according to this index they

produce, those brands, what they have in

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common is that they are customer obsessed.

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And to be customer obsessed

is to be community obsessed.

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To be community obsessed

is to be customer obsessed.

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Trust.

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This is my belief.

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And when our audience is leaving people

or money on the table, when we are

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leaving people or money on the table,

that is a huge window of opportunity.

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So remember, we are here right now for,

not for scarcity, definitely not here

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for shame, so do not hear any of that.

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We are here for growth and understanding a

big opportunity that lies before us here.

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So to get to growth, though, we first

have to tackle some of the problem.

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Why is our current audience leaving

people or money on the table?

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Well, the answer to that,

I would say, is systemic.

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Systemic discrimination, racism,

oppression in our country

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and in our industry as well.

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By origin, we are a white

Western European art form.

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Most everybody listening,

especially if you were at a

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traditional institution or a legacy

institution, that's our origin story.

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So again, no shame in that, but

white Western European art form.

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Our audiences, we know this, but to

state the obvious, our audiences are not

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reflective of the communities we serve.

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So now to put some numbers to that,

starts to get at the very beginning of

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some of this math we're going to do in

this episode, is this is from the NEA.

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NEA data says that the demographic

breakdown of arts attendance for I'll

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do classical music just because that's

my background, but I'll, I'll share a

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couple other disciplines in a moment.

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The breakdown, by the way, I share

this in chapter five of my book, if

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anybody wants more, it's all there,

but for now, demographic breakdown

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for classical music, our audiences

nationwide are 83 percent white, 5.

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5 percent Hispanic, a little

over 5 percent African American.

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And 7 percent other, and I just want

to say the other is how the data is

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presented or categorized by the NEA and

the report I was getting this from, so

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that is not me trying to minimize groups

or want people together unfairly, that's

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just how the data is presented, so.

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That's what we're working with here.

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Theater, just to give another

discipline, very similar, 80.

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7 percent white.

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So if classical music was 83%, this

is almost 81 percent for theater.

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That's non musical plays specifically.

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6.

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4 percent Hispanic, 8.

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5 percent African American, 4.

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4 percent Asian and other.

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Let's just see, let's do museums just

to get one more for the visitor based

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institution people listening here.

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Museums, we have, this includes

art galleries as well, 76 percent

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white, 10 percent Hispanic.

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6.

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5 percent African American, 7.

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4 percent Asian and other.

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None of these artistic disciplines

are that different than each other,

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and the range according to the NEA is

that audiences or attendees at these

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traditional, meaning white, Western

art form institution, again, no shade

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being thrown in saying that, that's,

that's just their origin story, but the

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range is that attendees and audiences

are from 76 to 83 percent white.

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Like, if I had to summarize

all those numbers I just

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rattled off, that's the range.

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76 to 83 percent white is our audiences.

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Okay, by comparison, let's look at U.

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S.

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census data.

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The U.

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S.

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census, the latest census in

:

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population is only 62 percent white.

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So, already we are over indexing at arts

and culture institutions a minimum of of

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14 percentage points, depending on your

discipline, and up to, as is the case

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of classical music, up to 21 percentage

points over indexing on white audiences.

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So everyone else at a traditional or

legacy organization, I'm not sure what's

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the best word to use here, so I'll just

say everyone else at an organization

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based on white Western European art

form as part of our origin story.

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is somewhere in that range between

that 14 to 20 plus percentage points

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over indexing on white audiences.

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This is not about shame.

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I gotta say that again.

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This is truly about the

opportunity that lies ahead of us.

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So here's where it gets even

more interesting in my opinion.

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We just looked at 2020 census data.

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The projection looking ahead to 2045,

this is where it really ratchets up

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a notch or 10 notches or something,

is that by:

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projected to be a minority white country.

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The Brookings Institute

projects that by:

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S.

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will be only 49 percent white.

