Outlook 2024: EMEA POV
Four trends shaping the future of media & technology in the EMEA region
Led by: Kate Walkom, Group Account Director & Deb Cho, Digital Transformation Lead, UM International & Patriz Datlangin, Associate Media Director, Integrated Planning UM MENA
With contributions from: Phoebe Sheppard, Account Executive, UM International; Holly Iremonger, Strategy Executive, UM International; Kateryna Boivan, Media Executive, UM MENA; Andrew Boakye-Adjei, Apprentice, UM International
With thanks to: Fabio Arujo, Hannah Sanderson, Terri Adah-Ali, Isabelle Milnes, Jackson Finnigan
Welcome to the EMEA Edition of the IPG Media Lab’s Outlook 2024 report. Each year, we round up the ideas that excite us for the next few years: new technologies, market forces, and shifts in consumer behavior that are really having an impact on the media landscape. Guided by a forward-thinking perspective, the Lab team explores emerging technologies and their potential to become new media platforms. This Outlook is an overview of the trends and topics that we expect to break out in the next few years, why we’re convinced they’re important, and how you should respond.
Outlook 2024: Downstream Effects
As we get into the groove of the mid-2020’s, the decade is now really starting to take on a new character with the second-order effects of the pandemic starting to play out. Consumer behaviours are shifting and evolving in ways that will mark our current period, distinct and different from what came before and what will come after.
These downstream effects help explain the remarkable avoidance of a recession in the Eurozone, which, as inflation has cooled across Europe, has continued to drive new purchasing behaviours and an expanding experience economy. Overall, we’re living through the reshaping of daily life and culture for the first time since the rise of the smartphone — with new rhythms that will come to define the culture of 2020’s and into the future.
Whilst in previous years we have outlined escapism as a driving force in media consumption early on in the pandemic, it’s about to return with a vengeance, as the US, Europe, and many other countries around the world head into pivotal elections, global tyrannical powers continue to surge, and wars rage in multiple regions — including on our doorstep in EMEA! Beyond this pressing political anxiety lies the ever-present concern about climate change, as it starts to impact daily life for more and more people worldwide.
While consumers want and need to engage with these important issues, they will want more control over how and when they do so, rather than bathe in the firehose of anxiety-inducing notifications and breaking news alerts that take up most of our feeds today. And they’ll often be looking for ways to forget about these big, existential problems, even if that’s just for a couple of minutes or hours at a time, as self-care becomes a daily practice once again. An example of a brand helping consumers on this quest for escapism is British travel company Journee, which helps people book vacations for surprise destinations — simply fill in a quick questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a secret destination — only finding out where you are going when you get to the airport.
We are also ushering in the end of the zero interest rate phenomenon (ZIRP). Whilst the most direct effect is a cooling of the housing market in the face of high mortgage rates, the end of ZIRP has downstream effects on almost every industry:
- Hollywood will produce fewer movies and TV shows, starving the streaming services which are struggling and driving further consolidation in tandem with challenges related to European regulations;
- Silicon Valley and tech hubs in Europe will see fewer and more conservative investments in startups, slowing innovation outside of large companies;
- Big tech companies themselves will tighten their belts, rolling back pandemic-era hiring, and trimming back the ‘moonshot’ big bets;
- And retailers will increase prices, reduce discounts, and crack down on free-and-easy returns.
Traditionally, this behaviour from major industries and large employers would cause a downtown in consumer confidence, but thus far consumers continue to “YOLO” their way through the roaring 20’s, and show no signs of slowing down.
We are also very excitingly starting to see AI move past hype peak and into deployment. As AI technology matures beyond its initial hype, the focus shifts from testing and development to practical deployment in everyday products and services. The question arises whether these advanced AI tools will still be recognized as “AI,” given how commonplace previous AI advancements like facial recognition and spell check have become in our daily lives. Regardless, generative AI appears to be a fundamental shift in how software works, and may empower a new class of disruptors to shift the balance of power in tech.
There has been an uprising of challengers coming out of EMEA, such as Mistral AI, a Paris-based AI startup that has released a new model to rival OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude 2. Mistral has recently launched a chat assistant called ‘Le Chat’, with its standout feature being that it is fluent in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian, which sets it apart and makes it a strong competitor against Open AI’s most capable model, which is only available in English.
