The Experience Economy vis-à-vis the Multiplex
In The Experience Economy, Joseph Pines II and James H. Gilmore spell out how experiences are the fourth economic offering as distinct from services:
"Consumers don’t want services, financial or otherwise - they want experiences. Consumers dine at theme restaurants such as the Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood, shop at experiential destinations such as Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles or Beursplien in Rotterdam, and vacation at a Disney theme park or other venues that stage a feast of engaging sensations and dramatic stories for them."
Pines and Gilmore continue:
"Experiences have always been at the heart of entertainment, from plays and concerts to movies and T V shows. Over the past few decades, however, the number of entertainment options has exploded. Today, the universe has expanded to encompass a vast array of new kinds of experiences, as new technologies encourage whole new genres of experience, such as interactive games, World Wide Web sites, motion-based simulators, 3D movies and virtual reality."
In "Good Morning, Hollywood," Munarriz offers an interesting proposal to theater owners faced with a waning box-office and increased competition from alternative media. Munarriz' suggestion elaborates on this growing trend towards experiential marketing and the ethos of the creative economy.
Munarriz writes:
"The studios can deal with the audience shift from theater to DVD. They'll get their money for delivering the content either way. It's the theater chains that are spooked, because their reach begins and ends with the theatrical run. The studios take a generous cut of the box-office take, so theaters have been relying on things like marked-up concessions... I may never understand, however, why concession menus err on the side of boring. I mean, sure, I understand the magic of high-margin wieners, salty snacks, and candy. But what I don't get is how nearsighted an industry can be by not realizing that the whole "dinner and a movie" mindset can be altered in its favor with a more meal-worthy, experience-driven approach to feeding the captive film buffs."