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Pew Research, to put another data source

to this, says that already 22 states

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and 109 counties across those states

are already there, already majority

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non white, meaning majority minority

is another way to say it, or majority

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BIPOC is yet another way to say it.

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The point is that this overindexing is

maybe interesting at best, but really when

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I say opportunity, even necessary, right?

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Like I said, there's moral imperative,

but when we talk about the dollars

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and cents of it, absolutely

necessary to be aware of this.

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And so as the world around us

becomes increasingly diverse, we are.

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Absolutely missing out on a large swath

of audiences available to us because we

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are not fully reflective of that world.

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So what if we actually

expanded our audience to look

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like that world around us?

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I get so excited by this because

truly that would be a game changer.

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And this is where we're going to

do some more math in a moment to

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give a specific example of just

how much we are talking about here.

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Because Like I said, whoa, baby, it's a

lot, but first I want to share a story,

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I guess, for lack of a better word.

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So one time I was having this exact

conversation on this exact topic

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with somebody and talking about

the changing demographic of the

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United States, et cetera, et cetera.

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And this was, this was with a

colleague at an industry conference.

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So this person said to me.

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that this argument I'm making

that we're losing out on audiences

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because we don't look like the

world around us and the demographics

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are changing doesn't really hold.

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Because the entire population is growing.

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So they said basically the potential

pool of white audiences is growing too.

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And I normally don't share such personal

stories, especially on what can be

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:

more sensitive topics like this one.

374

:

So But I'm gonna share here because

I can talk strategies all day long,

375

:

but I think this is a great example

of where things get real, you know?

376

:

So this is a real conversation on

the ground with an artistic leader.

377

:

And I'll even go so far as to say is

this person is actually known or at

378

:

least has built some of their personal

brand on being more forward thinking,

379

:

inclusive, and a proponent, total

proponent for representation in the field.

380

:

Now, given all this context, I was

a bit surprised to hear this comment

381

:

from this person, first of all.

382

:

And even if they are all those things,

forward thinking and a proponent of

383

:

representation and all the things we want

to champion, you know, on these issues,

384

:

this is still a real thought they had.

385

:

I share this in case anybody

listening is thinking, you

386

:

know, I was thinking that too.

387

:

Or for anyone else that may have

colleagues who you know are going to

388

:

have that same question or thought,

this is sometimes where the rubber

389

:

meets the road on this stuff.

390

:

Here's my response to

that line of thinking.

391

:

On one hand, they're not wrong.

392

:

The overall population is growing.

393

:

That is a correct statement.

394

:

So I went digging in

preparation for this episode.

395

:

I went digging into the census data

to see What exactly the growth rates

396

:

are right now, and here's the answer.

397

:

None of this next part is in my

book, so you are getting it all

398

:

here for the first time right now.

399

:

I've never shared all this before

because I literally just dug into

400

:

all this, uh, for this episode.

401

:

The U.

402

:

S.

403

:

Census Bureau says 2023 was a quote

unquote good year for population growth.

404

:

That's their word.

405

:

It was a good year for population growth.

406

:

The Census Bureau also says it was still

Quote unquote, historically low, though.

407

:

In 2023, what's good but still

historically low is half a

408

:

percent population growth.

409

:

That was the growth rate in 2023.

410

:

0.

411

:

5%.

412

:

That is up from 0.

413

:

4 percent in 2022.

414

:

It was 0.

415

:

2 percent in 2021.

416

:

So you put all that together.

417

:

And let's say the audience at

this person's organization was

418

:

doing just fine, meaning they

were making their sales goals.

419

:

They were happy with subscription levels.

420

:

They had full houses,

balancing their budget.

421

:

Things were good.

422

:

Let's just say if that were true for that

organization or for yours or for anybody

423

:

else's, if that were true and you were

happy to keep the audience proportions

424

:

the same as they are currently, that means

You are looking at a potential growth of

425

:

half a percentage point a year to keep

on pace with growing your audience at

426

:

the same rate as the nation's population.

