'Should I See That Show?' - Consumer Reviews Rise in Importance

Sun, September 16, 2007

Tags: Consumers Researching, Live Events, Reviews

A few weeks back, I posted a story covering the trends of user-generated content (i.e., reviews, etc.) and its emerging growth within the online space. Sure, people care what critics think, but they also care about what their fellow consumers say. After that story ran, I had the chance to sit down with Jim McCarthy, CEO of Goldstar Events, to get his take on the trend. I was recently sent the results from a survey they put out which I found very interesting on entertainment patterns in the live entertainment industry.

(Situation) Who is the typical consumer that submits a review? Are they often the one’s that were very happy with the experience, angry or is it really random?

(Jim McCarthy) The average review is what you might think of as a B+ or an A-, which is pretty darn good when you take into account that even traffic, weather or the lines at the concession stand can color people’s experiences of a night out. Most of the less enthusiastic reviews we see are pretty matter-of-fact about their complaints with the program, and the truly angry, bashing complaint is rare. Of course, those are the ones you remember if it’s your show though.

What we’ve learned is that the less positive reviews actually validate the raves. If it’s all raves, well, that’s good, but in a media savvy age, it does make people wonder if the reviews are real or if they’ve been “sanitized.” Nobody believes advertising anymore because we know how smart and sophisticated advertisers are. They’re deliberately not going to give you a complete picture, of course. Why would someone pay to do that? They wouldn’t. Therefore, when someone sees a list of reviews which are mostly positive, with some middle of the road, and one or two stray complaints, it’s more believable because it’s authentic. There’s no show that everyone loves. That’s just reality.

Of course, the feedback we get isn’t just about the shows. It’s about us, too, so really, we’ve subjected ourselves to the same process, and we feel it’s important for us to see and react to the reality of our members’ perceptions as well.

That’s why it was so important for us to make user reviews available, and we’re glad to be the biggest source for user reviews now.

(Situation) In your mind, how do consumer’s reviews hold up to critics reviews? Which is more valuable and why?

(Jim McCarthy) I personally appreciate the work of a good critic because he or she can help me make better choices about what I’m going to see. The really good ones use all that knowledge and insight to help me as the reader, not to dazzle me with their writing or how witty they are.

Still, the long term and permanent trend in society is away from following the lead of “experts” and toward giving the individual the power and information to make his or her own choices. Inevitably, that’s going to change the way people read critics. Their work has become another source of information rather than the word of a guru to be followed.

That’s basically my opinion, but I can tell you factually what our members, who represent a nice cross-section of entertainment buyers, think. If they could only have one or the other—ample user reviews on a website they trust or the word of a prestigious critic—they’d take the user reviews about 29 times out of 30. It’s not that they don’t place any value on the critics. In fact, they do, but very few of them will change their attitude or buying behavior toward a show because of one. With user reviews, that’s different. If they’re bad on average, that’s a problem. If they’re good on average, that’s a big advantage. Fortunately, most shows get good reviews, or at least they do at Goldstar Events, and since we’re the biggest source of these things, I’m guessing that’s true elsewhere too.

Here’s another way to put it. Our research and experience strongly suggests to me that someone could have a very successful show on great user reviews and feedback and poor critical reviews, but the reverse may not be true.

Thanks Jim for your insight on the topic. It’s an interesting topic that the live entertainment industry is going to have to address in the very near future.