The document discusses key concepts related to consumption and experiences at events, including commodification, authenticity, identity, and the experience economy. It outlines how events can be consumed both literally and through their symbolic value in shaping social identity. The experience economy is defined as reflecting the natural evolution toward fulfilling consumer aspirations through emotional engagement and active participation over passive consumption. Co-creation is highlighted as a way to increase innovation by involving customers, suppliers and the public in developing event ideas.

1. Consumption and
experience
Celebration Events | By Ashley Garlick

2. What we will look at
today?
• Commodification
• Authenticity
• Identity
• Consumer Culture
• The Experience Economy
• Co-creation

3. Consumption
• Using associated with the ‘using up’ or wasting of
something
• Traditionally understood through the lens of
economics
• Economic perspective ignores symbolic and lived
value

4. The nature of events
• Perishable by nature
• Can be consumed in literal terms
• Consumption choice have implications for
social identity

5. Commodification
"the ways in which material, culture, people and places become
objectified for the purposes of the global market"
Source: Meethan, K. (2001). Tourism in Global Society: place, culture, consumption. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

6. Commodification

8. A royal wedding?

10. Authenticity
The nature of being what something or someone has set out to be.
Conforming to what is expected and/or not being false.

11. “Event goers are continually
searching for original and new
experiences rather than the
old traditional events. There is
an increasing need to seek out
experiences and products
which are authentic and not
contaminated.”
Source: Raj, R. Walters, P. and Rashid, T. (2017). Events Management: principles and practice, 3rd edition,
London: Sage, pp.404.

12. Authenticity
• Authenticity does not necessarily mean
the original thing
• Can sometimes be contradictory,
sometimes complementary
• Often associated with cultural
objectification
• Green explores the relationship
between cultural integrity and
economic autonomy in Trinidad and
Tobago
Source: Green, G. (2007). "Come to Life": Authenticity, Value, and the Carnival as
Cultural Commodity in Trinidad and Tobago. Identities: Global Studies in Culture
and Power. 14(1-2). pp.203-224.

13. Consumption and
identity

14. Consumption and
Identity
• Veblen’s Conspicuous Consumption
• Conspicuous giving
Source: Veblen, T. (1899). The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions.
George, Allen and Unwin: London

15. Consumer Culture

16. Main perspective of consumer culture
The production
of consumption
Modes of
consumption
Consuming
dreams,
images and
pleasures
Source: Featherstone, M. (2007). Consumer Culture and Postmodernism. 2nd edition. London: Sage.

17. The production of
consumption
• Classical economics
• The object of all production is
consumption
• Use value versus exchange value
• Educate the public to become
consumers through advertising

18. Source: Rose, 1978 in Featherstone, M. (2007). Consumer Culture and Postmodernism. 2nd edition. London: Sage.
"once the dominance of exchange-value has
managed to obliterate the memory of the original
use-value of goods, the commodity becomes free
to take up a secondary or ersatz use-value"

19. Modes of
consumption
• Socially structured way in which good are used to
demarcate social relationships
• Symbolic consumption
• The ways goods are used to mark social differences
and act as communcators
• Douglas & Isherwood (1980) and Bourdieu
(1984)
Source: Douglas, M. and Isherwood, B. (1980). The World of Goods: Towards an anthropology of consumption. Abingdon: Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Translated from French by R. Nice, 2010, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

20. Consuming dreams, images
and pleasures
• Carnivalesque traditions - Bakhtin, (1968)
• 'Dream world' shopping arcades - Benjamin (1982)
• Liminality - Turner (1969)
Sources: Bakhtin, M. (1968). Rabelais and his world. Translated by H. Iswolsky. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Benjamin, W. (1982). The Arcades Project. Translated in 1999 by H. Eiland and K. McLaughlin. Cambridge, AM:
Harvard University Press.
Turner, V. (1969). The Ritual Process: Structure and anti-structure. New York: Aldine Publishing Company.

21. Four stage model of consumption
Pre-
consumption
experience
Purchase
experience
Core
consumption
experience
Remembered
consumption
experience
Source: Caru, A. Cova, B. (2003). Revisiting Consumption Experience: A More Humble But Complete View of the Concept. Marketing Theory. Vol.3. pp267-86.

22. The Experience Economy
• Phrased first coined by Pine and Gilmore in
the 1990s
• Reflects the natural evolution of a developed
economy

23. The Experience Economy
Source: Pine, J. Gilmore, J. (1998). 'Welcome to the Experience Economy'. Harvard Business Review.
July-August. pp.97-105.

24. Source: Morgan, M. Elbe, J. and Curiel, J.E. (2009). Has the Experience Economy Arrived? The view of Destination Manager in three visitor-
dependent areas, International Journal of Tourism Research, 11, pp.201-216
Shift from the
rational to the
emotional aspects
of consumer
decision making.
1
A transition from
satisfying needs to
fulfilling aspirations,
desires and dreams.
2
The role of the
customer as an
active participant
rather than a
passive consumer.
3

25. Co-creation
Involving customers, suppliers and the general
population in the creation of the event, especially at
the idea stage.
• Increased innovation capacity
• Increased innovation velocity
• Reduced innovation risk
• Increased flow of quality ideas and concepts into
your development pipeline
• Accelerated time to market with new products and
services
Source: Raj, R. Walters, P. and Rashid, T. (2017). Events Management: principles and practice, 3rd edition, London: Sage, pp.231.

26. Summary
• Consuming the intangible
• Represented through physical consumption,
but also experiences
• Authenticity is key to creating experiences
• Consumer Culture provides strong
theoretical foundations
• Consuming experiences will continue to
develop as integral to a developed economy

27. Any
questions?