Experiential Marketing and Vacation Experience : The Sample of Turkish Airlines

Customer demands that change with competitive circumstances of modern day, force firms improve themselves for new strategies to differentiate them from their competitors and to acquire competitive advantage. Therefore, in the experience economy we live through; marketing theorists and implementers are in search of unique and entertaining experiences to create customer dependence. In this context, strategies of marketing world has changed and developed to provide consumer experience rather than selling product and service. Experience is the main component of experiential marketing and it aims to make consumers respond, act actively to purchase and gain different feelings, different perceptions in consequence of their experiences. For that purpose, experience creates varied revivers such as special areas, atmospheres, new settlements. In terms of airline sector; fast changing life styles, intense work periods and desire of award oneself after those hard periods, increasing expectations of people about using their spare time valuable and amusing; support travel and experience activities. With reference to this assumption; experiential brand qualification of Turkish Airlines, experiential qualification of services Turkish Airlines offer and how these services affect travel experience and position of Turkish Airlines about following experiential marketing activities will be determined and after the literature review about experiential marketing and experiential marketing implementations. Travel experience perceptions of consumers will be specified as well. It will also be examined if there is any difference about travel experience perceptions according to consumers who have different socio-demographic characteristics. A sample survey will be fulfilled for the study. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.