Opera North: Inspiring Online Participation
In summer 2020, Opera North launched ‘From Couch to Chorus’ (CTC), a series of Zoom-based singing workshops aimed at countering social isolation among over-55s around Leeds. They expected around 200 participants. In fact, over 2,000 people from around the world signed up. The workshops have since become a regular and much-loved feature of the Opera North calendar.
Don Giovanni. Credit: Bill Cooper.
Following the success of this first cohort, three further cohorts have been organised: CTC Festive in December 2020 and CTC Spring in March 2021 and March 2022, aimed at a wider age range.
The first three cohorts included over 6,000 participants in total. Over 50% of them were new to Opera North. As a result, almmost £100,000 was raised in donations.
2,000
6,000
100,000
New participants
Over 50% of the participants were new to Opera North:
C2C Summer
C2C Festive
C2C Spring
Logistics
Opera North is a national opera company based in Leeds, who also tour to theatres and concert halls across the North of England and beyond.
When the pandemic closed cultural venues, the education team switched to using Zoom as distribution platform for their community singing workshops, and quickly realise that this enabled them to reach both their local audiences and audiences further afield.
The workshops were produced in-house at minimal cost. Opera North brought some members of their chorus back from furlough to record selected pieces of music, which were then used in live Zoom sessions to teach participants to sing.
People were invited to sign up by voice type for a series of four workshops, followed by a finale, where all voice types would sing together. Accessibility options included live captions on Zoom, and the availability of scores and lyrics in large print and Braille.
Alto From Couch to Chorus session with Opera North.
Bass From Couch to Chorus session with Opera North.
Revenue
A total of 6,528 bookers signed up for ‘From Couch to Chorus’ in 2020 and 2021. The workshops were free to join, but people were encouraged to ‘pay what you feel’.
Though its main goal was to generate social value through engagement, the project raised £96,771 in donations (excluding Gift Aid). The average donation across the three cohorts was £19.65. Most donation amounts were £10, £20 and £25.
There was also a progressive rise in the average donation between Summer 2020 and Festive cohorts, and Festive and Spring 2021 cohorts. This suggests that people were willing to pay on average around £5 per workshop. However, had the events been ticketed, it is unlikely that they would have attracted equivalent participant numbers.
Offering the workshops as ‘pay what you feel’ lowered the financial barrier of access for those who could not have afforded to pay, and allowed participants to try out the experience before paying.
People are willing to pay for the content because they value it.
David Collins, Chief Executive Officer
Marketing
CTC workshops were marketed solely through digital channels. This proved significantly more affordable than physical marketing. For example, the marketing spend for the CTC Spring 2021 edition was only £1,300.
The main marketing channel was email, which delivered 55% of donations revenue for the CTC Spring 2021 cohort.
Social media channels used included:
- Facebook. For Spring 2021, this involved two simultaneous ads: one version aimed at returning bookers, one version targeting new 18-45 year-old participants. A £1,150 spend generated £2,097.50 revenue.
- Instagram stories: paid ads, targeting a younger audience. Spring 2021 involved a £150 spend generated £175 revenue.
- Twitter: organic, for engaging with peers and other brands and for receiving audience feedback.
CTC was also promoted using the Google Ads free “ad grants” scheme.
From CTC Festive (2020) to CTC Spring (2021), the number of bookers aged 15-54 increased by 37%.
Did this with my 85 year old mum. First time we have been able to do anything together for years due to living away. Easy with Zoom and so really special.
CTC participant
Social value
Iterative audience research conducted by Opera North helped them to develop the CTC concept – for example by adding evening sessions and workshops focused on different singing abilities.
Most people who took part in CTC came from the UK, but the workshops also attracted participants from countries including Australia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Japan, The Netherlands and Singapore.
A survey following CTC Spring 2021 received 562 responses and indicated extensive social value, for example: 86% of participants said the project helped them with their health and well-being during Covid-19. 89% of the CTC Spring survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would enjoy taking part in CTC beyond Covid-19.
