Making Sense from Experience: How a Sustainable Multi-Sensory Event Spurs Word-of-Mouth Recommendation of a Destination Brand

Abstract

The last decade has seen an exponential growth in published articles related to the influence of marketing events on destinations. However, there is still a need for empirical research about the effect that organized events built upon sensorial components have on different variables related to participants’ attitudes and behaviors, as such events have the ability to provide unique experiences and emotions. Therefore, this research focuses on the impact of a sustainable multi-sensory event marketing that promotes the interests of the organizing service company (a marina brand), alongside those of the host location, by associating the brand destination with this specific activity. By surveying attendees to a summer event aimed at enhancing visits to an area in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and by adopting structural equation modeling estimation, the study shows that people’s positive valuations of the event had an impact on their word-of-mouth recommendation of the brand. Thus, visitors’ emotional experience was tied to their post-visit brand attitudes and brand equity. Based on the results, the study makes practical suggestions for branding in a sustainable destination, especially in relation to incorporating experiential elements in company-organized special events.

Changes in Consumers’ Purchase Patterns as a Consequence of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The peak-end rule says that people evaluate the brand experience based on the feelings they had at the most intense moment, and they do not tend to evaluate the overall brand experience over the entire period of use. Gomez-Suarez and Yague [37] declared that if a brand provides an exceptionally positive experience during a pandemic that consumers remember, the intensity of that emotion will be linked to the brand in the long run, whether in the form of a positive or negative experience. While consumers always adapt to their rapidly changing environment, only those who act quickly to identify new needs and challenges and deeply understand the motivation behind consumer behavior will be the winners [38].…”

Antecedents Of Memorable Rural Tourism Evidence From Indonesian Traveler

“…Strategi experiential marketing mengembangkan koneksi yang lebih dalam berdasarkan personalisasi kebutuhan yang dimiliki oleh pelanggan melalui dorongan emosional, mengubah tindakan konsumsi menjadi pengalaman yang tidak terlupakan (Gómez & Yagüe, 2021) Teori marketing dan traveller memunculkan konsep marketing memorable experience (Pine & Gilmore, 2011). Konsep tersebut bertujuan untuk memberikan pengalaman yang unik, positif dan berkesan bagi konsumen.…”

Experts’ Perspective on the Development of Experiential Marketing Strategy: Implementation Steps, Benefits, and Challenges

“…Experiential marketing campaigns stimulate internal customer responses more holistically, facilitating affective and behavioral outcomes (Mainolfi and Marino 2020;Gómez-Suárez and Yagüe 2021). Accordingly, events that incorporate sensory, emotional, and social information create more vivid images that are then associated with the specific brand (Harmeling et al 2017).…”