Events Design and Experience

Graham Berridge

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9781136404726
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

For the first time Events Design and Experience draws together the relationship between event design and the experience of consumers and participants. It explores and analyses the event experience of the individual and how this can be 'controlled' by design. By drawing upon ongoing research conducted over several years into the experiences of groups and individuals who attend events this text will ask questions such as: What was the rationale behind a particular event being designed in a certain way? What was the actual experience of consumers? How was the event materially delivered and did the experience created provide a satisfactory outcome? How can experiences be understood (via semiotics) especially the physical elements of an event? Structured in four sections, Events Design and Experience discusses: * What are events? An overall view of the industry, its definitions and market demand. It also covers an analysis of previous literature, and draws upon real life events such as Wembley plc, Leapfrog Corporate events and the British Cycling federation * What is an event experience? An explanation of the nature and stages of experience, and the emergence of the experience industry itself. Cases such as the Proms, London Fashion week ands the Nike Fun run are used to illustrate. * Designing Experiences. Considers how design itself can impact upon the experience, in some cases fundamentally changing the nature of experience. It asks the question of how experiences are designed and what do they signify to the customer once complete. * Analysing Event Experiences. Considers how experiences can be analysed and evaluated looking at the artificiality of the event and how this reflects in the experience of consumers. Also includes a review of the psychological processes of perception and interpretation and how meaning and experience can be analysed, and how we may begin to unravel the meanings attributed to certain events. With international case studies throughout, Events Design and Experience has a coherent user-friendly structure including chapter summaries, review exercises and topics for discussion to consolidate understanding.

Part One: Study of Events: Rationale

DOI: 10.4324/9780080468112-1

Chapter 1Defining events

DOI: 10.4324/9780080468112-2

Learning outcomes/objectives

• Be aware of the development of event definitions
• Be able to understand what is meant by the term ‘events’ or ‘event’
• Be able to describe a range of event types
• Be able to classify events through genres
• Be able to appreciate the hierarchy of events in terms of their size

Introduction

Numerous authors have attempted to define events so, in theory, we should be clear what constitutes an event. However, with the emergence of event textbooks there has been an emergence of different definitions. For those working in the industry, and although they may work in one of the numerous sub-categories of event management types, there is probably a fairly clear idea of what factors constitute an event if not what actually defines one. For those commissioning an event such clarity is less certain. As one managing director said ‘whenever I get a new client the first thing I do is sit down with them and discuss what we both understand an event to be’. This approach is not atypical and reflects a need to establish at the outset what an event is and what specific activities are to be embraced within it. We might also add that very often the definition from a client perspective changes, and the management company needs to either adapt its approach or direct the client towards their understanding of an event. There is no radical change implied here but more a change in emphasis so either side, client and company are working to the same remit. The example demonstrates that whilst some clients arrive with very clear expectations and ideas of what their event is, others have little or no idea apart from knowing that they want an event created for them. Or, perhaps more commonly, they know they want to celebrate something.

Defining events

Rather than seeking to develop another definition for events or to produce an exact meaning the aim here is to attempt to understand some of the academic views put forward to explain what events are and to draw upon those as a way of explaining what types of occasions are called events. It will also help us to understand what has been the main focus in developing our understanding of events in society and also highlight some key features of definitions.

Event management is a relatively new academic subject and so it is reasonably straightforward to trace the emergence of the concepts and definitions of events. An excellent summary of the state of play in defining events is provided by Bowdin, McPherson and Flinn (2006a) who explain events from both a US and UK perspective and highlight the key terminology that is now used to define events. They draw on the range of sources attempting to define events (Shone & Parry, 2004; Van der Wagen, 2004; Allen et al., 2005; Goldblatt, 2005; Bowdin et al., 2006b; Getz, 2006) and note that, despite this activity, there is surprisingly, a limited uniformity of accepted terms, concepts and definitions. One of the reasons for this is that events occur throughout all sections of society and across all different types of organisations and so what one individual or group might see as being special and unique (e.g. wedding), another group sees as being ordinary and regular (e.g. meeting). Often those studying events approach it from a particular viewpoint and look for a definition within the context of their own study area that explains the activity they perceive as an event. Such is the problematic nature of defining events that it may not be possible to do so:

it seems at times that special events are everywhere; they have become a growth industry. The field of special events is now so vast that it is impossible to provide a definition that includes all varieties and shade of events.

Bowdin et al. (2001, pp. 15–16)

Goldblatt and Getz

Nevertheless we need to have some understanding of what it is that we call ‘an event’. Two of the earliest academic attempts to define events come from Donald Getz and J.J. Goldblatt in the early1990s, who identify an event as being ‘special’, ‘one-off’, ‘unique’ and ‘beyond everyday experience’, thus immediately setting them apart from other more routine activities such as work. The idea of an event being a special moment in time is a recurring feature and is used to demarcate an event from other activities in life:

A special event recognises an unique moment in time with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs.

Goldblatt (1990)

Is an opportunity for leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience.

Getz (1991; 2005)

The significance of highlighting these two seminal ideas on events is that they establish that an event is the production and creation of ‘something’, that something being the unique special moment or experience. Incorporating this idea of ceremony, ritual, need and experience into the equation suggests that events also contain a physical element and a psychological element. This is expressed in the idea of events being special and that it is an occasion that is recognised as meeting a need, and subsequently creating an opportunity for some kind of experience. Appreciating that an event may also contain elements of ritual and ceremony suggests that, although each event is different, special events could have some recognisable characteristics that could be attributed to those events where there are similarities in type and reason for occurrence and in the type of experience provided, so that where these attributes occur, they can be acknowledged based on the experience from previous incarnations (of a similar event). If this was not the case then it is otherwise not viable to be able to attribute any kind of ritual or ceremony to the event since ceremonies and rituals evolve over a passage of time and therefore can never be a one-off occurrence that is not in some replicated.