We’ve got our eyes on the rising “Ozempic Economy” too — shorthand for the downstream effects of the new generation of prescription weight-loss drugs that also includes other alternatives coming down the line. Wegovy and Sacenda, made $4.7 billion in sales in the US last year, an increase of 193% from 2022. But sales also doubled in Europe and the Middle East to almost $1 billion in 2023 after Wegovy was made available in the UK, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Iceland and the UAE. The most immediate impact will start (and is starting to be seen) in obvious places, like declining sales of snack foods. While it’s currently a mild dip, are CPG companies prepared for 10% or more of the population to suddenly stop snacking? Even more interesting are the other effects of these drugs, which actually serve to curb addiction and compulsive behaviours across the board.
With all of those shifts in mind, let’s consider the downstream effects they’ll have on consumer behavior, looking at how early adopters are evolving as a lens for where mainstream consumers are headed in the next few years.
Life’s New Beat
Perhaps most profound are the shifts that are happening in the rhythms and cycles of our lives, both on the micro level of daily habits and the macro level of the milestones that come to define our lives. These changes are disrupting habits and patterns that had been in place for many decades, as the post-war era solidified into the 40-hour work week, the nuclear family with 2.5 children, and consumer-led milestones like purchasing a home. As the expectations around these tentpoles start to shift, so, too, are our habits around media and tech, increasing the challenges of reaching consumers with the right message at the right time. Indeed, just understanding when it is the “right time” will be difficult.
Let’s begin with work, since that has traditionally been a foundational part of our lives that most consumers have had little control over. This is something that feels strange to say, but we believe a big positive that came from the pandemic was the structural changes that have allowed the average worker to effectively work from home. This is a change that is here to stay, especially in a hybrid way. There is an undeniable benefit of having the flexibility to come to the office to collaborate with others, and then work from home when you need space to focus or balance your personal life.
Data shows that 56% of respondents in Europe have adopted hybrid working since the pandemic. In Ireland, hybrid and remote working is even more entrenched, and only 17% of respondents say that they are fully office-based. This shift has become the new norm, impacting various aspects of our lives, including our media consumption habits — and how we blend that across our full day for work and play.
This shift is also impacting the broader structure of work, with a growing focus on the four-day workweek gaining prominence in discussions on union rights and labour regulations. Many experiments with the four-day workweek have shown promising results, with increased productivity and higher employee morale being common outcomes.
Belgium became the first country in Europe to legislate for a four-day week, where full-time workers have the opportunity to request this split, with the UAE following suit for government workers
By 2035, over 7 million workers in are expected to exit the German labour force, as birth rates alone are sufficient to replenish the aging population. Advocates of the four-day week also argue it could attract untapped potential to the labour market in Germany — a country that has one of the highest proportions of part-timers in the EU.
With more flexible work schedules, there’s increased casual entertainment consumption throughout the day, and work activities often extend into later or earlier hours. This shift in productivity patterns may replace traditional television viewing with tasks like checking emails –and workers compensate for the late-night productivity by reclaiming time during the day to relax, exercise, and socialise.
As a result, traditional media consumption patterns are in flux, with commute times being another significant factor affected. The once-distinct morning and afternoon rush hours have become less defined, blurring the lines between peak travel times. This evolution is evident in transportation systems. For example, London Underground have announced plans to scrap the peak fares on Friday, as fewer workers are going into offices and they seek to tempt people back into the centre to raise revenue in the hospitality sectors.
As these changes continue to unfold, predicting consumer behaviour becomes less straightforward, impacting how messaging is tailored to specific times of day.
A US example, but serves as an excellent illustration of a brand seizing upon this trend: Chipotle, in January, engaged in a promotional campaign with Strava to endorse their healthier lifestyle bowls. The focus was on supporting individuals in maintaining their New Year’s resolutions — especially those who capitalised on their flexible workday for a quick run before returning to work.
While it’s been difficult for some of the older people to wrap their heads around this new hybrid lifestyle, there is a clear distinction in our generations and how we go about our business. On a broader scale, these expectations regarding work are driving daily and weekly adjustments, while larger life milestones are also undergoing transformation. For instance, there is significant changes surrounding homeownership and family life, a facet that has notably decreased in recent times.
Unlike previous generations, European Millennials don’t feel the pressure to complete life milestones in a certain order, and this is reflected in the way they have approached parenthood and homeownership too. With most Millennial parents in Western Europe having only one child, with the UK being the country with the most single Millennial parents. In our grandparent’s generation, 70% of them were living with a spouse and a child by their late 20s, whereas today only 30% of millennials fall into that category.
