Analysis of Events and Social Communication in Poland

The purpose of this study is to investigate the way in which social communication takes place regarding cultural and artistic events in Poland. Information about cultural and artistic events is often a result of people sharing information with each other about those events, as well as giving information about their perceptions of the importance and quality of those events. This seems particularly true at a time when budgetary issues in Poland and across Europe have meant that for large sectors of the population, cultural and artistic events have become a luxury. At the same time, such events are advertised through communication between citizens rather than through large-scale and expensive advertising. The question that arises, however, is how does social communication of cultural and artistic events occur, and why are some events communicated more readily than others.

The importance of this investigation is that by understanding the social communication of artistic and cultural events, especially in a time of the proliferation of social media, planners of cultural and artistic events may be better able to gain attention for their events. In terms of the issue of the development of arts and culture, understanding patterns of social communication of such events can be a vital way in which to increase interest and attention for cultural and artistic events in Europe in a way that does not require a great deal of money for formal advertising.

It is important to note that while that has been some consideration of the issue of social communication of artistic and cultural events in Poland in recent years, there is a lack of concerted effort to investigate the phenomenon. An underlying goal of this study is to encourage greater attention and focus on an issue that should be of great importance in Poland. Artists, cultural leaders, and policymakers in Poland have attempted to increase both interest in cultural and artistic events among local citizens, as well as cultural tourism. At a time of reduced financial resources to promote such events, information is needed about how social communication for those events occurs. Even more, cultural and political leaders need to better understand why some events are more readily communicated among the public than others. The information contained in this study is not only beneficial to the academic community of writers and researchers, but can be used for practical decision-making purposes.

Poland Study - Methodology

This study was conducted as an in-depth and critical review of literature and information from published resources such as academic journals, books, and reports. The reason for conducting this study with information obtained from secondary sources as opposed to collecting data from the public or from the leaders of cultural and artistic organizations and events in Poland was due to the available resources and to the likelihood of obtaining needed information. Collecting data from the public or leaders of cultural organizations and events would have required a great deal of time and money, which were unfortunately, not available to the researcher. Furthermore, because a broad range of information was needed for this study, the use of secondary literature and information was more appropriate to ensure that the purpose of this study could be fulfilled.

While the use of secondary literature and information is certainly a weakness of this study, the use of such information made it possible to investigate an issue that has not been examined in a concerted manner with a great amount of detail. Furthermore, this weakness was overcome through the use of varied literature and information from a variety of different sources. In this way, the potential threat to validity of only using academic articles, or using too many books or other items considered to be in the popular press, was overcome. In fact, none of the resources used in this study were from the popular press. Instead, all of the sources that were used would be considered to be academic or professional in nature.

Poland Study - Analysis

How Does Social Communication of Cultural and Artistic Events Occur

The first question to be examined is how does social communication of cultural and artistic events in Poland occur? Social communication of cultural and artistic events in Poland often begin through the process of stakeholders recognizing the usefulness and even the need to utilize social communication as a means to promote cultural and artistic events. The stakeholders of an event for which there is not a great deal of financial resources to conduct large-scale promotions, or perhaps even no formal marketing at all, might turn to social communications between individuals and groups as a way of gaining attention and attendees. They attempt to create interest and support among the public, and then ask the public to promote the activity or event to their friends.

Furthermore, cultural events might be clustered or grouped within a particular community or a particular area of a community as a means of drawing continued social attention and communication from those who are interested in such events. In essence, a city or community may create a series of artistic events as a means of encouraging people who enjoy such events to tell others about those events. For example, museums in a particular city might organize a night for people to visit who might otherwise not be able to visit the museums during the day. In addition, the event might include special presentations or activities as a way to obtain attention and interest on the part of the public. In other situations, areas in a city might hold outdoor concerts every weekend during the summer months as a way of drawing people to a downtown area on a regular basis. In this way, through a process of holding multiple events over time, and providing opportunities to take part in cultural and artistic events, a situation exists in which people can talk about the events that they attend and spread the word that such events take place on a regular schedule.

From a critical perspective, the information that has been examined thus far about how social communication of cultural and artistic events occurs indicates that while event organizers and cities may not have the financial resources to conduct traditional promotional and marketing efforts, they need to take advantage of the free marketing efforts through social media and the internet. Organizers need to consider how their own planning efforts, such as scheduling events on a regular basis or working together with other event organizers to create a larger interest in a series of events, will result in increased interest and social communication among the public. Relying on social communication requires actually starting the social communication rather than hoping that people will be interested in an event and tell lots of other people.

