Posted onMay 29, 2025|Comments Off on I LOVE THE MOVIES!!!
The smell of buttered popcorn, the cool sensation of frosty Pepsi in my mouth, and an afternoon of escape into a new and exciting world, this is what the movies meant to me. As a kid, I spent endless hours on these magical, plush red seats.
For years, cinemas were our first and most affordable choice for entertainment. Movies were the anchor for some of the best retail in the United States, aping the days when we went downtown for all our entertainment, be it a shopping trip, a movie, a delicious dinner at our favorite restaurant or maybe even a play. While many of us are not old enough to remember those days, they are certainly the model for modern entertainment districts.
Not surprisingly, the Pandemic, streaming, and other technology that allows entertainment and games in the palm of our hands have significantly affected the cinema industry. The North American Box Office Gross (NABOG) in 2023 and 2024 was between $8.5-$9.0 Billion, a drop from the Pre-Pandemic era of $11-$12 billion or approximately 70%. But even before the pandemic, NABOG was not growing, but hovering, as shown below:
Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com by IMDbPro and JB Research Company
In the last 40 years, 1984-2024, compound annual growth rate of cinema revenue has been 2.8%, while the population of the U. S. has increased only 1.0% on the same basis. As a reference, the North American Amusement and Theme Park gross revenue increased at a rate of 5.0% per annum in the past 26 years. Remember, inflation has been 2.6% in the past 26 years, so the real rate of growth is 2.4% for Amusement and Theme Parks. Adjusted for inflation (2.6% for the past 40 yrs.), cinemas revenue has been fairly stagnant in the period. This is a somewhat disappointing point of view.
What are a few of the reasons for stagnation, even prior to the Pandemic:
Technology, including television even before streaming became available to all.
Shifts in consumer behavior and preferences
Shifting Demographics, including the aging of the U. S. population
The availability of quality film product and again, preferences of the moving going public
Over screening
With all of this disappointing news, there are some bright spots on the horizon. First, theaters are seeking to change the business model. While almost half of cinema revenue still comes from ticket sales, other revenue streams are growing. Some new points of differentiation include:
The availability of premium large format screens
Enhanced seating
Enhanced Food and Beverage, including the highly profitable sale of alcoholic beverages
Adoption of theaters as public assembly facilities offering opportunities for live events, gaming, sports, opera, kids movies and other programming.
I grew up going to the movies as a special treat. In my heart, I hope that theaters can evolve with the times and remain as sparkling, special places where one can lose oneself in a special environment for a few hours. Lord knows we need these safe escapes in our very chaotic world!
Posted onJanuary 27, 2025|Comments Off on Exploring Boomer Spending Trends: Insights for Marketers
Unlocking the Spending Power of Boomers
Americans are a diverse group, and their spending reflects it beautifully. Look at the picture above and the chart below and you will discover that Boomers spend the lowest of overall per capita, but they rival Millennials in their entertainment spending. Yet when you casually observe advertising in any format, digital or print, you rarely see a senior enjoying themselves on an adventure tour, or on an expensive trip to a theme park. Doesn’t make sense!
The percentage of global population by demographic cohort and estimated spending shows a similar situation:
Generation
Share of population (2024)
Global spending (2024)
Gen Alpha
19.5%
10.6%
Gen Z
24.6%
17.1%
Millennials
22.9%
22.5%
Gen X
18.3%
23.5%
Baby Boomers
12.1%
20.8%
Greatest and Silent Generation
2.6%
5.5%
Understanding these percentages assists in understanding the social and economic impacts that each generation has on our industry.
When comparing the population percentages with spending percentages, the following observations can be made:
Baby Boomers: Although they make up 12.1% of the population, their spending represents 20.8%, highlighting their substantial economic influence.
Millennials: Represent 22.5% of the population and their spending is almost the same.
Gen X: Consist of 18.3% of the population but account for 23.5% of spending. This generation shows a higher spending power relative to their population size.
These comparisons reveal that while some generations may have a smaller population size, their economic impact through spending can be disproportionately large, reflecting their purchasing power and consumption patterns.
Boomers, despite being the lowest in overall per capita spending, rival Millennials in entertainment expenditures. They enjoy expensive vacations, gifts for family, and trips abroad, highlighting their substantial economic influence in the entertainment sector.
How often do you see an ad for anyone over 65 doing anything but taking drugs? But they have money and spend money on expensive vacations, gifts for their family, and trips abroad.
