From first-timer to loyal visitor: how Concertgebouw Brugge uses segmentation to attract and retain its audience

What do you do when faced with filling a hall with experimental music, contemporary dance, or little-known classical ensembles? For Concertgebouw Brugge, the answer is clear: focus not on mass, but on relevance. By reaching the right people with the right offer at the right time, the venue continues to attract a growing audience.

“We want people to visit an average of three times per season,” says marketing director Bert Vanlaere. “And at the same time, we aim for five percent more new visitors every year.” That is not an easy ambition, especially with an artistic program that deliberately stays out of the mainstream. “We are not adapting this program to the audience,” says Vanlaere. “But we provide the right guidance. So there is something for everyone, and we have formulas for every age. But that does not mean that you will automatically get that audience to visit you. You still have to approach them.”

From ticket to pattern: segmentation by behavior

A first form of segmentation runs via ticketmatic and starts with the number of visits per season. “Our visitors are segmented: first time visitor, occasional visitor, who comes twice or more per season, frequent visitor, or the core visitor, who comes more than five times,” Vanlaere explains. “Based on those segments, automatic emails are sent out. So if you buy your third ticket, you'll go from occasional to frequent and you'll get a different type of mail from us.”

In terms of content, these e-mails are tailored to the visitor's behavior. “A first-time visitor actually wants to get to know the Concertgebouw,” says Vanlaere. “He's not going to buy a subscription for five shows right away. So we're not going to promote that.” Someone who visits for the second or third time does receive incentives: “From three shows, you have a ten percent discount, did you know that?” Sometimes they also provide facts to get to know the house better. “For example: did you know that we also have an art collection?”

From profile to meaning: segmentation by motive

In addition to behavior, the Concertgebouw also looks at the motivation and interests of its audience. This cultural segmentation is carried out through public research in collaboration with UGent. “A customer buys a ticket, but that alone doesn’t tell you much about your audience,” says Vanlaere. “Imagine I say: come on, let’s go to a show. I buy the ticket for both of us. I’m the customer, but you’re also part of the audience — and you don’t show up in the data.”

To get to know the entire audience better, the Concertgebouw questions its visitors at two times: first shortly before their visit, and then with an extensive online questionnaire. This is how they map cultural profiles, from people who seek enrichment to those who love adventure or stillness.

The marketing team translates these insights into experiential labels such as “adventurous,” “intimate,” “goosebumps,” or “spiritual.” These are based on the international Cultural Segments by Andrew McIntyre, a model that is used worldwide to classify cultural audiences based on values and motives. Not only the customers are profiled, the team also labels the performances in the Concertgebouw range. Through links between the CMS databases, ticketmatic & mailing tools, these labels appear on the website, in emails and in the seasonal brochure. This way, every type of visitor gets an entrance that meets his or her expectations. “On the website, we offer a decision aid: 'find the show that suits you'. Then you can say: I want something adventurous, or intimate, or goosebumps... And then you get customized suggestions,” says Vanlaere.

This approach helps visitors find their way in a program that is not built on big names, but on curiosity.

Targeted communication

Segmentation makes targeted communication possible. “One email can do wonders for our audience.” And that’s no exaggeration. For example, a campaign at the start of the season aimed at people who had purchased multiple tickets the previous year generated the best response the venue had ever seen. No major promotion, no broad reach — just an email with tailored suggestions. “That email should really be the culmination of all your efforts,” says Vanlaere. “It’s the final push to make people consider booking.”

Sometimes people say: “I didn’t open the email, but I did read the subject line and went to the website to order.” Based on open rates, we might conclude that the email didn’t work, but in fact, the opposite is true.
-- Bert Vanlaere
--- Marketing Director, Concertgebouw Brugge

Although the system behind segmentation and timing is largely automated, the marketing team consciously opts for a personal tone. “We write our emails ourselves,” says Vanlaere. “The human touch is important in that moment of contact.”

Meanwhile, the team is also looking beyond Flanders as well. Around five to nine percent of the audience comes from abroad, with peaks of up to 33 percent at festivals. In doing so, Concertgebouw Brugge aims at cultural gourmets from neighboring countries, through targeted social campaigns and international ambassadors. “Bruges? Sounds great!” is the story that the house tells: a unique place to hear and feel how sound quality and history come together.

Content that makes a difference

Along with the right timing, the right content is just as crucial. “Creating good content means stepping into someone else’s shoes: who are we actually making this for? What might interest them?” says Vanlaere. The marketing team considers tone of voice, choice of images, and even video strategy — starting not from what’s available, but from what the audience needs to be inspired.

This approach also applies when working with artists. “We don’t record an interview just because we have to,” says Vanlaere. “We know when an artist truly has something to say, and then we build the right content around it.” In this way, communication is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the audience experience.

A home for curious minds

Positioning the Concertgebouw as a place for curious minds goes hand in hand with a warm, broad approach. “We are a home for the curious,” says Vanlaere. “We curate what happens and is created in the world of the arts, for those who are curious about it. With the baseline 'Curated for the curious'we want everyone to discover the inspiring world of the arts. In targeted online campaigns, we use identifiable personas for each segment - they again represent those different drivers - who tell how they discovered their passion with us. And that works really well. It's tailored and very diverse.”

Although digital personalization is key, the seasonal brochure remains important. “That’s not advertising, that’s a business card. People keep it. They flip through it, get the full picture. They love it and look forward to it,” says Vanlaere. “And the majority of our tickets, partly thanks to the appeal of the brochure, are sold before August.”

At the same time, the venue is actively working on lowering thresholds. “We want to be there for people with fewer opportunities, for those who are less mobile, for people with dementia, or with different cultural backgrounds,” Vanlaere explains. “That’s why we’ve appointed a participation officer who actively reaches out to these groups.”

The next generation also has its place. For example, there are concerts where parents with babies are welcome — classical music in an open, accessible format. And schools remain a crucial target group: “We’re planting a seed,” says Vanlaere. “Some children might never have the chance otherwise, but those who experienced a performance with their class may well come back later on their own.”

Not as much as possible, but just enough

“We need to make sure there are enough performances that aren’t immediately filled with experts, but also leave room for newcomers,” says Vanlaere. For him, it’s not about selling as many tickets as possible, but about “the right show, at the right time, for the right people” — with the right message.

That is why Concertgebouw works in a focused way: segmenting, analyzing, and communicating in a tailored manner. The goal is to sell every ticket, but above all to reach the right audience, get to know them — and make them want to return.

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