As a result, homeownership now feels completely unattainable to most young people. Undoubtedly, the prevailing high interest rates in the housing market are playing a significant role in this. There has also been considerable discussion and concern surrounding the perceived lag in millennials and Gen Z achievement of key life milestones. While there may be variations in specific countries or regions, overall homeownership rates among these cohorts tend to be lower compared to previous generations at similar time. Croatia and Italy faced the largest increases in people aged 25–34 living with their parents.
Somewhat paradoxically, this mentality also explains why consumer spending is still raging: if home ownership and retirement seem unattainable, it’s easier to justify short-term increased expenditure on smaller luxuries, sometimes known as “lipstick spending” such as designer handbags and lavish holidays, at earlier stages of life than typically observed. Ultimately, we need to learn how to embrace the “Treat ‘Yo Self” mentality. As a marketer how can you be there to serve your consumers what they need when they want to splurge.
These shifts, spanning from individual behaviours to broader societal trends, will require considerable time to establish new norms and standards. During this transition period, AI is poised to play a crucial role in assisting with the management of communication strategies tailored to diverse audiences, addressing factors such as timing, content, and delivery methods. The implementation of AI comes with regulation across Europe shaping how these technologies operate. Though compliance may pose challenges for businesses, frameworks like GDPR and the proposed EU Artificial Intelligence Act focus on transparency, accountability and protecting individuals’ privacy. AI regulation will influence how we interact with the technology that guides the rhythms and patterns of our digital lives.
The most important thing to note through it all is that we are seeing media and purchasing behaviours diversify, and that is why AI will have the most crucial and immediate impact on marketing it will revolve around its capacity to enhance targeting, ensuring that the right message reaches the right person at the right time. An example is TikTok’s new feature, “Focused View,” which promises advertisers better targeting and conversion capabilities based on users’ emotional engagement as computed by its AI algorithms.
The importance of such targeted marketing strategies is expected to grow substantially over the next five years. While we anticipate eventual stabilisation into more predictable patterns, the foreseeable future is likely to be marked by considerable upheaval. Consequently, AI stands out as an invaluable tool for navigating this evolving landscape and effectively engaging with consumers across various channels.
In summary, as our lives become more fluid, so does our media consumption pattern. We no longer have a linear day. With defined intervals of work and play. The day is so fragmented there are more opportunities to engage consumers, it is important to understand your audience and where you can garner the most attention for your media dollar.
The Remixed City
As our personal rhythms are changing, they’re starting to reshape the wider world around us, with public and semi-public spaces evolving to match our new habits. Retail stores and restaurants are reshaping themselves to fit our new lifestyles, and coming upheavals in mobility and smart city technologies are laying the foundation for a twenty-first century city that looks and works differently than in the past. While hybrid work and new infrastructure technologies may be the most obvious factors driving these shifts, they’re arriving at a time when awareness about housing affordability and anxiety around climate change are peaking, and attempts to address those issues will necessarily be rolled into the forthcoming updates to our public spaces.
Picture this: a world where stepping out your front door means stepping into a vibrant community where everything you need is just a stone’s throw away — a neighbourhood where you can pop out for groceries, meet friends for coffee or jump in the gym, all without having to drive or endure a long commute. That’s the essence of the 15-minute city — a concept that’s not just about urban planning but about reimagining how we live, work, and connect with each other.
This vision is already taking shapes in cities around the world, and UK is no exception: in Birmingham, city planners are creating walkable neighbourhoods. And in Ipswich, the town centre is transformed into a hub of activity, with housing, green spaces, and essential amenities all within a short stroll from home. Similarly,, in Dubai, Expo City is moving towards a smarter more sustainable future.
But the 15-minute city is just the beginning. Projects led by Neom, such as The Line in Saudi Arabia, are taking this concept to the next level. With its innovative urban development, the need for cars is eliminated, resulting in zero pollution and no waiting times, which translates to more leisure time and increased savings. Without expenses for car insurance, fuel, and parking, you can use the extra money to purchase items from your wish list.
The main cities are getting all the attention right now, but a similar revival is happening in the suburbs. We see quite a change in a way we live. For example, suburban life is slowly but surely becoming a new black. First, we see a rise in properties collaborating with fashion designers to create beautiful out of a box experience, like luxurious Karl Lagerfeld villas that are being built in Dubai. But it’s not only about being beautiful but also about adding some spice to our life in the suburbs. That what theme park communities are all about. You don’t need to plan a separate trip to have fun with you family in the theme park which might be an hour away. From golf parks to splash pads all the fun is right at your doorstep. The fun doesn’t end there, think about evolved shopping experiences that we, as marketers and consumers can use?
