Interaction in the Political Market Square: Organising Marketing of Events

Abstract

This chapter describes and analyses the marketing of a mega-event, the World Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg in 1995. Inter-organisational aspects of project marketing and co-operation between actors within a multi-project context are discussed. The literature on marketing events has a predominantly normative and practical orientation and does not contribute to a deep understanding of how the marketing of an event is organised. A theoretical frame of reference on temporary organisations and project networks is therefore used. The marketing of the World Championships in Athletics in 1995 was undertaken by a large number of actors. The actors interacted in a so-called ”political market square” to further their own specific interests. Interactions in the political market square were characterised by political processes and not basically by co-operation. The reasons for this were that the actors had different goals, strategies, and target groups. Moreover, it was difficult to develop trusting relationships since the relationships were short-term. However, the relatively chaotic situation in the political market square enabled a multiplicity of interests to be promoted and considerable innovation to take place.