Events Experience ManagementWeek 1 - Introduction and Overview

Welcome

Module Leader: Tom Lunt t.lunt@londonmet.ac.uk Office Hours: Wednesday 13:30-16:30, Friday 13:00-15:30

My office is MT2M-12, Mezzanine 2nd Floor.

Outline of today’s session

• Module overview• Assessment programme• Weekly schedule• Key concepts: Event, Experience, Experience

Economy and Experiential, Ritual• Events – the snake-oil of the 21st Century?

What is this module about?

Key components

• Theory based discussion• Field work• Individual and group work• Guest speakers• Industry links – with a group assignment co-

designed with experience experts• International Confex/MOVE IT!• Creativity • Pitching of ideas

LT7068 Part 1

• Theoretical discussion• Experience analysis • Service theatre and processes, service and

experience ”blueprinting”• Symbolic interactionism applied to events• Experience design• Read, observe and analyse (and experience!)

LT7068 Part 2

• Group work• Designing an experiential event experience• Briefing by an industry expert• Written event proposal• Presentation• Creativity and analytical skill important, but

also planning – be a team!

The industry experts

• Sense London – a leading experiential marketing agency

Assessment overview

There are two assignments to be completed as part of the assessment programme for this module:

• An individual paper of 2500 words (worth 60% of the module mark) – identify and visit a suitable event to analyse

• A group assignment which encompasses a 20-minute presentation and a written proposal of 2500 words (40%)

Preparation for seminars

• Particularly the coming four weeks are theory heavy, keeping up with your reading will serve you well later on (and will make the seminar discussions more interactive)

• Seminar readings (journal articles and book chapters) will be posted well in advance

Literature

Some useful books:• Berridge (2007) Events Design and Experience• Bowdin et al (2011) Events Management• Ferdinand and Kitchin (2012) Events Management: An

International Approach• Lovelock and Wirtz (2011) Services Marketing: People,

Technology, Strategy• Pine and Gilmore (2011) The Experience Economy• Smilansky (2009) Experiential Marketing: A Practical

Guide to Interactive Brand Experiences

Weekly schedule

What to expect at International Confex

Week 4 – Wednesday 2 March, Kensington Olympia

What to expect at Move IT18-20 March at Excel

Event Experience Management:Some key concepts and definitions

In small groups, define the following concepts:

• Event• Experience• The Experience Economy• Experiential

Event

What is an Event?Temporary occurrence with a predetermined

beginning and end. It is unique, stemming from the blend of management, programme setting and people (Getz, 2005)

“An organised occasion such as a meeting, convention, exhibition, special event, gala dinner etc. An event is often composed of several different yet related functions”

(Bowdin, 2006:14)

Experience

Levels of Experience

• Getz (2007:181): levels of experience are closely linked to how memorable an event is

• Customers’ position - active participants or passive recipients?

Levels of Experience

Definition

Basal Experience An emotional reaction to a stimulus, but with insufficient impact to stay long in one’s memory

Memorable Experience

Emotions experienced can be recalled at a later date

Transforming Experience

Resulting in durable changes on an attitudinal or behavioural level

Defining experience

Experiences are:- Private events that occur in response to some stimulation- Often result from direct observation/participation in events

that can be real, dreamlike or virtual- Experiences are usually not self generated but induced- Experiences are ‘perpetually novel’ complex emerging

structures that are never exactly alike.

(Schmitt, 1999:60-61)

5 types of consumer experience1. Sense marketing – appeals to the consumer through sight, sound, touch, taste and smell2. Feel marketing – appeals to customers inner feelings and emotions3.Think marketing – appeals to the intellect with the aim of creating cognitive problem solving experiences that engage customers creatively4. Act marketing – aims to affect bodily experiences, lifestyles and interactions5. Relate marketing – contains aspects of 1-4 and relates the individual to his/her ideal self, people or cultures (Schmitt, 1999:64-69)

The Experience Economy“An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event. Commodities are fungible, goods tangible, services intangible, and experiences memorable.”(Pine and Gilmore, 1998:98)

The greatest opportunity for value creation comes through the staging of memorable experiences (Pine and Gilmore 2011)

“Innovation is not in goods – it’s in experiences” (Joe Pine 2012)

Pine and Gilmore (1998:98) argue, "To realize the full benefit of staging experiences, however, businesses must deliberately design engaging experiences that command a fee."

Economic theories over time

Differentiated

Competitive Position

Undifferentiated

Market Premium

Pricing

Extract commodities

Makegoods

Deliver services

Stage experiences

Pine, I, & Gilmore, J 1998, 'WELCOME TO THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY', Harvard Business Review, 76, 4, pp. 97-105

Pine & Gilmore – Experience Economy (1999)

Absorption

Passive participation

Active participation

Immersion

Entertainment Educational

Aesthetic Escapist

The 4 Realms of Experience

4 Realms which is which?

Emerging EconomiesValue Creation

• Emotion / Value Economy (Sentiment)

• Sustainability & Social responsibility

• ‘A Living Company• A community of shared

values & rules• An open system -

everyone is welcome

• Entertainment / Attention Economy (Sensation)

• Appealing to 5 senses• Products, services,

experiences• ‘memorable’

experience

The Experience Economy

• Dream Society• The value of ‘stories and

heroes’ or theatrical settings

• Experiences• 4 E’s – the four realms

• Entertainment (sensing)• Education (learning)• Aesthetics (being there)• Escapism (doing)

• Imagineering• The amalgamation of all

concepts• ‘engineering for

imagination’• Disneyfication of business –

and culture

Lady Dinah’s, London

Vienna Cat Café Tokyo Cat Café

Experiential

Experiential• “Face-to-face” or remote two-way

communication – always interactiveThe consumer perspective:• Trying before buying• Memorable experiences (the surprise effect)The brand perspective:• Memorable experiences – brand association• Creating and maintaining relationships• Testing products and marketing approaches

Event Experience Management

Is it possible to manage and control experiences?

• Yes, but it requires a lot of work before, during and after the event

• Important to possess a deep knowledge of theoretical concepts and models - and the ability to use them

Event Experience Management/Interaction Ritual

Ritual Ingredients Ritual Outcomes

Common action or event (including stereotyped formalities

Group assembly (bodily co-presence)

Barrier to outsiders

Mutual focus of attention

Transient emotional stimulus

Shared mood

Collective effervescence

Group solidarity

Emotional energy in individual

Symbols of social relationship (sacred objects)

Standards of morality

Feedback intensification through rhythmic entrainment

Righteous anger for violations

Collins R (2004) Interaction Ritual Chains. Princeton University Press. NJ

Events – a ”cure all” or the snake-oil of the 21st Century?

Discuss the above question with reference to:

• Team building and corporate events• Marketing events• City festivals

Next week:

Lecture: Events as Service TheatreSeminar: Service processes, flowcharting and blueprinting the event experience

Readings available via WebLearn