Pop-up stores are another big thing that is quite common in spacious areas within suburbs. We are entering a new era of experiential shopping, offering brands a dynamic platform for creativity, and direct engagement with customers. These temporary spaces not only capture attention but also give businesses a chance to test concepts and reach new markets without having to pay extra “dirhams, dollars, euros or pounds” for permanent location, but not missing out on building a connection with the community.
There are new and exciting store formats that create new opportunities for the retail sector, delivering at a faster speed, lower cost, and with sustainability benefits. How amazing would it feel to browse at your own pace, using tablets to select your favourite items rather than trying to figure out which assistant is available to help you out? This is all possible when shopping with 6th Street — the first phygital store in Dubai. A perfect blend of online convenience and real-world connection, making your shopping experience both efficient and enjoyable.
Mixed reality also presents the next frontier for transforming the retail space. In Europe alone, the mixed reality market is expected to reach €65 billion by 2025. Businesses are leveraging AR in commerce to enhance online shopping. Imagine virtually “trying on” a bracelet before purchasing. AR offers immersive experiences, like Gucci’s customized sneaker configurator and Balenciaga’s virtual showroom. Meta has partnered with Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne to launch virtual fashion stores for avatars. Even with challenges like strict regulations and slow retailer adoption, 58% of online shoppers in Europe are hungry for immersive experiences.
As we look towards the future, innovations in mobility are changing our life. Imagine a beautiful sunny day as you prepare for a weekend getaway at a beach house with your closest friends and family. While packing and finalizing last-minute details, you suddenly realize you have forgotten to purchase sunscreen. Instead of letting this oversight dampen your excitement, you swiftly place an order online. Within an hour, the sunscreen is delivered to your doorstep by a drone. Drones are also invaluable in medical emergencies, capable of delivering crucial medical supplies and saving lives, regardless of location. This is the future Amazon Prime Air is bringing to the UK, Italy by the end of 2024.
But the innovation doesn’t stop there. Dubai is looking to introduce driverless taxis as part of a bold vision for 2030. Sheikh Hamdan, the crown prince of Dubai was one of the first ones to test it out across suburban areas in Dubai. And if driverless taxis sound like the stuff of science fictions, get ready for flying taxis. That’s right — across the UK, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, plans are taking flight to change urban travel. No more long traffic lines or commutes as we take to the skies.
Virgin Hyperloop project is truly one of the most exciting projects happening around. It’s not just a mode of transportation — it’s a future, where distance across cities or countries is no longer a barrier. We will be able to travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai in UAE a ride that usually takes hours in just 13 minutes. Venice to Padua in Italy is also now a possibility in this decade.
Those are the changes that are happening in quite far future, but what about the changes happening now with the acceleration of electric vehicles. Europe leads in EV growth, with Germany’s 20% market share dominated by brands like Volkswagen and Tesla. However, challenges remain, including high costs and a scarcity of charging stations. Substantial efforts are required from both auto manufacturers and government authorities to address these issues.
To summarize, future cities will prioritize human first. Just like in the media industry, we need to follow the same approach, prioritizing the consumer first, while using tech to make this journey easier. With distance becoming inconsequential thanks to advancements in mobility, the future remains uncertain but promising. Regardless of whether individuals reside in downtown or suburban areas, FOMO will become irrelevant for most people. We may see more digital billboards and in-screen ads in digitally connected vehicles. Ultimately, the upcoming changes aim to enhance connectivity and convenience, as we navigate cities where convenience and community are intertwined. As marketers, it is crucial to understand diverse audiences and tailor media planning and creative strategies accordingly, as a one-size-fits-all approach will no longer suffice.
Revenge of the Monoculture
As the micro- and macro-level rhythms of our lives evolve, it’s driving another trend that we’ve been observing since early in the pandemic: the increased importance of unifying cultural events. But far from just being the echo of a desire for togetherness when congregating was difficult and dangerous, this is a trend that’s been slowly building for years. Indeed, while the pandemic may have crystallized this desire for many consumers, it’s really a response to decades of the niche-ification of our media ecosystem. As cord-cutting tipped over into being the norm, and more television content was consumed on-demand, prime time started to look more like the halcyon days of Twitter: even if everyone in your community was tuned in and watching around the same time, there were dozens of parallel communities absorbed in different programming altogether, unaware of the twists in your reality TV group chat or your prestige series cliffhanger.
