Short answer
Design marketing experiences that actively engage a potential customer's imagination and emotional aspirations, as this is a key driver of their decision-making and behavior.
- Field
- Innovation & Markets
- Source
- Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing (2018)
- Method
- Systematic Literature Review
- Sample
- 70 papers
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Leveraging experiential marketing strategies that tap into tourists' mental imagery processing can significantly influence their behavior by fulfilling their pursuit of fantasies and positive emotions. This innovation & markets research insight is drawn from a 2018 study published in Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. Using Systematic literature review with 70 papers, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design marketing experiences that actively engage a potential customer's imagination and emotional aspirations, as this is a key driver of their decision-making and behavior.
Experiential Marketing Enhances Tourist Behavior Through Mental Imagery
Leveraging experiential marketing strategies that tap into tourists' mental imagery processing can significantly influence their behavior by fulfilling their pursuit of fantasies and positive emotions.
Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing · 2018
Key Findings
- 01Experiential marketing is effective in influencing tourist behavior due to the pleasure-seeking nature of tourists who travel for fantasies and positive emotions.
- 02The impact of experiential marketing on tourist behavior is mediated by the tourist's imagery processing capabilities.
- 03Various imagery-related concepts (mental simulation, consumption vision, narrative transportation, telepresence, imagination, fantasy, memory recall) are relevant to understanding tourist responses to marketing stimuli.
- 04Customizing experiential marketing initiatives for different tourist segments is necessary for optimal impact.
Application
Design takeaway
Design marketing experiences that actively engage a potential customer's imagination and emotional aspirations, as this is a key driver of their decision-making and behavior.
How to apply
When developing marketing campaigns for travel or leisure products, create narratives, visuals, and interactive elements that encourage potential customers to vividly imagine themselves experiencing the offering.
Project actions
- 01When researching a product or service, consider how its marketing appeals to the user's imagination and emotions.
- 02Analyze how different marketing techniques (e.g., storytelling, virtual reality previews) aim to create mental images for potential customers.
- 03Think about how to tailor marketing messages to different types of users based on their likely desires and fantasies.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the link between experiential marketing and mental imagery.
- +Synthesizes a broad range of existing research, offering a valuable overview for practitioners and academics.
Limitations
The effectiveness of imagery-based marketing can be subjective and difficult to quantify precisely. It might not be as impactful for products that are purely functional or utilitarian.
Reliability & validity
The reliability of the findings is supported by the systematic review of a large number of studies. Validity is enhanced by synthesizing research across different theoretical perspectives on imagery processing.
Think critically
To what extent can purely functional products benefit from an experiential marketing approach focused on imagination and fantasy, and what are the potential risks of misaligning marketing imagery with the actual product experience?
Design Principles
"Marketing stimuli should be designed to evoke vivid mental imagery and emotional connections, thereby influencing consumer behavior."
Understanding how potential customers mentally simulate experiences is crucial for designing marketing campaigns that resonate deeply. This approach moves beyond functional benefits to emotional and aspirational appeals, creating more compelling offers.
What This Means for Your Design
If you want to sell a holiday, don't just show pictures of the beach; make people imagine themselves feeling the sun, hearing the waves, and having an amazing time. This 'imagining' is what makes them want to go.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to justify focusing on the emotional and imaginative aspects of your product's marketing strategy.
- 2.Cite this paper when discussing how user aspirations and mental simulations influence purchasing decisions.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This research highlights the significant role of experiential marketing in influencing consumer behavior, particularly in sectors like tourism where customers seek emotional fulfillment. By engaging with a consumer's mental imagery processing—their ability to simulate experiences, fantasize, and recall memories—marketers can create more potent appeals. This suggests that design projects aiming to influence purchasing decisions should prioritize creating marketing strategies that evoke vivid, positive mental images and emotional connections, tailored to specific target audience aspirations.
Source
Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing
Applying experiential marketing in selling tourism dreams
journal · 2018
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about experiential marketing enhances tourist behavior through mental imagery?
- Design marketing experiences that actively engage a potential customer's imagination and emotional aspirations, as this is a key driver of their decision-making and behavior. Evidence: Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing (2018).
- Why does "Experiential Marketing Enhances Tourist Behavior Through Mental Imagery" matter for design?
- Understanding how potential customers mentally simulate experiences is crucial for designing marketing campaigns that resonate deeply. This approach moves beyond functional benefits to emotional and aspirational appeals, creating more compelling offers.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design marketing experiences that actively engage a potential customer's imagination and emotional aspirations, as this is a key driver of their decision-making and behavior.
- What were the main findings?
- Experiential marketing is effective in influencing tourist behavior due to the pleasure-seeking nature of tourists who travel for fantasies and positive emotions.. The impact of experiential marketing on tourist behavior is mediated by the tourist's imagery processing capabilities.. Various imagery-related concepts (mental simulation, consumption vision, narrative transportation, telepresence, imagination, fantasy, memory recall) are relevant to understanding tourist responses to marketing stimuli.. Customizing experiential marketing initiatives for different tourist segments is necessary for optimal impact.
- What research method was used?
- Systematic Literature Review with 70 papers.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2018 journal from Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When developing marketing campaigns for travel or leisure products, create narratives, visuals, and interactive elements that encourage potential customers to vividly imagine themselves experiencing the offering.
- What are the limitations?
- The review's findings are based on existing literature and may not capture the latest emergent trends in experiential marketing or digital technologies. The effectiveness can vary significantly across different cultural contexts and individual psychological differences.