The entertainment industry has made itself more accessible than ever for members of Generation Z.
When it comes to tourism, Gen Zers have more than their share of stories to share – look at the TikTok feed of the average teenager or young adult. From Disneyland's milestone anniversaries to the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Gen Z experience has primarily been a time of tremendous growth and innovation. According to a 2021 study by Morning Consult, 58% of Gen Z was excited to return to theme parks despite COVID-19, ranking higher than any other generation.
Gen Z is diverse and will likely be the most well-educated generation yet. Issues such as sustainability, sexuality, gender identity, racial equality, and environmental justice are things that they care about and search for everywhere they go. They care about the humans behind the brand and expect brands to be truthful and authentic. The key drivers for many brands are the same category drivers – price, location, quality, and service. If you were a restaurant, the flavor/food quality would matter. But when it comes to "tipping point" factors, we revert to these "emerging factors" like sustainability and authenticity.
Due to Gen Zer's knowledge and fascination with the digital world and technology, some Gen Zers seek immersive experiences. Virtual reality caters to their interests by combining technology with social interaction in location-based entertainment venues. In addition, virtual reality is something that most people can't get at home (at least not to the same extent), so they are willing to venture out and spend money on a premium virtual reality experience that beats what I get every day from my couch.
Recently I had the chance to visit with Josh Liebman, attractions industry expert and co-host of the AttractionsPros Podcast, and Jonathan Benjamin, Chief Executive Offer at Museum of Illusions. We discussed how Gen Z is influencing the attractions industry because of their digital-first lifestyle and, as a result, how brands should adapt their customer experience to meet the needs of this generation.
I first asked how young people influence many categories, such as food, entertainment, and certainly attractions. Then, how should brands think about the customer experience and modify it to meet the needs of consumers who embrace a digital-first lifestyle?
Josh responded, "Gen Z is influencing how these organizations are acting because of the way that they're being influenced themselves. All this really connects to shifting expectations as they're constantly changing. And they're formed in part by the organization and marketing that they're putting out, but they're also formed by those external factors. So, it could be a previous experience, it could be online reviews, it could be what they're seeing on TikTok, it could be what they're seeing on social media or what their friends are saying. And all that needs to be considered when it comes to setting the expectation for your guests, managing the expectation because the expectation is coming from you as well as from everywhere else too."
In addition, Jonathan had this to say, "I think Gen Z is probably the generation that's the most fueled when they're looking at decisions that they're making and consumer shopping behaviors. If you look at some of the brands that are out there that are trying to incorporate different genders, different races, and multiracial advertising and more, you know that that's specifically aimed at the Gen Z audience. And it should be. Gen Z is a huge demographic, and they already have a tremendous amount of buying power, and yet they are not yet even at the peak of their earning capabilities. So, anyone who gets in and gets favor with Gen Z earlier in their lives is going to reap rewards for decades to come, no doubt."
I asked Jonathan how Gen Z's influence has impacted attraction brands.
Jonathan elaborated, "Well, I think they've experienced a lot in their relatively short lives. I think COVID-19 is the most obvious one that we've all been through recently. But if you look at the time period that they experienced the shutdowns, many of them were in school, many of them were forced to adapt their own social behavior at a time when you expect people of that age to have very interactive, in person social interaction. They were forced to go digital. They've been able to adapt in technology and social media. So, for example, if you're thinking video games, I think you really saw a lot of online interactivities so that people around the world or even across the street could play games with each other and still interact socially. But at the same time, I think there was a lot of that built up need to then be able to get out of the house or out of the building and explore."
While the implications can seem like a positive experience overall, there are, of course, things that brands must avoid. So I concluded our conversation by asking what some of those pitfalls look like when one thinks about the customer experience.
"I think one of the biggest pitfalls is about reputation management and the communication channels that we have at our fingertips that Gen Z was practically just born into. And you don't need to be a TikTok influencer with millions of followers to have an impact. There was a stat that I saw not too long ago that one negative review can turn away up to 30 prospective guests. So if a guest has a poor experience, which is a natural part of business, especially when these attractions are seeing tens of thousands of people. Their ability to then broadcast that to the world is so much easier than it was five years ago. So I think one of the common pitfalls is not properly managing the reputation, not actively seeking feedback from their guests, learning about the friction points of their business from social media and online reviews.
"The way to avoid that is being able to really get in front of the guest and really try to capture as much feedback as possible. Because it's not that you don't want complaints. In fact, you do want complaints. You do want to know what could make the experience better, but you want to have more control over that process," concluded Josh.
Younger generations have enabled new opportunities for organizations to reach their target audiences, which are transforming within a digital-first world. Over time, businesses can aim to create long-lasting relationships with future consumers through their services and personalization.
The rate of change in customer experience will accelerate as Gen Z rewards the brands that engage them before, during, and after their actual physical visit.