The desire to participate in monoculture again stems from media fragmentation. During the pandemic when we were all locked at home it was easy to fall into our siloed media vortexes. Back in the days of linear TV when that was the only way to watch TV shows, it was very easy for everyone to watch the same show and then talk about it the next day or join the discussion on social media. But with the likes of Prime, Netflix, Apple TV and different social media channels sharing all kinds of different content and trends, there is so much to watch and follow and so many different communities of discussion that sometimes it can start to feel a little bit lonely.
In Europe, it has been said that there is a “loneliness epidemic,” where loneliness is directly associated with the feeling of lacking meaningful social interactions. Research done in Europe has shown that the use of social media is associated with an increase in loneliness, suggesting that social networks replace offline relationships with online ones that lack the intimacy and quality of in-person interactions. When you think about how adults and kids are literally spending up to 6 hours a day on screens — you can see how this could be a key factor in how we have become a slave to the screen instead of getting out and making real connections.
Let’s discuss TikTok, which created even smaller niches, which has other major social platforms rushing to change and adapt to in order to compete. It’s no longer about being ‘social’, it’s now becoming more about the ‘media’ engagement and your own personal algorithm. With 5.2 million 15–24-year-olds in the UK visiting and spending an average of 58 minutes per day on TikTok, it is further driving the algorithmic, individualized media diets.
While no one on TikTok is producing anything approaching prestige dramas, as smartphone cameras and editing tools have improved, there’s plenty of user-generated content that fulfils the same function as the vast majority of televised content: clips similar to reality TV, comedy that’s funnier than anything that’s streaming, and bizarre slice-of-life content that would put a local news teams to shame. And this content is already starting to get supercharged by generative AI. For example, Warner Music recently signed an AI virtual pop singer named Noonoouri. Whilst AI pop singers are not new, Noonoouri is the first in Europe, and she has already been featured in ads for Kim Kardashian’s makeup line.
We are witnessing an era of zero content creation costs for brands. And this is where startups like Latte Social come in. Created by London duo Michael Martin and Timothy Wu, they have made the video editor of the future. It’s a platform that automates via AI social video creation using a combination of generative AI, computer vision, and natural language processing. Brands can create and adapt their content simply by typing a few words, making the process quick, easy, and free.
Shifting focus from “inventory” to “events” is crucial as media inventory becomes virtually infinite due to AI. Events like the popular “Barbenheimer” double-bill demonstrated the power of creating cultural phenomena. These movies became cultural events, generating widespread discussion and fostering a sense of community. This trend underscores the importance of understanding diverse audiences and tailoring media strategies accordingly. This is the revenge of the monoculture at its prime — making people feel that they have to see this movie in order to understand and participate in the conversation that everyone you know is having simultaneously.
Live events are particularly effective in driving monoculture and creating a sense of community. Sports, awards shows, and reality TV capitalize on this by offering live content that encourages viewers to tune in and participate in real-time discussions. TV publishers like Sky Sports capitalise on this through a myriad of options for live sports bundles.
We even see content creators getting in on this live sporting trend to create exciting cultural events, often for a good cause too. The Sidemen Charity Match, for instance, drew 67,000 in offline attendance and 2.6 million viewers across TV and streaming channels, highlighting the appeal of live, shared experiences through all the meme-worthy viral moments it created, such as YouTube comedian Max Fosh showing up with a UNO reverse card to reverse his yellow card.
If being live doesn’t work, then be everywhere, as an omnipresence can effectively generate FOMO. To promote the Barbie movie, Mattel pulled this off perfectly by making sure they occupied all the spaces they could ahead of, during and after the release of the Barbie movie. Their extensive brand collaborations created a widespread sense of involvement, making those not engaged feel left out.
Don’t forget about being exclusive to heighten the feelings of FOMO. Concerts from superstars, such as Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Madonna which have recently graced Europe, were outrageously expensive but a must attend event on the social calendar. high demand and limited availability of tickets heightened the desire to participate. This exclusivity extends to digital platforms, where fans eagerly watch the extended concert film of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to be part of the exclusive community and ongoing conversation.
As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, the value of human-created, event-focused media will grow. Brands must find opportunities to connect with consumers through live or exclusive experiences and collaborations. Embracing these strategies can foster genuine human connections and water cooler moments, offering a counterbalance to the potential disconnection brought about by AI’s rapid development. Monoculture, driven by shared experiences, may well be our salvation in an increasingly digital world.
