Major Event and Festival Impacts Lecture 8: Media Impacts

Media and Events: the relationship Events have long grabbed media attention Expos had far reach but news was slow to travel Furthermore, events have played a key role in the development and use of the media Berlin Olympics 1936 was the first ever global broadcast As DeBord argues, spectacle has become a way of life Media is central to our interpretation of events and spectacle We mediate and shape our lives through media cultures Beijing Olympics 2008 was the most viewed television event ever broadcast (Edgar, 2009)

Media Impacts: the rationale for hosting events? Cities must market themselves as dynamic environments in which to live, work and play Rojek & Urry (1997) suggest that in this process those cities with either low visibility or a poor image will not even be considered One of the main arguments behind bidding for major events is that the host city, region or nation will benefit from the media coverage generated before, during and after the event

Building a Destination Brand The media is recognised as a vehicle for destination promotion whereas events are also a form of image formation and projection Widely held belief that events can assist destinations in building a positive image Permits differentiation and place branding However, this is not just about showing the place – organisational and functional aspects of the event are central to generating positive media coverage

Managing the Media Message It is suggested that at a tactical level events can do the following: Attract specific target markets Be the focus on celebrity visits and familiarisation tours for media and sponsors Facilitate product placements and joint marketing with event sponsors Permit direct sales to visitors Be the focus of press releases and stories Permit the insertion of messages and video postcards into event broadcasts

Managing the Media Message Event Destination Sponsors Media Sport Organisations Traven Trade

Media and Events: Issues The saying all publicity is good publicity it not always true when it comes to events Poor organisation and event management can have devastating effects on destination branding Events offer an ideal PR hijack for protesters and terrorists As such, many large scale events are shaped by the terror/risk threat and media that goes with it – spectacles of pain rather than pleasure? Little is actually known about the impact of media coverage…

Measuring Media Impact It is suggested that media impacts should be measured in terms of the following areas: Fit with message Volume and type Tone