Journal of Promotion Management

ISSN: 1049-6491 (Print) 1540-7594 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjpm20

Conceptualization of Brand Experience in an Event

Marketing Context

Wondwesen Tafesse

To cite this article: Wondwesen Tafesse (2016) Conceptualization of Brand Experience

in an Event Marketing Context, Journal of Promotion Management, 22:1, 34-48, DOI:
10.1080/10496491.2015.1107007

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2015.1107007

Published online: 09 Feb 2016.

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JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT
2016, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 3448
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2015.1107007

Conceptualization of Brand Experience in an Event Marketing

Context
Wondwesen Tafesse
UIT the Arctic University of Norway, School of Business and Economics, Langnes, Troms, Norway

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Despite the growing importance of brand experience and event brand experience, consumer
marketing, research addressing what constitutes brand experience, event marketing,
experience in an event marketing context is scarce. The purpose experiential marketing
of this article is to develop a conceptualization of brand
experience that is specically applicable to an event marketing
context. Drawing on qualitative data collected from an
international motor show, which is an important form of event
marketing in the automotive industry, this article develops
a conceptualization of brand experience as consumers
multifaceted interaction with brands enabled through four
interrelated processes of multisensory stimulation, bodily
performance, social interaction, and discovery/learning. In turn,
these four interaction processes trigger perceptual, embodied,
social, and epistemic brand experience. Drawing on data and
the relevant literature, the article elaborates on these
dimensions of brand experience and discusses their theoretical
and managerial implications.

Introduction
Brand experience is a concept that has grown in importance in recent times. For-
mally dened as subjective, internal consumer responses (sensations, feelings, and
cognitions) and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli (Brakus,
Schmitt, & Zarantonello, 2009, p. 52), brand experience is seen as a new frontier in
building strong brand equity. Brand experience can be applied across different
contexts, such as retailing (Dolbec & Chebat, 2013), services (Nysveen, Pedersen,
& Skard, 2013), and manufacturing (Tafesse, Narui, & Korneliussen, 2014). In par-
allel, event marketing is establishing itself as an alternative form of marketing com-
munication (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2013). The ability of event marketing to
generate deeper consumer involvement through novel, interactive, and engaging
activities is attracting considerable attention among marketers (Close, Finney,
Lacey, & Sneath, 2006; Crowther & Donlan, 2011; Wood, 2009).
Despite their growing importance, research establishing a connection between
brand experience and event marketing is quite scarce. An exception is a recent

CONTACT Wondwesen Tafesse wondwesen.tafesse@uit.no Postdoctoral Researcher in Marketing, UIT the

Arctic University of Norway, School of Business and Economics, Post Box 6050 Langnes 9037 Tromsf, Norway.
2016 Taylor & Francis Group LLC
 JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT 35

work that investigated the effect of event marketing on brand equity (Zarantonello
& Schmitt, 2013). Pooling data from multiple event marketing approaches, includ-
ing event sponsorship, trade shows and pop-up brand stores, Zarantonello &
Schmitt document the positive effect of event marketing on brand equity via brand
experience. However, the study does not specically dene what constitutes brand
experience in an event marketing context. It applies a brand experience scale with
sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual dimensions (Brakus et al., 2009),
which may not necessarily reect the novelty, interactivity, and high-involvement
aspect of event marketing (Close et al., 2006; Wohlfeil & Whelan, 2006).
Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to explicate brand experience within
the specic context of event marketing. With this aim, the study explores the
nature of consumers interaction with brands in an international motor show con-
text. International motor show is an important form of event marketing in the
automotive industry, which is concomitantly focused on brands and consumer
experiences (Tafesse et al., 2014). Empirical data were collected from four conve-
niently selected stands at the 2013 edition of the Geneva Motor Show using a com-
bination of interviews, in-person observations, analysis of video clips, and
exploration of secondary information sources. Interpretation of the multifaceted
data through the use of pertinent theory suggests that brand experience arises
from four interrelated processes consisting of multisensory stimulation, bodily per-
formance, social interaction, and discovery/learning. In turn, these interaction pro-
cesses trigger four distinct dimensions of brand experience: perceptual experience,
embodied experience, social experience, and epistemic experience. These dimen-
sions of brand experience reect the interactivity, novelty, and high-involvement
aspects of consumers participation in promotional events (Drenger et al., 2008;
Wohlfeil & Whelan, 2006). Furthermore, the four dimensions of brand experience
espouse a contextual, subjective, and co-creative account of brand experience, as
will be detailed later in the article.
The remainder of the article is structured as follows. Section two synthesizes the
event marketing literature. Section three reects on the interrelated concepts of
experience, consumption experience, and brand experience. Section four describes
the methodology of the study. Section ve presents the proposed conceptualization
of brand experience. Section six concludes the article by discussing its theoretical
and practical implications.

