DREEm: Paper

The UK’s Experience Economy: Towards a Working Definition from the supply perspective in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

This paper revisits the concept of Experience Economy (EE) as initially defined by Pine and Gilmore in 1997, with specific reference to the UK context. It identifies the core components of ‘experience’, using the lenses of supply and demand. It goes on to define the UK ‘industries’ (by SIC code) that sustain the EE ecosystem, and it proposes a rationale for recovery across sectors of the UK economy that support the creation of experience activities. Using insights from the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded (AHRC1 ) Digital Regeneration and Experience Economy modelling (DREEm2 ) research project led by University of the Arts London, it provides a means through which to assess the size and value of experience industries at local, regional and national levels, whilst also developing a framework through which to understand the ‘ecosystem’ that is essential to support and sustain regeneration of the EE post-COVID. This framework will support places in engaging with digital, physical and hybrid experiences to create resilience and support economic recovery.

Authors: Jane Harris, Rebecca Hawkins, Claire Bunyan, Tom Bashford Rogers, Joe Pine, Michelle Rowe, Francesco Mazzarella and Victoria Young.

Read the full DREEm: paper here.