Client
Didcot Railway Centre
Dates
February 2014 & 2015
Location
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Outline brief & objectives
Didcot Railway Centre started collecting data as part of the Thames Valley Museums project in 2008 along with six other museums. Postcodes were found to be the easiest and most useful information to collect, and so this was the main focus for data collection.
This original project was grant-funded, and so whilst some of the other museums decided not to continue collecting postcode data after it finished, Didcot Railway Centre thought it would be useful to continue, which they have done year on year since.
Outputs
A report each year containing Mosaic and Acorn profiles (compared with previous year), and mapping (pinpoint, drive time analysis), as well as summary pages outlining key trends including comparisons with previous year(s).
Outcomes
Generally, the maps and profiles are circulated internally throughout the year to help all staff and volunteers understand the make-up and geographical spread of visitors. Some examples include:
- Used for training front of house staff, seminars for guides and in annual meeting for operations staff
- Given in annual reports
Marketing
- In response to the original Thames Valley Museums project, Didcot found that their visitor profile was similar to other museums, which encouraged them to share leaflets with other museums, as well as preserved railways.
- Targeted advertising was implemented in specific postcode areas (eg. in Days Out magazines) in London, and the analysis was then used to assess if the proportions of visitors from those areas then changed over time as a result of the advertising.
- The analysis is also used to understand the geographical spread of visitors, to determine whether they should do less local press advertising and more social media and internet advertising.
QR codes
Didcot were looking to introduce QR codes around the railway centre, but were unsure of whether their visitors would know what they were and how to use them. The results of the profiling were used to assess this, and it showed that visitors fell into those groups and types that had high internet and mobile use/knowledge, and so the QR codes were introduced as a result.
Gift shop
The profiles are currently being used to decide what products to stock, based on what the types of visitors are likely to buy and spend, however this is in the early stages of implementation.
Gift Aid
The profiles also help them to target those areas with high rate taxpayers, and these are found to be more likely to gift aid, which raises more funds for the museum.