The role of the keynote speaker in the Finnish event industry
Väkeväinen, Mika (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060219495
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060219495
Tiivistelmä
This thesis examines the role of the keynote speaker in Finnish event production as both a strategic and experiential influencer. The aim was to explore how a keynote speaker can enhance the success of an event through the participant experience.
The theoretical framework introduces a multidimensional model that examines the speaker's impact from seven perspectives: experiential, social, philosophical, cultural, productional, economic, and technological. The empirical part was conducted as a qualitative case study, based on semi-structured interviews with professionals in the Finnish event industry. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.
The findings indicate that the keynote speaker is an experiential mediator, with influence materialising through the participant's inner experience. The study provides new insights into the speaker’s role in participant-centred event design and contributes to developing event strategies, particularly in virtual and hybrid contexts.
The theoretical framework introduces a multidimensional model that examines the speaker's impact from seven perspectives: experiential, social, philosophical, cultural, productional, economic, and technological. The empirical part was conducted as a qualitative case study, based on semi-structured interviews with professionals in the Finnish event industry. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.
The findings indicate that the keynote speaker is an experiential mediator, with influence materialising through the participant's inner experience. The study provides new insights into the speaker’s role in participant-centred event design and contributes to developing event strategies, particularly in virtual and hybrid contexts.