Audience Development Summit 2024

Bringing together public media leadership, development, marketing, and content professionals to connect with and serve new audiences .

The 2024 Audience Development Summit, presented by Greater Public and The Public Media Content Collective (PMCC, formerly PRPD) addresses the urgent need for audience development throughout our industry.

For the third year, this two-day virtual event brings together content, marketing, and development leaders to offer insights and expertise on ways to reach new audiences.

Attend the 2024 Audience Development Summit

  • Tuesday, February 6, 1-4pm ET / 10am-1pm PT
  • Wednesday, February 7, 1-4pm ET / 10am-1pm PT

Participation in the 2024 Audience Development Summit will equip your leadership team with:

  • Scalable ways to introduce your station to new audiences
  • First-hand accounts of successful strategies that best serve our broader communities
  • Ideas and steps to translate audience engagement into financial support

Who should attend the Audience Development Summit?

This virtual event is designed for cross-disciplinary teams to attend as a group. It is intended as an opportunity to bring an internal team together to focus on connecting with and serving new audiences. The goal is to give your team focused time to learn, reflect, and then talk about the steps your organization can take to create or build upon your audience development work.

To make the most of the Summit, each participating station should assemble a team of decision-makers and practitioners, including the station’s:

  • CEO or General Manager
  • Leaders from content, development, and marketing divisions
  • Professionals doing the day-to-day tasks of audience building

During registration, you will identify team captains who will be responsible for sharing information and preparing your organization’s team for the Summit. Team captains are responsible for determining how and where your team will meet for the discussion activity and assigning a note taker. We encourage stations to meet in person if possible.

What Past Years’ Attendees are Saying

The Summit brought to light conversations that we were having in individually with our teams, aka in those dreaded silos. It was really helpful to check our assumptions and understand what we thought we knew, and where we need to communicate more as an organization. Thank you for facilitating this.

The presentation of innovative, high impact community engagement initiatives, such as Black City Music in Charlotte and One Book in San Diego, was truly inspiring. Our cross departmental team at Northern California Public Media has already begun brainstorming related projects in our communities.

As a result of the sessions, and the ideas and concrete examples, my organization has discussed ways that we may pursue both internal and external steps we might take in the near future, as well as highlighting future options.

This was a wonderful experience. All the sessions were inspiring and provided very concrete examples for how to reach and cultivate new audiences.

Speakers

Additional speakers will be announced soon. 

Vicki Austin

Vicki Austin

Senior Director of Grants and Education

WVIA

Lisa Beckman

Lisa Beckman

Director of Philanthropy

WHYY

Ian Cruz

Ian Cruz

Community Engagement & Media Manager

KLRN

Joan DiMicco

Joan DiMicco

Executive Director, Product & Audience Insights

WBUR

Mike Dougherty

Mike Dougherty

Director of Digital Strategy

Vermont Public

Khalil Ekulona

Khalil Ekulona

Host, This is Nashville

Nashville Public Radio

Terry Gildea

Terry Gildea

Program Director

WUNC

Abby Goldstein

Abby Goldstein

President & Executive Director

Public Media Content Collective

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge

Host, "Due South"

WUNC

Jordan Lee

Jordan Lee

Senior Director of Programming

WYMS 88Nine Radio Milwaukee

Tasha Lemley

Tasha Lemley

Senior Producer, This Is Nashville

Nashville Public Radio

Victor Lim

Victor Lim

Sr. Director of Audience Development

Chicago Public Media

Joyce McDonald

Joyce MacDonald

President and CEO

Greater Public

Krishna Sharma

Krishna Sharma

Audience Engagement Editor

Baltimore Banner

Aaron Turner

Aaron Turner

Director of Development

WGVU / WGVK

Schedule

Each day will include two sessions that cover the latest challenges of audience development with solutions from stations who are finding success. Then, attending organizations will have time to gather together and discuss their own audience development plan using discussion prompts provided by the Summit.

Day 1 – Tuesday, February 6th

1:00-2:00p ET - Developing Deeper Roots in Your Community

SESSION DESCRIPTION
In this age of AI, algorithms, and misinformation, public media can distinguish itself from other media sources by cultivating local talent and content that audiences can identify with and connect to in a meaningful way. In this session, we’ll showcase examples of stations that are building familiarity for their talent and their brands through local original content and engagement efforts. You’ll find inspiration regardless of your organization size to look deeper into the ways to provide a service that resonates with your local audience.

PANELISTS

  • Terry Gildea – Program Director, WUNC
  • Leoneda Inge – Host, “Due South”, WUNC
  • Khalil Ekulona – Host, This is Nashville, Nashville Public Radio
  • Tasha Lemley – Senior Producer, This Is Nashville, Nashville Public Radio

MODERATOR

  • Abby Goldstein – President & Executive Director, Public Media Content Collective

2:00-3:00p ET - Meeting New Audiences Where They Are

SESSION DESCRIPTION
One of the best ways to build relationships with target audiences is to have a strong community presence. Too often, we expect new audiences to change their habits and behaviors to come to us. In this session, we’ll look at examples from organizations who have engaged with audiences where they are, both online and in-person. We’ll discuss digital tools, social platforms, and local events as opportunities to engage with underserved communities in ways that are authentic.