If you are concerned about your return on investment and you are in the entertainment field, why aren’t you pitching to this group? Just common sense, don’t you agree?
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Posted onJanuary 12, 2025|Comments Off on Reviving Community – New Trends in Location Based Entertainment
Now more than ever, we need places for people to congregate and connect. With every lifestyle, regional, and community center showing big empty spaces from tenants that have gone dark (due to Covid-related loss) or just bad management and strategy, innovation is the key to rebranding and renewed Covid has been catastrophic for business with major shutdowns and the explosion of e-commerce.
But some things can’t be replaced, and I believe will never be replaced, such as the need for connection and communal gathering places. The isolation and emancipation screens bring for young and old elicits a more urgent need for human contact. As good designers, developers and owners, we can provide interesting, exciting and innovative experiences, and we can bring visitors back to our shopping centers.
The genres of new concepts are as old as the shopping centers themselves and as new as technology will allow. Here are some of the notable Location Based Entertainment (LBE’s) we think are reinventing the genres.
Eataly
Eataly is the delicious Italian gourmet food market/food court on steroids, with 10 locationsin the United States, including New York and Los Angeles.
Eataly is a global operator in Italian food, offering a concept combining high-end Italian food restaurant with retail.
Eataly’s business model was built around the “eat-shop-learn” concept, offering consumers globally a selection of high-quality Italian restaurants and retail experiences with an overwhelming variety of the finest Italian local “specialties” often impossible to buy abroad.
Eataly operates 27 directly operated flagship stores (14 in Italy, 10 in North America and 3 in Europe) and 26 franchised stores located in the Asia Pacific countries and Middle Eastern region, generating revenues of over €800 million globally (including franchise store sales). This indicates average store sales of £15 million per location.
Eatertainment and Sports
I hate the word Eatertainment, but it has become common in our lexicon. The concept involves combining eating and drinking with fun, sports and games. Anything from baseball to golf to bowling to curling (yes, curling!) are tapped to be themes for these venues, which fit nicely into a retail or mixed-use project.
The first class includes many new restaurants which offer simulators for popular sports such as golf and Formula 1 car racing. Top Golf is the most popular sports themed venue with the highest number of units and top grossing sales per unit of the new sports/food/beverage concepts. This concept combines golf simulators and games with food and beverage. The company offers more than 100 plus units with total sales of almost $1.8 billion, average sales per unit of $17-$18 million on newer units sized at approximately 65,000 square feet. Gross margins are known to be about 40%, indicating an EBDITA of $6.8 million. With an industry standard payback of four years, this indicates a warranted investment of more than $27 million, or $415 per square foot. This is the most proven and mature business model of the sports/food & beverage models.
Other models include:
F1 Arcade is based on iconic Formula One racetracks and is offered in Boston, Washington DC, Las Vegas and London. Featuring craft cocktails and seafood, Kobe beef, and bar fare with an upscale theme, the venue allows entrance to customers from 7 years of age and older. The Boston unit is approximately 16,000 square feet. Kindred Concepts, the parent company, recently raised $130 million in financing for expansion.
Camp Pickle is scheduled to debut in Denver and Tulsa in 2025. This new attraction will be like an old-time summer camp, the kind your grandparents attended. Of course, Pickle Ball is the theme, and food beverage and other activities are offered.
Spin is a concept created by Susan Sarandon in New York in 2009, themed on competitive ping pong. With locations in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington DC, the menu provides farm to table, locally sourced food. Units range in size from 4,000-12,000 square feet, fitting nicely into a shopping center configuration.
SixesSocial Cricket offers competition in a sport that many Americans know nothing about… Cricket, with karaoke offered as backup! The food is said to be excellent, featuring typical bar-fare. Bookings include an adjoining table for food and beverage. The first U.S. unit is in Dallas at the Colony.
Goodsurf is an 8,000 square foot sports restaurant based on surf simulator technology that allows waves to be created by machines, taking much less space than a typical wave pool. Food offerings include burgers, fries, vegetarian options, and ice cream for the kids. The first location is in Dallas.
Flight Club is a high-tech dart simulation game with seven units located in the United States in Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, and Chicago. The food offerings are gourmet versions of flat breads, tacos, salads and fries. The newest unit is in Denver at 10,000 square feet, close to Coors Field and the Ball Arena.
