Event som Marknadskommunikation - Din Guide till Eventgalaxen
En kvantitativ studie som testar hur ansträngningsgrad påverkar uppkomsten av kommunikationseffekter
Event marketing's ability to create strong communication effects is a well-known fact and a contributing factor to its popularity in the world of marketing today. But while we know that it is the interaction between consumers and the brand within the scope of live marketing that gives rise to loyalty and purchase intention, we have no knowledge in how the company's efforts affect the outcome. As the investments in event marketing are growing at a comparatively high pace, it is urgent to obtain a deeper understanding and a sense of direction of the elements infuencing its success.In this study we investigate in what way and to what extent the amount of effort that a company puts into the making of an event is used as a signal of manufactor credibility, ability (i.e., expertise) and consumer care. And in what way and to what extent the perceived effort influence purchase intent, attitude and word-of-mouth. We also analyze marketing events in terms of the theory of equitable exchange and "desperation", a subject matter thus far only touched upon.As we identify two different types of events on the market today, we include both in our study: the in-store promotion related event and the party event, which is held in an external venue. By means of a stylized scenario experiment where the degree of effort is manipulated, we can draw a number of crucial conclusions to the benefit of practitioners and theorists within this field of research. The results show that perceived effort clearly works as a signal of the degree of company credibility, ability and consumer care. Furthermore, a greater perceived effort creates word-of-mouth and higher purchase intention, whereas a lower perceived effort leads to the notion that the company is desperate. We can also establish that only the party event and only when it is precieved as a high effort event, is recognized as fair in terms of giving and receiving. In addtion, our study shows that effort is mediated by perceived consumer care and creates both a higher purchase intention, a more positive attitude towards the brand and a higher perceived credibility. In short, Event Marketing as a Communication Tool - Your Guide to the Galaxy of Live Marketing highlights the until now unknown windfalls and pitfalls of event marketing.