Your fans expect more. The evolving expectations of fans attending events.
Expectations of fans attending live events have evolved dramatically in recent years, driven by a multitude of factors including advancements in technology, huge changes in social behavior, and the increasing demand for both personalized and immersive experiences.
So what and how have expectations changed?:
1. Enhanced Digital Integration
- Mobile Apps: Fans now expect event-specific mobile apps that provide schedules, maps, social links, friend location pins, real-time updates, and personalized recommendations.
- Cashless Transactions: Contactless payments and digital wallets are becoming the norm, allowing for quick and secure purchases at events with personalized incentives, offers and rewards.
- Wi-Fi and Connectivity: Reliable and fast internet connectivity, or at least 4/5G, is crucial for fans to share and amplify their experiences on social media in real-time.
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2. Immersive Experiences
- High-Quality Audio-Visuals: Immersive lighting, dynamic and clear sound systems, and large high-definition screens are expected as the norm to create an immersive and visually stunning experience.
- Augmented and Virtual Reality: Fans want AR and VR experiences that enhance their engagement, such as virtual meet-and-greets, interactive exhibits, and augmented reality games.
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3. Personalization In All Areas
- Customized Content: Fans appreciate personalized content and recommendations based on their preferences, from tailored schedules to targeted merchandise offers.
- Interactive Elements: Engagement tools from live polls, Q&A sessions, and social media walls make fans feel involved and valued.
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4. Convenience and Efficiency
- Streamlined Entry and Exit: Efficient check-in and security processes, often facilitated by technologies like RFID, NFC, and biometric scanning, reduce wait times, safety and improve the overall experience.
- Accessible Information: Easy access to information about the event, including transportation options, timings, venue/ site facilities and special needs, is the expected norm.
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5. Enhanced Comfort and Safety
- Comfortable Seating and Viewing Areas: Fans at seated events expect comfortable seating arrangements and clear sightlines, whether in stadiums, arenas, or outdoor venues.
- Added Value Service: Many stadiums now offer in-seat ordering and delivery services for food & drinks options direct to your seat.
- Health and Safety Measures: A higher expectation for cleanliness, sanitation, and health safety measures, including hand sanitizing stations.
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6. Sustainability
- Eco-Friendly Practices: Increasingly, fans are looking for events that prioritize sustainability, such as reducing plastic waste, using eco-friendly materials, and promoting recycling and ‘leave no trace’ mission statements.
- Sustainable Touring: Fans support artists who are making huge efforts to tour in an environmentally beneficial way embracing everything from fan powered renewable energy, cutting transportation impact, ethically sourced merchandise to biodegradable confetti.
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7. Social and Community Engagement
- Social Media Interaction: Fans expect to interact live with the event and other attendees and friends through social media platforms, sharing experiences, photos, and videos.
- Community Building: Opportunities for making new friends, and building local connections with like-minded individuals and supporting the local community are highly valued.
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8. Exclusive and Premium Experiences
- VIP Packages: There is a continual growing demand for exclusive and added value experiences such as VIP access, backstage tours, meet & greets, and premium seating options such as ‘golden circles’.
- Unique Merchandise: Fans consume unique, high-end event/date-specific merchandise that offers a tangible memory of the experience.
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9. Post-Event Engagement
- On-Demand Content: Inclusive and easy access to event recordings, highlight reels, and exclusive post-event content allows fans to relive and share their experience.
- Feedback Opportunities: Fans expect to provide feedback easily through digital surveys, forums or apps, influencing future events.
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10. Increased Value for Money
- Comprehensive Packages: Fans seek value-for-money experiences, where the cost of tickets includes additional benefits and loaded value such as food and drink vouchers, parking, or exclusive content.
- Transparent Pricing: Clear and transparent pricing without hidden fees is increasingly important to fans as is an ethical secondary ticketing policy.
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Conclusion
Fan expectations attending live events have shifted towards a more digitally integrated, personalized, and immersive experience. Event organizers must adapt to these changing demands by leveraging technology, planning a digital transformation, whilst still ensuring comfort and safety, promoting sustainability, and offering exclusive, high-value experiences to meet and exceed the modern fan expectations.