427

:

Okay, you can dig down further

and say, well, maybe your

428

:

area is growing a little more.

429

:

Maybe you have 1 percent

growth a year or 1.

430

:

5 percent or 2%.

431

:

I don't know.

432

:

You can look into it, but I don't know

about you, regardless of what that exact

433

:

population growth is in your region.

434

:

Would you rather have that or a 0.

435

:

5 percent ceiling or whatever the

number is, would you rather have that

436

:

or a ceiling of 40 percent or higher

untapped audiences right here, right now?

437

:

I know my choice.

438

:

And just because I want to make

one more point on why this is This

439

:

population growth argument isn't

really the argument some think it is.

440

:

If we are talking about facts,

also true is the birth rate

441

:

is declining in this country.

442

:

So when the population is growing, like

I just shared about, that then begs the

443

:

question Where is that growth coming

from if the birth rate is declining?

444

:

The answer is largely immigration.

445

:

And who is immigrating to the U.

446

:

S.?

447

:

Well, I looked that up too.

448

:

Immigration is such a big topic right

now, but I literally was like, where

449

:

exactly are the most people coming

from who are entering this country and

450

:

aiding with this population growth?

451

:

So here you go.

452

:

The top countries for adult

immigrants entering the U.

453

:

S.

454

:

are Mexico, India, China, the

Philippines, El Salvador, and Vietnam.

455

:

Now this list varies slightly depending

on what source is reporting, so

456

:

don't take that as like, uh, in order

by gospel, but basically those are

457

:

the top countries where people are

immigrating from, and the headline here

458

:

is that Those are not white people.

459

:

So one more time, the argument that

population growth somehow lessens

460

:

the need to diversify your audience

or somehow makes this need less

461

:

urgent in order to grow is just

actually incredibly circular logic.

462

:

So I want to say one more

time, we are not white.

463

:

100 percent have a moral

imperative to do this work.

464

:

I believe we are called to dismantle

the structures that have marginalized

465

:

and minimized people of color and

other historically marginalized groups

466

:

and identities in this industry.

467

:

I believe that on stage, off stage,

in the galleries, exhibits, in the

468

:

boardroom, and in our audience.

469

:

I believe this.

470

:

This is part of my own value system.

471

:

Also, though.

472

:

I believe in the business

case for this work, too.

473

:

Both of these things can coexist.

474

:

And because if we don't have an audience

meeting, if we don't have customers,

475

:

one more time, we don't exist.

476

:

And we are sidelining a huge

portion of the population when

477

:

we are not creating places where

everyone feels like they belong.

478

:

Okay, two more things, and then

we're going to do some more math.

479

:

I already said this.

480

:

I'm not a DEI expert.

481

:

I don't claim to be.

482

:

Like so many of you, I'm on a journey.

483

:

I'm just sharing some of the things I've

learned, what I've come to understand,

484

:

and opinions I've formulated around my own

personal values and beliefs on this topic.

485

:

I also want to say we do not need

to be everything to everyone.

486

:

That's not what I'm saying here.

487

:

When any brand in any sector, any industry

tries to be everything to everyone,

488

:

then you're nothing to no one, right?

489

:

So what I am not saying is

that we need to make things so

490

:

generic they appeal to no one.

491

:

What I am saying, instead what I am

advocating for here, is that being

492

:

inclusive, that creating places where

everyone who has a proclivity to become

493

:

our customer, they like our art, they

want to engage with culture, they want

494

:

to have a live cultural experience

that they are going to tap into.

495

:

into their own personal entertainment

budget to purchase anyone who fits that

496

:

kind of customer avatar, regardless

of their background or identity, which

497

:

includes race and ethnicity, of course,

but our identities are multifaceted

498

:

and include other things, too, like

you're a mom or you're a dad, for

499

:

example, in addition to you're an

employee or you're a runner or whatever

500

:

your hobbies may be in addition to

your gender and on and on and on.

