Kunglig kommunikation - körkonst och tradition : En autoetnografi om autenticitet i ett kungligt konstföretag

Sammanfattning: Event marketing has developed in the era of the experience economy. But the rapid growth of the event industry has led to an overflow of events on the market competing for the attention of potential audiences, and events face the risk of becoming non-events or pseudo-events. As a consequence, the demand for experiences has developed into a demand for real and meaningful experiences. This study focuses on a certain category of special events, namely state ceremonies in Sweden. Special events ca be characterized by such qualities as uniqueness, rarity, high quality, traditions, symbolism, authenticity, generosity and can be defined as a unique moment in time celebrated with ceremony and ritual to satisfy special needs.The thesis is an autoethnography, where the Royal Mews, which is the royal transport organization, is looked upon as an art company. The aim of the study is to gain understanding of why horse-drawn carriages are used and what makes them special and effective. The analysis and interpretation of this study are based upon artistic aspects and aesthetic theory.The main contribution of the thesis is within the area of marketing communication, where the concept of rich authenticity and its architecture is understood as a way of analyzing and understanding what makes the Royal Mews special and effective. Rich authenticity is an holistic view where the aspect of a double reality, combining practice and aesthetics is used.State ceremonies using horse-drawn carriages, as special events, create aesthetic experiences through the quality of rich authenticity, which is built upon Vitruvius classic concepts of architecture. A rich, authentic, Royal Mews appears with this perspective to be a Royal Mews of continuity (firmitas), of art practice (venustas) and of communication (utilitas). Aesthetics is an omnipotent distributor of roles between these three pillars that make up the rich authenticity.