New research: the potential of online culture

Digital innovations have drastically changed the cultural sector. However, compared to other domains, it is still in its infancy. Print media are shrinking rapidly, we hold meetings online, and finding a physical branch of most banks is challenging. But even though almost all artworks can also be viewed online, visitor numbers at (most) physical museums remain high, and we still primarily watch a concert or theater performance in the venue.

The cultural audience speaks

But the potential for online culture is significant. The digital domain offers new opportunities to reach and engage audiences. And in terms of accessibility, sustainability, and convenience alone, more and more people are recognizing the benefits of experiencing culture online. To determine what the cultural audience in 2024 wants and expects, DEN, in collaboration with research agency Motivaction, conducted a large-scale study into the desires of the Dutch cultural audience.

This resulted in nine essential insights for cultural professionals who want to work on a digital strategy in the coming year. Among other things, we discovered:

• that online culture does not compete with physical culture but faces an entirely different challenge;
• that digital cultural content is often missing in two important phases of the audience journey;
• how to build a deeper connection with your audience and align with their digital habits.

Motivaction conducted research among the Dutch audience on behalf of DEN. In addition to this quantitative research, the results of our qualitative research (e-safari + in-depth interviews) will follow next year.