Drs Anna Elffers (A.)
Expertises
How important is the audience in the field of arts & culture?
Is it important to raise the income of cultural organizations?
Or are there also other objectives involved?
For organizations active in the cultural sector it is important to have insight into their audience: who participate in what way, why do they do that, what do they appreciate, what do they miss? Knowledge about this helps to form a clear vision of the role of the public and to map out an effective audience strategy. Not only to reach a larger or more diverse audience, but also to maximize the impact on the audience.
Insight into the composition and experience of the public is not only crucial for marketers, but also for educators, directors, programmers, fundraisers, curators, producers, policymakers and artists.
I help cultural organizations to obtain insight in their main target groups and to formulate strategies. I also perform research into the impact of these strategies on audiences.
Career history
I graduated in 1999 from the University of Amsterdam in the subject of Sociology of Culture and went on to study Arts Administration at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. From 2000 onwards I work in the Dutch cultural sector. Until 2006 I worked for a small audience research firm (Letty Ranshuysen). At the same time I worked first at Theater Lantaren/Venster in Rotterdam and later at the Rozentheater in Amsterdam and the Amsterdams Uitburo. From September 2007 I am a part-time lecturer at Maastricht University's Master Arts & Heritage: Policy, Management and Education, while the rest of my work week is still filled with different visitor research and consulting assignments for cultural organizations in the Netherlands.