Synthesis of event marketing

Event marketing is viewed as a communication tool whose purpose is to dissemi-
nate a companys marketing messages by involving the target groups in experien-
tial activity (Drenger et al., 2008, p. 138). Event marketing comes in various
forms, including event sponsorships, trade shows, pop-up brand stores, product
launches, press conferences, customer contests, competitions, and street shows,
among others (Crowther & Donlan, 2011; Wood, 2009). Events are growing in
36 W. TAFESSE

popularity as alternative promotional tools and marketers are investing heavily in

them. According to a recent industry survey in the United States, spending on
event marketing increased by 7.8% in 2012 from the previous year (Event Market-
ing Institute, 2012). This growth could be attributed to marketers growing aware-
ness about the effectiveness of event marketing in achieving brand, marketing, and
corporate-level objectives (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2013).
Their diversity notwithstanding, event marketing approaches share certain core
characteristics that differentiate them from other types of marketing approaches.
This section synthesizes discussions in the literature to clarify these characteristics.
A formidable obstacle in studying event marketing is the constantly growing list of
events as marketers continue to develop new event ideas to optimize their event
marketing actions (Crowther & Donlan, 2011; Martensen, Gronholdt, Bendtsen, &
Jensen, 2007). A further problem is the tendency to compartmentalize event mar-
keting into distinct approaches, giving rise to a fragmented knowledge base. The
development of the subsequent synthesis is a modest effort at unifying the diverse
arrays of information concerning event marketing.
The rst underlying characteristic of event marketing is high audience involve-
ment (Close, Krishen, & Latour, 2009; Drenger et al., 2008). The very logic of event
marketing, which is about inserting the brand into consumers habitual territory,
represents a signicant departure from mainstream marketing. Event marketing
tools, such as trade shows, pop-up brand stores and sponsored events are seam-
lessly integrated into consumers everyday environment and it is often consumers
that make the effort to approach marketers (Tafesse et al., 2014). Because of this,
consumers tend to perceive event marketing as less intrusive, motivating them to
get involved in the events and interact with the companies behind them (Altschw-
ager et al., 2013; Martensen et al., 2007). Importantly also, event marketing is per-
ceived as having a close afnity to community services, as events have traditionally
been deployed to support worthy community causes (Close et al., 2006; Irwin,
Lachowetz, Cornwell, & Clark, 2003). This puts event marketing in a unique posi-
tion in the domain of socially responsive promotion (Irwin et al., 2003, p. 132).
The second underlying characteristic of event marketing is novelty. Novelty can
indeed be considered the essence of event marketing as bringing the audience into
a lively engagement with a unique set of concepts, ideas, and activities constitutes
the heart of event marketing (Drenger et al., 2008; Wood, 2009). The novelty of
event marketing stems from its departure from mainstream marketing in terms of
content and execution (Tafesse & Korneliussen, 2012). For example, product
launch events are novel owing primarily to their content, i.e., the fact that they
introduce new products or services to the audience. Trade shows and pop-up brand
stores are novel owing primarily to their unorthodox method of presenting brands
to the audience. To the extent that novelty is seen as a potent source of powerful
consumer experiences (Arnould & Price, 1993; Tumbat & Belk, 2011), there is a
signicant overlap between event marketing and consumer experiences (Rinallo,
Borghini, & Golfetto, 2010; Wood, 2009), which takes us to the third point.
 JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT 37

The third underlying characteristic of event marketing is experiential richness.

