Our Audience Development Days have become a key element of the Screening Days programme, aimed at centring meaningful collaboration for delegates from theatrical venues.
For ICO Spring Screening Days in March, we were joined by team members from Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, who have written about their experiences during the day and the knowledge they’ll take back to their venue.
Spring has finally sprung, which can only mean longer days, green leaves on the trees – and Spring Screening Days! From 28 February to 2 March, the Independent Cinema Office’s Spring Screening Days allowed all those working in indie cinema to get together and witness the first new releases of another exciting year of film. Ahead of the weekend screenings at BFI Southbank – and later, online – one of the most important and useful elements of Spring Screening Days is the Audience Development Day, which takes place on Friday.
Open only to those who work in theatrical venues, the Audience Development Day brings together programmers, marketers, and other cinema team members to present, talk, and reflect on how they will reach new audiences and maximise their existing audience base through new programming, marketing, and outreach strategies. This year, Showroom sent three team members from across departments, allowing a well-rounded view of the day’s talks. In attendance were Isobel Harrop, Assistant Programmer for Young Audiences (Programming and outreach), Chim’Di Ugada, Communities Co-Ordinator (Programming and outreach), and Nathan Makalena, Creative Co-Ordinator (Marketing).
A Warm Welcome
The sessions began with an introduction from members of the ICO team who offered us a look at the upcoming new release slate, especially those films which we would have the opportunity to see over the weekend. Turning immediately to the potential for development, there was a focus on attracting young and diverse audiences. Considerations were also raised about the availability of (or lack of) titles from women filmmakers when compared to the growth previously seen over the past few years.
One take-away was that it is not always the programming or marketing itself which can stop new audiences attending our venue, but practical, logistical, and financial challenges. However, we can keep these in our mind when designing programmes and marketing strategies, through targeting outreach, highlighting discounts, and making the booking process as clear and smooth as we can.
Following this were two sessions which focused on other practicalities of the audience experience. The first of these sessions was the UX (user experience) jam, where we compared our websites with those of other cinemas. This allowed a fresh set of eyes on the experience had by new audience members. We discussed our own examples of good user experiences in our lives – from shopping services to egg timers – and looked at how we can make coming to the cinema as easy as using our favourite supermarket app.
This led into Jeanie Finlay’s presentation on publishing seat sizes as an accessibility consideration, a campaign which she developed around her excellent documentary Your Fat Friend. Many cinemas, including Showroom, already adopted this practice when screening the film, but this session was an important reminder of the barriers that can affect audiences all the way from booking their tickets to sitting down to enjoy a film.
Learning from Experience
After lunch we settled down for a series of programming case studies. Emma Duncan from Broadway, Nottingham, told us all about her new role as Events Development Co-Ordinator and the lessons learnt through “eventising”, Robb Barnham from Hyde Park Picturehouse, Leeds, filled us in on the success they’ve had with repertory and archive cinema, and Soma Ghosh of Flatpack Projects, Birmingham shared her work on reaching audiences in rural areas by tapping into local interests. All three speakers invited us to consider how we tailor our programme to our audiences in different ways, and how we can engage communities through special events around the new and the old on screen.
Finally, a presentation of ‘industry intelligence’ came from audience specialists, Indigo Ltd. Regulars of Screening Days will know Indigo for their insightful, audience-data led presentations. This time, their focus was on “new normal” audience habits since the COVID-19 lockdown. We learned that new audiences are returning at higher-than-expected rates, with this especially being driven by young people. This session felt especially useful for our marketing team, who gained insight into what drives audiences to attend arts venues – recommendations from friends, special occasions, and great value.
Final Thoughts
All three of the team brought their own perspectives and took away fresh ideas away from the experience. It was a wonderful opportunity to step back from the everyday and recentre audiences in the work we do, as well as catch lots of great films, joined by Ryan and Sam from the programming team, over the rest of the weekend. Chim’Di and Nathan had never attended an Audience Development Day before, but took a great deal from it.
Nathan reflected: “This was my first ICO audience development day. It was a tremendous opportunity to meet driven, like-minded members of the sector and reassess Showroom’s challenges with fresh eyes. The communal, positive discussions from cinemas of all sizes, from across the country, also just felt good for the soul. Ideas flowed: I felt inspired and better equipped to face down similar challenges at Showroom going forward.”
If you’d like to know more about these events, visit our Screening Days page and sign up for our newsletter to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale. In addition to event information, you can now view the dates and venues of all events until March 2026.
If you’d like to get involved further, check out our Open Call for sessions at Young Audience Screening Days, and if you have an idea which could inspire discussion at a future Audience Development Day, please send an email to info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.