Online participation has declined slightly as audiences begin ‘living with COVID’, but 7 in 10 say they’ll continue to engage

Read on to discover how audiences are engaging with online arts and culture experiences - and considerations for digital strategies:

  • In March 2022, 4 in 10 audience members participated in online arts and cultural activities in the past fortnight.

  • At a national level, the proportion paying for online experiences in March 2022 (34%) has declined slightly since November 2021 (38%).

  • 4 in 10 are spending $50 or more on digital experiences – providing a steady outlook for marketing digital offerings this year.

  • Audiences in states/territories affected by 2021 outbreaks continue to be the most likely to be participating online.

  • Cultural organisations can expect a digital market to endure throughout 2022 and beyond - but competition for audience attention is growing.

  • There are a range of things to consider when creating, tweaking of revising digital strategies.

In the ‘post-lockdown’ era, three groups persist for creating and marketing digital arts experiences

  • ‘Digital devotees,’ the 26% of audiences who see a substantial role for digital in their lives,

  • ‘Tired of tech’ audiences, the 28% of audiences who see no role at all outside of lockdown periods, and

  • ‘Selective but supportive’ audiences, the 47% who see a small role for digital.

Below you can access the National Fact Sheet and further down, state/territory Key Facts.

If you would like to request any report in an accessible format, please email Holly at holly@thepatternmakers.com.au.

Digital Engagement Outlook March 2022 - Two women sitting at a laptop, smiling and laughing.

Click the report to download the National Digital Engagement Outlook Fact Sheet

Download the state/territory breakdowns

Below you can access the Key Facts for Digital engagement from key states and territories.

Click on the image to download the full Fact Sheet for that state/territory.

Use the dashboard to get results for your artform and region

Survey data from 8,300 respondents has been uploaded to the dashboard, which now contains insights from almost 90,000 Australian participants.

You can use the dashboard to explore the findings by state/territory, artform and audience segment.

It’s freely available to access, just click the image below and use the login details provided on the dashboard page.

 
 

About the Audience Outlook Monitor

The Audience Outlook Monitor provides the results of a study that has tracked audience sentiment over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, including how audiences respond to changing restrictions on cultural events.

Data was collected in six phases throughout 2020 and 2021 and is again being tracked in 2022.

Government agencies across Australia are collaborating with research agencies Patternmakers (Sydney) and WolfBrown (USA) to produce this resource. The dashboard is freely accessible and designed to help artists and cultural organisations of all kinds to make the best possible decisions about re-opening.

How to find out more

To receive new releases directly into your inbox, as soon as they are available, you can opt in to receive Audience Outlook Monitor news below.

Subscribers to our regular Culture Insight & Innovation Updates will need to update their preferences to receive all updates about the Audience Outlook Monitor. Just enter your email below and follow the instructions provided.

If you have a question, or an idea for using this data, please contact Patternmakers at info@thepatternmakers.com.au

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About the Author

Tandi Palmer Williams
Managing Director

Tandi is Founder and Managing Director of Patternmakers. She’s an arts research specialist and leader of the agency’s research projects.

 

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