Yesterday, Saturday, I went to my first gig in the Ziggo Dome, it was a performance by Zucchero. I expected the audience would be different from the audiences I've been designing for. The most important difference being: They don't queue.
When I arrived at the Dome (18.10, the venue would open doors at 18.30), there were about a hundred people queuing. That's unlike any show I've researched at the Dome. The funny thing is that these people did behave exactly the same as all of the other die-hard fans I've seen so far. As you can see, as soon as they enter the Ziggo Dome they ran to the stage. Once there they would split up their groups to get their coats to the cloakroom and get drinks. Anything to secure their spot.
The rest audience was split up into four groups:
40+ of age, groups of colleagues and couples, who loved music and a night out
50+ single moms, going out together, that completely submerged into the music.
Families, ( n father-son, father-daughter, or full household constructions)
People who apparently did not care too much, showed up late and spent a significant amount of time at the bar.
It's safe to say that this audience was not my target audience. Radio538, who usually provides the queue with a big hummer-limo that plays music of the upcoming artist a few hours before the doors open also knew this, as they weren't there either.
Yet it was still very useful for me to go. I now know all the area's of the Ziggo Dome, the bars, the entertainment, all the different screens, their functions and reach. I know how the crowd-management and routing of the venue works.
I will go into these elements in my next post:
Note: That other group of audience
In the Ziggo Dome, there will always be another group of audience: The members. From the website:"Een lidmaatschap van de Ziggo Dome Member Club maakt u en uw relaties iedere keer opnieuw tot eregasten. Nooit meer een uitverkocht concert, altijd de beste stoelen, gereserveerde parkeerplaatsen, aparte entree en garderobe, altijd een diner en afterparty en exclusieve toegang tot een uniek en besloten verblijfsplatform tijdens het concert: de Live Avenue. Als lid van de Ziggo Dome Member Club bent u bij iedere show verzekerd van een toegangsrecht voor de Member Seats en bovendien zijn er twaalf gratis toegangsrechten inbegrepen die u naar eigen keuze in kunt zetten. Kortom, voor onze Members is een show nooit uitverkocht! Ziggo Dome heeft een capaciteit van 17.000 bezoekers, waarvan slechts 500 beschikbaar zijn als Member Seats. Dat maakt uw organisatie wel erg uniek voor zakenrelaties."
I will not be designing for this group of audience.
Why? Well first of all The Ziggo Dome has put enough effort in creating an exclusive experience for these members. I don't feel the need to add anything to that. But more importantly; this group of audience doesn't meet any of the properties that "normal" people going to the Ziggo Dome do. The expectations of these people are completely different. Plus, these people will néver queue for any show in the Ziggo Dome, that's part of the deal.
So, now you know these people exist and why I wont design for them.
