Social media influencers in destination marketing. A case study of Visit Tampere, Finland
Javits, Olga (2019)
2019
Master's Degree Programme in Media Management
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2019-06-11
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-201907122564
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-201907122564
Tiivistelmä
Tourism products are difficult to asses prior to their purchase, and consumers tend to rely on word-of-mouth recommendations before making a travel decision. When choosing a destination, travelers trust peer recommendations and user-generated content, rating it higher than traditional advertising. This makes online influencer marketing a strategically important tool for destination marketers. In order to reach their target demographics and secure an authentic presence in niche communities, destinations should allocate an important role to this form of marketing and integrate it into their marketing strategies.
The topic of influencer marketing has been receiving increasing academic consideration. Nevertheless, studies focused on this form of marketing in destination promotion are still scarce. Research demonstrates a gap in how destinations implement influencer marketing to support their strategic marketing objectives, how they identify a suitable influencer and gauge the effectiveness of their influencer collaborations, as well as the role of a manager throughout the whole process of place marketing via influencers. Understanding these processes is crucial for destination marketers in order to obtain results with their influencer activities and generate a better return on investments.
The thesis relies on a case study and employs such qualitative methods as semi-structured interviews and observation. The interviews with the studied company’s marketing managers are used as a primary source of data for addressing the research questions, and their results are compared and contrasted against the results of the observation.
The study uncovers the reasons behind the DMO integrating influencer marketing into its marketing strategy and demonstrates how this tool supports the marketing objectives of the destination. It also sheds light on the measurement approaches that the DMO applies to its influencer collaborations and suggests more trackable targets than awareness of the destination. The empirical study advances the understanding of the strategic role of a manager of influencer marketing activities in destination marketing and argues that a manager’s input into each collaboration is an essential prerequisite for successful results. In addition, it generates insights into how the DMO could shape its influencer marketing activities into a more strategic process.
The topic of influencer marketing has been receiving increasing academic consideration. Nevertheless, studies focused on this form of marketing in destination promotion are still scarce. Research demonstrates a gap in how destinations implement influencer marketing to support their strategic marketing objectives, how they identify a suitable influencer and gauge the effectiveness of their influencer collaborations, as well as the role of a manager throughout the whole process of place marketing via influencers. Understanding these processes is crucial for destination marketers in order to obtain results with their influencer activities and generate a better return on investments.
The thesis relies on a case study and employs such qualitative methods as semi-structured interviews and observation. The interviews with the studied company’s marketing managers are used as a primary source of data for addressing the research questions, and their results are compared and contrasted against the results of the observation.
The study uncovers the reasons behind the DMO integrating influencer marketing into its marketing strategy and demonstrates how this tool supports the marketing objectives of the destination. It also sheds light on the measurement approaches that the DMO applies to its influencer collaborations and suggests more trackable targets than awareness of the destination. The empirical study advances the understanding of the strategic role of a manager of influencer marketing activities in destination marketing and argues that a manager’s input into each collaboration is an essential prerequisite for successful results. In addition, it generates insights into how the DMO could shape its influencer marketing activities into a more strategic process.