Feelings at the forefront: The new metric of success
As experiences become more sophisticated, a new metric which places emotion and memory at the centre is emerging
Feature By Francine Gorman | 15 May 2026
While ticket sales can tell you who showed up, they can’t tell you how they felt. As experiences become more sophisticated, a new metric is emerging: return on experience, which places emotion, memory, and engagement at the heart of success.
Feedback surveys, reviews, ticket sales, and footfall are all tried-and-tested ways of quantifying audience experience into easily digestible facts and figures. Yet, while these numbers undoubtedly paint an accurate picture of the popularity and success of an event, several…
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