There will be demographic divide in entertainment demands of audiences: Vivendi

On Day 3 of Lions Live organized by Cannes Lions, French Mass Media conglomerate, Vivendi presented some insights from their “Entertainment in a New World’ global study. The study was conduced across countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America including China, India, USA, Columbia, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain.

The report found that 40% of the world population experienced some form of Lockdown during Covid-19 pandemic. While there was certainly new habit formation in consumer behaviour as they went into confinement, the study also finds out the habits that will emerge as they come out of the Lockdown.

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It was found that entertainment was very important across age cohorts, according to the study, the expectations of younger and older audiences of entertainment were often completely different. For example, the study found that Gen Z will be hungry for live and face to face interactions coming out of confinement whereas families with children would be inclined to cocoon themselves at home and savour at home digital experiences.

The report predicted that there will be an acceleration of content created in the phygital space – where there would be an interactive digital experience embedded into physical experiences.

For younger audiences, entertainment was the ultimate escape during the Lockdown. 77% surveyed audiences said it was a priority to get through the crisis. In countries with younger populations, like China, India and Columbia, the dependence was even higher. It even played a societal role by making sure that people stayed at home and by connecting family and friends.

The slower pace to life during Lockdown gave impetus to consumer to try new things. According to the study, major focus areas during the Lockdown were heath, cooking and sports at home. It found that 18% of users connected with friend and family for the first-time using video platforms.  

Viewership of all entertainment platforms grew significantly with TV (41%), movies and series (35%), music (27%), video games (18%), and reading books (22%).

As Lockdown restrictions are relaxed, Vivendi discerned three major trends as people return to their normal lives. Surveyed populations said that they want to pay more attention to their health community and environment. Half of those surveyed said, they would go back to their old entertainment habits.

For older people without children, the surveyed participants said they want more outdoor experiences like concerts, bookstores, cinema, live events coming out of Lockdown. In conclusion, brands should anticipate a higher demand for physical live experiences as well as digital experiences. And at the crossroads of both, will be new interactive entertainment experiences.