PSFK Asks The Purplelist, What Is The Future Of Live Events?

After listening to an interview with Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard, in which he discussed how to bring fans back to stadiums and arenas, PSFK started thinking about the the evolution of the live experience at sporting events and concerts. Given the exorbitant costs, travel considerations and inconveniences associated with attending an event, alongside the type of experience that can be created at home through HD TVs, surround sound, WiFi, take-your-pick food delivery and the overall comfort of being in your own space, we were curious to know what event producers and venues should be considering in order to get people off their couches and into seats?

We asked the Purplelist to weigh in on this question, with a special attention to how the mobile phone, jumbotron and other technologies can help augment the current live experience. A selection of their insights appear below, touching on diverse elements from audience interaction to concessions.

Michael Myers, Marketing Strategist from California:

Events are going to become more important for businesses as fans become conduits, helping push the experience to fans and potential fans who can’t attend. I believe hardcore fans will still attend the event and stream what they’re seeing and hearing during the event. This stream of UGC will be pushed to the Internet where fans that can’t attend can view the content streams being created. Over time those streams will be joined by quality content shot by business partners of the band/team. Think of a real time dashboard with every angle of the event represented AND a unique perspective layered in.

Jumbotrons will pump UGC content from fans onto the screen. QR codes will be used to drive traffic to concessions where people can pay for their beer with their phone and then push any feedback for that experience to Facebook. “If you show up now, you can get a free shirt.”. Social Commerce at events is going to be huge.

Andrea Graham,  Researcher and Youth Culture Specialist from New York:

Social media has given people an almost insatiable appetite for connected living, they want both online and offline worlds to co-exist and to inform the other. They want to experince unique events, capture it and share it with their social networks.

Live events I think can be saved by learning from festivals like England’s Secret Garden parties and it’s smaller US-based event Escape to New York. These events not only feature music, food, and art installations but also foster a sense of serendipitous community by encouraging concertgoers to meet new people and participate in new experiences, that would certainly be impossible to recreate online.

By recreating a sense of community through shared interest sociability and by offering something completely new and unique to attendees, concerts could once again re-capture that “you had to be there” magic.

David Adler, Entertainment and Media Consultant from Chicago:

Successful promoters, venues and producers will leverage technology to extend the “experience” before, during and after the actual live portion of the event itself. Moreover, social media technologies combined with connected devices like cell phone and tablets can make it an even more immerse experience for patrons.

If one thinks carefully about ALL the elements that go into an event , each one can be touched/augmented/enhanced through the use of GPS and other mobile technologies  as well as social media.

Imagine: parking alerts (**open spot at C-10**), ticket alerts (**2 seats just opened: row xx-##**, food and beverage alerts (**Check in at Kiosk #### for your free brat/beer/souvenir**), real-time interaction (displayed via Jumbotron “@rockstar: great riff on that last jam!). The list goes on and on and on….

Nishad Ramachandran, Creative Curator from Mumbai:

I think we are seeing some trends already like, Facebook connect enabled booking systems that will help us discover if our friends are attending the same event and where they are seated. Instant replays on mobile devices and using bluetooth and WiFi to augment live viewing.

And new ones that could emerge in the near future such as Augmented reality. I haven’t seen any yet, but there are opportunities in embedding stories and statistics on real world locations that can add additional dimensions to a place. Like this Augmented Cinema scenario. Holographic gaming. Where fans could have the opportunity to interact with their heroes, living or dead using archived footage. Enhanced eyewear like 3D glasses, these wearable devices could help live viewers enjoy multiple angle views, 3D experiences, zoom and pan, added statistics and facts etc.

How would you like to see the live fan experience change?

Read the full responses here – and if you’re already a PurpleList member, you can leave your comments there too.

PSFK readers can sign up for expert membership using this link: www.purplelist.com/invite/ac953JX11

Image via Sergei Bachlakov / Shutterstock.com