The experience economy has been around for years, but never have consumers cared more about IRL. In fact, 81 percent of consumers said that they’d rather spend their money on experiences than things, according to a recent survey of 40,000 global consumers from Live Nation.
“People are still double-downing on real-life experiences,” said Jess McGeorge-Stevens, premium global brands marketing director, Europe at AB InBev, during a panel at the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit in London. “This is an opportunity for young people to connect, build experiences and build memories that they’re going to remember for years to come.”
Live music is at the heart of the types of experiences that consumers seek. Live Nation found that 36% of people said live music is their No. 1 form of entertainment, higher than sports, TV, streaming and gaming.
“Even if you don’t consider yourself necessarily the biggest music fan per se, we can all collectively agree that music is important to everyone,” added Annette Greenwood-Share, vice president of marketing partnerships at Live Nation UK. “It’s pretty universal…There’s something that connects us on a deep human level from a music point of view. And when you add on top of that the live experience, that’s where the real magic happens.”
“It has universality to it. It brings people together. It just makes people happy,” she continued. “It’s these pure moments of joy, euphoria and unlike some other forms of entertainment where, frankly, half of the audience may go home feeling slightly upset and a bit miserable about the fact that they went to whatever that game was….At a concert, everyone is literally linking arms, singing songs.”
For brands, this offers an opportunity to connect with consumers around their passions. AB InBev recently formed a new partnership with Live Nation in the UK that will bring its portfolio of beer brands including Budweiser, Corona, San Miguel, Stella Artois and into the events’ company’s venues and festivals. For the first time, the beer company will be the exclusive beer and cider partner across all Live Nation properties in the United Kingdom, spanning festivals, venues and outdoor shows.
“We have an unrivaled portfolio of beer, but that’s now matched with an unrivaled portfolio of festivals, events, venues with an opportunity to then capture and meet the minds and hearts, of multiple consumers in a big, broad way, and that scalability can be really impactful,” said McGeorge-Stevens.
Greenwood-Share stressed that it is important how brands show up. It is not just about being there, but participating in an authentic manner.
“Brands that win in this space have enough self-awareness to understand that if they’re coming into live music, they understand what fans want,” she explained. “They’re not just coming in and saying, OK, we’re going to build a 10×10 and people can just come along and enjoy it. It’s actually putting yourself in the mindset of those fans and thinking, how can I add to this experience?”
This could mean showing up with experiences, services, or solutions that make a tangible difference to fans. “It’s just putting yourself in that mindset and adding to it,” added Greenwood-Share. “It’s not about turning up. It’s about being integrated, creating value for the consumer around the experience.”
AB InBev approaches these kinds of partnerships with a mega-platform strategy.
“This isn’t sponsorship. It’s a platform to build up. That’s really taking consumer passion points and understanding where we can authentically turn up and how we can elevate the experience,” explained McGeorge-Stevens. “The days of logos slapping and all of those things are gone. Nobody cares. Artists make great music, but fans make music great.”
The beer maker is offering fans the chance to win tickets by scanning a QR code or offering special merch.
As the summer festival season kicks off, the beer giant is creating experiences for music fans across Live Nation’s events in the UK from Reading Festival to Download or Wilderness.
“It’s how can I make that experience even better for them?,” she added. “Nobody wants a warm beer in a field.”
The Live Nation partnership is activated in the UK by Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I, AB InBev’s UK/I business.