Experiences are so integral to event marketing that scholars routinely refer to event
marketing as experiential marketing (Altschwager et al., 2013; Wood, 2009). Pro-
motional events allow consumers to interact with brands sensorially, emotionally
and through embodied actions (Martensen et al., 2007; Rinallo et al., 2010; Zaran-
tonello & Schmitt, 2013). Promotional events consisting of product launches, trade
shows, pop-up brand stores, and street shows are designed to render brands expe-
rientially accessible (Tafesse & Korneliussen, 2012). Consumers are able to explore
brands closely, touching and feeling products and interacting with brand represen-
tatives, while immersing themselves in the stimulating physical and social space in
which brands are situated (Close et al., 2006; Crowther & Dunlan, 2011; Rinallo
et al., 2010; Tafesse et al., 2014). This multifaceted and interactive rendering of
brands fosters rich consumer experiences.
The fourth underlying characteristic of event marketing is transiency (Donlan &
Crowther, 2014; Tafesse, 2014; Wood, 2009). Event-based promotions are spatially
and temporally transient as they take place in an interim location and last for a few
days (Tafesse & Korneliussen, 2012). This spatial and temporal transiency often
elicits a heightened sense of urgency among consumers. The thought of the events
concluding shortly or shifting to another location motivates consumers to become
involved and experience the events at the earliest possible opportunity (Wohlfeil &
Whelan, 2006). Yet, the real impact of event marketing often belies their temporal
transiency (Tafesse & Korneliussen, 2012). The coverage of event marketing by
local and international media and the additional promotion events receive from
ofine and online word of mouth ensure that brand messages conveyed through
event marketing persist long after the events have concluded (Donlan & Crowther,
2014; Tafesse et al., 2014).
In summary, event marketing can be characterized by high audience involve-
ment, novelty, experiential richness, and spatial and temporal transiency. Conse-
quently, a conceptualization of brand experience in an event marketing context
should reect these characteristics.

Experience, consumption experience, and brand experience

Experience is a difcult concept to grasp, which is further compounded by the con-
cept having both a noun and a verb form. The American Heritage Dictionary
denes experience the noun as the apprehension of an object or emotion through
the senses, and experience the verb as to participate in personally; undergo (Joy
& Sherry, 2003, p. 259). Experience has been the subject of academic research in
various traditions, including philosophy, cognitive science, and marketing (Brakus
et al., 2009).
Experience has a long tradition of enquiry in philosophy. Indeed, an entire
branch of philosophyphenomenologyis fully devoted to the study of experi-
ence in its noun form, that is, the apprehension of an object or emotion through
38 W. TAFESSE

the senses (Siegel, 2010). Phenomenology treats experience principally as the

acquisition and interpretation of perceptual content, that is, information conveyed
and represented to subjects through their sensory qualities, consisting of vision,
hearing, touch, smell, and taste (Bayne, 2009; Siegel, 2010; Snowdon & Robinson,
1990). Perceptual content is thought to arise from the apprehension, through the
senses, of such occurrences as objects, symbols, events, and ideas, among others.
Phenomenology further addresses how perceptual content is interpreted by pos-
iting two contrasting views. Externalism holds that individuals, otherwise alike in
their intrinsic properties, do not share identical experience as the interpretation of
perceptual content is couched in the subjective, external relations that individuals
have with the environment (Adams & Dietrich, 2004; Siegel, 2010). Internalism, in
contrast, holds that experiences are determined entirely by individuals intrinsic
properties, like electrochemical activities in the brain; and insofar as these intrinsic
properties are xed, different individuals are capable of producing identical experi-
ence (Adams & Dietrich, 2004; Siegel, 2010). Thus, phenomenology views experi-
ence as a largely perceptual phenomenon having consequences for the formation
of meanings and belief sets.
Consumer culture theory (CCT) studies experience predominantly, although
not restrictively, in its verb form, that is, to participate in personally; undergo.
CCT builds on phenomenologys understanding of experience as a perceptual phe-
nomenon to develop the symbolic, performative, and social dimensions of con-
sumption experience. In an early contribution, Holbrook and Hirschman (1982)
set the stage for the experiential turn by questioning the information processing
model of consumer behavior. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) argued for an expe-
riential view of consumption that involves hedonic experiences and emotional
responses. The authors viewed consumption as a subjective state of consciousness
with a variety of symbolic meanings, hedonic responses and esthetic criteria
(p. 132). They draw attention to fun, feelings, fantasies, daydreams induced by
products and their associated meanings. Similarly, Thompson, Locander, and Pol-
lio (1989) discussed consumption experience as emerging from lived contexts and
moments. These subjective contexts and moments are treated as rich in subjective
meaning and integral to consumption experience.
These early contributions were followed up by a steady stream of interpretive,
mostly ethnographic, studies of consumption experience as emerging from
hedonic, communal, and often, nature-based consumption contexts (e.g., Arnould
& Price, 1993; Belk & Costa, 1998; Borghini et al., 2009; Celsi, Rose, & Leigh, 1993;
Joy & Sherry, 2003; Schouten, McAlexander, & Koening, 2007; Tumbat & Belk,
2011). These studies explored consumption experience through interpretive theo-
retical and methodological applications. Some of the key insights to originate from
this research stream include:
 Consumption experience emerges from specic contexts and moments,
which gure as an integral part of the focal experience (Arnould & Price,
1993; Celsi et al., 1993).
 JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT 39

