Abstract
Today, experiences that emphasise many known areas suggest that consumers do not only buy products or services, but they also buy a holistic experience that includes purchasing processes. In this context, the contemporary museum understanding implies that experiences are more important and gives its visitors the message that “I understand what you are looking for and design it for you” is becoming widespread. This study aims to explain museum experiences by making use of consumer experience scales in today's conditions when the contemporary understanding of museums is becoming popular. It was observed that the Hatay Archaeological Museum, in Turkey, undertook the mission of creating value for its visitors with experiential marketing techniques, the works in the museum were arranged and exhibited in a way that allows guests and customers to have social, purposeful, cognitive, and introspection experiences. The study revealed museum visitors' experiences and emotions and the sensory stimulants by which they are impressed.
TopBackground
Today, developing technologies and rapid changes in the increase of ecosystems have also reflected on consumers’ behaviours, and this situation suggests that experiences are put into the centre, and consumers purchase a holistic experience that includes not only the functional benefits of products or services, but also purchasing processes. In this regard, it is possible to state that the development of strategies to provide consumers with experiences has become a necessity rather than a choice. In this period, where the concept of experiential marketing is put into the centre, it has become important to offer unforgettable experiences to consumers.
In this context, there have also been changes in the services offered by changing consumers, and this situation has affected museums and visitors, too. Today, when traditional museums have given way to contemporary museums, the concept of museums has also started to change its definitions. Apart from the responsibility of collecting in the past, museums have undertaken the mission of creating value, and experiential marketing activities have been included in museums. According to the new understanding of museums, museum visitors have shown a development ranging from stranger to guest, and in turn, from guest to customer (Doering, 1999), and it was aimed that the works in museums are exhibited in a way that can provide visitors with purposeful, cognitive, introspective and social experiences, and that visitors can turn these experiences into memories that they cannot forget. This new understanding, which is called contemporary museology, not only collects, preserves, displays and documents work like traditional museology, but it also mediates the sharing of them with international art environments by adding value to these cultural identity elements and making art easily accessible to the masses.
In this study, it was aimed to define the museum experiences, emotions and sensory stimulants to be impressed by from the perspectives of visitors of the Hatay Archeology Museum, where the new museum concept called contemporary museology prevails and where augmented reality applications are used. In September-October 2019, a survey was conducted with 300 participants, including 160 men and 140 women.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Dimensions of Experience: Experiential marketing consists of many sub-dimensions. Schmitt (2003) argued that customers can have five experiences different from each other: sensory (sense) experience, emotional (feel) experience, think experience, relate experience, and behavioral (act) experience.
Modern Museology: Is versatile and open to innovation. Within the framework of this understanding, it uses new display techniques to tell the stories of the collections and activities such as permanent-temporary exhibitions that appeal to museum visitors. The interest of the visitor is enriched by using audio, directors with decor, costume, model model, model, mummy, headphone and/or telephone arrangement to strengthen the narration as well as displaying in the showcase, on the stand or on the wall panels, which we often encounter in the classical museum presentation. kept alive. In the contemporary museum approach, it is important to establish communication between the museum and the audience. While visiting with guides, watching the dia-movie shows, organizing seminars, performing workshop training applications, the trip becomes fun and educational. An effective presentation is realized by using the opportunities brought by technology such as computer aided exhibition, touch and interactive system and simulator.
Experiential marketing: It focuses on providing the benefit of the brand to the consumer by providing the opportunity to experience the product or service without purchasing it yet. It allows the brand to interact directly with the consumer and ensures that the consumer is part of the brand experience. This is a much more effective method than showing ordinary advertising to the consumer in any media.
Consumer: The person who needs different subjects in order to sustain his life and has the opportunities or opportunities to fix it.
Hatay Archeology Museum: Is the largest mosaic museum in Turkey. Hatay Archeology Museum serves the visitors with all the equipment of contemporary museology. In the museum, there are many important works from Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Hittite, Hellenistic, Roman, Eastern Roman, Seljuk and Ottoman periods, and the museum has the title of the largest mosaic in the world.
Consumer Behavior: It can be defined as a process that includes decisions and activities related to selecting, purchasing, using and disposing products and services to meet the wishes and needs of individuals or groups.
Experience: Is the accumulation of knowledge on a subject over time, practical contact with and observation of facts or events.
Museums: The museum is the place or structures where works of art and science or objects useful for arts and science are kept and displayed for public display.It is an institution that is at the service of society and development, open to the public, researches, collects, protects, shares information and displays information in the direction of examination, education and pleasure, and is independent of profit thinking.