Culture
My favorite in this category is Meow Wolf, which began in 2008 as a collective of anarchic artists in Santa Fe (NM). It offers interactive installations, each with a different theme. The attraction offers six locations including Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Houston, Washington, and Denver. Each location has a different immersive art theme with hundreds of storytellers from throughout the world and local artists’ features.
The newest and largest store is located in Denver and features more than 70 immersive attractions in 90,000 square feet. (The Houston location is only 32,000 square feet.) Convergence Station, as it is called, is a multiversal travel experience between four alien worlds, inspired by the location near two freeway overpasses.
The newest store is scheduled to open in 2026 and is in final lease negotiations that will bring a Meow Wolf exhibition to West Los Angeles. The location is a vacant movie theater complex. The theme will be cinema. Meow Wolf’s move into its largest market yet is intended as a statement piece, a declaration that weirdness and art-focused ventures still have a place in an immersive economy that’s been racked by closures and layoffs, Meow Wolf included.
In April, Meow Wolf announced it would cut 165 employees. Exhibitions in Denver and Las Vegas were heavily affected.
General admission is $40 for adults and $35 for children and passes are available. The business model is based on buying/leasing low value properties in subsidy rich locales.
Destruction LBE’s
Can we talk about Las Vegas, the lab for all new location-based entertainment? How about Dig This, with an admission price of almost $205? This is a wrecking lot with real earth-moving machines, caterpillar D5Ks, bulldozers, and mini excavators. With instructions being the first step, a neon yellow vest and a hard hat are provided with in-cab training. Then, you get turned loose to wreck real things like a car! This is about the most male-oriented attraction of those researched!
Adventure and Technology Driven Formats
Location based virtual reality is a whole world unto itself with a following that includes mostly young boys and men. But the industry is making a Location Based-Social interaction with games to engage the consumer in a community experience. Some of the themes include war, exploration, and adventure. Research shows that female consumers are loving some of these group games, those that don’t require you to keep a body count!
(Now maybe I’m old-fashioned, but explain this to me. A whole bunch of your friends put things over their eyes where they can’t see each other nor speak to each other, nor touch each other. These are group games that seem to me to be a totally weird way to connect. Just this consultant’s opinion, but I think we have lost our way in terms of entertainment value and the sense of connection that is required to be human!)
Still, one concept is killing it!
Sandbox VR is a location-based concept out of the UK and Ireland, with two locations in the UK (one in London, one in Birmingham), and 31in the United States. Of these, seven are in California, one in Chandler (AZ) and another in Mall of America (MN). The average spend is £37 in the UK and $55 in the United States. The UK locations earn between $1.9-$2.6 million, with an EBITDA of 35%. Capital expenditure on the equipment ranges from $500,000-$750,000. Buildout of the average 5,000-6,000 sqft location ranges from $1.5-$3.0 million, cost of which is borne by the lease and/or can be negotiated with the landlord. The games are story driven and can change constantly. Collaborations with Netflix and Paramount are planned to provide content.
At the writing of this blog, Sandbox VR launched a game based on Netflix’s Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon.” This experience has players “gear up with their fellow rebels for battle against the ruthless forces of the Motherworld’s military,” per the game’s description. “Inspired by the vision of legendary director Zack Snyder, players become members of the resistance and are transported to the planet of Daggus, descending through skyscrapers, streets, and a subterranean mine while they defeat enemy soldiers and spacecraft.”
With the development of operating economics reported, this is one of the first VR experiences to complete a “proof of concept” and earn economic industry-standard return.
Intellectual Properties
My favorite location-based entertainment center based on an IP is the Crayola Experience. This format is based on (what else) the iconic Crayola Brand, with the flagship attraction in Easton (PA), where the factory and headquarters are located. At 65,000 square feet, and with lots of colorful activities to do, the attraction boasts an adult/child entry fee of $26.99. Other locations include Chandler (AZ), Bloomington (MN), Orlando (FL), and Plano (TX). Activities offered are very creative such as the Activities Studio, The Cartoon Creator, and the Adventure Lab.
In 2022, the brand began a licensing concept. The growth strategy presented in 2022 includes extending the location-based entertainment footprint domestically and internationally. “We are now looking to develop licensing partnerships that bring new capital and expertise to accelerate our LBE expansion, particularly internationally where local market access and expertise are important,” said Victoria Lozano, Executive Vice President Digital Strategy, GM Attractions & Retail for Crayola.