 Consumption experience is a socially constructed phenomenon, which arises

from a web of consumer-to-provider and consumer-to-consumer interactions
(Borgihini et al., 2009; Schouten et al., 2007).
 Consumption experience is an embodied phenomenon, which involves a
variety of embodied actions (Borgihini et al., 2009; Joy & Sherry, 2003).
 Extraordinary consumption experiences involve a sense of newness of per-
ception and high emotional intensity, resulting in the acquisition of new skills
and transformative personal experiences (Arnould & Price, 1993; Celsi et al.,
1993; Schouten et al., 2007; Tumbat & Belk, 2011).
As for brand experience, the literature is a nascent one. The concept acquired its
formal denition only recently as subjective, internal consumer responses (sensa-
tions, feelings, and cognitions) and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related
stimuli that are part of a brands design and identity, packaging, communications,
and environments (Brakus et al., 2009, p. 53). Brand experience is further concep-
tualized as consisting of sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual dimensions.
The sensory dimension represents the degree to which the brand appeals to con-
sumers sensory qualities such as vision and sound. The affective dimension repre-
sents the emotional appeal and content of the brand. The behavioral dimension
represents the degree to which the brand spurs physical actions. The intellectual
dimension represents the degree to which the brand induces cognitive thoughts.
Developed based on everyday use occasion of product brands, the aforemen-
tioned dimensions have been replicated across retailing (Dolbec & Chebat, 2013)
and service contexts (Nysveen et al., 2013). However, Brakus and colleagues con-
ceptualization of brand experience may not be readily applicable to event market-
ing contexts. Since the conceptualization is not proposed with event marketing in
mind, it may not necessarily reect the interactive, novelty, and involvement
aspects of consumers participation in promotional events. Although Brakus and
colleagues conceptualization does offer a useful starting point, it does not fully
reect the spectrum of consumer experiences that emerge during event marketing
contexts.
The present study, building on Brakus et al. (2009) and other relevant studies on
consumer experiences, proposes a fresh conceptualization of brand experience. The
proposed conceptualization taps into the interactive, novelty, and high involvement
aspects of consumers participation in promotional events. Before introducing the
conceptualization, however, an outline of our methodology is in order.

Methodology
This study was conducted based on data collected from the 2013 edition of the
Geneva Motor Show. The Geneva Motor Show, held annually in Geneva, Switzer-
land, is widely regarded as one of the top ve international motor shows globally.
The 2013 edition of the Geneva Motor Show attracted more than 700,000 visitors,
10,000 journalists, and 840 exhibiting car companies from around the world.
40 W. TAFESSE

