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All press enquires should be directed to alice.lewis@audiencesni.com

Test Drive in Practice
Thursday 26th November, 10.30am - 5pm
Spectrum Centre, Belfast

What is it?
Following the initial Test Drive seminar on 4 August, this session will cover the Who, What, When and How of implementing Test Drive the Arts NI within your organisation. Led by Andrew McIntyre, this full day session will look at how to manage all the new Test Drivers that the project generates to maximize the chances of their return.

What will I learn?
How should you communicate with them? What mechanisms do you need to put in place to monitor their activity? What kinds of offers are best? How often should you contact them? Andrew will cover these questions and more.

Who is it for?
If your organisation is interested in taking part in Test Drive the Arts NI this session is for the lead Box Office and Marketing contacts. Please note that we will be asking you to return a signed agreement committing to the project.

What else do I need to know?
This session is very much focused on the strategic implementation of Test Drive principles. We will be running operational training on how to use the back end of the website; date to be confirmed.

Is it free?
Participation in Test Drive the Arts NI, and all associated training, is free to arts organisations across Northern Ireland.

Where is it?
The Spectrum Centre on the Shankhill Road, Belfast. There are 2 small car parks at the Spectrum Centre and on-street parking is available on Tennant Street and the Shankill Road.

How do I book?
Email marketing@audiencesni.com to confirm your place(s). Please advise of any dietary or access requirements.

Effective front of house management
5 November, 10am – 5pm (Registration from 9.30am)
Courtyard Theatre, Newtownabbey

This training session, in association with NITA and the ITC, is for Front of House teams, Box Office Staff, Duty Managers and those who want to develop themselves and their teams in order to improve the audience experience they offer. It aims to equip participants with the skills to create a consistently excellent audience experience and a productive front of house team.

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to understand their organisation’s purpose and identify development opportunities in their own service delivery, motivate their front of house team to create a branded audience experience, research and understand their audiences’ needs, plan practical variations in service delivery to suit different audiences (e.g. appropriate cultural catering, family friendly access), anticipate how first-time visitors might feel and develop creative and practical ideas for fully engaging with your audience, offering a positive overall experience.

Facilitator Joanna Ridout is an experienced arts manager, having worked in a range of touring companies and mixed-arts venues for 20 years.

Cost: Bands 1, 2 & 3 Free, Band 4 & Associate £75, Non members £175
This event is also free to NITA members.

To book, please e-mail marketing@audiencesni.com

Private Investment in Culture 2008/09 Survey

Arts & Business has been collecting information on how much investment the cultural sector receives from businesses, individuals and trusts & foundations for more than 30 years. They are constantly revising the survey to make it of the highest value to the arts and culture community.

This year’s survey is available to download or to complete online at

http://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/a291g4052f

The deadline for completion is 30th October 2009.

For more information please contact survey@artsandbusiness.org.uk or call Brona Whittaker on 028 9073 5150.

Spektrix Demo
27 October 2009, 11.30am - 4.30pm
NICVA, Belfast

Are you thinking about getting a new box office system or changing your current system? Join us for this free demonstration of a new product - Spektrix. The creators of the system cite its benefits as ‘ease of use, powerful reporting functionality and flexible capabilities for online sales’.

At this session you will have the opportunity to see how the system works, to ask questions and to discuss Spektrix with its developers. For more information, visit www.spektrix.com.

The event is free of charge and is open all. Refreshments will be served.

To book, e-mail marketing@audiencesni.com

For more information on Spektrix, visit their website by clicking here.

Please note that Audiences NI is facilitating this free event in response to member requests; its inclusion is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an endorsement of the Spektrix product.

Audiences NI AGM
Tuesday 29 September, 12.30pm
University of Ulster, Belfast Campus (Art College)

You are warmly encouraged to attend our AGM on Tuesday 29 September. The AGM will be preceded by a presentation of our new report, The Audience Tracker.

This is a valuable opportunity to update on current agency work, new thinking and also to meet the Board and staff team.

Further to the AGM there will be a light lunch followed by a practical training session with Luke Mitchell from Reach Students, a digital communications consultancy specialising in youth and student marketing.

Schedule
11.30am Coffee & Registration
12 noon Presentation - The Audience Tracker
12.30pm AGM
1pm Lunch
1.30pm ‘Small Budget Student Marketing’ with Luke Mitchell of Reach Students

Please RSVP for attendance at the AGM, indicating if you wish to stay for lunch after the AGM and if you have any access or dietary requirements

RSVP to Scott Mitchell on scott.mitchell@audiencesni.com or on 028 9043 6480 by Friday 25 September.

09/10 Training and Event Programme launched

Our Training and Events Programme for the year 09/10 is now available for booking.

Audience development calls for a holistic approach across the organisation and this year’s programme is suitably diverse, ranging from Market Research to Front of House Management. We’ve selected events in direct response to your feedback and we hope you’ll find many events of interest.

This year we’re delighted to continue our successful partnership with the Arts Marketing Association, with a master class delivered by Andrew McIntyre in March. We’re also very pleased to have joined forces with the Northern Ireland Theatre Association to bring two ITC courses to Northern Ireland.

Click here to download the 09/10 Training and Event Programme

Click here to book events online

Coming on Board

We are delighted to announce that Ailís Corey has been elected Band 3 representative on our Board of Directors.

As Moving On Music's Marketing Officer, Ailís Corey is responsible for the co-ordination and ongoing development of the organisation's promotional activities. Prior to her current role with Moving On Music, Ailís was also involved in the arts, as Marketing and Public Relations Officer at Linen Hall Library.

For more information on Ailís, click here.

Preparing for a Test Drive

Our seminar on 4 August gave arts organisations an opportunity to hear all about our new Test Drive project and to feed their suggestions and concerns into its development. We’re delighted that so many of you have already committed to the project and look forward to many more coming onboard.

At present we’re working closely with the designers at Frank and the developers at Tibus to get the website up and running for a soft launch in November. In consultation with Belfast venues and Belfast City Council, we have revised the hard launch date to January 2010 which will pack a much greater punch in PR terms.

We are scheduling training for the back end of the website, and have pencilled 26 November for a session with Andrew McIntyre on implementing a strategy for new Test Drive customers. Please keep it in your diary and you’ll receive fuller information soon.

Download Preliminary Information for Venues