Fusing Art & Science in the Experience Economy: An Interview with Goc O’Callaghan
For some, events are so much more than a simple career choice, it’s a deep-rooted passion, and one that has shaped not just their employment but also their education as well as their life choices. This could almost certainly be said for Goc O’Callaghan. From the age of seven, growing up in a rural setting in the depths of a bluebell forest in Kent, she was surrounded by the perfect environment to explore the art of bringing people together. “What started as modest woodland parties evolved into more elaborate affairs and eventually a series of small festivals. The joy of producing these events was surpassed by the profound stories shared by attendees afterwards, fuelling my passion for creating unforgettable memories,” she says.
Goc O'Callaghan - Global Experience Lead
At GES, producing unforgettable moments that resonate with the target audience is what we do, but we’re also committed to demonstrating the value of live interaction. Products such as our Visit Create management platform allow us to provide clients with invaluable data and insight that help them quantify the value of their experience.
And it’s fair to say that this is an area that Goc has excelled in as part of her new role as Global Experience Lead at Buro Happold, where she takes the front seat in advising clients on their experience consultancy.
With such expertise in our midst, we spent some time quizzing her about how the sector has evolved and how her unique work at Buro Happold helps elevate experiences to the next level by helping them to identify and achieve their value.
Goc joined Buro Happold in 2021. The firm is an integrated consultancy of engineers and advisors and her role involves blending experience design principles and strategic insight, to help clients to optimise the experiences they produce. She achieves this through the application of advanced experience design principles and a complicated framework combined with understanding the demographic and psychographic profiles of users
“Our experience consultancy offers a unique advisory programme to our clients. From the ability to better strategise, design, analyse and quantify the contributors that shape the ultimate ‘experience’ and consequently determine relative value, we help our clients to find, define and unlock perceived and actual value in the experiences they offer,” she says. “Buro Happold are involved with some of the most exciting and prestigious projects around the world. The engineering mindset of applying experience analysis and consultancy to these projects makes us stand out from the competition.” More information can be found here: Experience Advisory - Buro Happold
Essentially, Goc’s role puts the “science” into experiences via a complex set of metrics, benchmarking and data that inform an experience framework from which experience value can be determined.
It’s this complex approach and academic understanding, combined with her hands-on-experience that has helped Goc to stand out as a leading voice in event and experience design.
The early ‘festival-bug’ that emerged from staging woodland parties at a young age led her to become co-founder and director of ArcTanGent, an award-winning independent greenfield festival that hosts 12,000 attendees a year.
Photo source: www.scenemusicmedia.com
Goc held the position of Vice Chair of the Association of Independent Festivals for 3.5 years (standing down in line with rotations) and has recently completed an MA in Music Industry Enterprise where the dissertation focused on the requirement for live music industry owners and operators to embrace the global shift towards experientialism. Goc’s academic studies continue in the form of a doctorate.
For Goc, experience and academia go hand-in-hand and help shape her approach to all her projects. She says: “From the practical application of event production for ArcTanGent to the experience consultancy at Buro Happold, my academic studies form a crucial third element in this dynamic. They not only enhance my consultancy endeavours but also provide an academic foundation for grappling with the complex task of quantifying experiences.”
With her varied and multidisciplined experiences as a guide, we asked her what she sees as the emerging trends in the field and what should brands be looking to achieve in order to stay ahead of the game. For her, the past few years have had an undoubted effect on the way we perceive and sometimes crave human interaction – and there is enormous potential and opportunity for brands to explore our newfound appetite for engagement. “We are currently in the experience economy and are moving from materialism into experientialism as a global trend. The global pandemic saw us crave time with friends and family and the importance of shared experiences escalated. The self-actualisation requirement for transformational experiences is deeply rooted within us and has the potential to be unlocked by global leading brands.”
She adds: “Experience is in everything we do. To lead in this global shift, understanding the elements of a great experience in design, curation and delivery is essential. Experience-first organisations with a human-centred focus will benefit from increased reputation and profitability.”
So, while events and experiences may not be an exact science, there is huge potential in exploring their value and ensuring you’re doing all you can to prove their worth. It’s certainly an approach that is helping Goc to best support her clients and allowing her to lead the way in event development and advice.
If you’re keen to find out how we can help your experience to meet your brand’s objectives and realise its potential, contact our friendly team today, and let’s get started.
Tell us your top five tips that you think the exhibition industry could learn from the world of experiential marketing.
- If you are offering an experience, be clear on what it is that makes the experience a good one and then ensure you deliver on it. Strive for transformational experiences.
- Be human-centred in your design; be experience-led.
- Understand not only the demographic of your target market but also the psychographics profiles too: understand what influences the engagement and decision-making of your target market and how can you best adapt what it is you are exhibiting to maximise engagement and memorability.
- Participation is key; the more someone puts in the more they will get out. Creating the opportunity to participate creates a tangible link between the participant and the brand.
- Audiences/target markets are savvier than you may realise. They can see through the cracks of misaligned sponsorship and highly crafted sales pitches to entrap you. As a brand, be authentic.