IS FESTIVALISATION THE ANSWER TO  BORING BUSINESS EVENTS?

With reference to relevant academic literature,  trade sources and industry event examples,  evaluate the arguments for and against adopting  the concept of festivalisation when staging  exhibitions or conferences.
ACADEMIC ESSAY style in terms of layout, grammar and  language
Include an Introduction; Main Body; Conclusion; Reference  List [although essays do not have sub-headings]
Written within an ACADEMIC FRAMEWORK
Use event EXAMPLES to illustrate your points
Industry Websites and Journals
Remember:
ANSWER essay question
COMPARE and CONTRAST a range of authors viewpoints
There will be POSITIVE and NEGATIVE considerations.

DEFINING FESTIVALISATION:
1.Themed content
2.The presence of multiple individual events
3.Possibilities for participation
4.Extension in time and space
5.Celebratory or commemorative function

key themes in festivalization:
Experimentation new ways of delivering content
Spectacularisation visual; overwhelming to the senses; emotional
Immersion shared experiences; interactive technology; audience  generated content
How much value is placed on enjoyment?
Festivals are about community are niche markets the same?
Trend to reduce time at business events is there about to be another  shift?
BUT think about:
Motivations to attend
What can Festivalisation do to make an event more interesting and  encourage attendees to engage in activities?
Different stakeholders have different measures of event success/value
Does Festivalisation deliver success?
Is it a solution to the problem of boring conferences or exhibitions?
Or is it detracting from the core objectives and of limited value?
What about additional costs to organisers?

INTRODUCTION: Scope of Essay; definition and characteristics of conference or exhibition; concept of
Festivalisaton; current examples

EXPLORE the motivations for attending a conference OR exhibition; are these the same or different to
those of the organisers objectives?

IDENTIFY features of Festivalisation and analyse the benefits of using these to engage a conference  OR exhibition audience [remember positives and negatives; use examples]. Consider attendee and  organiser perspectives.

CONCLUSION: Does adopting a Festivalisation strategy make conferences OR exhibitions more or less  boring?    [you are answering the essay question].    Remember your thoughts need to be within the  context of the original motivations.

REFERENCE LIST