The Release segment is looking for escape from the stresses of everyday life. They can feel a little under siege from all the different pressures and conflicting demands on their time. For some these conflicts may be a reality, but often being in the Release segment is more a state of mind. It is the feeling of being time-poor, rather than the actual fact of not having any time.
Culture can be a means of staying in the loop with things that are current and contemporary. However, when day-to-day life is so busy it is easy to become switched off to this optional pastime when other things jostle for priority.This means they tend to veer towards more popular things. They probably would take more risks, but because they don’t have time for much, they’re not prepared to take a risk on the one chance to go out.
Release often use logistics to talk themselves out of organising outings, but they aspire to go to more things and enjoy the escape this can provide. They need to be encouraged to see arts and culture as a sociable activity: a means of having fun and a well-deserved time out. Release feel time-poor so make things irresistibly easy for them. One-stop booking – food, drink, parking – everything in a package makes life that bit easier. The guaranteed easy option.
Even if they’re faced with something that really sparks their interest, the practicalities of actually attending can seem daunting. So it has to be guaranteed and unmissable. It is not meeting their intellectual needs or being too challenging that poses a barrier to attendance as it is low bandwidth. Practically, how realistic is it when there is already so much going on?
For Release, you have to think like you have just one shot at capturing their attention. Put it all on a plate, with multiple reasons to go – and a hard stop call to action. They want to do things, but may have been putting it off for months – so if it is only happening this week make sure that they know.
Highlight multiple benefits – maybe an activity to entertain the kids is also a great chance to catch up with neglected friends (and it’s guaranteed their kids will like it too).
Release tend not to be forthcoming in support for arts and cultural institutions and are unlikely to find time to make the most of cost-saving benefits of membership. For them, it’s more about efficient transactions than becoming a close ally to the cause.
There are significant numbers of Release in the cultural market who are not convinced that cultural trips can sufficiently meet their needs and that the effort will be worth it. They need to be reminded what they are missing out on and that their precious time is well spent together with others on cultural activities.
Efficient, transparent and simple booking processes, good facilities, and delivering what is promised will help galvanise this time-poor group. While many of them may never become the most frequent attenders, those you successfully win over will be captivated by convenience. They are more likely to go where they’re kept up to date with what’s on and already have a booking account than go searching out new places and activities.
ESSENCE are core cultural visitors: discerning, confident, independent and arts-essential.
EXPRESSION are people people: committed, generous, creative and community minded.
STIMULATION love big ideas: they’re active, social, experimental thrill seekers.
AFFIRMATION like to do the right thing: they’re diligent, cautious and spend their time well.
ENRICHMENT see the present through the past: heritage, tradition, narrative and nostalgia.
PERSPECTIVE are happy in their own bubble: settled, self-sufficient, focused and contented.
ENTERTAINMENT are looking for fun: leisure opportunities that are mainstream and popular.
We offer training to use Culture Segments in your programming and product development, your services, your brand and your communications. Ultimately, we can build completely bespoke Culture Segment profiles for your organisation. If you want to fully understand your existing audiences and to reach out to new ones, you need Culture Segments.
