Understanding trends the key for entertainment industry

With the music festival season in full swing, a Southern Cross University researcher is urging the entertainment industry to get to know its consumers a little better.

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) candidate Al Marshall is putting the finishing touches to research looking at the factors that motivate people to attend dance parties.

Al said as youth culture evolved and new trends emerged, entertainment enterprises needed to work hard to keep up with changes in consumer motivation and attitudes.

“Recently we have seen some clear consumer trends such as a move away from night time dance parties to day festivals,” said Al, a lecturer in marketing at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney, who is completing his DBA externally through Southern Cross University’s Tweed Gold Coast campus.

“There are still some huge dance parties taking place – for example, the Sensation event in Melbourne on New Year’s Eve attracted around 40,000 people - but events such as the Big Day Out, and others due to take place this festival season, are gaining in popularity.

“We are also seeing the wider incorporation of dance parties into mainstream culture, which has led to industry trends such as the willingness of mainstream companies to provide sponsorship.

“Dance parties may no longer be at the cutting edge of youth culture, and in order to remain relevant dance parties of the future will need to incorporate new styles, genres and consumer attitudes.”

The study undertaken by Al focussed on the Sydney dance music scene, and found that people attend dance parties largely for the group experience, the atmosphere, to hear a DJ and to take drugs.

Al said the research was significant not only for nightclubs and pubs, but also for a wide range of other organisations.

“In consumer behaviour terms, dance parties are a high involvement entertainment experience, as are activities such as bungee jumping, parachuting and white water rafting. They are all hedonistic leisure pursuits which involve a group experience and an element of risk,” said Al.

“These industries are typically comprised of multiple small organisations, and tend to practice marketing audits, planning and strategy processes with a high degree of informality.

“Decisions are often based on intuition, word of mouth and prior industry experience.

“Formal studies such as the research I have undertaken are essential for an up-to-date understanding of the needs of this consumer group to assist with product design, advertising, repeat customer attendance and the encouragement of word-of-mouth - which is allegedly so powerful in youth culture.”

Photo: Al Marshall (high resolution image available on request)