Bradford Independent

Turning audience and platform research into a practical digital strategy.

Organisation
Great Yarmouth Arts Festival
Sector
Arts & culture ยท community festival
Role
Marketing research & strategy
Discipline
Marketing research & digital strategy

The situation

The Great Yarmouth Arts Festival wanted to improve engagement with younger audiences. The research had to account for the continuing effect of post-pandemic social behaviour on attendance and participation, a digital presence that needed a more deliberate, platform-specific approach, the need for sustainable community engagement rather than one-off event promotion, and competition for attention against larger, better-funded organisations.

Research methodology

Rather than jumping to tactics, the work used a structured research framework to understand the organisation's position and the audience landscape:

  • Internal Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS) and External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS).
  • SWOT analysis.
  • LRAISE framework, leadership, institutional commitment, relevance, atmosphere, internal management, sustainability, efficiency and productivity.
  • Review of social-media algorithms, platform integrations and youth-focused engagement practices.

Research methodology

Four frameworks, one practical strategy

Diagram: four research inputs, IFAS, EFAS, SWOT and LRAISE, feeding into a platform and audience review, then into strategic recommendations

Structured frameworks feeding a platform and audience review, then a practical strategy, research before tactics, not instead of them.

Strategic recommendations

The research translated into a set of practical recommendations:

  • Increase digital marketing activity with a particular focus on younger audiences.
  • Interview local young people about what they would like to see in Great Yarmouth, and use those insights to inform content and programming.
  • Create a TikTok presence to reach younger audiences through short-form content.
  • Build a CRM capability to maintain an audience base and support youth-driven community initiatives.
  • Strengthen organisational structure and volunteer recruitment.
  • Streamline community channels so messaging is clearer and more consistent across platforms.

Outcomes & limitations

This is a research and strategy project, not a measured marketing success. No audience figures, attendance improvements or implementation outcomes are evidenced. A public check in October 2026 could not reliably establish the festival's current internal operations or the impact of the 2024 strategy, so no current results are claimed. The case study demonstrates the research and the recommendations, not their measured effect.

What this demonstrates

Moving from broad marketing ideas to a structured research framework; connecting audience behaviour with platform strategy; identifying the operational requirements behind marketing (such as CRM and volunteer capacity); and balancing immediate channel tactics with longer-term community-building.

A crowd gathered outdoors at the Great Yarmouth Arts Festival, with the festival's bold blue-and-yellow branding on display
The Great Yarmouth Arts Festival, the event the research and strategy were built to support.
Great Yarmouth Civic Society branding displayed against the historic castle walls in Great Yarmouth
The town's historic context, part of the audience and community landscape the research examined.

Capabilities involved

  • Marketing research
  • Strategy
  • SWOT & frameworks
  • Digital platform analysis
  • Community engagement

Need marketing that's grounded in research?

Strategy built on audience and platform evidence, not generic tactics.

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