The first Crayola Experience opened 25 years ago as The Crayola Factory in Easton (PA). Crayola saw an opportunity in LBE and in 2013 reimagined the downtown attraction as Crayola Experience. The company also owns and operates Crayola Experiences in Orlando (FL), at the Mall of America in Bloomington (MN), in Plano (TX), and in Chandler (AZ). With venues ranging from 20,000-60,000 square feet, Crayola Experience engages more than 1.5 million kids and adults annually in activities inspired by/and incorporating proprietary Crayola products and technologies.
Crayola is continuing to develop creative concepts that will help scale its events and exhibitions LBE business. Early this year, Crayola debuted IdeaWorks at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, a traveling exhibition encouraging families to explore innovation, invention and design thinking. The company also collaborated with OceanX, a global ocean exploration nonprofit, on a national takeover tour of the Crayola Experience venues that began this summer and runs through summer 2022.
Other notable concepts of IP-based LBE’s include the LEGO Discovery Centers, branded popup retail locations with characters such as Barbie and Peppa Pig. Today, studios and other IP owners are monetizing their brands by creating places where their properties can be owned or licensed out to the LBE owner. One great example is MONOPOLY LIFESIZED, created by Habro (self-explanatory), and Sony has opened a division to license its intellectual properties for developers.
Other retail pop-ups with a brand LBE include Hello Kitty pop-up cafes, the Rolling Stones pop-ups, and the Barbie branded sales areas at Selfridges in London.
Conclusion
Most of the examples presented must continue proof of concept and financial goals. We hope many will stand the test of time and blossom to enrich our industry!
What are your favorites? Let us know, we always love your input and experiences!
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Posted onMay 2, 2024|Comments Off on Museums Are Telling Stories That Need to be Told
We need a new word for “museum” which calls to mind blank white walls with paintings created by old white men depicting gorgeous scenes of beautiful ladies sitting waterside with flowers and picnics. Don’t get me wrong, these are pleasing images and I love looking at them. But it turns out their interest and subjects leave out about 90% of the population in the world.
The world has changed. The arts are a reflection of our society and our cultural mores. And baby, “the times they are a changin”. In response, museums are listening to the outcry. The modern audience is new, fresh, young, black, brown, yellow, LBGTQ, female, elder, street-wise, colorful! They want to hear about music, history, life-experience, and feeling they understand, both within (or without) the walls of our institutions.
While museums are normally thought of as staid and conservative, our most progressive institutions, those that have realized they must change or perish, are singing a new song. They are changing the location, experience, design, subject, and setting. They are ENGAGING new audiences.
Last week’s New York Times offered two sections on Museums. “More to see, do and feel -Museums are striving to expand the experiences of their visitors.” Rock on, I say. Some examples:
Christopher Wool decided that because galleries are so staid and expected, he would show his famous and very expensive sculptures in a raw industrial space within an office building in Manhattan. He says in an interview that “Imperfection is the goal. You get tension with imperfection and small amounts of chaos in these pieces, which is strengthened by how unfinished and raw the space is.”
All over the United States from San Francisco, Charleston, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and Philadelphia, new museums are exploring outdoor spaces as an integral part of the experience. They are creating welcoming, collaborative spaces, where guests feel inspired and also engulfed by beauty. Landscaping and sculptures, street furniture, water, wind are melded together to form an alchemy of stories in these outdoor spaces, which are not gardens, by any stretch of the imagination.
In North Miami, the story of Haiti’s troubled history and a personal story of Manuel Mathleu, the exhibition’s creator, is told through paintings and ceramics, many of which depict violence and tumult.
At the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, industrial history is the subject of a huge exhibition, as part of the Forum Series. The exhibition, a collaboration with Maria Watt and The Poetry Collection utilizes glass, steel and blankets as the materials of her creations
In this tumultuous time of political, racial and ethnic polarization and violence, college protests have become a real campus issue. In the spirit of encouraging calm and empathetic behavior, ten college museums are collaborating on one simple activity voting. Sculptures at the University of Oregon in Eugene provide a deep dive into the false depiction of society in a Norman Rockwell painting.
Mental illness s the subject of a new exhibition at the Mississippi of Art through a display of “What Became of Dr. Smith, a 122-foot long painting of Noal Saterstrom exploring is great-grandfather’s 40-year travails in the Mississippi State Insane Hospital. Among other things, he explores his own battles with depression and depersonalization.
This fresh and sometimes disturbing new museum content and form expand human understanding and connection through art, in a time when the world is anything but peaceful. Perhaps this should be the mission of all museums, in hopes that someday soon, it will no longer be so desperately needed.
