With content now a more difficult proposition in itself to sell directly, the overall experience becomes, for many, their central core monetisable proposition. We have already seen this development in the online world which is characterised by the transition from sales to consumption. Streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Netflix have garnered significant audience share from traditional media formats (Pay-TV, CDs, etc.) as they are less about selling the music itself and more about facilitating the overall experience of content discovery. Such is the extent of this new development that emerging areas of expertise such as Experience Design, an amalgamation of UX, data science and creative direction are increasingly in demand for businesses eager to understand this shift in spending patterns. Examining this development requires a consideration of the distinctions in engagement cohorts. This is the experience economy.

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Access Industries, Apple, Disney, Facebook, Harvard Business Review, Instagram, Liberty Media, Lucas Film, Marvel Studios, Netflix, Snapchat, Spotify, WeChat, YouTube