Why the hospitality & entertainment industry shouldn't lose hope...it's in the science
In a world where consumer experience has become limited to a 13” screen, will the live experience economy survive, be needed or even wanted by consumers when we finally escape from lockdown 3.0?
Megan Morass, co-Founder of creative communications agency Full Fat, explains why promoters, festival organisers, restaurateurs, theatre proprietors had better brace themselves for a busy future.
Let’s be honest - the experience economy has been fucked (excuse the tone but let's just get real here) by Coronavirus. The live music industry, touring, art galleries, theatre, comedy, food & beverage - everything that consumers would spend their disposable income on has been extinguished from sight.
Yes, some are attempting to change the format, we’ve seen some amazing innovation from virtual festivals, drive-in cinemas, online theatre models but nothing will replace the physical, emotional live experiences. Or will it?
Photo by Samson Katt from Pexels
The short answer is no, and I’m going to attempt to explain why.
Humans are, by all accounts, mammals.
Yes, we have evolved as our brains have rational thought, which sets us apart from the rest of the mammal group, however we are still reliant on some fundamental facts in order to survive.
As our technological world evolves at a rate that arguably we can’t keep up with, what is coming into focus is that in order to survive we have to pay attention to our mental health, our environment and our fundamental needs.
In 2019, well over 10% of adults in the UK had anxiety or depression**. Lockdown and Coronavirus has created a surge in mental health illness which is just starting to be detailed.
The problem is, our society runs on a capitalist structure, i.e. we reward the achievement of ‘stuff’ over experience. Coupled with the fact that we have no control over social comparisons via the advent of social media, daily, hourly, minute by minute we are bombarded with images and messages of others with designer clothes, nice houses, new cars...all of which makes us think in order for us to be happy, we need that stuff too.
When we think about our own happiness, we tend to focus on money, lifestyle, comfortable ‘things’. But actually, it turns out that these things don’t improve happiness, in fact they make it worse.
In the first lockdown of...I don’t know what number we’re on now but it’s a lot… we saw an insane amount of ‘lipstick’ purchases from consumers stuck at home. Small material items that would be a quick fix to happiness. We saw a 30% + increase in purchasing of alcoholic spirits at home, a 17% increase in food purchasing and much more.*
Great, say brands “we’re cashing in”... but hold on there.
Why, if consumers are investing in more ‘stuff’, which by our societal structure should mean they are investing in their own wellbeing, are they becoming less happy by the minute?
In fact, the centre of mental health has predicted that those suffering from depression and anxiety has increased 100% during the pandemic. Everyone is becoming a lot less happy.
Photo by Jameson Mallari Atenta from Pexels
I’ve recently learnt about something called Hedonic Adaptation. In layman's terms this means that our brain gets used to a context very quickly, even a context, which you have pined after and strived for a long time, such as a promotion, new car or more money. Because these materialist expectations are so underwhelming over time, research shows that getting these things can actually decrease happiness to a lower point than when you didn’t have them.
So, if changes in our context via more money and nicer ‘stuff’ doesn't bring happiness, what does? You guessed it, live experiences. Physical, emotional, visceral experiences which are fleeting, so our human brains don’t have time to adapt, therefore feeling no hedonic adaptation.
Glitterbox at Printworks London
Studies have shown that a person’s happiness level increases exponentially, not just by having an experience like going to a live concert, or a new restaurant or holiday, but also by knowing it is coming. In the 2014 study by Kumar et al., they found that people derive more happiness from the anticipation of experiential purchases and that waiting for an experience tends to be much more pleasurable than waiting for a material purchase.
So when people ask me, what do you think is going to happen to the experience economy? I say, it is going to be essential for us to keep thriving and be happy.
What does this mean for the experience economy?
It means don’t give up, consumers didn’t know what they’d been missing until it was gone and the material just isn’t cutting it. The appetite for experience is here, we can see this from future events selling out much faster than they would have historically.
It means start talking about the amazing experiences you’re going to provide consumers as soon as you can. Get them anticipating it and excited for it.
It means to make the experience NEW, interesting and different from what they’ve seen before.
It means stay strong we’re coming back.
Whether you’d like to work with us, discuss your project or learn more about Full Fat Marketing, feel free to get in touch below.
Glitterbox
References
*JP Morgan
**Centre for mental health