5 WAYS TO MEASURE LIVE EVENTS BETTER
Courage, fun, strength, freedom, care... no, not a list of modern virtues, but the emotional signals that tell marketers whether people will engage with a brand experience. Using the cross-sector SXSW London festival as a proving ground, a new measurement model from Spikes reveals how the emotions behind live moments drive engagement – and 5 ways brands can start capturing the feels now.
Reports of the death of NPS have been greatly exaggerated. Its demise has long been predicted, even by the likes of Gartner back in 2021, and yet it’s still here, alive and well in many marketing measurement decks.
The metric is still popular because it’s simple, familiar, easy to communicate to the c-suite and is a good indicator of loyalty. But it’s that same, one-dimensional simplicity which means that it falls short in today’s multi-dimensional, emotionally charged, experience-led world. NPS tells marketers whether people would recommend an event, but not what it made them feel. It tells marketers what happened, but not why. And it offers even less in the way of guidance on how to improve.
So, what’s the new alternative for marketers?
And more importantly, what if the metric you’ve been relying on is missing the one thing that actually drives behavior?
At SXSW London, a new model has started to answer that question, not by asking what people thought, but by pinpointing exactly what they felt… and what that feeling is worth.
For the first time, marketers can see:
- Which exact moments created emotional impact
- Which emotions actually drove value and advocacy
- And where to invest to increase both
I FEEL THE NEED...
Emotion - no longer a soft metric
Countless neuroscience studies provide biological evidence linking emotion to brand engagement and loyalty. What’s been missing for marketers is how to connect this emotional understanding to business KPIs.
“As brands become more emotionally complex, the industry needs metrics that connect emotion, experience and commercial outcomes in a way that leaders can actually act on..”
Sandra Peat, UK partner, Spikes
And while the need for emotional understanding rises, at the same time, live events are becoming an increasingly important way to connect with audiences reared in a virtual age, craving an experiential life.
Recent studies show that experiential marketing budgets now account for 10-30% of overall marketing spend, and the market is set to soar to $3.3tn.
“As live experiences become central to how brands build relationships with audiences, understanding their emotional impact is critical.”
Cecilia Morelli, chief marketing officer, SXSW London
"Events like SXSW London bring together culture, technology and creativity in unique ways that create hundreds of audience moments.
“To understand their true value, marketers need measurement that captures not just enjoyment, but how those experiences make people feel and what that means for future engagement.” – Cecilia Morelli, chief marketing officer, SXSW London
MEASURING UP
The new standard
Over the last few years, there’s been a slew of measurement metrics which address different aspects of the modern measurement conundrum. Customer Impact Scores measure experience across functionality, relevance and emotion. Customer Health Scores combine behavioral signals such as usage, engagement and support activity. And Total Experience Scores combine customer experience data with brand perception among non-customers.
All of them do a good job of capturing loyalty rather than just the outcome. But now a new methodology connects customer experience to emotion and business KPIs for the first time.
‘Excitement Points’ captures:
The specific touchpoint where an experience occurred
The emotion it evoked (e.g. freedom, adventure, fun, togetherness, care)
The story behind that experience
The value created, including perceived value, NPS and funnel impact
Created by strategic marketing consultancy Spikes and based on a database of 750,000 consumer experiences, the new methodology moves experience measurement from a static scorecard to a diagnostic system.
“Excitement Points enables marketers to ask not just ‘did customers like us?’ but ‘which experiences created value, through which emotions and where should we invest next?”
Sandra Peat, UK partner, Spikes
Instead of asking customers to rate a brand in abstraction, it works by qualitative recall and quantitative data across touchpoints, 12 positive emotions as identified by Deloitte as crucial KPIs, perceived value scoring (1–100) and journey stage.
So how does this next chapter for live marketing measurement work in reality?
