Consumers Say Entertainment Is Vital To Their Well-Being

A new study from McCann—commissioned by client MGM Resorts Internation—concludes that entertainment is not only fundamental to health and happiness, but is also key in shaping one's identity. 

The study is based on a survey of 6,000 respondents, about a third each in China, Japan and the U.S., where the sampling was supplemented by mobile ethnographies in Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York and Houston. 

The study, called “Truth About Entertainment,” found that more than 90% of respondents in the U.S. and China, and more than 80% in Japan, said that they saw entertainment as a fundamental contributor to their health and happiness. And an equal percentage in each of the three countries reported that they could not imagine their lives without their favorite books, music, films, bands and sports.  

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“One of the things we discovered, which frankly surprised us, is that the growth of digital content is not replacing people’s desire for live entertainment and is unexpectedly spurring more of a desire for a balanced diet of live and online entertainment experiences,” said Lilian Tomovich, chief experience & marketing officer for MGM Resorts International. (Further commentary from Tomovich on the study can be read here.)

Key findings from the report include:

  • 74% of all respondents said that entertainment has influenced the person they are today, while 60% said entertainment has influenced their choice of partner.
  • Two-thirds of American respondents (and a little more than half each in China and Japan) said they would be willing to get rid of all online entertainment, whether Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, or others, in order to preserve the opportunity to experience live entertainment.
  • Overall about 80% in China and 60% in the U.S. said the more time they spent with a screen, the more they craved live entertainment. And among technology-savvy millennials, over 80% of respondents in China, 75% in the U.S. and 57% in Japan said that the more time they spent getting entertainment through a screen, the more they longed for live experiences.
  • However, despite their interest in experiencing live entertainment, people in all three countries reported that they did not attend as much as they desired, for a variety of reasons. More than half of people in China and about 40% each in Japan and the U.S. said they could not remember the last time they had gone to a live show. 
  • The vast majority said they saw entertainment as essential--more than 80% in both the U.S., and China and about 70% in Japan said that “without entertainment in my life, I wouldn’t be me.”
  • That said, many added that they were not able to make time for it. Half of U.S. respondents pointed to a lack of time and too many responsibilities, and the numbers were even higher in Asia (59% in Japan, 55% in China).  
  • Free time was instead viewed as an opportunity to catch up on errands (62% U.S.; 71% China; 73% Japan) and a sizable minority said that they felt guilty when they had too much fun (36% China; 28% Japan; 23% U.S.). 

Tomovich said, “MGM Resorts has long been committed to creating moments guests can’t find elsewhere. This research reinforces our belief that entertainment is critical to the human experience and provides the backbone of our new corporate marketing campaign, ‘Welcome to the Show’. With our 78,000 employees around the world, we are committed to wowing guests at every turn.” 

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