IP: 160.9.192.65 On: Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:19:28 Delivered by Ingenta Article(s) and/or figure(s) cannot be used for resale. Please use proper citation format when citing this article including the DOI, publisher reference, volume number and page location. Event Management, Vol. 22, pp. 163–181 1525-9951/18 $60.00 + .00 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3727/152599518X15173355843325 Copyright © 2018 Cognizant, LLC. E-ISSN 1943-4308 www.cognizantcommunication.com 163 Address correspondence to Professor Emma H. Wood, Professor of Experience and Event Marketing, International Centre for Research in Events, Tourism and Hospitality, Leeds Beckett University, Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QS UK. Tel: +44 113 8123963; E-mail: e.wood@leedsbeckett.ac.uk be seen as something akin to marketing myopia (Levitt, 1960), in that the product (the experience) is the focus, whereas the real value (for customers and marketers) lies in the consumer’s emotional response to the experience (J-S. Lee, Lee, & Choi, 2011). This response is far more complex than simple satisfaction (Koenig-Lewis & Palmer, 2008) and its complexity is increased in the consumption Introduction Experience design has become a vital part of many tangible product marketing campaigns as well as being the main product feature of “experi- ential products” such as arts, music, hospitality, and tourism (Berridge, 2007; Tussyadiah, 2014). How- ever, this focus on the design of the experience may REMEMBERING TOGETHER: THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARED EMOTIONAL MEMORY IN EVENT EXPERIENCES EMMA H. WOOD AND ALEXANDRA J. KENYON Leeds Beckett University, Headingley Campus, Leeds, UK Drawing on the wider literature in the psychology and sociology of emotions and memory this study provides new insights into the formation and role of shared emotion in the memory of event experi- ences. The methodology draws together several data collection methods in order to capture the com- plexity of emotional response. Thick data are gathered from a single case study friendship pair using a combination of short surveys, physiological measures, photo elicitation, and paired interviews to provide a detailed understanding of the experience from anticipation to recollection and reflection to response. The longitudinal data show that what was felt at the time changes considerably in rec- ollection often becoming more intense as time passes and it is the act of sharing these memories that appears to intensify and alter them. This suggests that the often flawed and certainly mediated memory of the experience has a more influential role to play in attitude formation than previously thought. Furthermore, it is the desire for a feeling of emotional congruity that creates and strengthens this emotional response in remembering. Therefore, the mediated memory of the attendee experi- ence has more influence on behavior than the reality of the experience. It is recommended that event marketers use this understanding to design opportunities, beyond the experience, in which memories can be created and shared. Key words: Memory; Emotion; Collective experience; Live events