Advertising mass tourism destinations : Mediterranean brand confusion

Abstract

Brand confusion takes place when a person views an advertisement for a particular brand as a communication about a different brand. This empirical study was conducted in a sample of 134 men and women, and based on 24 mass tourism destination advertisements of 8 different Mediterranean countries. Advertisements that were perceived as likeable and distinctive, and that were not information-overloaded suffered less from brand confusion. Destination brands with weak advertising support were found to be more vulnerable to brand confusion. Consumers with higher levels of product category involvement and higher levels of brand awareness and brand loyalty appear to confuse mass tourism destination brands less frequently.