As I wrote these words, I discovered that these types of new and thoughtful attractions have always formed the basis of my practice. Our body of work includes museums of motion pictures, television arts and sciences, Native American stories, Negro League Baseball, young female empowerment and carousels, to name just a few. I just never thought about it in that way. JB Research Company has always worked on projects for the 90%!
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Yesterday was the experience of a lifetime. I was privileged to attend one of several days of pre-opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (AMMP).
But as they say in the movies, here is the backstory.
In 2005, I received a call from the museum coordinator, the only paid employee at the time, to provide a proposal for a feasibility study for a new museum. I had been involved with the feasibility/concept development for the Dolby (Academy) Theater at Hollywood and Highland several years before, so luckily I was on the radar.
When the Academy decided to finally move ahead with the century long museum planning, I got a call. “Can you help us out with the market research and financial feasibility testing of our museum? We don’t know what it is, where it is, or size, but still, can you help us? All we know is that we want it to be the boldest statement ever made on the history and effect of film!” It was the luckiest call of my life!
The director at the time was a brilliant woman, an entertainment business expert and a published fiction writer. She made the job that much more stimulating and creative! We worked with her on many teams hired (many then fired) to provide concept development, site location analysis, market research, and financial feasibility testing.
In all, we did 15 different analyses of multiple sites, configurations, sizes, square footages, models, retail, dining, and ancillary spaces within the museum. First question, “Should it be in Hollywood?” YES of course. You don’t need an expensive consultant to tell you that!
Please note, the museum is not located in Hollywood, because of about a thousand different reasons.
We first looked at the surrounding area of the Academy Library just north of Sunset and Vine, proximate to the Cinerama Dome Theater (closed for now, went out of business). In terms of the macro considerations, and what the world thinks they understand about Hollywood, that is one of the top 5 locations. And for the first five years of this process, that was the site we tested, studied, analyzed, and then amassed the real estate around the site to provide sufficient space for the new museum. This process was ongoing, before we even knew requisite square footage based on market capture, annual attendance, design day attendance and parking needed.
Remember, this is Southern California. No one is going anywhere without their car. It may be changing a bit now because of environmental concerns and traffic, but Angelenos are still in love with their vehicles.
That was the first of many sites studied because of careful planning, management by committee, and economic circumstances, (which included booms and busts, the Bernie Madoff catastrophe with lots of Hollywood money lost), and change in leadership. All in all, the museum cost over $500 million including all the planning efforts, development and hard/soft costs. Not the most expensive museum in the United States, but one of them.
Some of the planning sessions and meetings were lifechanging. I got into an argument with Jon Landis over projected attendance. I got tongue tied in a meeting with Tom Hanks.
One of the earliest concepts, which I believe I came up with in concert with the gentleman who was head of the Hollywood/Highland project, was the “Red Carpet “ or “Oscar” experience, a chance for everyday folks to experience what it is like to walk the red carpet and then win an Oscar. I came from a show business family. I was enamored with the process from the first ceremony I remember watching. It was always an event at my house, with canapés and a hush over the living room when the awards were presented! I always dreamed of going to the Academy Awards.
Posted onApril 27, 2021|Comments Off on The Best Job I Ever Had
Yesterday on the ABC television network, the entire day was devoted to programming of the Academy Awards. This is always one of the most coveted days of the year for me, having grown up in the entertainment business and living in Beverly Hills. I love the stories and the glitz and glamour. The dresses!! The hair, the make-up, the shoes!
This year is especially exciting since the Academy Museum is opening, honoring the legend and legacy of Hollywood films. I am completely humbled and honored to have conducted the market and financial feasibility study for the museum, as it underwent many twists and turns on its road to being born. This is a re-blog of an article I wrote in 2018 and I think it is appropriate today.
“About 16 years ago, I got a call from a perspective client, a newly hired director from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, asking if I would be interested in conducting some market research for a new attraction/museum themed on the Academy Awards. Would I?!?! I had been the one lucky enough to do the work for the Dolby Theater at Hollywood & Highland where the ceremony takes place, so it seemed a good fit and logical that I continue on to do the museum feasibility. But my joy, my heart, for Hollywood, no one knew that! My family had always been in the entertainment business, with my father tangentially involved on the business side, having been a pioneer in the cable television industry. And my aunt was always working for this or that movie star as an executive assistant. I was lucky enough to visit the backlot of 20th Century Fox before it was Century City! I spent countless hours watching movies being filmed, then sitting in theaters watching them roll by me on the big screen.
