Question: Compared to two or three years ago, how likely are you to pursue entertainment activities in your home rather than outside your home?
Implications:
Successful marketers wishing to capitalize on consumer demand for entertainment will capitalize on entertainment opportunities in the home and out of the home. Overall consumer demand for entertainment remains strong however these results indicate fundamental shifts in entertainment demand.
The two most frequently mentioned barriers to ‘going out’ are cost and limited time. Home entertainment which is relatively inexpensive and can be accommodated in reasonable time is in demand. Cable television, home videos, low impact exercise (walking, cycling and skiing) and hobbies (gardening, reading) top the list. Even with increasingly fragmented audiences the television medium appears to be well positioned with consumers for the 1990s. Major television events (Olympics, Academy Awards, major league sport playoffs in baseball, hockey, football) continue to be one of the few ways to reach a majority of the population. Hobby shows (renovations) and self improvement shows (one in two Canadians believe that they will need to learn new skills in the 1990s) all appear to have potential. Home entertainment is attractive to today’s baby boomer families because of competing demands for time with family, work and leisure. Even with the average number children per Canadian family at less than two (down from four per family in the 1950s), the demands on parents’ time is greater than ever because a majority of today’s Canadian parents both work. Another potential area for long term home entertainment growth are ‘virtual realty’ experience (e.g., space travel, professional sport simulation). The ‘virtual reality’ technology is still in the experimental stages but the fit with the home entertainment market appears very logical.
Out of home entertainment consumers are now seeking fewer but higher quality entertainment experiences. One sector of out of home entertainment which has experienced strong growth recently is family entertainment (entertainment events for parents and kids). Today’s quality conscious baby boom parents seek ‘quality time’ experiences with their children and are willing to pay for them. Properties such as Disney on Ice, Sharon, Lois and Bram, Beauty and the Beast, Young Peoples Threatre, and Blue Jays Baseball have all enjoyed success in attracting family audiences. We believe that demand in this area will continue to be strong throughout the 1990s.
Successful out of home entertainment events in the 1990s must deliver a quality entertainment experience which meets consumer needs, excellent customer service and good perceived value. Corporate sponsors of entertainment properties should position their sponsorship to provide value added to the consumers’ experience. Examples of adding value for entertainment consumers include: reducing the cost, meeting the celebrities, or being in the show. Delivering on all of these consumers benefits is the challenge for the 1990s.