Activity 1.1

1. Are all events catered for in the above definitions? If not, can you think of any events that are not?
2. Compile a list of activities and occasions that you think can be classified as an event.
3. Now compile a list of activities and occasions that cannot be classified as an event. Without a working definition of events, was it easy or difficult to compile the lists?
4. In using this approach does it then mean that there are automatically two completely different lists or will some things overlap and appear on both? What comparisons can you make between the two lists?

As an illustration of this we can see that many sports event competitions often utilise the ceremonial ‘winners’ podium’, where the first three in competition are presented and placed on a hierarchical platform that acknowledges the winner, runner-up and third place. It is an approach adopted from local to international events in cycle racing, motor sports, athletics, rowing, amateur boxing and so on. The Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Athletic Championships use this approach as the ceremonial conclusion to competition with the awarding of a gold, silver and bronze medal to the respective athletes. The ceremonial ritual is completed when the national flag of the three winners is hoisted high in the arena and the winners’ national anthem is played.

The actual style of winners’ presentations in sport per se is not rigidly defined, and there are distinctions between mass start events (running, cycling) and elimination events (boxing, tennis) as well as team (football) and individual (golf) events that influence the type of winners’ ceremony but there are also similarities adopted across many sports and these aspects of the ceremony have, in some cases, been built up over several previous or similar occurrences. Some ceremonial and ritual traditions are long established reflecting the long history of the sport and they provide continuity of the event and where the winners’ ceremony reflects a similar experience for the current champion that past ones had. Others are relatively new reflecting either ceremonial adjustment, structural changes to the sport or possible sponsorship changes. The now ritualistic spraying of champagne that accompanies a podium place in Formula One has only been a feature since the 1960s and its appearance is attributed to the late driver Graham Hill who spontaneously celebrated winning by spraying what was then real champagne over the crowd. So whilst such features are not identical each time they occur due in no part to change of location and personnel, they nevertheless have a resonance about them that people identify as being a part of the event and its overall experience for competitors and spectators.

The Goldblatt and Getz paradigm, that events are ‘a unique moment in time’, has become commonly understood and adopted. The principle of the definition is to set events aside from everyday occurrences, i.e. those things that we do that are routine and part of our regular living. This aspect of events remains prevalent in event definitions today but due to the expansion of interest and research in the subject a more expansive and inclusive definition is required. Wilkinson writes that ‘a special event is a one-off happening designed to meet the specific needs at any given time. Local community events may be defined as an activity established to involve the local population in a shared experience to their mutual benefit’ (Wilkinson, 1998). This definition retains the idea of special and one off but also extends the notion to include the locale in which the event is taking place and suggests that some kind of understanding of an events relationship with the community, both involvement and location, is required to fully understand what events are all about. Brown and James (2004) also note that the idea of celebration of ceremony and ritual as a reflection of culture and community is a common feature to many definitions and is included in those put forward by Van Der Wagen (2004) and Bowdin et al. (2006b). Another view looks at events from a tourism perspective and identifies that there are a set of core attributes of special events. These are: special events should attract tourists or tourism development; be of limited duration; be one-off or infrequent occurrence; raise the awareness, image or profile of a region; offer a social experience; and be out of the ordinary (Jago & Shaw, 1999). Goldblatt (2005) whilst retaining the principle definition of events he first espoused has perhaps a way of advancing our ideas on the subject with the suggestion that we move on from ‘special events’ and into ‘event management’. If we focus our attention on the process of management as opposed to the outputs we can more readily understand events. They then become not only special in terms of the experience they give people but also special in terms of the processes used to create that experience. The question this then raises is should there be a significant level of event management activity for us to classify something as an event. To give a very basic understanding something that is regular and routine, both in terms of place and activity, is not an event as it requires regular and almost identical processes each time it takes palace. However something that is infrequent requires irregular and different processes is an event. Even then though the issue is not so straightforward, especially in attempting to explain the activities that some people engage in that they might call an event, but are in fact a routine occasion. It can be a confusing and sometime uncertain difference.

Activity 1.2

Read the following notes and answer the question with explanation:

1. Is this an event or not? Let’s consider some conundrums for event management. If a music entrepreneur organises a one-off monthly occurrence is this an event or not? Let’s say they take a venue, and make a booking to put on a dance club night. They name the club night ‘World Beats, book some deejays, a sound system, hire staff, purchase beverages, produce publicity material, hire security people and so on. This instinctively seems to be an event, as it is neither regular nor routine but is a special one-off night. The evening is a success, and so they decide to do more, and in fact make the evening every month for the foreseeable future. Is this now no longer an event? At what point does this regularity cease to define the evening as an event? But we can take this problematic point further by considering those who might either attend or feature at the evening. If the organiser regularly has ‘guest’ deejays 1 week, another the next, each playing different types of dance music, then they have made the evening a special event because of the infrequency of these deejays appearance at the club night. This seems to be practising the skills of event management every month, and those they are creating special nights through their selection of deejays and their choice of music. Of course though they will have regular ‘attendees’ who come to the club night every month, irrespective of who is the deejay. Then they will have people who only come along precisely because of the deejay and who see that particular night as a special one off. At what point is there a crossover between a routine activity and a special event?

This leaves us with a picture of the initial processes involved in event management...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Series editors
• Series preface
• Preface
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of case studies
• Part One: Study of Events: Rationale
• Part Two: Ideas of Experience and Design for Events
• Part Three: Analysis of Events
• References
• Index