Would I be interested? Heck, yea!!
Since that time, I have been the consultant called upon to do the background market research, analysis and financial projections for the site selection, sizing and operation of museum. I learned a thing or two during those years. I gained a deep knowledge of large museums and what keeps them thriving; I learned how an endowment can shrink during a deflation; I learned that money earmarked to never-be-touched has a way of disappearing in hard times. And I learned about the conundrum of keeping things fresh so that resident visitors will keep returning time and again. I am thankful that my job always changes and that I always learn, no matter the engagement.
Over the years, we have wrestled with all the issues associated with new development including disagreements about what it should look like, what its mission should be, where it should be sited, who is its targeted audience (please don’t say everyone!), and what’s the best way to keep the project on-time and on-budget. To be clear, these issues are complex and are made more difficult when there are many masters to serve. Still, when the project is to reflect the points of view, hopes, dreams, and legacies of America’s most important cultural export, cinema, careful consideration must be given to each one. “
I have never been so anxious to get out of the house, see a movie, have lunch with friends, go on a vacation, hug my grandchildren, and just plain have some out-of-home fun!!! Many of our clients are wondering how this will all happen when we’re free to mingle again, and what will be some of the lasting trends. As such, we did an overview of six trends or values in the leisure and entertainment industries that we believe are here to stay in our behavior as a result of the COVID confinement.
1. Value for the Money
According to a 2020 Kinsey report of 75,000 consumers surveyed around the world, “value for money” was the highest rated purchase driver, being rated number one by 63% of people surveyed. The post-pandemic customer wants to feel they have made a smart purchase decision, regardless of the sector, be it retail, entertainment, or health care. This value is positively associated with digital information and purchasing ease.
2. Localization and Ease of Buying
Since consumers are being forced to “stay at home” or close to home, and as distant and foreign travel has dropped precipitously, consumers value easy access and purchase experiences for all types of goods and services close to home. Again, this points to the need for a seamless online experience for potential guests in the form of social media and information technology associated with purchasing, advertising and promotion.
3. Staycations
Hand-in-hand with localization of goods and services, Staycations are valued in this down economy. This trend always emerges in recessions and/or depressions. New attractions that present an outstanding experience will likely be highly valued after the economy rebounds. Prices must be carefully set to allow resource-strapped consumers to enjoy themselves without breaking their bank!
4. Digitalization
Digitalization has accelerated as a consequence of the pandemic, opening opportunities for the attraction industry. Operational strategies for delivering an experience for the customer to learn about and purchase admission, other amenities (such as merchandise and concert tickets) as well as other events must be developed and exploited. Adopting digitalization as a marketing platform with personalized experiences based on the guest’s past behavior and purchase history will be of paramount importance to attractions and retail.
5. Need for Safety and Trust in Brands
In the McKinsey global survey, personal safety was ranked as important by 40% of respondents. This is coupled with trust in the brand. Brands must deliver on their promise with a sense of purpose and meeting the safety needs of both customers and employees. Also on the rise in consumer expectations is the commitment to environmental and social policies. The technology and backstory/concept of the brand should be front and center in the digital and collateral materials developed, highlighting the creation of a safe and attractive place. Retail, leisure and entertainment brands should advertise commitment to the environment and public health policies.
6. Surge in Some Activities
Initially, there will be a huge surge in doing the things we’ve missed most. Then demand will stabilize, but we must be ready for the onslaught of business when the world normalizes.
According to Datassentials, 2021 January report, here are the rank-ordered activities we can’t wait to get back to post COVID life:
Source: Dataessentials
In summary, we believe our post-COVID world will be a different place than the one we knew before 2020. Addressing the obvious and subtle shifts in consumer wants and needs will determine future success in the leisure and entertainment industries.
Posted onJuly 24, 2020|Comments Off on Nimble, Responsive, Proactive, Creative, Woke!
I am not in any way discounting the dangerous and dire straights we are in these days with the global pandemic and how it is affecting our health and economy. But it occurred to me when I was not doing anything this weekend (which happens a lot these days) that we are a nation of innovators, and that most of the tech innovations and discovers came from the U. S. If ever there was a time to “think outside the box” (why do we use that expression? Why don’t we think outside the parallelogram or the rhombus?) it is now.