501

:

So, no matter someone's background

or identity, if they fit the customer

502

:

avatar for potential purchases

because of their personal taste and

503

:

spending habits, they need to feel

safe and welcome at our organizations.

504

:

That is what I'm saying here.

505

:

Okay, so where do we go?

506

:

Where do we go from

here given all of this?

507

:

Let's say you are listening and

nodding your head along and you are

508

:

like, yes, this all makes sense to me.

509

:

No problem.

510

:

How then do we begin to connect the dots

from, yes, I want to be inclusive, to

511

:

how does this make additional revenue and

grow the audiences we so desperately need?

512

:

Let's do some math.

513

:

This is in the book, I will

say, if you want or need the

514

:

visual chart to go with it.

515

:

I also have that free download template

that does all this math for you so

516

:

you can save yourself a ton of time.

517

:

And I'll tell you again at

the end how you can get that.

518

:

But first, let's talk it through here.

519

:

So, for an example, let's say

you are a mid sized museum.

520

:

We already said the NEA data for the

breakdown of audience demographics

521

:

for a hypothetical city's art museum,

meaning nationwide 76 percent white

522

:

current audiences, current attendees,

little over 10 percent Hispanic, 6.

523

:

5 percent African American, 7.

524

:

4 percent Asian or other.

525

:

Those are the same stats I said

earlier in the episode here.

526

:

So let's say this hypothetical

organization or museum sees.

527

:

15, 000 visitors a year.

528

:

I'm totally making this up.

529

:

Let's say they are here in

my city of San Francisco.

530

:

So the population breakdown for San

Francisco, I looked it up online.

531

:

I'm just following the same

NEA categorizations here.

532

:

So for San Francisco, the population

is 45 percent white, 15 percent

533

:

Hispanic, 5 percent African American,

and 35 percent Asian and other.

534

:

So that's actually, Asians are

actually the second biggest

535

:

population in the city here.

536

:

If this museum is currently serving

76 percent white audiences, again the

537

:

national average, we'll say this made

up museum matches the national data.

538

:

When you do the exercise or do my

download, you can input your own

539

:

numbers, but for this exercise

let's say they match the average.

540

:

That means that out of their 15, 000

tickets a year, 76 percent of them, 11,

541

:

400 of those tickets are white attendees.

542

:

And just over a thousand Asian attendees.

543

:

Okay, so that's the current baseline

for this made up museum here.

544

:

The total population of San

Francisco, San Francisco proper,

545

:

is just under a million people.

546

:

So I'm not talking about the whole

Bay Area, but San Francisco proper,

547

:

just under a million people.

548

:

The total white population per

the city government is 366, 000.

549

:

840.

550

:

I know this is a lot of numbers,

but that's about, the important

551

:

number here, is that is about

a 3 percent conversion rate.

552

:

Of the white population, this

museum is converting about 3

553

:

percent to ticket buyers annually.

554

:

But of the Asian population, that

second biggest demographic at around

555

:

285, 000 people, It's only a 0.

556

:

3 percent conversion.

557

:

Okay, so this is still

just their baseline.

558

:

So hang with me because I

know this is a lot of numbers.

559

:

Like I said, the visual is all in my

book, and then the download can help

560

:

you do the visualization for your own

organization as well, but hang with me.

561

:

Because what if this fictitious

museum converted, and here's the

562

:

point of the whole exercise, What

if they converted the second biggest

563

:

demographic in San Francisco, which,

like I said, is the Asian population,

564

:

at the same rate, they're already

successfully converting white audiences,

565

:

meaning instead of converting 0.

566

:

3 of Asians to ticket buyers,

they converted 3 percent of that

567

:

demographic to ticket buyers.

568

:

They would sell, if they did that,

they would sell an additional

569

:

8, 800 tickets every year.

570

:

That is just converting the Asian

population in this city at the same

571

:

rate of ticket sales conversions already

happening for the white population.

572

:

So I'm not saying sell fewer tickets

to white people or anything like that.