It is true that some cultural and artistic events in Poland are largely organized and promoted by the public. However, most cultural and artistic events in Poland are planned and organized by artists and organizations. This means that those artists and organizations have to be the catalyst to actually encourage greater social communication of artistic and cultural events. The use of social communication does not mean that the public can be relied upon to begin the process of talking to others about an event and encouraging others to attend that event. Instead, the initial interest generally has to be derived from the actual people who are putting on or organizing the event.

Social communication involves networking. However, social communication does not only have to involve the public. Instead, event organizers can be part of that social communication. Social communication can be an organized and planned type of marketing and promotion in the same way as television or print advertising. In fact, because of the availability of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, social communication marketing can be better planned and organized than ever before. The leaders of towns and cities in which cultural and artistic events are held can be part of that networking and social communication. It is not uncommon in Poland for the leaders of towns and cities to engage in networking with other groups and organizations to encourage the members of those groups and organizations to engage in social communication about planned events. Because social communication is the primary way or even the only way in which a cultural or artistic event can be promoted, it does not mean a lack of promotional involvement.

Why are Some Events Communicated More Readily than Other

The second question to be examined is why are some artistic and cultural events communicated more readily than others among the pubic. In order to address this question, it has been assumed that event organizers have taken the actions that were noted in the literature that has been reviewed to be directly involved in encouraging social communication and social promotion of events. In this regard, a more specific question might be why some cultural and artistic events are communicated more readily than others even when organizations have encouraged social communication of those events.

One of the issues that has been identified to explain why some events receive greater social communication is the space in which artistic and cultural events are held. Artistic and cultural events that are held in areas in a town or city that are known to be interesting, vibrant, and regularly host such events often receive more attention than events that are held in locations that are considered uninteresting or even dangerous for visitors. When people promote a cultural or artistic event in Poland, either through word of mouth or social media, they may be as interested in the actual location of the event as the event itself. If more than one event is being held at the same time in different locations in a city, the one held in an interesting area or an area with lots of shops and restaurants is likely to receive more attention than the event that might be held in a location without shops and restaurants.

It was noted in the academic literature that the quality of place with regards to social interest and communication of artistic and cultural events involves several underlying issues and variables. The social environment of a location can impact how people respond to that location and the events that are held there. At the same time, the physical infrastructure of a space and the amenities or comfort that a space provides can also impact how people respond to an event, and whether they want to encourage others to attend an event.

Research has shown that people who are older or have physical disabilities often avoid locations because of the lack of access based on their disabilities. People who need ramps or railings to help them move around are not likely to promote an event to their friends if they know that they are not able to enjoy the location because of a lack of physical access. The leaders and managers of several venues and locations in Poland have engaged in performing upgrades and improvements in recent years as a means of increasing the value of the properties they oversee.

Overall, when people can connect to locations, the cultural and artistic events held at those locations generally have greater meaning, and generate a greater interest. The type of artistic and cultural event may not always be as important as the location in which it is held. For event organizers who want to increase the social communication of their events, an important variable may be the location of the event. If event organizers have a choice of where they hold an event, it is likely a good idea to consider the way in which a location is perceived by the intended audience.

However, aside from location, another issue that has been raised about the way in which to increase interest in artistic and cultural events in Poland is the types of people who are pursued to attend events, and the way in which stakeholders connect with the intended audiences. For example, the demographic characteristics of the attendees who are pursued will impact the larger social communication that occurs about the event. If event organizers are focused only on a small segment of people, such as only younger people or only older adults, then it is likely that social communication will be much more limited than if a larger range of people from different age groups and other demographic characteristics were pursued.

Nevertheless, a caveat to the idea of pursing a wider audience might result in more social communication exists. Events that are targeted to younger audiences might actually result in more social communication because younger people generally use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook more often than older adults. In this regard, artist and cultural events that are aimed at younger people could result in greater social communication, especially on social media, as opposed to events that are targeted as a more general audience.

The issue of differences in how particular audience groups might engage in social communication also means that event stakeholders must think about how to balance their own actions with regards to how they pursue attendees. If event organizers want to attract as many attendees as possible while encouraging greater social communication among young people, the result could be the perception among older adults that the event is not for them. In turn, social communication among younger adults, whether that is through word of mouth, social media, or a combination, might be diminished.

The question of why some artistic and cultural events are communicated more readily than others is not as simple as the location in which the events are held or the audiences that are targeted for the events. With the assumption that event organizers have taken the time to ensure that social communication actually occurs, a combination of the location of events, the perception of that locations, and the perception of potential attendees about who the organizers are targeting to attend events all have some impact on the level of social communication that will occur.