PANELISTS

  • Ian Cruz – Community Engagement & Media Manager, KLRN
  • Krishna Sharma – Audience Engagement Editor, Baltimore Banner

MODERATOR

  • Jordan Lee – Senior Director of Programming, WYMS 88Nine Radio Milwaukee

3:00-4:00p ET - Organizational Discussion

SESSION DESCRIPTION
Use this time to strategize new audiences at your station, building on the information provided during the sessions. Stations will receive discussion questions to work through together. All attendees should participate in the organizational discussion to get the most out of this experience. Team Captains are responsible for determining how and where your station will meet during this portion of the Summit.

Day 2 – Wednesday, February 7th

1:00-2:00p ET - Measuring Audience with KPIs

SESSION DESCRIPTION
To set audience engagement goals and understand performance we must be sure that our efforts are successful and sustainable. Instituting organizational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is necessary to make sense of the mission-critical metrics and to understand how to translate those data points to sustainability. In this session, we’ll hear from stations who have outlined a standard set of metrics to track their audience engagement and development. We’ll include templates and ways to get started whether you are a team of 10 or 100+.

PANELISTS

  • Joan DiMicco – Executive Director of Product & Audience Insights, WBUR
  • Mike Dougherty – Director of Digital Strategy, Vermont Public

MODERATOR

  • Victor Lim – Sr. Director of Audience Development, Chicago Public Media
2:00-3:00p ET - Evolving From Transactional to Philanthropic - Funding Our Future

SESSION DESCRIPTION
Public media’s broadcast audience is aging, consumption is declining, and our funding model is primarily based on low-dollar transactional support from our current audience. But the good news is that the funding needed to invest in building future services and revenue models is attainable – it is present among our current donors, if we evolve our approach. In this session, we’ll look at examples of organizations that are building philanthropic partnerships with donors and businesses to support their audience development efforts and sustain their work long-term. We’ll also talk about how this approach can inspire every team member to have a role in creating long-term financial health for your organization.

PANELISTS

  • Vicki Austin – Senior Director of Grants and Education, WVIA
  • Lisa Beckman – Director of Philanthropy, WHYY
  • Aaron Turner – Development Director, WGVU / WGVK

MODERATOR

  • Joyce MacDonald – President and CEO, Greater Public
3:00-4:00p ET - Organizational Discussion

SESSION DESCRIPTION
Use this time to strategize new audiences at your station, building on the information provided during the sessions. Stations will receive discussion questions to work through together. All attendees should participate in the organizational discussion to get the most out of this experience. Team Captains are responsible for determining how and where your station will meet during this portion of the Summit.

Pricing and Registration

This event is designed for cross-disciplinary teams to attend as a group. Organizational passes allow everyone at your organization to attend for one flat rate based on your organization’s size (as measured by your station’s non-federal funding, or NFFS). Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the Summit, individual registration is not available.

Members of Greater Public and PMCC will receive special discounted rates to attend the Summit.

The pricing outlined below covers everyone at your organization. The early bird deadline is January 25, 2024. Prices increase on January 26th.

Station Size Greater Public/PMCC Members Non-Members
Early Bird Price (Until 1/25/24) Standard Pricing (After 1/25/24) Early Bird Price (Until 1/25/24) Standard Pricing (After 1/25/24)
Micro (< $750,000) $250 $300 $300 $350
Small ($750,000 - $1,999,999) $350 $450 $450 $550
Medium ($2,000,000 - $6,999,999) $500 $600 $600 $700
Large ($7,000,000 - $19,999,999) $700 $850 $850 $975
Mega ($20,000,000+) $1,050 $1,250 $1,250 $1,500

FAQs

Is this an in-person event or virtual?

The Summit is a virtual event that will happen on Zoom, but we encourage stations to meet together in-person to collaborate through the group activities.

What if I can only attend one day?

Attendees should make best efforts to attend both days, as the sessions build upon each other.

What does the Team Captain do?

Team captains are our primary contact to ensure you have what you need to make the most of the two-day virtual event. Team captains are responsible for determining how and where your team will work through the organizational discussions. Greater Public and PMCC may also reach out to team captains for follow-up materials.

What are the organizational discussions? Who should participate?

The organizational discussion will help your team build and strategize new audiences, building on the information provided during the sessions. Stations will receive discussion questions to work through together, with time set aside during the Summit. All attendees should participate in the organizational discussion to get the most out of this experience.

Our team is remote/hybrid. Is that a problem?

No! All activities are designed to work through in person or remotely via the platform of your choosing.

Is the Summit for public radio stations, public television stations, or both?

Attracting new audiences is important to radio stations, television stations, and joint licensees as non-profit media organizations. The content of the Summit will feature speakers addressing the overarching themes that pertain to both TV and radio.

Our station is small - will we get anything out of attending?

Yes! There are many benefits for smaller organizations to participate. Regardless of size, understanding changing demographics and expectations of audiences is a critical conversation we need to have industry-wide. We’ve also created pricing tiers so the Summit is affordable for teams of all sizes.

Can I attend as an individual?

Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the Summit, individual registration is not available for the Audience Development Summit.

Will the sessions be recorded?

Yes! Recordings and slides will be available and sent via email within a few business days of the end of the Summit. If your station registered to attend the Summit, but you did not receive the email containing these links, please contact us.

Audience Development Summit 2024