We were over the moon to attend Tessitura’s annual TLCC conference in London last week! For the first time since 2019, members of the Tessitura community from across Europe gathered for an informative in-person conference.
TLCC - standing for Tessitura Learning and Community conference - is an amazing opportunity to connect with like-minded people in the arts and cultural sector.
After a jam-packed two days of learning, insights and DMCs (deep meaningful conversations), we came away from the event with a wealth of knowledge.
It’s been hard to narrow down, but here are our 5 key highlights from TLCC London 2022:
1. A brilliant session on using data to increase low-level fundraising
Without a doubt, one of our favourite sessions at TLCC London was ‘How data has and continues to inform our low-level fundraising during the cost-of-living crisis’.
Those three little words, ‘cost-of-living’, are the focal point of almost every breakfast show every day in the UK right now. So it’s no surprise that this session was a full one!
Delivered by the Science Museum Group, this insightful talk explained how you can maximise your income through donations. By making data-driven decisions and challenging their assumptions, we learnt how Locomotion (part of the Science Museum Group) increased their on-site donations by a whopping 800%!
2. The strong focus on accessibility
Making our clients’ content easily accessible is standard practice at Bravo. We’re well versed in meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and accessibility is an important consideration in our designs. So we were pleased to see accessibility as a key theme at TLCC London 2022.
With 3 sessions over the 2 days dedicated to the importance of accessibility, it’s great to see action being taken to provide more equitable online experiences.
We learnt that every page in TNEW v16 is accessible. And in a couple of weeks, following an audit, Tessitura will hopefully have confirmation that the whole of TNEW v16 is AA compliant. A big win for us all.
3. An inspiring talk from Tessitura Network’s President & CEO
TLCC London was opened and closed by Andrew Recinos, the President and CEO of Tessitura Network.
Andrew’s closing session, in particular, was fantastic. Highlighting three success stories from across the Tessitura community, Andrew spoke about the struggles presented by the pandemic and the odd-defying successes that we can learn from.
One story that really resonated was about the National Portrait Gallery in London. The institution is built around, as the name suggests, historical portraits. Portraits that are largely of wealthy, elderly males, reflecting a Britain of the past.
When Covid-19 hit, the National Portrait Gallery wanted to take a different approach, finding a way to capture modern Britain and what it was going through. Championed by the now Princess of Wales, Hold Still was born - an ambitious community project to create a unique collective portrait of the UK during lockdown.
Members of the public were invited to submit photographic portraits, 100 of which were selected to form an emotive digital exhibition. Displayed across billboards and bus stops all over the UK, Hold Still is a snapshot of the emotions we all felt at the height of the pandemic.
4. Writing down insightful one-liners
A note for anyone attending TLCC Sydney 2022, or any other conferences for that matter. There is a LOT of information coming your way.
Knowing that the slides of each presentation are available after the fact is great - but often some of the most interesting and useful insights are given through off-the-cuff comments during the sessions.
Take a leaf out of our book by jotting down some of the one-liners you hear. After all, it’s all about learning from the experiences of others.
Here are some of the gems we took note of:
- It’s amazing how powerful those three little words can be - ‘Minimum donation £1’.
- Check your assumptions about your audience. Go by their mantra - Nothing About Us Without Us.*
- A compliant website doesn’t necessarily mean a usable one.
- We’re often too reactive rather than proactive. Like uh-oh, this isn’t selling, so let’s get a Facebook ad out.
- A scattered audience will feel uncomfortable to both audience and performers.
- Sell your fundraising mission to the front-of-house staff first.
- Stop saving your support time for something in the future. Use it now to get your answers, and make it valuable.
*If you’re after more information about knowing your audience, check out our related blog post - ‘Why do you need Buyer Personas?’
5. Networking at the OXO Tower
No TLCC Conference would be complete without an opportunity to let your hair down at the end of Day 1!
For TLCC London, this meant drinks at the OXO Tower - an award-winning, landmark design destination situated on London's South Bank.
As tempting as it was to opt for a quiet night after a day full of information, attending the evening event was a great chance to get chatting with others in a more relaxed setting.
As newcomers to TLCC London, we found the Tessi community really friendly and open to conversation, and made some great new connections in the industry!
Find us at TLCC Sydney 2022!
So that’s a wrap on TLCC London and it couldn’t have been better! A huge thanks to the Tessitura team for putting on such a fantastic event.
But it’s not the end of Bravo’s #TLCC2022 journey just yet… we’re happy to say that we’re Gold Sponsors of TLCC Sydney 2022 next month and can’t wait to connect with our Tessitura friends on this side of the globe!
Keep an eye out for our Studio Bravo stand at TLCC Sydney on 17-18 November 2022. Our Co-Founder and UX/Creative Director, Googe Farrugia, will also be delivering a brilliant talk so we hope to see you there.
If you’d like to book in some time to chat with us at TLCC Sydney, please drop a line to our Business Partnerships Manager, Sam Ireland, at sam@studiobravo.com.au
