Wading in muddy waters? Understanding who festival-goers are
Alice Dunn, marketing executive at Kantar Media, looks at festival-goers as the summer season kicks in – a group that is significantly more likely than the average adult to be among the heaviest fifth of consumers of cinema, internet and outdoor media…
The onset of the British summertime means the arrival of the festival season, during which eager conversations about tents and wellies can often be overheard all over the country. With illegal downloads now shaping the music industry, artists are relying more and more on live performances to generate revenue. It is partly down to this that the number of festivals for revellers to choose from is on the increase, which means marketers need to be clever to make sure they understand and reach the appropriate targets.
Insight from Kantar Media’s TGI survey reveals that four million British adults have been to a music festival in the last 12 months. Of these festival-goers, men account for the majority. They are a predominantly young group, but a significant portion – 26% – are aged over 45. So although their younger age range means they are over twice as likely as the average adult to be a student, they are also a high-value group, with 40% working full-time and almost a third are in social grades AB.
Festival-goers are a ‘work hard, play hard’, ambitious group; being significantly more likely than the average adult to look on the work they do as a career rather than just a job. They are also 75% more likely to want to get to the top of their chosen profession. Coupled with this, they are over four times as likely as the average adult to visit nightclubs regularly and enjoy eating out several times a month.
They are a group who care about what their friends do and think. 68% of them think it is important to be respected by their peers, and as a group they are significantly more likely than the average adult to be easily influenced by other people’s views. This could suggest that what their peers are doing might play a major part when it comes to choosing a festival. Therefore the need for festivals to reach the right people is even greater as word of mouth appears to be a powerful tool amongst festival-goers. The good news for marketers is that this group are significantly more likely to think they can convince others about their views on music products. So again, this is an key thing for marketers to make the most of.
In terms of the most effective ways of reaching festival-goers, they are significantly more likely than the average adult to be among the heaviest fifth of consumers of cinema, internet and outdoor media. With regard to cinema, their favourite types of films are art house and teenage comedies. This is not to say that they are not also TV lovers, as they are well over three times as likely as the average adult to prefer watching Peep Show and Skins. They also tend to be influenced by advertising, being 24% more likely than the average adult to admit advertising helps them chose what they buy. Being heavy internet users, it fits that as a group they are 41% more likely to notice adverts on the internet.
Given what an easily-influenced bunch they are, festival-goers are significantly more likely to respond well to sponsorship. Those who go to Reading or Leeds festivals are well over four times as likely to be more inclined to purchase products from companies that sponsor music events.
With more festivals than ever, and the growing focus on live shows, there has never been a better time to target festival-goers. TGI insight shows them to be a particularly attractive group to marketers, being both easily influenced themselves and able to influence others. So whether or not this summer is a muddy wash-out for festival-goers, campsites are sure to be packed with revellers willing to battle the elements to see their favourite artists live.