International motor shows such as the Geneva Motor Show provide an ideal
empirical setting to study brand experience in an event marketing context. First,
international motor shows are quite popular in the automotive industry and
exhibit all the important characteristics of event marketing as discussed in section 2
(Tafesse et al., 2014). Second, brands and experiences constitute the two central
elements of international motor shows, making them particularly pertinent to our
studys objective of explaining brand experience in an event marketing context
(Tafesse et al., 2014).
The study was specically based on four conveniently selected European and
Asian car brands that attended the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. A multitude of
approaches were employed to collect data from these four car brands. First, the
researchers were allowed full access to the display stands of all four brands, allow-
ing for a careful observation and recording of the spatial arrangement of the dis-
play stands using eld notes, photographs, and videos. The researchers further
explored a diverse array of secondary information about the activities of the four
brands at the Geneva Motor Show, including corporate press releases, ofcial video
clips, and online news stories.
Second, senior managers of the four car brands were briey interviewed. An
extended interview was impossible due to the managers tight schedules. The man-
agers hold such positions as Marketing Manager, Communications Manager, and
Marketing & PR Manager. Third, direct, in-person observations and analysis of
video clips were used to collect data about consumers experiences inside the dis-
play stands of the four car brands. The researchers observed and recorded, using
eld notes, consumers activities inside the four stands. In addition to this, the
researchers analyzed scores of company and user-generated video clips document-
ing consumers activities at the Geneva Motor Show. At the end of these observa-
tions, short notes were produced summarizing important elements of consumers
interactions with brands.
The conceptualization of brand experience proposed in this article emerged
from an interpretive analysis and triangulation of the multifaceted data from the
aforementioned sources. In particular, the eld and summary notes proved useful
by simplifying the triangulation process, which drew on what Thompson (1997)
called the hermeneutic approach. In this process, provisional understandings are
formed based on analysis of eld notes. These provisional understandings are then
revised and further developed through an iterative movement between emerging
understandings and the original materials.

A conceptualization of brand experience

Based on the results of the data analysis, brand experience is herein conceptualized
as consumers multifaceted interaction with brands enabled through four interre-
lated processes of multisensory stimulation, bodily performance, social interaction,
and discovery/learning. These interrelated interaction processes trigger perceptual
 JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT 41

experience, embodied experience, social experience, and epistemic experience,

respectively. In the following, the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of the
four dimensions of brand experience are discussed.

Multisensory stimulation (perceptual experience)

Multisensory stimulation is the rst process through which consumers accessed
the car brands displayed at the four stands. Multisensory stimulation represents
the simultaneous activation of ones sensory qualities. As noted earlier, phenome-
nology views multisensory activations as the primary process through which peo-
ple come to a state of experience (Seigel, 2010). This view is summarized in Joy
and Sherry (2003) assertion that experience is the simultaneity with which people
see, hear, feel, taste and smell [brands] (p. 259).
The four focal companies facilitated multisensory stimulation by richly infusing
their display stands with various sensory brand cues. This approach, which can be
seen as an elaborate case of theme branding (Borghini et al., 2009), is applied to
the physical structure underpinning the display stands as well as to the interior
equipment and objects of the display stands. This brand-centered spatial arrange-
ment afforded three types of perceptual experience: visual, auditory, and olfactory.
First, the objects and equipment inside the display stands were richly imbued
with imposing and illuminated visual brand cues, such as brand logos, brand
slogans and brand imageries. In addition, large display screens were installed
inside the stands, imparting a continuous stream of brand advertisements and
other visual brand messages. This visually rich brand environment rendered the
car brands visually accessible to consumers. Second, sound systems were widely
employed across the four stands. The sound systems were integrated into differ-
ent parts of the stands and were used to play mood-setting music, as well as
brand tunes, brand advertisements, and other audio messages. The large display
screens also contributed to the enrichment of the sound cues inside the display
stands. This rich auditory environment rendered the displayed car brands audi-
torily accessible to consumers. Third, there were attempts to activate consum-
ers sense of smell at two levels. First, knowing their strong olfactory attraction,
car companies displayed freshly assembled cars. As any car enthusiast would
tell, the scent of newly assembled cars is a source of great olfactory pleasure.
Second, some car brands used special substances to generate pleasant fragrances
inside their display stands. For instance, Nissan has recently started scenting its
display stands in all the major automotive shows that it attends (Nissan News
Release, 2013). Such systematic use of distinctive scents further affords the pos-
sibility to experience and associate brands through olfactory cues.
Overall, the theme-branded design, spatial arrangement, and furnishing of the
display stands seem to have simultaneously activated consumers senses of vision,
hearing, and smell in relation to the focal brand. These multisensory stimulations
facilitated rich perceptual experiences, potentially leaving durable brand traces in
42 W. TAFESSE

