Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions, and Expositions, Second Edition

Chapter 2

The Evolution of Event Marketing

“All evolution in thought and conduct must at first appear as heresy and misconduct.”

George Bernard Shaw, playwright and political activist (1856–1950)

When you have completed this chapter, you will be able to

• Apply the historical development of the event marketing phenomena to current and future event marketing opportunities,
• Contextualize events within the consumer socialization of the twentieth century,
• Emulate and build upon the innovations of historic and iconic event marketing leaders of past eras,
• Analyze trends in event evolution, focusing upon general principles in event marketing, and
• Advance the field of event marketing through a thorough understanding of past successes and future opportunities.

The Evolution of Marketing

The most important thing to understand about marketing is that it is a formalization of ordinary and commonplace human activity. Evolution is essentially adaptation in relation to prevailing environmental conditions, and as such what we refer to as marketing today represents a way of thinking and a series of activities that have manifested in a number of forms and contexts throughout recorded history. The term marketing wasn't really widely used until the 1950s, and the history of formalized marketing thought does not extend beyond the twentieth century. That, of course, does not mean there was no buying and selling happening beyond that time. It does not mean that people were not consuming and differentiating ...