Consumption Experience, Essential Factor in Destination Branding: A Semiotic Approach

• Author: Soica, S.
• Position: Faculty of Food and Tourism, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 323-332

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 6 (55) No. 2 - 2013

CONSUMPTION EXPERIENCE,

ESSENTIAL FACTOR IN

DESTINATION BRANDING:

A SEMIOTIC APPROACH

Simona ŞOICA1

Abstract: The theoretical framework of the article falls within the realm of

consumer culture regarded as symbolic consumption, with focus on the

experiential aspect of the consumer culture. The analytical framework of the

article, on the other hand, falls within the realm of communication studies,

i.e. semiotic perspective upon consumption, with focus on visual, symbolic

consumption of objects. The research boundaries being delineated, the

article presents the results of an in-depth analysis of signs of tourist

experience as expressed in travel narratives. The aim is to suggest

considering consumers’ experience of a place when building a destination

brand. Destination branding consists of several phases and what the article

brings forward is intended to be an element of the first phase, that is analysis

and strategic recommendations for developing a destination brand.

Key words: consumption experience, semiotics, destination branding.

1 Faculty of Food and Tourism, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

“If people do not travel, they lose status:

travel is the marker of status. It is a

crucial element of modern life to feel that

travel and holidays are necessary” says J.

Urry (2002a) in his reference work on

tourism, viewed from a social and cultural

perspective, making appeal to Feifer

(1985 apud J. Urry 2002: 4, 5). Following

the same idea in order to ground their

work on destination branding, N. Morgan,

A. Pritchard and R. Pride state that

“choice of holiday destination is a

significant lifestyle indicator for today’s

aspirational consumers and the places

where they choose to spend their

squeezed vacation time and hard-earned

income increasingly have to have

emotional appeal, high conversational

capital and even celebrity value” (N.

Morgan, A. Pritchard and R. Pri de, 2004:

4).

Given the increasing value of the

visiting-and-seeing-a-place product, the

place, like any other product to be

consumed, is submitted to branding

strategies developed to take something

common and improve upon it in ways that

make it more valuable and meaningful

(the concept of branding analyzed by P.

Kotler, 2006).

N. Morgan, A. Pritchard and R. Pride

are right to say that “places currently offer

the greatest untapped branding

opportunities” and in this study, which is