An Emotional Approach to City Branding: Experiential Marketing

Abstract

Nowadays, transportation, communication, technology and scientific developments are rapidly changing all areas. Consumers have been changed by the intensification of rivalry. Businesses have to produce proper products and services by giving more attention to changing consumer demands and needs against this rivalry. So, the experience economy is seen to take the place of the service economy. In this context, marketing strategies rather than selling products and services varies as to ensure consumer experience. Thus, the experience economy is starting with proposing products and services as a theater or visual art. Service here; to put on the stage is to create unforgettable moments and memories for customers. Today consumers are looking for features that address to their emotions and feelings. In this sense, experience takes the place of the functional value by providing mental, emotional, cognitive, behavioral and relational values. Consumption experience, is composing the focal point of the experiential approach, creating fantasies, emotions and entertainment. From this point they entered rivalry and began branding in cities. Therefore, all the dynamics of the city is necessary to make a difference by staging features that the experiential marketing has revealed. With which properties cities must be at the forefront, they should be identified and tried to be marketed. Experiential marketing will create an unforgettable experience by making the biggest help for city branding. By taking experiential marketing, the study will attempt to evaluate its effect to city branding with making conceptual analysis in the theoretical structure framework.