At the moment, 2 in 3 respondents are not comfortable going to live events. We also asked what precautions respondents would expect to be in place for live events. Hand sanitisers in close proximity was the most popular precaution. Interestingly, full PPE for all stuff was the least popular precaution, though 60% of respondents would expect to see it.
77% of respondents haven’t booked a live event in 2021. The most common events that have been booked by respondents are concerts and festivals. Despite the low amount of people booking events, a majority of respondents (58%) expect to get a refund for a booking if the event is subsequently cancelled or postponed. 44% of respondents do expect to attend some kind of festival (music, arts, food, cultural) in 2021.
60% of respondents have visited a gastro pub aka a pub that serves food in the past month and a significant portion (91%) of young people feel safe in a gastro pub. 44% of respondents visit a gastro pub to drink, as oppose to eat. There is an interesting breakdown of how reliant young people are on pubs and restaurants as a place to socialise with your friends. 1 in 5 young peple don’t reliant on them at all for socialising. Most respondents were slightly reliant on pubs and restaurants and only 11% were extremely reliant. Finally the vast majority agree or strongly agree that Ireland should develop a better ‘cafe culture’ for socialising.
A common tactic in promotional marketing are complimentary samples and given the new social distancing behaviours of consumers, we discover how brands can adapt this tactic. Despite the pandemic, 91% of respondents are comfortable receiving a complimentary sample of a product from a Brand Ambassador. A similar amount of respondents say they would also scan a QR code in order to receive a complimentary sample. However, in this situation, if it directs you to a store to collect the sample, only 45% are slightly likely to go to the store to collect the sample.
46% of respondents think that creativity in a brand’s marketing is extremely important, with another 41% saying it is quite important. A key opportunity for brands to embrace creativity in their marketing is through social media. This opportunity has been compound by the pandemic. We asked respondents whether they are engaging more or less with media since COVID-19. A significant 64% of young people are using social media more.
We asked respondents what influencers have they engaged with over the pandemic The most common answers were health influencers, with a particular focus on wellbeing and positive mental impact. Influeners who were mentioned included Roz Purcell, Louise Cooney, Molly Mae, Maura Higgins, Jess Redden, Body Coach and other male fitness YouTubers.
Almost of three-quarters of respondents learn about new mobile apps through online advertising. The second highest source was from a friend/friends. Only 1 in 5 respondents discover new apps through influencers. When asked whether you would follow a recommendation from a friend or an influencer, 92% of respondents said they would be more likely to start using an app after a friend recommended compared to an influencer. The appeal of a new app comes from the functionality and purpose of the app. Other reasons include ease of use, entertainment, recommendations and its popularity.