consumers long-term memory and eliciting positive emotional responses, such as

fun, excitement, and brand involvement (Joy & Sherry, 2003; Hoch, 2002). From
Overall, the theme-branded design, spatial arrangement, and furnishing of the dis-
play stands have helped simultaneously activate consumers senses of vision, hear-
ing and smell in relation to the focal brands. These multisensory stimulations
facilitated rich perceptual experiences, potentially leaving durable brand traces in
consumers long-term memory and eliciting positive emotional responses, such as
fun, excitement, and brand involvement (Joy & Sherry, 2003; Hoch, 2002). From
marketers point of view, such strong affective responses are benecial for cultivat-
ing long-term brand relationships (Brakus et al., 2009; Martensen et al., 2007).

Bodily performance (embodied experience)

Bodily performance is the second process through which consumers experienced
the car brands at the four stands. Bodily performance represents an active, purpo-
sive, and coordinated use of the body to complete meaningful, physical gestalts
(Joy & Sherry, 2003; Thompson et al., 1989). Common examples of bodily per-
formances, within the realm of consumption experience, include movement,
touching, tactile exploration, and experimentation, among others. These bodily
performances could be enacted upon objects, artifacts, products, or natural phe-
nomena that may constitute the focus of consumer experience (Joy & Sherry,
2003; McCarthy & Ciol, 2008).
A key insight that emerged from the observation of consumers activities at the
four stands, as well as the analysis of relevant video clips, is that motor show visits
generally draw on consumers embodied presence (Rinallo et al., 2010). Consumers
must be physically present and must actively and consciously perform a variety of
embodied actions to be able to construct a personal experience of the motor show
and indeed individual car brands (Gopalakrishna, Roster, & Sridhar, 2010; Rinallo
et al., 2010). Important forms of bodily performances observed at the Geneva
Motor Show included walking, navigating, movement, touching, handling, testing,
and experimenting.
Some of these performances (e.g., walking and navigating) were applied to navi-
gate consumers way through the vast expanse of the motor show, while the other
performances (e.g., movement, touching, handling, testing, and experimenting)
were applied to construct an embodied experience of the individual car brands.
Once consumers arrived at their preferred stands, they began to coordinate a series
of performances aimed at exploring the car brands from various angles and van-
tage points. Consumers were observed, both physically and via video clips, walking
slowly and in a circular fashion to achieve a 360 view of the displayed car brands.
This coordinated movement allowed consumers to closely examine, touch, and
feel the exterior elements of the car brands. Some consumers were observed enter-
ing the cars and exploring the material quality and interior feel of the cars, often
from the vantage point of the drivers seat. These same consumers were further
 JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT 43

observed testing, operating, and experimenting with the instrumentation and

accessories of the car brands. A small proportion of consumers changed seats and
explored the cars from their new position. These series of bodily performances
empowered consumers to construct an embodied experience of the car brands.
In combination, the various embodied actions performed by consumers gener-
ated a rsthand information about the material quality, craftsmanship, comfort,
spaciousness, and overall feel of the displayed car brands (Joy & Sherry, 2003;
McCarthy & Ciol, 2008). By walking around, touching, handling, and experi-
menting with the exterior and interior of the car brands, consumers achieved a tex-
tured experience, empowering them to understand and connect with the car
brands both physically and emotionally. It is doubtful if consumers would have
achieved such intimate connection with the car brands had their interaction been
limited to multisensory stimulation. In short, embodied experience appears to be
highly effective in triggering intimate physical and emotional connections with
brands.

Social interaction (social experience)

