Experiential Marketing and Cultural Routes: The Case Study of the Routes of the Olive Tree

Conti, Eugenio ; Pechlivanidou, Ioanna

4. term

Tourism, Master

2016

Interessen for oplevelsesøkonomien og markedet for oplevelser vokser, og samtidig vinder kulturelle ruter frem som en alternativ form for turisme. Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan en kulturel rute bruger oplevelser til at markedsføre sig og skille sig ud, samt hvilke udfordringer der følger med. Undersøgelsen er et dybdegående casestudie af Routes of the Olive Tree, som er en af Europarådets Cultural Routes. Analysen er guidet af centrale begreber fra oplevelsesmarkedsføring i turisme, herunder oplevelsessfærer (forskellige dimensioner af en oplevelse), tematisering, hvordan oplevelsen fremstilles og formidles, iscenesættelse af oplevelser og brugen af oplevelsesbaserede markedsføringsværktøjer. Primære data blev indsamlet gennem deltagerobservation, interviews, tekstanalyse og netnografi (online feltarbejde). Disse kilder blev trianguleret for at opnå et nuanceret og dybdegående billede af casen. Specialet søger ikke at generalisere resultaterne til alle kulturelle ruter, men bidrager med kontekstnær viden på et område, der stadig er underbelyst. Resultaterne viser, at Routes of the Olive Tree faktisk udvikler en ruteoplevelse for at differentiere sig. Samtidig peger studiet på væsentlige udfordringer: begrænset direkte kontrol over de omgivelser, ruten indgår i, mangel på finansiering og mangel på ekspertise, som alle svækker evnen til at markedsføre og differentiere sig gennem oplevelser. Desuden påvirker rutesamarbejdets non-profit-karakter også denne evne og bør anerkendes i litteraturen som en vigtig rammebetingelse.

Interest in the experience economy and the market for experiences is growing, and cultural routes are emerging as an alternative form of tourism. This thesis explores how a cultural route uses experiences to market itself and stand out, and what challenges come with this approach. The study is an in-depth single case of the Routes of the Olive Tree, one of the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes. The analysis was guided by key ideas from experiential marketing in tourism, including experiential realms (different dimensions of an experience), theming, how the experience is represented and conveyed, staging, and the use of experiential marketing tools. Primary data were collected through participant observation, interviews, text analysis, and netnography (online fieldwork). These sources were triangulated to build a rounded, in-depth understanding of the case. The research does not aim to generalize the findings to all cultural routes, but offers context-rich insights in an under-researched area. Findings indicate that the Routes of the Olive Tree does create a route experience to differentiate itself. At the same time, major challenges need attention: limited direct control over the settings in which the route operates, lack of funding, and lack of expertise all weaken its ability to market and differentiate through experiences. In addition, the route’s non-profit nature shapes these capacities and should be acknowledged in the literature as an important contextual factor.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

cultural route ; experience ; Routes of the Olive Tree ; challenges ; differentiation ; experiential marketing

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