Businesses are closing down by the hundreds. How to fix this? What can we do? And just as I was musing/obsessing about this, we drove by a billboard on the 101 in San Francisco for Salesforces’ new product “Work.com”. Full disclosure, my son works for Salesforce, so I am not completely objective, but my thought was “that’s brilliant” Work.com, is described as “providing all the latest thinking, models, advice and all new work.com solutions.” Some of the things you can do with the new system are quoted as follows:
Get products to support your return to the workplace
Find thought leadership content from renowned experts
Access all the latest COVID-19 data
Learn through inspiring stories
Extend with guidance from our ecosystem
Brilliant! A solution, instead of a worry or obsession. I began to look for other exciting new solutions to our current state and I found another. The whole movie industry has been turned on its head, with the closure of cinemas. New releases and summer blockbusters, so important to viewership at theaters, are being scheduled for first run on television private services. One proactive solution, the reemergence of drive-in theaters! Anyone over 30 remembers going to the drive in first with your parents when you were a kid, and then with your friends as you got older and were able to drive. I remember getting in the trunk at the drive-in gate, with some of my friends, so we didn’t have to pay as much. Morning Consult provides an amazing array of data on topics important to all of us. Their entertainment sector report this morning presented data from another completely nimble solution, the return of the drive-in movie theater.
This gorgeous picture is an aerial drone view of a temporary drive-in movie theater at the Rose Bowl stadium, known for its spectacular Fourth of July fireworks which were canceled this year to reduce large public gatherings due to COVID-19 concerns. The latest polling of 2000 adults over 18 in the United States shows the following fascinating results:
Results indicate that the majority of Americans (55%) are interested in returning to the theater in a safe fashion. The bravest is Gen Z, (aged 10 to 25 years of age) including 66 percent of Gen Z adults. Adding to the potential draw of the drive-in is that audiences are 12 percentage points more likely to be comfortable with watching a film outdoors than inside, according to separate Morning Consult polling.
Drive-in or picnic style movies are simple to set-up and earn revenue on food and beverage. Some drive-ins have even tried offering upscale sandwiches, picnic baskets, small-batch microbrewery beers, and designer wine brands curated by a sommelier.
For commercial real estate owners, business is not good right now. But what if we thought new: Let’s host art shows, turn our parking lots into drive-ins (Walmart is doing this!), offer our locations for COVID testing! Let’s have a “can do” attitude and turn around our dire situation right now! Maybe we can even give our clients and customers something to smile about!
Let me know what you’re doing creatively in your spare time. We always love to hear from you and right now, nothing is more important than sharing ideas and innovations!
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Posted onMay 11, 2020|Comments Off on Musings From a Bored Feasibility Consultant
My practice lives and dies with innovation and optimism. With most clients and friends scared to death about what this crisis will bring when it is over, or whether it will ever be over, my normally optimistic client base is taking a nap. They are shut down and not practicing good old American ingenuity.
I have lived through many downturns and booms, a litany of business cycles. My space in the entertainment development world falls between the idea and execution. Is this idea crazy? Does it have legs? Can I afford to develop it? Where will I get development funds? Am I nuts to be thinking this right now? These are some of the questions my practice is hired to consider.
In all cases, I provide one of the following answers:
Brilliant idea. Let’s do some preliminary testing.
Hmmmm, I think that’s been done before, but maybe we can improve on the existing model.
I like it, but I really think the idea needs more development on your part, or if you like, we can help you move it along.
That is the dumbest idea I have ever heard. Save your money, don’t hire me, or if you’ve already hired me, you should fire me!
A couple examples of the ill-though-out ideas:
A large INDOOR entertainment center on the beachfront of a major East coast resort. The branding strategy: It’s a beautiful beach day, let’s all head inside!
A 100,000 square foot museum at a major Indian casino in the U.S. with the theme “The slaughter of the tribe by the White man.” (Footnote: The gamblers at the resort are 95% White.)
A major entertainment company’s decision to disallow wine at a park in France.
The decision to build two competing 20,000-seat amphitheaters across the highway from each other in a major Orange Co. California city.
But happily, more of my practice involves ideas that have you smacking your forehead and saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?”! Some examples:
American Girl Place (built and wildly successful),
Academy of Motion Pictures Museum (to open year’s end 2020),
Hollywood and Highland (the initial plan didn’t follow our advice);
Sony Metreon (also, didn’t follow our advice);
A new hospitality/retail/dining/entertainment/ development in Mecca, the Hajj (they didn’t hire us: I wouldn’t have either!);
A mixed-use sports and entertainment-infused $1.0 billion development in downtown Edmonton (The Oilers got 60% of their Phase One development funds from our numbers, the first time ever a sports venue received public funding in the province):
Maybe soon we will have a few new brilliant ideas to report to you. Until that time, stay safe, well, healthy and hopefully, not too bored!