573

:

I'm saying, no, no, no, keep that there.

574

:

The same.

575

:

We're happy with that number.

576

:

This is about growth, remember?

577

:

So, if you remember the total

annual visitorship, tickets,

578

:

admissions sold at the museum,

that was 15, 000 tickets a year.

579

:

So this is telling, to say it again,

an additional 8, 000 plus tickets would

580

:

be sold if they were reflective of

this community, converting the second

581

:

biggest demographic at the same rate.

582

:

They're converting the

first largest demographic.

583

:

This is incredible to me.

584

:

I don't know if anybody else's mind

is blown by these numbers, but when

585

:

you actually look at it like this,

it's amazing how much is on the table.

586

:

Now, is any organization going to

make this kind of leap in a year?

587

:

No.

588

:

Are there a lot of barriers and

systemic issues and lots of things

589

:

to overcome for this to ever happen?

590

:

Yes.

591

:

But what if a fraction, a

fraction of those gains were true?

592

:

This is a vision of the future.

593

:

I am here for, and that

vision says we see the data.

594

:

We know the demographics of our city.

595

:

We know the demographics of our market.

596

:

We know those demographics, like

most of America, are changing.

597

:

And we know that if we make a concerted

effort to be welcoming to the second

598

:

largest demographic in our area, It's work

we believe in, and it's work that we know

599

:

will fundamentally change our bottom line.

600

:

And the best part of all of this, I think,

is that even if we fall short of that

601

:

perfect math goal, because it is math,

and math is not always the same as real

602

:

life, but even if we make a small fraction

of progress, we are selling So many

603

:

more tickets than we ever were before.

604

:

Our audience will have

expanded significantly.

605

:

We'll be serving more people, and that

audience looks a lot more like our

606

:

community than it ever did before.

607

:

That is the future I want for you.

608

:

That is the future I want

for every arts organization.

609

:

in this country and beyond.

610

:

And I've seen a taste of it before, just

a taste at the orchestra I used to run.

611

:

That area, the second biggest

demographic was Latinos and Hispanics,

612

:

so a pretty large Latinx population.

613

:

And we increased Hispanic and Latino

households by 50 percent, Hispanic

614

:

and Latino households by 50 percent

over the course of a few years.

615

:

I talk about this in the book a little

bit too, go into more detail on how we

616

:

did this and the different levers we

pulled to help try to make that inclusive.

617

:

in welcoming place for that

demographic, and it made the kind of

618

:

difference I'm talking about here.

619

:

It really was a lot of extra

revenue to our bottom line.

620

:

Our audience started looking different,

looking more like the community.

621

:

So I believe all this, not just as

a mathematical exercise, but because

622

:

I've seen it, and I have seen how

it really, really made a difference.

623

:

in the budget and who we were serving

and in more fully delivering our mission.

624

:

So I just want to say one thing on

programming as we wrap up here, as

625

:

we start coming to the end, we do not

have to change repertoire, programming,

626

:

curation alone to achieve this.

627

:

And in fact, should not only.

628

:

be, talk about pulling levers, should not

be only pulling the programming lever.

629

:

In fact, the research supports

that traditional white Western

630

:

art forms can and do appeal to

non white and Western people.

631

:

So this is actually hugely

beneficial research for our

632

:

legacy traditional organizations.

633

:

This research called the Latin Experience,

research by Skanchen that is, and there

634

:

was also some radio research done by

Slover Lynette that really started getting

635

:

at some of these same kind of findings.

636

:

Basically, here's what it comes down to.

637

:

Do we need representation in our artists?

638

:

Yes.

639

:

Do we need more of that?

640

:

Yes, absolutely.

641

:

Do we need to program works

by historically marginalized

642

:

and excluded groups?

643

:

Yes.

644

:

But that alone is not what changes

and expands our audience demographic.

645

:

So many organizations try

to, I think, only achieve

646

:

diversity through programming.