Within the information that was reviewed, there was no single issue that could ensure that artistic and cultural events receive a wide range of social communication among a large number of people. Instead, there are a variety of issues that event organizers must consider in relation to the types of events they are planning. The combination of location and the perception of the location, as well as the perception about whom is being targeted for a particular event, all have an impact on the level of social communication that occurs.

Poland Study - Discussion

Review of Results

The current economic climate in Poland, and across much of Europe, means that artistic and cultural organizations often lack large budgets, if they have any budgets at all, to conduct traditional promotion and marketing activities. The people and organizations that put on artistic and cultural events must rely on social communication as a means of promoting their events. In fact, social communication may be the only way in which some organizations have to promote their events and encourage people to attend. Because of the importance of social communication for artistic and cultural event organizers in Poland, it is important to understand how social communication of artistic and cultural events occurs, and why some events are more readily communicated than others.

Based on the information that was reviewed in this study, it is possible to better understand that social communication does involve the public. However, it is not something that has to be entirely dependent on the public. Instead, artists and organizations that put on artistic and cultural events in Poland who need to rely on social communication to gain attendees have to be the start of the social communication process. Event organizers can encourage social communication of their events by connecting with other organizations and groups whose members might be interested in the planned event. Furthermore, event organizers can utilize social media as a means of increasing social communication.

Even if the planners of artistic and cultural events become fully engaged in the social communication process, there are other factors that can impact the level of social communication that occurs. One of those factors is the location in which an event takes place. The perception that the public holds about a location can either be a factor that encourages them to tell others about the event, or discourage them from engaging in communication about the event. Locations at which artistic and cultural events are normally held, and are vibrant in terms of restaurants and shops, are likely to increase social communication of events. At the same time, events that are held at locations and venues that are accessible to all types of people are also more likely to have more social communication than venues and locations in which people know that they may not be able to easily move around.

Practical Implications

The most important practical implication of this study for organizations of artistic and cultural events in Poland may be that they cannot view social communication as something beyond their control. In fact, regardless of whether the planners and organizers of artistic and cultural events in Poland have a budget to engage in traditional marketing and promotion, social communication should be part of the marketing and promotion effort. The planners of artistic and cultural events need to think about how they are going to encourage social communication in all forms, including word of mouth communication and communication through social media. Social communication. While social communication involves the public, it is something for which planning can and should occur. Planners need to consider which community groups or organizations with which they can engage in order to encourage the members of those organizations to tell others about the planned event.

In addition, the planners and organizers of artistic and cultural events in Poland need to think about how the location in which they want to hold their events will be perceived by the public, and by their intended audiences. Planners need to consider if the locations they are considering for their events have a negative perception with the public, and if the venues are easily accessible by their intended audiences.

Finally, event planners and organizers need to consider how they will encourage social media with their intended audiences. For events that are targeted at young people, social media may be the most effective means by which to encourage social communication. For events that are targeted to a wide range of people of difference age groups and demographic characteristics, different types of social communication may need to be encouraged, such as word of mouth communication and the use of social media.

Poland Study - Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to investigate the way in which social communication takes place regarding cultural and artistic events in Poland. The information that was reviewed in this study showed that issues of the involvement of event organizers in encouraging social communication, the perception of the locations in which events are held, and the way in which planners attempt to connect social communication with the people they pursue as attendees for their events all have an impact on the level of social communication that occurs, and why some events are more communicated than others.

The strength of this study is that information has been obtained that can be used by both researchers and artistic and cultural event planners and organizers in Poland. From an academic standpoint, this study can serve as a foundation for further investigation of social communication of artistic and cultural events. Future research could be conducted to investigate the level of social communication that occurs in relation to specific types of events, such as museum events as compared to outdoor musical events. Researchers could also investigate differences in social communication between younger and older adults as a means of determining the factors that are associated with increasing the level of social communication of each group, as well as how event planners can increase social communication among both younger and older people.

From a practical standpoint, the information contained in this study can be used in real-world situations by organizers and planners of artistic and cultural events in Poland. Event organizers and planners who must rely on social communication, and even those who have a marketing budgeting, can better understand how to take advantage of social communication to increase interest in their events.

It is important to note that one of the weaknesses of this study was that it was conducted as an in-depth and critical literature review using secondary research and information. However, the information contained in this study is valid given that it was taken from a variety of academic sources and reports. Furthermore, this is one of the few studies that has been conducted specifically about social communication regarding artistic and cultural events in Poland. Future studies can be conducted that improve upon this study. From the strengths and weaknesses of this study, future research can be conducted to increase the knowledge of social communication of artistic and cultural events in Poland.