Thematic Events as an Experiential Marketing Tool: Kite Festival on the Experience Stage

The rise of experiential marketing during last decade shed some light on marketing literature. Nowadays, consumers are in search of experiences that "dazzle their senses", "touch their hearts" and "stimulate their minds" and also marketers need to understand customer experience (Schmitt, 1999). Therefore, studies and researches on experiential features of products or services have appeared in the marketing literature. However, academic investigations on the measurement of event experiences are very recent. Thus, the main aim of this study was to identify the underlying aspects of event experience and to examine events as an experiential marketing tool via a sample of 300 respondents who were participated in Kite Festival, an annual event held in Eskisehir. Results revealed three aspects, which are "emotional experience", "escapist and relaxing experience" and "social and nostalgic experience". The study has significant implications as to how well marketing practitioners and recreationist implement experiential marketing and experiential dimensions of the events.