Pre-event marketing of trail running events: stories of people, places and experiences

Summary of the study

The use of storytelling in destination marketing is well researched, but the role of events in this context has been little studied. The aim of this study is to investigate how two different trail running events in Innsbruck, Austria, use storytelling elements in their pre-event communication strategy. It also analyzes how stories about the two events are linked together to create a shared meaning around the image of Innsbruck as an alpine-urban destination. Stories on the event websites, social media, local and national media and promotional materials will be thematically analyzed to explore the similarities and differences in storytelling approaches. The results show that both events use a combination of three specific elements - people, place and experience. However, they use different strategies to draw on each other's story to shape the overall story of the destination. Accordingly, this study makes theoretical and practical contributions to the field of event marketing knowledge.

Key findings of this study

• Both trail running events studied use a combination of the elements of people, place and experience in their pre-event communication to tell stories.
• The events pursue different strategies to link their stories with each other and thus shape the alpine-urban image of Innsbruck.
• The element of place is most prominent in the pre-communication, with the World Championships emphasizing the destination and the festival highlighting the uniqueness of the running routes.
• The experience is promoted by the World Championships as a general sports and nature experience, while the festival uses the hosting of the World Championships as a unique experience.
• The study contributes to the understanding of how events contribute to the overall story of a destination and provides practical implications for event and destination marketing.