The Association for Cultural Enterprises has published its new Benchmarking Report, the most comprehensive survey of commercial activity in the cultural sector undertaken to date, bringing together audience, commercial and operational insights for the first time.
Covering the period April 2023 – March 2024, research was conducted across the Cultural Enterprises membership comprising 335 organisations between April and June 2024. The overall response rate of 50% has created a robust data set.
The report was commissioned to garner insights that would establish sector benchmarks, and support and inform members in commercial, operational and strategic decision making. Utilising the results, the Association has been able to identify ten top tips that could improve commercial results and performance within the cultural sector, along with a series of case studies highlighting best practice.
The report has clearly highlighted the increasing importance of commercial income generation to the cultural sector. 95% of organisations generate turnover from ‘commercial activity’, which makes up almost 40% of their annual income – more than box office, fundraising and grants. With core funding being restricted and declining in real terms, commercial income is more vital than ever to financial sustainability.
As the report shows, however, the sector is not standing still – it is continuing to innovate and develop new income streams. It also demonstrates what organisations are doing to improve staff retention, with this being one of the biggest challenges facing the sector.
The report includes case studies and top ten takeaways, including:
- Pricing – the survey evidences organisations doing well with variable pricing and experimenting with new approaches to ticketing and audience engagement
- Increasing donations – contactless donations and innovative fundraising techniques are increasing
- Invest in commercial marketing spend – marketing and comms for income generating areas of the business have not received the support they deserve in relation to the revenue they contribute, there’s a clear growth opportunity here
- Premium products – these have been shown to generate significant revenue and should be considered a growth area
- Staff turnover – retention is one of the biggest challenges in the sector, the report demonstrates what organisations are doing, and what best practice is available to improve staff turnover
The report covers:
- Visitor numbers and profile
- Visitor spend
- How cultural organisations are investing their money
- Key sources of income
- Commercial Income KPIs
- Employment in the cultural sector, wages, benefits and engagement
- Case studies from organisations related to the report’s findings.
Cultural Enterprises CEO, Gordon Morrison, said, “The data and insights captured in the benchmarking study shine a light on the importance of commercial revenue generation in the cultural sector. At a time of unprecedented cuts to core funding and ever rising costs, our comprehensive study demonstrates that cultural organisations of all shapes and sizes are increasingly focussing on commercial opportunities to provide them with the financial means necessary to deliver on their vital charitable aims.
“It is particularly telling that almost 40% of total income is now generated through commercial means, substantially more than income generated from fundraising activities or the receipt of grants. The Association’s mission to support cultural organisations to maximise their commercial returns through education, training and the sharing of best practice has therefore never been more vital to the sector. This important study supports our mission by providing cultural organisations with clear benchmarks for performance measurement as well as guidance and case studies on how to achieve the best possible commercial results.”
The full report is available to Cultural Enterprises Members here.
There is also a free webinar for the whole sector on Tuesday 22 October 2024 sharing key findings from the report – book here.