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Posted onApril 8, 2020|Comments Off on What Will the World Look like in 2025? Five Things to Know for the Future
It’s a question on everyone’s mind. In times of uncertainty, we look to the past, we look to the future, because we just can’t understand what’s going on right now!
In my world (and probably yours), I am working digitally. That’s nothing new for me. But right now, I have a profound sense of loneliness. I miss the sights and sounds of movies, shopping, visiting with my grandkids, even going to doctor’s appointments! I miss the gym (well maybe not too much) and I miss going out to dinner!!
In these quiet moments, I’ve been thinking about how our world will change in the next five years. Here are five of my predictions about what we will be doing and how we will be doing it in 2025.
People have short memories. That’s a good thing. If it were not so, no one would ever have a second child! One of my major prognostications is that the gathering spots all over the nation will be teeming with people and activity. But it will be different. Visitors will “keep their distance”, be more polite, and leave space for their fellows both in front and back. This new behavior will change necessary planning factors for public assembly. Our current “order-of-magnitude” space requirements for various entertainment and attraction venues – theme parks, movies, museums, convention/conference centers and retail spaces – are all planned this way. We will need new numbers, and that will put pressure on the size of many of our social institutions and facilities. This will make them bigger, and thus likely more expensive to build.
Consumers will pivot spending from big ticket items to more affordable choices. Theme parks and cinemas are considered recession-proof. That’s not true, but they are much more sustainable than expensive cars, hotels, high-priced vacations and restaurants during and after a recession.
As a corollary, Millennials who are the darlings of advertisers and the future of our country’s spending, will keep on the same consumption track, preferring experiences to things. But the experiences will be closer to home and without as much adventure as before.
These Millennial consumers are:
Born between 1980 – 1994
Number 72 Million
Ages: 25-39
Forming Families Now
29% of Adults in the U.S.
Ethnically Diverse
Tech Savvy
Multi-Taskers
Prefer Experiences to Things (So important to keep in mind for retailers!)
Prefer Health to Wealth
Prefer Mobile/Digital Communication
Responsible for $14 billion in consumption expenditure
More fascinating though is the amount spent by Generation X, those consumers born from 1965 to 1980, and aged 40 to 55. These are the most prolific spenders, accounting for $24 billion in annual expenditure. Why we aren’t planning for and paying more attention to these mid-life consumers is beyond my understanding! (In fact, a comparison of the average annual expenditure on Entertainment by cohort shows GenXers spending $3,231 per household, followed by Boomers at $3,286 per household and finally the younger Millennial Generation at $2,186 per household. Average for the nation is about $2,800.)
These expenditures will likely be at the same in 2025 as they are today. But smart owners and developers will target the groups that spend the most.
New entertainment-infused projects that continue planning and development during this relatively short period of confinement will come out on top. These projects will be first to market. If planners/owners develop well thought out, well designed, well executed projects with rational business plans, they will reap the benefits of a surge in demand immediately following the downturn and thereafter.
Cultural entities such as museums and live theaters will present content that is relevant, easily understood and fundable. They will likely lag behind the uptick in commercial entertainment activity. This is because spending for nonprofit activities are seen as more discretionary than other forms of entertainment. In fact, for the past 20 years, expenditures on cultural attractions have been slipping. Why? Baby Boomer parents did not do a good job of educating their children on the value of theater and art. That’s the number one factor in propensity to spend on the arts: exposure as a child. Our institutions will reflect the society and cultural needs of a diverse population. Many of our older institutions were born in a homogeneous America that no longer exists.
We will return to a simpler time, albeit with sophisticated tech all around us. Everything old will become new. Consumption of just plain fun with some silliness will be the norm!
While living abroad for a year, I experienced this uncomplicated world that offered simpler and enduring fun.
I went to the mountains with my friends:
I attended Oktoberfest in Munich:
I attended opera at La Scala and the Teatro dell’Opera di Firenze. I went to formal dances:
And I lightened up, became a kid again, upped my joie de vivre:
What are your thoughts about the world after Covid-19? Write us and let us know. We want to keep connecting with our friends during this time.
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