Skip to content
Beginner Read · Typical

Case Study: How BALTIC’s online shop refresh led to a marketing strategy rethink

Responsible for BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art’s retail enterprises, driving growth and identifying commercial opportunities, Head of Retail, Sara Ley takes us through the organisation’s marketing strategy rethink.

What did you want to achieve?

We moved our online shop to a new platform in 2015. This generated a significant increase in sales in the following years, but as this growth slowed down we recognised we needed advice and support with our marketing strategy.

What led you to reach out to the Digital Culture Network?

We’re a small team and we didn’t have the expertise internally. We were producing basic marketing content but our lack of knowledge meant we didn’t know what the possibilities were and what approach to take. We also didn’t know how to interpret the data we were getting back to further inform future activity so needed practical support in this area too.

How did you do it?

One of our Trading Board members works for the Arts Council and she initially put us in touch with the eCommerce Tech Champion at the time. We had a couple of online meetings which were really informative and allowed us to pinpoint which areas we needed further support in. We were introduced to two more Tech Champions who we then set meetings up with.

What happened?

Over a period of around 12 months, we worked directly with the Email Marketing Tech Champion. As we were novices with no digital marketing experience, the Tech Champion’s approach was to break down this subject area into manageable sections, such as segmentation and A/B Testing. We were given practical advice on-screen and then given the opportunity to test out what we’d learned and then report on the results.

What have you learned?

We found the support and advice we were given invaluable, particular at such a testing time. Covid had meant we were reduced to trading online only for a period and even out of lockdown eCommerce is a hugely important income stream for us.

As an organisation we have recognised the importance of the digital world and have undertaken a review of all our departments, identifying where expertise is lacking and where support and training is required. Our retail team now has a dedicated digital marketeer so although we are no longer producing content ourselves we have the knowledge to interpret the results we’re getting and to advise on future strategy.

Would you recommend the Digital Culture Network?

Yes. The support we were given was outstanding and because it was one to one we were able to pinpoint exactly where our knowledge was lacking and tailor the training exactly to our business.

What’s next?

The Digital Culture Network is here to support you and your organisation. Our Tech Champions can provide free 1-2-1 support to all arts and cultural organisations who are in receipt of, or eligible for, Arts Council England funding. If you need help or would like to chat with us about any of the advice we have covered above, please get in touch. Sign up for our newsletter below and follow us on Twitter @ace_dcn for the latest updates.


Other news

Beginner Read Digital Marketing    Digital Strategy   

Digital Culture Podcast episode #2 – Navigating strategy in the creative and cultural sector with Ollie Couling

The Digital Culture Podcast is for creative and cultural professionals to get to know the Digital Culture Network team, learn how we can help your digital skills development, and find out what’s happening across the sector. In this episode, James Akers interviews ⁠Ollie Couling⁠, the Digital Culture Network Tech Champion for Digital Marketing and Strategy.

   ·   2 months ago

Beginner Read Email Marketing   

10 ways to make your email marketing more sustainable

When email marketing was first introduced it was seen as the sustainable alternative to direct mail and producing print. Whilst it's true that individual emails use relatively small amounts of energy to send; processing, sending, receiving and storing the content of emails builds up. Read this resource to discover steps you can take to make your email marketing more sustainable.

   ·   4 months ago

Beginner Read Digital Strategy   

Introduction to Digital Strategy

An effective digital strategy can be vital to your organisation’s success. Read on to understand the key considerations when developing yours.

   ·   5 years ago

More by the author

Digital Culture Podcast episode #3 – The art of asking: effective audience surveys with Jack Roscoe

The Digital Culture Podcast is for creative and cultural professionals to get to know the Digital Culture Network team, learn how we can help your digital skills development, and find out what’s happening across the sector. In this episode, James Akers interviews ⁠Jack Roscoe⁠, the Digital Culture Network Tech Champion for  Audience Data Collection and Evaluation.

   ·   2 weeks ago

Beginner Read Digital Marketing    Digital Strategy   

Digital Culture Podcast episode #2 – Navigating strategy in the creative and cultural sector with Ollie Couling

The Digital Culture Podcast is for creative and cultural professionals to get to know the Digital Culture Network team, learn how we can help your digital skills development, and find out what’s happening across the sector. In this episode, James Akers interviews ⁠Ollie Couling⁠, the Digital Culture Network Tech Champion for Digital Marketing and Strategy.

   ·   2 months ago

Beginner Read Social Media   

Digital Culture Podcast episode #1 – Social Media with Katy Farrell and Nicola Barratt

The Digital Culture Podcast is for creative and cultural professionals to get to know the Digital Culture Network team, learn how we can help your digital skills development, and find out what’s happening across the sector. In this episode, James Akers interviews the Digital Culture Network Tech Champions Katy Farrell and Nicola Barratt who specialise in Social Media.

   ·   3 months ago