Distinguishing Chalk from Cheese: A 3-I "festivalscape" Typology of Cheese Festival Visitors

Abstract

This research identified and segmented visitors to a premier South African cheese festival based on their satisfaction with the "festivalscape" elements at the festival. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from visitors over the 3 days of the festival, and 515 usable questionnaires were included in the analysis. Eight "festivalscapes" were identified (aesthetics and group composition, accessibility and parking, cheese knowledge, festival management, cheese experience, convenience and marketing, entertainment, and interaction), a combination that has not been previously identified in the literature. The cluster analysis identified three distinct segments, with heterogeneous behavioral and sociodemographic profile identifiers. To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first attempt to segment culinary visitors based on "festivalscape" factors, especially in the South African context. Segmenting based on "festivalscapes" proved to be a useful market segmentation tool and the authors proposed a 3-I typology of visitors to food-related events and festivals, namely Irrespectives, Intriguers, and Intentionalists. The labels correspond to each segment's level of satisfaction, ranging from low, medium, to high. The value of this critical market segmentation technique for the marketing and branding of an event or festival is that it could help managers and marketers to promote better culinary events and festivals in South Africa by offering unique attributes that attract culinary visitors.