Social interaction is the third process through which consumers experienced the
car brands at the four stands. Social interaction encompasses the various forms of
verbal and non-verbal exchanges and interactions between consumers and stand
representatives inside the display stands. Consistent with works that accentuate
the role of social interactions during company orchestrated brand events (e.g.,
Schouten et al., 2007), this study found the various forms of exchanges and interac-
tions between consumers and stand representatives to have an experiential compo-
nent. To fully appreciate this point, it may be important to treat stand
representatives as spokespersons for the displayed car brands (Fournier, 1998).
The idea of a spokesperson does not suggest that brands cannot communicate
meaning by themselves. Indeed, an inuential body of research has already estab-
lished that brands are capable of communicating complex meaning to consumers
through such mechanisms as anthropomorphism, brand personality, and associa-
tion (Aaker, 1997; Fournier, 1998). Nevertheless, to the extent that brands are only
symbolic objects, they cannot engage consumers in the kind of lively, two-way
interaction of which humans are capable. To do that, brands must rely on human
agency, and it is basically this human agencyas denoted by stand representa-
tivesthat is here argued as having an experiential component.
The data indicated that the brand agency of stand representatives operated, as a
source of brand experience, at two levels. First, stand representatives engaged con-
sumers in direct, verbal communication. This verbal communication supplied con-
sumers with vital information about the functional, transactional and
environmental aspects of the car brands. Second, and perhaps more importantly,
stand representatives engaged consumers in nonverbal communication. Stand rep-
resentatives appearance, presentation skills, dress code, and gestures convene
44 W. TAFESSE

meanings about the brand personality, usage imagery, and association of the focal
brand (Aaker, 1997; Borghini et al., 2009; Fournier, 1998). This perhaps explains
why the car companies were particularly mindful of the appearance of stand repre-
sentatives. There was a clear understanding that the stand representatives must
perfectly embody the brand, as one senior marketing manager put it.
The brand experience that consumers derived from stand representatives verbal
and non-verbal cues is distinct from the two experience dimensions discussed ear-
lier. While perceptual and embodied experiences are triggered as consumers inter-
act with product brands and the physical space in which they are embedded,
social experience is triggered as consumers interact with brand representatives.
Thus, social experience is a distinctively social phenomenon that arises from
human interactions, rendering it a powerful tool to create a strong social attach-
ment to the brand (Nyseveen et al., 2013). Social experience offers a referent point
to associate the brand with specic human qualities. Event marketers can, thus,
leverage the social element of brand experience to reinforce consumers sense of
community and brand identication (Park et al., 2010; Schouten et al., 2007).

Discovery/learning (epistemic experience)

Discovery/learning is the fourth process through which consumers experienced the
car brands at the four stands. Discovery/learning in this context epitomizes the
process by which consumers discover and learn relevant and original factual infor-
mation about the displayed car brands (Hoch, 2002). The subject of consumers
epistemic experience can be about the functional, symbolic or historical aspects of
brands.
Consumers discover and learn novel ideas and insights about the displayed car
brands through a combination of self-initiated learning efforts (e.g., reading prod-
uct specications, attending presentations, tactile exploration of car brands) as
well as car companies elaborate educational programs (e.g., presentations, product
demonstrations, content streaming devices). Theoretically, epistemic experience
can be viewed as part of consumers intrinsic need for novelty. As empirically
shown in CCT, novelty is an important element and precursor of extraordinary
consumer experiences. For instance, Arnould and Price (1993) characterized
extraordinary consumer experiences as having a sense of newness of perception
(p. 25), while Tumbat and Belk (2011) characterized them as new and liberating
experiences (p. 44).
Consistent with this, car companies emphasized novelty in their motor show
programs. For instance, the four brands we studied introduced two premiers, two
concept cars, and a number of substantially enhanced new model years. At the
overall Geneva Motor Show level, there were 135 premier and concept cars in total.
Even the non-premier, non-concept cars often exhibit substantial enhancement in
design, technology, and performance. In addition to introducing an inux of new
products and innovations, car companies further activated consumers sense of
 JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT 45

discovery/learning by employing skilled stand representatives and mobile devices

that offer on-demand information. Consumers exploited these facilities to discover
and learn new and relevant information and insights about the car brands. These
efforts collectively resulted in an epistemic experience.
Thus, consumers epistemic experience is qualitatively different from consum-
ers perceptual, embodied, and social experience. Through discovery/learning,
what consumers come to experience is noveltyan organized thread of original
facts, ideas, insights, and events associated with the focal brand. As such, epistemic
experience can be viewed as a cognitive phenomenon that requires consumers to
absorb new information and ideas. It is this emphasis on novel external stimuli,
that lead to the juxtaposition of epistemic brand experience as a self-enhancing
and transformative phenomenon (Arnould & Price, 1993; Schouten et al., 2007).
Furthermore, relative to the three other dimensions of brand experience, epistemic
experience holds greater narrative quality in that consumers could easily recollect
novel experiences and recount them to others (Arnould & Price, 1993; Borgihini
et al., 2009). Therefore, epistemic experience can leave a potentially long-lasting
impact on consumers attitude about the brand.

