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Stakeholder reactions to campaigns sometimes trigger heated online discussions.
Online discourse not only concerns tourism, but also topics such as the environment or politics.
Online comments can strengthen brands - or damage them.
Destinations should involve stakeholders at an early stage and actively monitor online reactions.
Summary of this study
Purpose of the study
The study investigates how people talk about a destination online after certain stakeholders (e.g. media or local organizations) have reacted to an image video of that destination. The aim is to better understand how such reactions influence the perception and communication around a brand.
Procedure
The researchers analyzed 2,187 online comments on 19 media articles about an image video - both manually and with the help of software. Key topics discussed online were identified.
Results
The study shows that the reactions of interest groups trigger many online discussions - both in the tourism sector and beyond. These discussions can either strengthen the brand (brand creation) or damage it (brand destruction). The study thus extends previous research, which has mostly focused on direct contact between customers and service.
Practical significance
The findings help destinations to better plan communication campaigns. The authors provide recommendations on how to promote online discussions that benefit the brand - and how to avoid negative effects.
Special feature of the study
In contrast to previous studies, this study is the first to shed light on how online discourse arises from the reactions of interest groups - and shows that both positive and negative effects on the brand image are possible.
Findings from this study
- Reactions of destination interest groups to brand communication trigger a variety of online user discourses.
- These online discussions develop both within the tourism system (e.g. destination marketing, perception of the destination) and outside (e.g. agriculture, politics, environment, health)
- The opinions and attitudes expressed in the user comments reflect both brand value creation (co-creation) and brand damage (co-destruction)
- The research shows that stakeholder reactions trigger discussions in the narrower tourism system (inner system) as well as in overarching social areas (outer system).
- The study recommends that destination management organizations analyze and include stakeholder interests in all phases of their campaigns. In addition, online discussions should be closely monitored in order to promote positive brand development and counteract negative effects.