647

:

That's not sufficient.

648

:

The research says, in short,

That one's identity does not

649

:

predetermine their taste.

650

:

Now think about that for yourself, too.

651

:

Your identity does not predetermine

your own taste in anything.

652

:

People choose and make their own taste.

653

:

And this is true as a

broad consumer trend.

654

:

People are more into their own

taste making than decades before.

655

:

So this is really great

news for our art forms.

656

:

It means that art Even when the

origin story is white Western

657

:

European, can appeal, does

appeal to all kinds of people.

658

:

And that, my friend, goes right back to

the incredible strength of our product.

659

:

So I talk about this a

lot more in the book.

660

:

It is a whole chapter on multiculturalism,

specifically in our programming, what

661

:

to do, what not to do, how the research

really supports programming strategy,

662

:

and how to maximize that strategy.

663

:

I wish we had time to

get into it here, but.

664

:

For today, the main takeaway is

that we have such good news and

665

:

that potential audiences are

here, now, ready, and available.

666

:

But we have to create spaces

and places where those potential

667

:

audiences feel welcome, where they

see others that look like them.

668

:

And that, more than anything else,

is what will move the needle.

669

:

More than programming, more than

repertoire, more than curatorial

670

:

changes alone, for sure.

671

:

So that is the opportunity before

us and is completely achievable,

672

:

both morally and according to the

business case for this work as well.

673

:

Okay, offstagers, that was a lot of

math and numbers today, so So sorry,

674

:

not sorry, but as I mentioned, I have

a free resource that makes life easier

675

:

because it does all the math for you.

676

:

So when I was writing my book, I

had all kinds of spreadsheet tabs

677

:

and data sources and percentages

and formulas and I had multiple

678

:

people proof all of it as a little

beautiful mind action sort of going on.

679

:

And.

680

:

Keeping it all straight

definitely made my brain hurt,

681

:

even though I tend to like math.

682

:

It's just a lot.

683

:

So now I'm on the other side of

all that, and I have crunched

684

:

all the numbers and went through

that pain, so you don't have to.

685

:

Visit my website, aubreybergauer.

686

:

com slash 24, that's number 24, to get

your free demographic revenue calculator.

687

:

It's a very quick plug and play

template where you first add in your

688

:

local census or population data.

689

:

Two, then add in your own patron data,

how many tickets you sell in a year,

690

:

plus your current demographic breakdown.

691

:

And three, you will then automatically

see exactly how many more tickets

692

:

or admissions you could sell each

year if your audience or attendees

693

:

were reflective of the demographics

in your community or region.

694

:

When you start seeing the high end

of how many more sales a year that

695

:

could look like, again, even if you

just achieved a fraction of that.

696

:

It's pretty mind blowing in a way

that doesn't hurt your brain now.

697

:

So one more time, like I said, even

if just a fraction of those gains were

698

:

realized, it is very cool to see what that

would look like for your organization.

699

:

So get your free downloadable

demographic revenue

700

:

calculator@www.aubreyberger.com slash 24.

701

:

That's two four for episode number 24.

702

:

That's all for today, folks.

703

:

Thanks so much for listening and if you

like what you heard here, hit that button

704

:

to follow or subscribe to this podcast.

705

:

If you're new, welcome.

706

:

I am so glad you made it.

707

:

And if you've been listening for

a while, I loved so much that

708

:

you were getting value from this.

709

:

So if that's you, please take just two

seconds to leave a quick one tap rating.

710

:

Full on review isn't even

required if you're short on time.

711

:

To all of you once more, thanks again.

712

:

I'll see you next time right here.

713

:

On the offstage mic.

714

:

The offstage mic was produced by me,

Aubrey Bergauer, and edited by Novo

715

:

Music, an audio production company of

all women audio engineers and musicians.

716

:

Additional podcast support comes

from the Changing the Narrative

717

:

team and social media brand

management by Classical Content.

718

:

This is a production of

Changing the Narrative.

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