Overview
Carpe Diem Consultants, in conjunction with
FLORIDA TODAY and
the Brevard Cultural Alliance, recently undertook research to
understand the general perceptions of residents of Brevard County,
Florida
about visual and performing arts in the county. The first part of
the survey examined general satisfaction with arts in the county,
past and future attendance, and how previous experience with the
arts and demographics impact satisfaction and attendance.
Over 870 residents responded to the voluntary online survey.
The sample is likely comprised primarily of those with an interest
in the arts and a few who had a dissatisfying experience. Overall,
respondents are generally neutral at best with the quality of the
arts available to them locally. This holds true for virtually all
segments of the population regardless of number of events attended
per year, income levels, and education. This relatively low level
of satisfaction has serious implications for local arts
organizations as they attempt to meet the needs of local consumers
and raise money.
Respondents
In general, the respondents are a very well educated and affluent group. A profile of the respondents is as follows:
- Age
- 26% of the respondents were over 60 years old
- 52% were between the ages of 40 and 60
- 22% were under 40
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- Gender
- 39% of the respondents were male
- 61% of the respondents were female
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- Race
- 91% of the respondents were white
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- Income
- 24% have a household income in excess of $100,000
- 16% have a household income between $75,000 and $100,000
- 25% have a household income between $50,000 and $75,000
- 26% have a household income between $25,000 and $50,000
- 9% have a household income below $25,000
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- Education
- 28% have post graduate degrees
- 27% graduated from 4-year colleges
- 29% graduated from 2-year colleges
- 16% had high school diplomas
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Overall
Satisfaction
Respondents rated overall satisfaction with arts in Brevard County at 5.81 out of 10. Satisfaction drifts somewhat higher as people attend more events, but satisfaction scores for all attendance segments are in the neutral range. The highest score (given by people who attended 26 or more events in the last year) was 6.4 out of 10.
Satisfaction did not vary based on favorite type of art form or respondents’ experience. All scores were
in the low 6's or below..
Please select your favorite art form from the following list |
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Please indicate your own personal
experience in the arts |
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But while satisfaction didn’t vary much by respondents’ experience, it did vary by sociology. While gender did not lead to meaningful differences, various demographic cuts showed that differences in age, race, income, and education were related to differences in satisfaction with the arts.
The older the respondent, the more satisfied the respondent is with the arts in Brevard County.
When were you born? |
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Whites (5.9 out of 10) were happier with the arts than non-whites (5.4 out of 10). While the sample size is small, the scores of the 24 black respondents (out of 76 non-white respondents) were collectively the lowest of any group—their satisfaction was just 4.5 out of 10. The average score for the remainder of the non-white group was 5.8 out of 10.
Analysis of the household income of the respondents showed that respondents whose income was over $100,000 per year were less happy (5.4 out of 10) than those making less than $100,000 (5.8 out of 10). This trend was the same with education where those respondents with 4-year college degrees or more education rated satisfaction at 5.6 out of 10 versus 6.0 out of 10 for respondents with a 2-year degree or high school diploma. Both these findings suggest that having more money and better education creates a demand for a better arts product, be it in quality, quantity or both, and less satisfaction than other consumers with what Brevard County is offering.
Overall satisfaction levels may be influenced by factors other than the performance itself. Our hypothesis is that exceptional performances by the artists may be constrained by the location for performance, and this will have a negative impact on overall satisfaction. For example, having seen “Rent” a few years ago at the Nederlander Theatre in New York, I was motivated to see the performance again at the King Center. However, major differences in the set design, lighting and acoustics between the two locations left me significantly less satisfied with the Brevard County performance than the New York one. The impact of the venue on satisfaction with the performance will be examined in future studies.
Attendance
80% of respondents attended 6 or fewer events in the last 12 months. 6% of respondents attended 21 or more events. When asked how likely are they to attend more events in the next 12 months, respondents rated their likelihood to do so a 6.25 out of 10. Segment analysis shows that respondents who attended 6 or fewer events rated satisfaction at 5.7 out of 10 compared with respondents who attended 10 or more events who rated their satisfaction at 6.23 out of 10. It seems as though those respondents who are “addicted” to a frequent arts diet are going to attend what’s offered even if they’re not satisfied with the product.
Therefore, not surprisingly, past attendance is a better predictor of future attendance than satisfaction with the arts. Respondents who attended 6 or fewer events rated the likelihood that they would attend more events in the next 12 months at 6.0 out of 10 whereas respondents who attended 10 or more events rated their likelihood to attend more events in the next 12 months at 7.24 out of 10. Respondents who attended 26 or more events rated this item the highest at 8.24 out of 10.
Conclusions
Traditional satisfaction measures are typically good predictors of future behavior. In this case, there seems to be a core group of people with a strong enough interest in the arts that they will attend local events even though they are not satisfied with the product. This is typically the type of behavior associated with monopolies or highly regulated businesses (e.g., utilities and airlines).
In order to gain a deeper understanding of respondent satisfaction, future studies need to explore what arts related experiences respondents’ use as the benchmark for rating satisfaction levels with arts in Brevard County. Is their frame of reference New York or London? Or is it other cities in Florida? Does their frame of reference impact their willingness to travel outside the county for arts related events? How does the location and quality of the venues for performances impact satisfaction with the event itself?
As income levels rise, respondents attend more events because they can, not because of higher satisfaction levels. Our hypothesis is that the desire to “get their arts fix” is driven by a preference for attending arts related events more than other forms of recreational activity (this will be examined in future studies).
The implications of the current study are that local arts organizations need to make sure they understand the expectations of their frequent customers and broader target audience, and assess the extent to which they are meeting them. Given current satisfaction levels, it is highly likely that arts organizations have the opportunity to expand their customer base beyond their core following by enhancing their offering and, in doing so, to increase their revenues and contributions.
Add Your Comment
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Comments
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Bob Creekson
Monday 12th of March 2007
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This is a wonderful and interesting study. I refer to it all the time with my discussions pertaining to how much the arts in Brevard County have grown in the last 20 years. Thank you for taking the time to do such a detailed study and then sharing the results with the public.
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Thursday 9th of August 2007
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Monday 8th of October 2007
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