Discussion and implications

Despite their rapid diffusion in the marketplace, research establishing connection
between brand experience and event marketing has been quite limited (Wood,
2009; Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2013). This study was an effort to contribute to this
area by developing a focused understanding of brand experience in an event mar-
keting context. Drawing on pertinent theory and a rich qualitative dataset, the
study conceptualized brand experience as consumers multifaceted interaction
with brands enabled through four interrelated processes of multisensory stimula-
tion, bodily performance, social interaction, and discovery/learning. In turn, these
interaction processes triggered perceptual, embodied, social, and epistemic experi-
ence. The current ndings offer three important theoretical contributions, with
corresponding managerial implications.
First, the proposed conceptualization established brand experience as a contextu-
ally embedded phenomenon. That is, brand experience stems not only from con-
sumers interaction with product brands, but also from consumers interaction with
the physical and social space in which the product brands are embedded. As our
data indicated, consumers interaction with theme branded display stands was
instrumental in affording visual and auditory experience, while consumers interac-
tion with stand representatives was instrumental in affording social experience.
These experiences could not have been activated if consumers interacted with prod-
uct brands alone. The managerial implication of this point is, therefore, that prod-
ucts must be embedded within a carefully branded physical and social space in
order to activate the full spectrum of brand experience. Decoupled from their
proper physical and social contexts, product brands might not be able to evoke
46 W. TAFESSE

brand experience in its complete form. Therefore, event marketers must pay atten-
tion to the physical and social space in which product brands are presented.
Second, the proposed conceptualization juxtaposed brand experience as a
subjective phenomenon. Because consumers select, combine, and congure the
brand cues available to them in a subjective way, the brand experience that
they ultimately construct differs accordingly. Whilst some consumers actively
interact with all or most of the brand cues available to them, other consumers
only interact with part of the brand cues available to them. Because of this, con-
sumers end up constructing different types of brand experiences even if they
encountered the same brand environment. The managerial implication of the
subjective notion of brand experience is, thus, to acknowledge consumers pro-
pensity to construct brand experience subjectively, and to personalize
approaches used to enhance consumers brand experience. For instance, brand
facilitated cues and stimulus variables may need to be varied to be able to
appeal to different consumer segments.
Third, the proposed conceptualization juxtaposed brand experience as a co-cre-
ated phenomenon. Brand experience arises under the condition that marketers
facilitate relevant brand cues and consumers actively interact with them. If one of
these two critical elements is missing, brand experience cannot be fully activated.
As marketers facilitate multiple brand cues including product brands, brand repre-
sentatives, and theme branded physical space, consumers produce the intrinsic
motivation, embodied performances and cognitive processes to meaningfully inter-
act with these brand cues. Therefore, the co-creation view of brand experience
focuses managerial attention not only on the role of brand-facilitated brand cues
but also on the role of consumer engagement. In particular, enhancing consumer
engagement requires designing experiences that reect consumers individual level
interests, motivations and desires. Only such personalized experiences are able to
elicit positive emotional, cognitive and embodied brand responses.
Finally, some comments on limitations and future research are in order.
First, the proposed conceptualization of brand experience is yet to be validated
quantitatively on a large sample base. Therefore, developing a multi-item mea-
surement scale for the proposed conceptualization of brand experience is an
important priority. The development of a sound measurement scale will pave
the way for subsequent validation of the proposed dimensions of brand expe-
rience. Second, the proposed conceptualization of brand experience draws on
a single event marketing context (i.e., international motor shows). The pro-
posed conceptualization of brand experience could be extended to other event
marketing approaches, such as product launches, event sponsorships, and
online brand events. Such efforts can lead to useful theoretical renements
and extensions. Finally, the paper is limited in not demonstrating how the
four dimensions of brand experience relate to other brand outcome variables,
such as brand satisfaction, brand attitude and brand loyalty. Researchers can
address this important issue in the future.
 JOURNAL OF PROMOTION MANAGEMENT 47

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