A Growing Market: Lower Manhattan’s Young, Educated & Affluent Residents

A Growing Market: Lower Manhattan’s Young, Educated & Affluent Residents

The report summarizes the results of a 2022 survey the Downtown Alliance conducted in partnership with Audience Research & Analysis to better understand the retail desires, preferences and spending habits of neighborhood.

The Downtown Alliance is pleased to release “A Growing Market: Lower Manhattan’s Young, Educated & Affluent Residents.” This report outlines the spending patterns and desires of Lower Manhattan’s evolving and growing residential population and highlights the neighborhood’s noteworthy new additions that expand the variety of cuisine, grocery options and nightlife offered downtown.

For more information, visit Down Town Alliance.

Assessing the Success of Japan Society’s First Virtual Film Festival

Assessing the Success of Japan Society’s First Virtual Film Festival

During this COVID-19 period, museums have adapted in creative ways to keep and, in the case of the Japan Society, expand its audience. Not being able to host its JAPAN CUTS film festival onsite this year, Japan Society launched its first virtual JAPAN CUTS film festival in July 2020. More people bought tickets to the virtual screenings than had attended in-person last year.

ARA had surveyed the in-theatre film audience in 2019. For this year’s festival, ARA fielded an online survey addressed to the virtual audience. We achieved a robust response rate of 28 percent. The survey found that:

  • The virtual festival expanded the reach of Japan Society: 47 percent of ticket buyers for the screenings had never been to Japan Society, including 19 percent who had not previously heard of the institution.
  • Social media posts and email from Japan Society were the primary sources of information about the festival.
  • Genre, the film’s talent, and trailers were the primary drivers for choosing films.
  • Virtually all planned to attend JAPAN CUTS next year including 60 percent who said they would watch films both in-person and online.

As part of our response to the COVID crisis, ARA conducted this study for Japan Society on a pro bono basis, as we are also doing for the Museum of the City of New York (first visitors to return after reopening) and Art Omi Sculpture & Architecture Park in Columbia County, NY.

Vision Zero: ARA Tests Public Response to Mayor’s Safety Initiative

Vision Zero: ARA Tests Public Response to Mayor’s Safety Initiative

When the New York City Department of Transportation needed to gauge public awareness and response to the Mayor DeBlasio’s Vision Zero campaign to promote pedestrian and driver safety, they retained ARA to conduct a citywide poll in English, Spanish and Chinese. When former Mayor Bloomberg’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting wanted to know public awareness and attitudes toward the Made in New York campaign, they asked ARA to conduct a survey of the City’s registered voters.  With unique access to residential and commercial tenant lists, as well as registered voters in various languages, ARA helps city agencies and non-profits such as NYC & Company, NYC Department of Economic Development, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum understand public perception.

Whitney Museum

Whitney Museum


Starting with the Whitney Biennial 2006: Day for Night, and Picasso and American Art in 2007, right up through the opening exhibition in the Meatpacking District, America Is Hard to See, ARA conducted ongoing visitor research for the Whitney.  In addition, ARA helped guide the Whitney’s “engagement-extending” initiatives with real-time studies of how visitors used photography in the galleries and shared their experience on social media.  ARA broke new ground with the Whitney’s first survey on Facebook programmed to reward respondents for sharing that they took the survey on their newsfeed, thereby encouraging others to participate.

ARA conducted its first exploratory survey for the Whitney in the Meatpacking District in 2010.  Interviewing 400 visitors disembarking the High Line and at other locations along Gansevoort Street, the study explored the demographics and lifestyle of visitors as well as their awareness, knowledge of, and history of visiting the Whitney uptown and how likely they were to visit a new Whitney in the MPD.   While nothing could have predicted the successful reception the Whitney is receiving in its new home, this early data shined a light on the potential.  ARA continued studying the evolution of Whitney visitors downtown, including their interest in expanded evening hours, and overall satisfaction.

 

Public Opinion

vision_zero

Mayor Koch was fond of saying “How are I doing?” The truth is government officials and agencies, service organizations, trade associations, news media and individual businesses need to take the public’s pulse. ARA conducts public opinion surveys by phone, online and in personal interviews to evaluate the success of ongoing initiatives and test reaction to proposed policies. Often we target registered voters, and can do so in the languages people register to vote including Spanish, Chinese and Korean. Some studies are citywide – others in targeted neighborhoods. Recent examples include reaction to the Mayor’s Vision Zero campaign to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities for NYCDOT, sensitivity to changes in tipping vs. services charges when dining out for the New York Hospitality Alliance, and support for the Made in New York campaign for the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.

Public Opinion

vision_zero

Mayor Koch was fond of saying “How are I doing?” The truth is government officials and agencies, service organizations, trade associations, news media and individual businesses need to take the public’s pulse. ARA conducts public opinion surveys by phone, online and in personal interviews to evaluate the success of ongoing initiatives and test reaction to proposed policies. Often we target registered voters, and can do so in the languages people register to vote including Spanish, Chinese and Korean. Some studies are citywide – others in targeted neighborhoods. Recent examples include reaction to the Mayor’s Vision Zero campaign to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities for NYCDOT, sensitivity to changes in tipping vs. services charges when dining out for the New York Hospitality Alliance, and support for the Made in New York campaign for the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.