Your audience speaks: a Gen Z’er, gamer, visually impaired person, and expat

Who is my audience?

To engage and connect, you need to know who you’re creating for and what your goals are. Do you want to encourage repeat visits, target new generations, or retain your existing audience longer? All these goals require a different approach but have one thing in common: to succeed, you need insight into the target audience you want to reach.

Below you’ll find four videos of target groups, each engaging with culture in their own way. They have different preferences but all see value in digital.

Gamer: ''I want to experience what I’m watching.''

Culture and games have a lot in common: they tell stories, provide relaxation, and are an experience. The difference lies in the approach. Games are digital born, while culture is often still physical. Yet, there are digital opportunities; we already see crossovers with the Rijksmuseum in the game Horizon and Lil Nas X performing in Roblox. But what else can culture learn from gaming? Gamer Colin shares where he sees opportunities:

Expat: ''Digital makes everything much broader for us.''

Do you currently mainly reach a local audience? With an online offering, you can broaden this. For example, Festival Playgrounds reached audiences from all over the world with their online editions. Similarly, the Getty Villa Museum gives people worldwide the chance to explore the ancient city of Persepolis from home. Former expat Nicole shares how much digital offerings can mean for culture enthusiasts at a distance:

Visually impaired: ''My dream is to relive every concert.''

People with disabilities often have less or poorer access to cultural offerings. Visually or hearing-impaired individuals, for example, need to stand close to the works or sit in the front row at a concert. Older people may find it harder to travel or access buildings. And then there’s a large group of people who get overwhelmed easily, don’t understand captions, or can’t leave their homes. Listen to the story of Guus, a visually impaired culture enthusiast:

Gen Z’er: ''I would like a museum to be more interactive.''

The youth of today is the audience of tomorrow. They grow up in a digital world with plenty of choices, hobbies, and leisure activities. Culture often feels distant, and barriers are high. How do you involve them in your organization’s story? Through digital cultural education, you can establish initial contact, but what’s needed to truly engage them beyond that? Sebastian shares his thoughts on museums and what digital means to him:

Why you can reach new audiences digitally

Digital is an opportunity to serve your audience wherever they are. It doesn’t detract from a physical experience but rather enriches or complements it. For example, you can engage young professionals on the go with a compelling podcast, inspiring them to visit afterward. Or provide a digital guest lecture to bring culture into classrooms nationwide. You can tell your story through new channels or make collections available to a larger audience.

What can you do to reach this audience?

DEN offers several tools and articles to help you:

• Future exploration provides insight into a changing world
• Through digital storytelling, you can emotionally connect with your audience
• Practical examples from inside and outside the sector inspire new projects and collaborations
• With data-driven work, you can better understand your audience
  

Or listen to Cultuurshift, DEN’s podcast on digital transformation for cultural professionals. In the first episode, Peter Gorgels from the Rijksmuseum and Mélanie Bosveld from Kult & Ace discuss today’s youth.