Examples of Experiential Retail Environment

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The business environment in the twenty-first century has been ever evolving, and to maintain competitive within the environment, many marketing efforts have shifted, from the traditional marketing to experiential marketing. Disneyland theme park is a very successful example of an experiential retail environment. The outstanding effort in marketing has assisted the company to achieve their world-class status. This essay discusses the experiential retail environment of Disneyland, particularly Hong Kong Disneyland and how Disneyland makes use of experiential marketing strategies to create symbolic meaning to the locals in Hong Kong with consideration of their cultural backgrounds and lifestyle. Due to personal backgrounds and cultural differences, no single one consumer would have the same experience and symbolic meanings from Disneyland.

Schmitt (1999) describes ‘experiential marketing view consumers as rational and emotional human beings who are concerned with achieving pleasurable experiences.’ There are four important characteristics in experimental marketing; a focus in customer experiences, a focus on consumption as a holistic experience, customers are rational and emotional animals and methods and tools are eclectic. These are shown in Figure 1 below.

FIGURE 1: Characteristics of Experiential Marketing (Adapted from Schmitt, 1999)
In addition to these four characteristics, experiential marketing also includes strategic experiential modules (SEMs); sensory experiences (sense), inner feelings and emotions (feel), creative cognitive experiences (think), physical experiences, behaviours and lifestyles (act) and self-identity relating to reference groups or cultures (relate) (Schmitt, 1999). To broaden the experiential appeal, ...

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Schmitt, B. (1999). ‘Experiential Marketing’, Journal of Marketing Management, 15:1-3, 53-67

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