The Expanding Experience Economy
Of course, that drive for connection isn’t limited to digital environments: it’s behind the tsunami of interest and investments in live events and experiences over the past couple of years. In 2023, the experience economy exceeded $110 billion globally. This includes live sporting events, the single biggest sector, but also theme parks (the second biggest), as well as concerts, theatre, and other live performances. In Europe specifically, the events industry is estimated to reach $123.9 billion by 2030, at an impressive growth rate of 8.7% from 2021 to 2023.
The continued growth is outpacing expectations for “revenge spending” after the early days of the pandemic, and giving rise to entirely new types of experiences. While the Taylor Swift and Beyoncé tours captured the bulk of the media attention last year, it only reinforces that the demand for these exclusive, high-end experiences is large and growing. The more interesting developments are happening lower down the stack, as the at-home viewing experience is improving, and a new class of hybrid experiences is popping up to bridge the gap between them.
The home experience is in the midst of its first major upgrade in a decade. While many a Swiftie will enjoy watching the Eras Tour on demand at home, in a few years that experience will seem quaint, as immersive media starts to become more common. While Meta has been plugging away at increasingly advanced VR headsets for years, Apple’s entry into the space with the Vision Pro is already reshaping the market. Unlike any other technology company, Apple has both the financial and cultural capital to blend the ecosystem that’s needed to expand headsets and immersive media use beyond gaming.
While the Vision Pro is today a high-end platform for early adopters, the “Pro” in the name signals that more accessible devices are on the way. And Meta, too, will benefit, drafting off this wake of new content for their own, much less expensive devices, expanding the market for immersive content.
If seeing Taylor Swift live is at the high end of the “experience spectrum,” and watching her in an immersive headset at home is at the other, hybrid events are creating an exciting new middle class for the experience economy. This middle class will help support the other poles: for live events, it will allow them to become even higher-end and exclusive, as a good-enough experience becomes more accessible. And the creation of immersive content for live venues will support a pipeline of immersive content which will also be distributed at home.
This emerging class of hybrid experiences combines elements of live events and digital media to create something new entirely. The most recognisable example of this would be ABBA Voyage which has injected a new life into the music event industry and ushers a new era of concerts. The show’s scale is enormous, a new stadium was built in London but crucially it has opened up a whole new world of events. Some have described it as the closest thing we have to time travel, as the event captures the band in their youth at the height of their careers. These types of events will only become more common; a plethora of artists such as Cher (including performing in Roblox!), Elvis and KISS are rumoured to become virtual artists in the future to keep their legacy alive.
Another more common and accessible hybrid experience which has boomed in EMEA is immersive art. This hybrid experience has taken on a whole new persona with the development of virtual reality, augmented reality and motion tracking. Searches for immersive art have grown up to 27% in EMEA over the course of 2023. There has been discussion around the status of these types of events, including Van Gogh’s expo across Europe, with people arguing whether they constituted as a fad or a trend.
Netflix has also partnered with interactive games company in Saudi Arabia to develop a real-life experience of Squid Game. Giving fans the chance to try out some of the show’s games in-person which is a savvy move to help prevent the subscriber exodus. It seems that Netflix have realised that real-life experiences forge much stronger connections with fans. Moving the experience from passive watching into something immersive and sensorial can be very powerful.
Consumer interest and desire for experiences are transforming the way brands sell and communicate. Forbes reported that half of the consumers said that they expect even better experiences from brands when economic conditions become more challenging, and by experiences they are no longer talking about entertainment (as they once were) but instead about being memorable and personal. Savvy brands are reacting by tapping into exactly what their audiences are craving, with the recent IPA marketing budget outlook for 2024 indicating that brand events will see the most growth at +17.8%. For example, just when we thought Uber couldn’t dominate any more modes of travel, they have tapped into Hot air balloons in Turkey! Similarly Nike have moved towards aiding people’s mental health with the ‘Nike Well Festival’ that focusses on mindfulness and mental health that can’t be easily conveyed with athletic wear.
In summary, with live events the most obvious implication for brands would be that there is a huge amount of organic hype to ride and really connect with people through their passion points. Live events are going nowhere and there is a renewed excitement that surrounds them. The concept of hybrid events is in its relative infancy but already offering a massive range of opportunities to reach consumers in new and innovative ways, which haven’t previously been possible. The opportunity for connected media and new experiences, which merge what is familiar to us has never been more fruitful. For brands, it’s important to take stock and engage with these changes and stay at the cutting edge of the growing experience economy by using it to our advantage to connect with consumers in new and innovative ways.
