If Destination Managers Organizations want to improve city residents’ quality of life, tourism events play a useful role. Particularly, two marketing strategies embedded in a public mega-event have proven to be quite effective: (a) an experiential marketing strategy based on emotions encouraged during the event and (b) a green marketing strategy based on green actions linked to the event. First, these mega-events (such as Fallas de Valencia in Spain or Festival de Aguas Calientes in México) should start by triggering residents’ experiential emotions, particularly in countries such as Spain. Second, for high-context cities, such as México, we recommend using green mega-events, that is, events promoting an individual ecological orientation among the participants. Consequently, to encourage individual commitment to the environment, we recommend that businesses and public authorities use experiential strategies that lead to care for the environment while enjoying it and thus are easier to remember (i.e., to develop an effective waste collection program in the mega-event).

METHOD

Sample justification

For the present research, two countries, representing two levels of context influence, were chosen following Mattila (2000): Mexico and Spain. We have chosen these two countries to compare the suitability of our proposed marketing strategies in two different scenes. Mexico was chosen, because as Bello et al. (2006) explain, this country can be considered a high-context one. This consideration is also inferred in the studies by Greenfield and Quiroz (2013), Kim et al. (1998), and Takada and Jain (1991).

In both countries two comparable mega-events applying our two proposed marketing strategies were selected (San Marcos Fair and Fallas): both events are promoted and designed by public governments, respond to cultural traditions, and last for around one week. More specifically:

     First, regarding experiential marketing strategy, both events encourage experiences. Specifically, the mega-events encourage participation in open-air activities (processions, flower offerings to the Virgin, dancing, etc.), live music spectacles, firework shows, and so on. They stimulate attendees’ interaction in different events (social networks and public invitations to participate in several events of the mega-event). In addition, to reinforce the experiences, residents’ co-creation and immersion in the event are encouraged (Kao et al., 2007).

     Second, regarding the green marketing strategy, the two events try to stimulate an ecological orientation using similar measures: ecological sponsors, which are displayed during the celebration of some public events as part of the mega-event (e.g. Heineken and its “think in green” campaign), recycling measures to keep the city clean and tidy during the event, and the use of new, less polluting materials and non-plastic elements to manufacture the different monuments that are used for preparing the spectacles and consciousness measures to prevent acoustic pollution.

Measurement scales

To analyse the several concepts proposed in the literature, multiple five-point Likert scales were identified.

Data

Qualitative research was undertaken to pre-test the questionnaire (Marín & Vila, 2014). Subsequently, quantitative research was carried out with the help of 406 residents (202 in Mexico, attending the National Fair of San Marcos, and 204 in Spain, attending Fallas de Valencia). Following Getz and Page (2016) suggestion, data was collected while residents were experiencing the mega-event.

     Firstly, the respondents were analysed as a whole to achieve our first objective: to compare the strategieS. Then, the sample was split into two groups (the Spanish sub-sample and the Mexican sub-sample) to attain our second objective: to analyse the cross-cultural differences.