Liverpool Philharmonic is a unique organisation in the UK in that it represents both the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and also an extensive and groundbreaking Learning programme. In order to grow audiences and deepen engagement they needed a singular, audience-informed strategy.
Following large-scale workshops with staff and trustees and a range of stakeholder interviews, we sought in-depth audience insight. An Audience Day including workshops and focus groups, helped us understand motivations and barriers for engagement amongst key target audiences. This revealed what audiences valued most about the Phil, what they connected to emotionally and aligned with, as well as some brand misperceptions that needed correcting. It also illustrated how the value of the elements of the offer could be greater than the sum of the parts but were currently presented as having separate benefits.
Ultimately a shift from product detail (listing all the different activities on offer) to personal relevance was needed. We developed a set of clear brand stories that would support the next phase of work by a branding agency and web developers..
We also provided tools and training for marketing, front of house and wider teams to embed this into their practice. Working with teams with the toolkit we quickly saw increased confidence in how they can present the organisation to the wider public. Our approach has been instrumental in creating a mindset shift – giving them permission to experiment, take risks and better embody the authentic personality of the organisation.
We have now also been engaged to deliver the organisation’s new Vision and Values. And their visual rebrand and new website are currently in development.