ALL THE FEELS
SXSW London’s unique playground
“More than a festival of ideas, SXSW London is a catalyst for bold thinking and real-world impact. It’s where open debate fuels discovery, where unexpected conversations spark collaboration and where frontier ideas become the next big breakthroughs”
Cecilia Morelli, chief marketing officer, SXSW London
For nearly 40 years, SXSW has been seen as a pioneer in the live experience space – a rare convergence of industries and audiences where creative, tech and entertainment ecosystems spark off each other, under one roof.
The festival’s arrival in Shoreditch in June last year brought that combustive energy to London, with 25,327 attendees, across 34 venues, over six days, under a theme of ‘Beautiful Collisions’.
“Real magic happens when we work together in new ways. At this intersection of tech, creative industries and business - how many new artistic endeavours, business opportunities or creative platforms will be born?”
Cecilia Morelli, chief marketing officer, SXSW London
This year’s London event, taking place June 1-6, is set to continue embodying the uniquely eclectic energy of the SXSW brand, with speakers as diverse as Sir Martin Sorrell and Sir John Hegarty sharing stages with TikTok’s Jo Burford, creator Sam Thompson and podcaster GK Barry.
“I saw first-hand the electric atmosphere of innovation that the festival creates. It’s a fantastic addition to our cultural calendar as we build a more prosperous London for everyone.”
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
EMOTION COUNTS
But how do you even begin measuring an experience like that?
The Excitement Points modeling showed that SXSW London delivered strong excitement and emotional distinctiveness for a first-year festival, outperforming the conferences and festivals market particularly around freedom and adventure. Fun and togetherness also scored highly.
This demonstrated which emotions would most effectively lift value and advocacy if deliberately dialed up for the festival’s second outing in London, June 1-6 this year.
Crucially, the research also highlighted the specific experience levers that could improve the 2026 festival even further – adding in even more networking opportunities, reducing delegate numbers and cutting one venue.
“Viewing the SXSW experience through the emotional lens of our delegates has revealed strengths and areas for improvement that traditional metrics like NPS simply don’t capture. As we build toward our second year this June, these insights have been invaluable in shaping the festival. It gives us a clearer view of the festival’s emotional strengths and its long-term potential as a launchpad for breakthrough ideas, new talent and cultural discovery.”
Cecilia Morelli, chief marketing officer, SXSW London
5 WAYS TO CAPTURE LIVE EXPERIENCE ENGAGEMENT IN 2026
SXSW London reflects a broader industry shift. As brands become ecosystems of touchpoints, platforms, people and AI-driven interactions, experience quality is no longer managed centrally but felt locally. So how can marketers make that happen this year? SXSW London organizers advise:
1
MEASURE MOMENTS, NOT JUST OVERALL SATISFACTION
Traditional event surveys tend to ask attendees to rate the event as a whole. But experiences are built from dozens of smaller interactions. Capturing the specific moment and context behind a reaction reveals far more about what actually drives value.
2
FOCUS ON THE EMOTIONS THAT DEFINE YOUR BRAND
Not all positive emotions are equal. At SXSW London, emotions such as freedom, adventure, fun and togetherness were particularly powerful because they aligned with the festival’s identity as a space for creativity and exploration. The most effective experience design amplifies the emotions that reinforce the brand’s distinctive character.
3
TREAT FRICTION AS AN EMOTIONAL ISSUE, NOT JUST AN OPERATIONAL ONE
Queues, navigation challenges or overcrowding are often viewed as logistical problems. But they also shape emotional experience by interrupting excitement or curiosity. Identifying where friction occurs helps organizers understand where emotional momentum is being lost.
4
DESIGN NETWORKING AS AN EXPERIENCE, NOT AN OUTCOME
Networking is often assumed to happen naturally at events, yet SXSW London’s research showed that unstructured networking moments can underperform if they are not deliberately designed. Experiences that encourage discovery, conversation and shared participation tend to generate stronger emotional engagement and perceived value.
5
LINK EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO FUTURE BEHAVIOR
Ultimately, the value of emotional experience lies in what it drives next: whether attendees return, recommend the event, or deepen their relationship with the brand. Measurement systems that connect emotional response to consideration, advocacy and perceived value give organizers a clearer roadmap for improving future editions.
