Abstract

Events and experiential marketing are a standard for many brands in practice, but they remain relatively underaddressed in the academic literature. While advertising and marketing scholarship has examined some experiential marketing and branded events, it is not typically done from a tourist consumer perspective. Thus, through the theoretical lens of the Mehrabian–Russell (M-R) model and the concept of perceived value, the current research examines event marketing and branded experiences using two field studies conducted in a leading U.S. tourist destination city (an aquarium experience, n = 340, and a retail brand–sponsored fashion show, n = 396). Study 1, with a tourist sample, takes a pre-event perspective. Findings demonstrate that prior to experiencing the event, consumers’ affective evaluation of the event environment impacts both expected event entertainment (EEE) and perceived event quality (PEQ). However, only PEQ enhances tourists purchase intentions (PI) toward the event sponsor. Study 2 adopts a post-event perspective and demonstrates a boundary condition of tourist type (locals, domestic tourists, and international tourists). Findings suggest that the relationship between actual event entertainment (ACEE) and PI is stronger for international tourists, but the effect of product knowledge on PI is stronger for domestic tourists and locals (versus international tourists).

摘要

活动和体验营销是许多品牌在实践中的标准，但它们在学术文献中仍然相对不足。虽然广告和营销学术研究了一些体验式营销和品牌活动，但通常不是从旅游消费者的角度进行的。因此，通过 Mehrabian-Russell (MR) 模型的理论视角和感知价值的概念，当前的研究使用在美国主要旅游目的地城市进行的两项实地研究（水族馆体验，n  = 340，以及零售品牌赞助的时装秀，n = 396）。研究 1 以游客为样本，采用事前视角。调查结果表明，在体验活动之前，消费者对活动环境的情感评价会影响预期活动娱乐 (EEE) 和感知活动质量 (PEQ)。然而，只有 PEQ 提高了游客对活动赞助商的购买意向 (PI)。研究二采用事后视角，论证了旅游者类型（本地人、国内游客和国际游客）的边界条件。研究结果表明，对于国际游客而言，实际活动娱乐 (ACEE) 与 PI 之间的关系更强，但对于国内游客和当地人（与国际游客相比），产品知识对 PI 的影响更大。