Emma H. Wood

Measuring the economic and social impacts of local authority events

Purpose – Local authorities use events and festivals within their region to help achieve a diverse range of economic and social objectives. However, the success of these events, which can take up a substantial amount of the tourism, leisure or arts and cultural budget is rarely assessed in a systematic and objective manner. This article describes the importance of measuring the impacts of such eventsDesign/methodology/approach – The methods for assessing the success of local authority events are trialled through the use of a case study involving two events organised by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.Findings – An evaluation of the methods, after conducting the case study, indicates that the techniques produced robust data that was valuable in planning future events and in securing funding. The relative simplicity of the methods used will help to ensure that similar evaluations can be carried out in‐house for little cost for future public events.Originality/value – This article sets out practical gu...

The internal predictors of business performance in small firms

Purpose – In order to provide a deeper understanding of small business performance the study aims to analyse data from a national survey into small firms in the events sector.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis used logistic regression to determine a model which best predicts the performance of these firms. The data used were part of a larger scale and previously published survey into the business activities of small events firms in the UK. The resulting model identifies those organisational variables which greatly influence performance as well as identifying the business activities which have little or no effect on performance.Findings – The greater influencing factors were found to be related to the age of the business, the variety of promotional methods used and the sources of finance employed. The more significant factors appeared to be those of a shorter term more operational nature whereas those factors having little effect were those that related more closely to areas of strategic planning.P...

Evaluating Event Marketing: Experience or Outcome?

The research presents a critical evaluation of the current methods used to measure the effectiveness of experiential marketing techniques. The article begins by reviewing the literature relating to event and experiential marketing and existing appropriate evaluation techniques. Secondary research is then used to highlight specific tools and methods currently being used in the experiential marketing industry. This secondary research is explored further through interviews with four experienced providers of marketing events. The findings indicate that current methods do not appear to be comprehensive or reliable due largely to the intangibility of the event experience. Based on these findings a framework is developed to guide future research, both academic and practitioner, into measuring the effectiveness of experiential marketing events.

Research note: Measuring cultural values - the case of residents' attitudes to the Saltaire Festival

This research note discusses the findings and methodological issues arising from a cultural values survey of residents, particularly in relation to civic pride. In addition to offering insights to the particular case – the Saltaire Festival in the north of England – it provides an approach that might be used elsewhere.

An impact evaluation framework: Local government community festivals

This article brings together the authors previous research and consultancy along with a review of literature from several disciplines to develop a framework that summarizes the concepts, methods, and processes required to successfully evaluate the impacts of local government community festivals. Events and festivals are a relatively underresearched area but have experienced a growing amount of public sector expenditure. The framework developed and presented here is in response to the need to encourage greater evaluation of this activity and in doing so recognize the complexity of the process. The impacts of many such festivals are diverse (economic, social, environmental), far reaching (local, national, international), and long term. The evaluation of these impacts, therefore, requires an understanding of the concepts involved and the development of a range of tools and methods. The proposed framework is informed by the empirical research, theory, and practice in the areas of information systems, marketing communications, event studies, and public sector evaluation. Bringing together these distinct but related fields of study has enabled the development of a comprehensive and novel approach to event impact evaluation. Copyright

Local authority arts events and the South Asian community: unmet needs – a UK case study

This paper focuses on the South Asian Community in Blackburn, UK, and seeks to gain a better understanding of their requirements for arts and cultural events using primary research to ascertain their specific needs. The paper concludes that at present the needs of this potential market are insufficiently understood and therefore not catered for within the local authoritys event programme. Furthermore, there are many differences identified within this community and, therefore, they cannot be treated as one homogenous subgroup. These differences within the community and similarities with sub-groups outside of the community suggest that any simplistic segmentation based on ethnicity alone is likely to be ineffective. The characteristics which appear to affect event preferences relate to language, age, gender, and economic situation and cannot be generalized merely from country of origin or religious belief.

Capturing emotions: experience sampling at live music events.

Purpose – Using techniques developed mainly in subjective well-being and “happiness” studies, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the applicability of these and related methods for understanding and evaluating the emotional responses experienced within the live music event environment. Design/methodology/approach – The concept of “experience” is debated and set within the context of music events designed to create a specific type of emotional experience for the attendees. The main tools for researching experiences over a time period are considered focusing on the “experience sampling method” (ESM) (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) and the “day reconstruction method” (Kahneman et al., 2004). These methods are critiqued in terms of their usefulness and practicality as research tools in the study of audience emotions. Findings – A revised method was then developed and a small-scale trial undertaken at a live music event, the results of which are presented and discussed. A conceptual model illustrating the interco...

Exploring the Audience's Role: A Decoding Model for the 21st Century

ABSTRACT This article uses empirical research, with young (aged 16–21) advertising audiences, to build upon existing communication theory in a number of ways. First, it summarizes meaning-based models that have developed over time by increasing the importance of the audiences role. Second, it advances communication theory by introducing a new meaning-based model appropriate to the 21st century audience. The model is constructed from the theoretical concepts of personal self, social circle, popular culture, and inherited culture. The model provides a framework that industry practitioners and academic scholars can use to consider how anterior texts help young people decode meaning from advertisements.

Music festival motivation in China: free the mind

This paper explores the extent to which music festival attendance is ‘universally’ motivated or determined by the Chinese cultural and socio-political context. A novel qualitative approach was employed comprising observation of social media conversations and ‘chat room’ interviews with members of a festival online community. Seven motivators were identified, some similar to those in Western studies but others more specific to festival-goers in Mainland China. The culturally specific motivators were identified as ‘spiritual escape’ and ‘spiritual pursuit’ and the universal motivators as ‘togetherness’, ‘love of the music’, ‘novel experience’, ‘music sharing’ and ‘educational enrichment’. This paper focuses on the two culturally embedded motivators only. The implications of the study are that, although, growing, there are still very few music festivals featuring ‘pop’ or ‘western’ style music and these few are relatively new to Chinese people. Their attendance at them is, therefore, motivated differently to attendees at similar festivals in western countries. These motivating factors are mediated by the particular social, political and cultural factors at work in this complex country. The findings indicate that although many of the motivational factors for attending a music festival appear to be universal, there are clearly factors which are culturally bound and therefore unique to the cultural context. These differences appear to be created by the social constraints, rapidly changing economy and the many contradictions inherent in modern Mainland China. These conditions create a greater contrast between everyday life in Mainland China and the liminal hedonistic space provided by the festival. Further research is needed to validate theses initial findings within China and to explore how rock music festival motivations differ in other non-western cultures.

Large cohort assessment: depth, interaction and manageable marking

Purpose – Whilst other researchers have emphasized the use of online discussions in support of either class based or distance learning, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how this technique works as an alternative form of assessment for large student groups mainly learning in class.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature in related areas of assessment led the team to develop the use of asynchronous online discussions and the primary research involves a trial of this method. The trial included monitoring participation, engagement and results and a comparison of these with previous, more traditional, assessments. Staff and student opinions were also sought through interviews and focus groups.Findings – The results reveal similar findings to other researchers in this area. Specifically, the findings show some behaviour similar to that found in other assessments (lack of engagement by some, enthusiasm of others, for example), difficulties for some students to engage in critical discu...