Performing the high-school prom in the UK: Locating authenticity through practice

Abstract

The purpose of this study was threefold: to develop an understanding of the appropriation of the US High School Prom in the UK and more importantly to generate an insight into the producers and consumers of such an event; to establish if the performance of the prom is hyper-real or if there is an awareness of the authentic or inauthentic elements of this ritual and finally to ascertain local interpretation of authenticity and glocal practice. The method used here was a qualitative approach employing 24 in-depth interviews with young adults (18-20 years) who had attended a prom in the UK in the last three years. The findings illustrated that the role and the social network of the individual was key to engagement with the High School Prom and also indicated a possible symbiosis of the strands of theory associated with authenticity. Diverse localised meanings of the prom performance were also identified. As the school prom is a growth market in the UK businesses should be aware of adolescents' desire for ownership of this event and should tailor their marketing accordingly. Key WordsAdolescence, Authenticity, Qualitative Research, Rituals, Organisation and Practice BiographiesDr Julie Tinson is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Stirling where she principally teaches Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Communications. Her research interests include family decision making and consumer socialisation. She has published widely on consumer behaviour in relation to families and children and has recently written a book on how to research with children and adolescents. Consultancy includes work for Associa (NFU), Barclays Bank, Tpoll and Channel 4. Dr Peter Nuttall is a Lecturer in Marketing in the School of Management at the University of Bath. He teaches in the areas of international marketing and marketing communications and is also a visiting associate professor at Malta University. His publications have been focused primarily in the field of adolescent and young consumer behaviour. More specifically his research has explored the consumption and use of popular music as a means of expressing identity and the impact of family structure and peer group affiliation on this consumption behaviour. Consultancy work has centred on consumer market research in the charity and not-for-profit sector. 2

Social Collective Decision Making among Adolescents: A Review and a Revamp

“…setting the ticket price) relative to the fundraising activities that were also expected of the group (and the wider cohort). An understanding of the high school prom and key aspects of its organization were identified in previous work (Tinson & Nuttall, , ). At the beginning of every focus group, the researcher also summarized what had previously been discussed and/or decided upon by the organizing committee to explore and understand if and how decisions had evolved.…”

“…The high school prom has been chosen as an area of study as this event and related decision making among adolescents are socially high risk as the emotional and financial investment are substantial (MacLeod, ). Further, this event also has a long lead time (Tinson & Nuttall, , ) and as such would afford an opportunity to examine structures and subgroupings influence relative to spend over a period of time. Additionally, the value of the prom market in the United States has grown to $4 billion in recent years (Canning, ) and a recent report estimates an annual UK parental spend of £31m on the high school prom (Gabbatt, ).…”

“…In this paper, the focus is on a decision‐making collective for a key ritual event during adolescence: the high school prom organizing committee. Given the significance of this event during adolescence (Best, ; Tinson & Nuttall, , ) this ritual, and more importantly its organization, provides an opportunity to examine influencing strategies as well as approaches to conflict and conflict resolution within an adolescent social decision‐making collective. A model is posited; examining factors motivating and influencing social collective decision making among adolescents.…”

Liminal mothers’ negotiation of conflicting service consumption

“…This example demonstrates that within service consumption it is not only the service provider who creates the meaning of the provision but the other users too and that both can have hedonic and eudiamonic impact, negatively altering mother's mood and their social-relatedness within the service provision. Tinson and Nuttall (2011) discuss how particular social sub-groups may become producers as well as consumers and engage in appropriation of the practices and meaning of services, becoming a privileged social network. New users make social comparisons against these expert users and determine their own suitability to participate.…”

“…Through the findings, the distinctiveness of maternal service consumption is explored against Marking rituals Tinson and Nuttall (2011) discuss consumption as a marker of progression through a transition. The ultrasound scan has previously been identified as a major milestone and important symbol in pregnancy (Taylor, 2004).…”