As the global live event industry continues to evolve exponentially, event producers are looking for innovative ways to deliver a better guest experience and grow their attendance. The key to this is knowing who your fans are and what motivates them to come to your event. Lucky for you, our State of Live Report has the answers you’re looking for. Here are some of the insights we were able to find from our data so let’s get to it, who really are your fans?

Demographics

The report found that the fans are between the ages of 19 and 25 years old, attend more than 10 events a year including at least two festivals. 49.2 percent of fans attended 10 or more events per year and go with groups between two and four people. Event planners should take into account that most fans attend events in groups of two to four; offering group packages is a great way to incentivize on this statistic.

Fans attend at least seven concerts per year, making it the most attended event compared to all other events. Attendees are less likely to attend conferences and conventions, with most attendees reporting that they attend zero per year. 

The fans care more about who the performers are than any other factor. Fans are line-up driven, so give them who they want to see and they will come. Other elements of events that are vital to fans’ guest experience are atmosphere and environment. 

Key Fan Insights

The way fans hear about new events has changed. Social Media is the best way that fans hear about new events. So, try implementing social media campaigns to showcase your new events. Fans also hear about new events via word-of-mouth and email too; social media posts along with email blasts are great ways to get your event out there. When it comes to VIP tickets, one-third of VIP ticket buyers felt that it was not worth the money and 79 percent of fans said they would attend more events if the tickets were cheaper. Fans expressed their biggest frustration at events were the long lines.

What Makes Fans Attend More Events?

When fans were asked if they plan to attend more or less events next year, more events and the same amount as this year, were neck and neck. Together, attending the same number of events or more next year made up 78.4% of fans. So how can you shift the data to your favour?

Cheaper tickets, location, and better line-ups are just some of the factors that would improve the guest experience and encourage attendance to more events per year. Cheaper tickets are the top factor in fans attending more events. This is followed by 63.4 percent of responders saying they would attend more events if they were closer to home, 61.1 said better line-ups, teams, and performers were a major factor and 56.9 percent said if their friends wanted to go, they would go too. More diverse performers came in last with only 26.9 percent.

Social Media – Where are They Spending Their Time?

Fans and attendees use social media all the time, especially since 91 percent of responders said that was how they find out about new events. Fans are active social media users, Facebook is their top used platform. Try marketing and engaging fans on Facebook and Snapchat since fans are most active on these platforms. 

When trying to engage with groups, use Twitter. Fans who attend events in groups of six or more are very active on Twitter and are most likely to respond and engage with posts on this platform. 

It’s all About Timing

Buying tickets can be the most crucial part of the entire event. Most fans buy their tickets when they know who the performers are followed by fans who buy tickets as soon as the event is announced, they’re known as ‘early birds.’ When their friends buy their tickets is also a large factor in when fans buy their event tickets. 

‘Festie Squads’

A ‘Festie Squad’ is a group of six or more fans who go to an event together. They represent about 10 percent of an event’s audience. They make decisions together, are line-up driven, active Twitter users and usually never buy their tickets at the last second. 83.3 percent of the Festie Squad learn about new shows from word of mouth and collectively they all agree that ticket prices are stopping them from attending more events. Festie Squads are less common but they are a lucrative market for event producers. They should be targeted early, around when the line-up comes out and should be encouraged by group discounts on tickets for enhanced guest experience for these groups. 

This is data only scratches the surface of the insights from our research. To learn even more, download the full ebook here.