LESSON FROM COLDPLAY CRAZE

More than 1.5 ?crore people logged in to BookMyShow’s website and app to buy tickets for concert by ?British rock band Coldplay, scheduled in Jan’25 in ?Mumbai while just 1.5 lakh tickets were up for sale.

People had made strategies and speared no tricks and hacks to fetch the tickets on- line. All the tickets sold out within just 30 minutes and the website was also crashed due to heavy traffic. And crores of left out without tickets

Tickets were resold in black market for 5 to 10 times of the original rates.

What do you think? All these guys who made the crazy rush to buy tickets are die -hard fans of Coldplay and such a passionate music lovers?

Answer is No.

Its not their love for music or love for Coldplay made them to make such a extreme level of rush and shelling out of huge rampant money for ?tickets in black market.

This phenomenon has been critically reviewed on social media platforms.

This phenomenon has been attributed to Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).

FOMO is experienced while..

• Experiencing negative feelings of missing when comparing one’s life to what others seem to be doing on social media
• Feeling that other peers are having better life experiences and you are missing it
• Over usage of social media networks out of fear of missing to be with ongoing trend
• Not being picked for a team
• Not being invited to an event
• Missing out on a good deal, such as a sale at a store you like

Though person of any age may be facing problem of FOMO but it is more prevalent among youth as it has direct correlation with excessive usage of Social Media.

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Mr. Harsh Goenka , Chairman of RPG group has also made his comment about the overzealous response for tickets for Cold Play concert. According to him this frenzy rush denotes “Zindagi Na Milengi Dobara” (“There is no another Life but This”) syndrome. The neo billionaires and the young ones who are earning well and believe in taking the Life not too seriously and enjoy it to the fullest were not at all hesitant to shell out Rs.? 50,000 -3.50.000 rupees (600 -5000 USD) for one ticket for one show in resale market (black market).

FOMO and ZNMDB both these social-psychological trends/attributes provide important tips to the organizations and HR.

1.???? Not the realistic and real time – but the young workforce may pursue for the needs he or she perceives as important, hence for retention and engagement it is necessary to offer experiences that provides feeling of belonging , feeling that helps to raise self-esteem and feeling of having ?superior experience compared to their peer groups.

2.???? The young workforce may consider it necessary to remain informed about organizational and team specific significant/thrilling/sensitive information and events for not having sense of missing out.

3.???? They expect frequent events where they can showcase their talent or can showcase their organization to their peers through SNS (Social media networks)

4.???? For retention of Gen Z and Millennials you need to focus on their ZNMDB (Zindgi na milengi Dobara) - “There is no another Life but This” needs. Which may be in form of vacations/paid vacations/support to pursue their passions etc.

5.???? Be prepared and do not get perplexed if you do not find the precise reason of Neo Gens leaving you, despite offering compensation & benefits you thought were the best.

-- Shailesh Parikh