360° Entertainment Forum in Andermatt: Where Live negotiates its future

Traveling to Andermatt today is relatively easy. By train, on a well-maintained road, past the Devil's Bridge, which still stands as a dramatic marker in the landscape. In the past, the way up was more difficult, more dependent on the weather, more dangerous. This is precisely why this place is a suitable image for an industry that is also on the move: the live and entertainment industry is on the move, searching for orientation, for relevance, for answers to a present that is in a constant state of flux.

The fact that 550 industry representatives are gathering here of all places is more than just a logistical feat. It is a sign. The 360° Entertainment Forum, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, presents itself in Andermatt as a platform for an industry that has grown, professionalized itself and yet remains in search of many things.

White sneakers and clear signals

The opening already set the tone. Host Hans-Willy Brockes, Managing Director of the ESB Marketing Network, appeared in white sneakers, discreetly labeled with "Marketing" and the ESB label. This was more than just a side note. It was a small, almost incidental punchline to a forum that operates at the interface of live, commerce, sponsorship, culture and community.

Moderator Sven Epiney introduced the morning in a relaxed and multilingual manner, explicitly welcomed the French-speaking part of Switzerland and immediately made it clear what these one and a half days were all about: taking stock, exchanging ideas and looking ahead. This was fitting for the anniversary edition. Ten years after the start in Interlaken with 218 people, the Forum in Andermatt has grown to around 560 to almost 600 participants.

Oliver Niedermann, CEO of Ticketcorner, also spoke of a record number of participants. "See you in Andermatt" had become a catchphrase in recent weeks. Now the time has come for the industry to actually meet.

From meeting place to institution

Both co-founders emphasized in their inaugural speeches that the forum has become more than just an industry meeting. Niedermann recalled that the entertainment industry was already preoccupied with change ten years ago. Back then, digitalization was much less advanced, but even then there was a lack of a platform that could bring together the entire breadth of the Swiss entertainment industry.

Brockes, who has been shaping networks at the interface of sport, sponsorship and business with the ESB for years, described the basic idea in retrospect as almost programmatic: Switzerland needed "a kind of sports forum for entertainment". In many respects, sport was several years ahead of professionalization. In entertainment, on the other hand, a space had opened up in which sponsorship, marketing, experience culture and event logic could come together more closely.

Today, Andermatt is precisely the place where organizers, sponsors and partners meet, said Brockes. For him, the growth of the forum is an expression of an industry that is becoming denser, more professional and more self-confident in communicating its relevance to the outside world. Growth is important, but not at any price. The decisive factor is "qualitative growth" at decision-maker level.

Live as a premium in continuous digital noise

One of the strongest moments of the opening was Brockes' focus on the value of the live experience in a digitally transformed world. Those who are permanently hooked up to a "digital drip" yearn all the more for real emotions, for community, for experiences that cannot simply be replaced by scrolling. Live, according to his message, is thus becoming the premium of modern life.

This perspective was a recurring theme throughout the morning. The industry presented itself not just as a provider of shows, festivals and concerts, but as a producer of community, memory and consolidation. This is currently one of its strongest narratives.

Karin Bachmann ennobles the industry

Karin Bachmann, Director of the Federal Office of Culture, provided additional emphasis. Her appearance lent the forum a political and cultural-strategic dimension that went beyond the usual industry vocabulary. Bachmann spoke of live events and major events as "social infrastructure". This sounded matter-of-fact at first, but was meant as an upgrade.

Her core thesis: the more digital everyday life becomes, the more important real places, formats and occasions become in which people can experience something together. Concerts, festivals, sporting events and shows are not just products, but "temporary social spaces". Spaces for encounters, emotions and publicity.

Bachmann advocated leaving false opposites behind: Market versus subsidies, art versus commerce, high culture versus popular culture. In Switzerland in particular, with its linguistic diversity and small-scale cultural structure, cultural independence is a competitive advantage. Cultural policy and live entertainment, she remarked, are actually a "dream team".

In a video interview with m&k, she clarified this stance once again. Events and culture have "a lot in common", she said. It's about people, about community, about emotions and about engaging with an offering together. Especially in a time of increasing digitalization and social fragmentation, these unifying formats are all the more necessary.

The study looks beyond the buyer

The new study "The LIVE Decision", which was jointly initiated by Ticketcorner, SMPA and GfK, gave the kick-off event additional focus. The central idea behind it: Those who only evaluate buyer data understand the behavior of existing customers, but not yet those who stay away or could be won over in the future.

This is exactly where the study came in. According to Oliver Niedermann, it was crucial for Ticketcorner not only to know when people book and how they move around on platforms, but also to understand "what the non-customer does". The question of what interests Gen Z, what attracts them and what prevents them from attending events is particularly relevant.

The study is based on a representative omnibus survey of the German and French-speaking Swiss online population aged between 16 and 74. 1012 interviews were conducted in February. This sample alone shows: This was not another quick fix, but an attempt to better grasp demand behavior beyond the usual industry intuition.

Social media leads, atmosphere decides

The first results presented provide the industry with some confirmation, but also useful clarification. The role of social media is particularly clear: 41.3% of those surveyed find out about events via social networks, and in Gen Z this figure is as high as 62.6%. Live offerings are therefore in an environment in which attention is increasingly organized on a platform basis.

At the same time, the data shows that live experiences are by no means losing relevance. On the contrary. In an interview with m&k, Niedermann formulated perhaps the most important quintessence succinctly: "Live is alive." People don't just want to be entertained at home or on social media, they also want to go out and attend concerts and events.

The price is obviously not the only decisive factor. Ticket costs remain an important hurdle, especially for 16 to 29-year-olds. But the overall experience is just as relevant. For Niedermann, this is precisely one of the key lessons from the study: it is not the price alone that is decisive, but the quality of the experience as a whole.

This is consistent with other results. The most important motivation for attending an event was cited by 57.6% of respondents as the atmosphere. This was followed by the desire to take a break from everyday life and the need to meet friends. Live therefore functions not only as content consumption, but also as a socially condensed experience.

Gen Z is not lost

The industry is looking particularly closely at Gen Z. Here, too, the study does not provide a doomsday narrative, but rather a differentiated picture. Younger people are more price-sensitive than other groups, yes. But they remain highly relevant from Ticketcorner's perspective. "16 to 29-year-olds still want to go out," said Niedermann in the m&k interview. With the right offer, this target group can definitely be won over.

This is an important message for event organizers and marketers alike. The young generation is not lost, but it is demanding relevance, experience value and an offer that justifies the price. Especially in times of rising costs, this is not a side issue, but a strategic task.

Andermatt as a think tank for the live industry

The 360° Entertainment Forum in Andermatt kicked off with an industry that is aware of its importance, but also knows that its future is not on autopilot. Between the Devil's Bridge, mountain scenery and hotel architecture that is still searching for its identity, the forum ultimately dealt with the same question that is currently preoccupying many industries: How can change not only be endured, but shaped?

The first morning at least set the tone. Live remains in demand. Community remains scarce and therefore valuable. And the event industry could become more important precisely because it creates something that is only possible to a limited extent in digital spaces: shared experiences with real resonance.

Andermatt was therefore not only the venue, but also a fitting image. High up, somewhat off the beaten track, but with growing appeal, nothing less than the future of an industry that is readjusting itself and could find its strength precisely in this.

The last word has not yet been spoken in Andermatt anyway: The program continues this morning - and with it the search for answers for an industry that is more on the move than ever.