zavoss

We don't get into this kind of research but Americans for the Arts does. You may want to check out their Arts & Economic Prosperity studies.

Hi Amelia, great question. The toughest challenge is that the different surveys and data collection efforts ask questions slightly differently, so you really have to roll up your sleeves and get into exiting things like survey form instructions to see exactly what you're looking at. We always want an apples to apples comparison in mapping the data.

First would be to stop and look over time at whether you've seen a commensurate increase in attendance when you add program offerings. For art museums over the past 4 years, offerings went up nearly 21% while touch points went down 13%. This pattern was true for most sectors. If the goal is to offer the program regardless of how many people come, that's totally valid. If that isn't the goal, check out your own organization's trends.
Second would be to figure out whether digital programming is right for your organization, and what mission-related form it might take. It is an area that people are really responding to.

...and some of the surveys collect 1200 to 1800 data points each year, so lots to sort through. Sometimes it takes a refreshing beverage to keep making your way through it.

We have a section of the report on the topic: http://mcs.smu.edu/artsresearch2014/reports/marketing-impact/how-much-program-revenue-do-we-earn-our-total-investment-marketing#/averages/arts-sector. In a nutshell, arts education (which has lots of tuition-based organizations) is highest, followed by art museums.