Events 2.0 in the transmedia branding strategy of world cultural heritage sites

Abstract

The events designed and disseminated through social networks and from the perspective of transmedia storytelling are integrated into territorial marketing strategies as resources that reinforce the value of destinations. This type of events is key element in the construction of the World Heritage Sites (Unesco) brands. The new role of tourists as proactive users and the engagement generated towards the destination management organization are decisive elements for the online reputation management of territories. The monitoring of events let us evaluate the participation and interaction of tourist users in platforms 2.0. The aim of this research is to analyze the engagement (global, positive and negative) of events 2.0 integrated into the marketing strategy of the 40 World Cultural Heritage Sites in Spain on Facebook and Twitter. These social networks are the most frequently used in marketing strategies of destination marketing organizations. An exploratory study of events integrated in digital tourism marketing strategy of the World Cultural Heritage Sites is carried out through content analysis. Results show that there are substantial differences in the management of events 2.0. The different levels of interaction (reactions, sharing and comments) allow the destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to evaluate the rate of engagement. This latter parameter can be used as a reference for the efficient design of future events linked to the 2.0 promotion of cultural destinations.