Experiential marketing: A tool to maximize the contribution of natural history museums to the Bioeconomy

Abstract

Natural history museums are key stakeholders of the bioeconomy. They contribute to the bioeconomy by increasing the bioecological knowledge of the public. This chapter suggests that their contribution can be maximized if they apply the right marketing practices. In this sense, experiential marketing, which aims to provide individual, enjoyable, and engaging educational experiences to customers, seems to be the best approach. Accordingly, the three most visited natural history museums were examined in order to highlight experiential marketing practices that can help to maximize the contribution of natural history museums to the bioeconomy. The findings revealed six marketing practices: holistic experience design, storytelling boosters, sensory interactive elements, participatory interactive elements, co-creation, and online interactive elements. In the last section, detailed practical suggestions on these practices are presented for natural history museum professionals. © 2023, IGI Global.