A finger on the student pulse

Every September I find myself on a train going to one university or another armed with several boxes of flyers, pens to give away and clipboards to take down email addresses. This is all designed to let the new crop of freshers know about our concerts and student schemes. A large part of my job is concerned with finding new people with open and alert minds willing to find out more about something like classical music. And universities are not a bad place to start looking.

However, getting your message heard, or a reasonable number of people interested, is deceptively difficult. The scale of the task in London becomes more vivid when you consider the numbers involved: there are currently 43 universities in London with a total population of 370,000 students, or one in every seven students in the UK. Research from the Campus Group suggests that students in the UK currently have a combined spending power of over £20 billion with the average student spending around £7,300 per year, and a noticeable portion of this being spent on ‘out-of-home entertainment’ such as cinema tickets and gigs.

The basic premise is that each organisation puts all of its concerts with student ticket allocations in one central place

This is a tech and media savvy group with a staggering 97% of students having a profile on Facebook, and 90% using YouTube. A huge part of student life, for at least the last ten years, has been lived online. There is plenty of research to show that this age group is one of the best at sifting out adverts and promotional material that they are not interested in, and as a result will only engage with content that is compelling and relevant.

It should not be surprising then that big businesses have increasingly turned their attention to, and upped their game in this market. It is noticeable when you go to freshers fairs, the amount of money and time that has been spent by some businesses on ensuring that their message is heard. Their stands are part of a sophisticated campaign of vouchers, loyalty cards, apps, online promotions and social media from high street retailers, newspaper and magazine publications, restaurants and pub chains. One arts organisation, even one that is handing out free pens, will struggle to be noticed.

Putting ourselves in the shoes of an average student, if they were tempted to go to a concert, deciding what to go to and when presents its own challenges. London has world-class events on almost every night, if you know where to look. There are lots of schemes designed to make things as simple and easy as possible for students, but the sheer number of them, and the different ways in which they all work, could well inhibit the process of actually making a decision. The result being that the allocation of student tickets for some events would get snapped up, while other similar events sell hardly any.

It was against this backdrop that Student Pulse emerged. In 2009 the London Orchestras Consortium was formed, comprising six of the city’s symphony orchestras (London Symphony, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic orchestras and London Sinfonietta), plus two venues (the Southbank and Barbican centres) which promoted visiting symphony orchestras from abroad. With contributions from each partner, the group was able to commission joint research into the size and behaviours of London audience segments. Not long after its formation, the group turned its attention to the student market.

One idea that emerged was to continue the development of an app that had been piloted the year before by one of the partners, the London Symphony Orchestra and digital agency, Kodime Ltd (with money from the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, supported by Arts Council England, Nesta and the Arts and Humanities Research Council). The basic premise is that each organisation puts all of its concerts with student ticket allocations in one central place, which can then be bought in two taps on a mobile device. The student is then emailed an e-ticket which they can use on the night (so no need to queue). They earn loyalty points for each purchase which are converted into rewards, from CDs and free tickets to Amazon and Pizza Express vouchers. The top reward is an iPad mini.

The app is also supported by a direct marketing and social media campaign, and is launched each September at the freshers fairs by the members of the consortium (and yes, we have pens to give away too).

The app is now in its second year and the results are encouraging. This year has seen a 140% increase in the number of downloads. Ticket sales through the app have increased by 200%, and some of the partner organisations are reporting an individual 30% increase in the number of student tickets on last year’s sales. We have also added two new members to the group: the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia. What is also noticeable is that habits are forming: we have students who are attending something at least once a week, and many students are taking more risks with what they choose to see.

It is still early days, and there is a long way to go, but so far so good. Here are some comments on Twitter: “A great app that all London students should have”; “It’s almost rude not to go at the amazing ticket prices you offer”; “If you’re a student and don’t know yet about @studentpulselon, you must sign up! #classicalnewbie"; “Keep up with this amazing project!”.

Jim Follett is Senior Marketing Manager for Philharmonia Orchestra.
www.studentpulselondon.co.uk