Schmitt, Experiential Marketing(1999) in relation to Banksy's Dismaland

In Schmitt's Experiential Marketing (1999), it is suggested that traditional marketing methods are not used as often in this day and age, because people and technology are continuously changing throughout time.

Schmitt describes traditional marketing methods as an 'engineer-driven theory' and is 'hardly a psychologically based theory about customers and how they view and react to products and competition'.

An example of how technology in marketing has been used and developed is Banksy's 'Dismaland', which opened on the 20th August, 2015 in Weston-super-Mare.'Dismaland' can be described as the complete opposite of 'Disneyland', Walt Disney's fun and enthusiastic theme park for all ages. Banksy has managed to create a theme park that is lifeless and has nothing but sadness and pessimism, which makes it seem more novel; therefore increasing the interest of customers. The 'theme park' has many attractions, such as, a broken down castle, ill looking migrants on a boat and floating on water and the paparazzi taking photos of Cinderella in her overturned coach, that has clearly crashed.

Dismaland employee with Mickey Mouse ears looking depressed about life

However, the novelty of the attraction is not actually what brought 'Dismaland' the publicity and the success that it had. It was in fact the clever marketing that behind the madness. The marketing was made up of a lack of contact with the audience and a strong theme of promotion through technology and social media. This reflects Schmitt's (1999) theory of  how traditional marketing is not as commonly used, as 'Dismaland' managed to create a substantial reaction through letting potential customers know that it has just opened by blowing up the internet with pictures and videos of the attraction from different news channels. Schmitt also discusses the good use of holistic experiences, in which 'Dismaland' may fit in, as it is a 'bemusement park' (opposite of amusement) that has been developed and thought through outside of the box. This approach is clearly well thought out, as it is the first time anything like this has been seen; which has therefore created a large reaction, due to the attractions within, that reflect current issues in the world, such as migrants dangerously leaving their country for shelter, which is a current affair happening right now in Syria. This of course started spreading on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, which meant that a large amount of audiences and market segments could be reached easily.  

Dismaland at night

It is quite safe to say that Banksy has once again, confused the public, as he is known for creating masterpieces that are found in random places, without anyone knowing how it got there. It can be shown that this technique of giving consumers an experience (even though it is a morbid one) through the use of the internet created a big impact in the event industry, as it proves that marketers do not necessarily have to promote an event to gain attention and publicity. This theory can also be explored by the fact that 'Dismaland' had its own website that claimed that people could buy tickets (http://dismaland.co.uk), however, that is not the case, as many of the public complained through social media that the website did not actually work. This caused an outbreak of annoyance, which then created more publicity.

It is clear that this pop-up attraction was very popular, as on the Friday of 'Dismaland' opening, there was a long queue of local residents outside from early in the morning. Saturday was then the first day of opening for the rest of the public, with 4000 £3 tickets a day being made available- however, nobody who attempted to order them online succeeded in buying any, which makes the internet question whether the frustration was actually part of the experience itself. 

After having its last viewing on the 27th September 2015, the tourism bosses in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.The attraction managed to bring in more than 150,000 paying visitors and over £20 million to the town. This therefore helped other local businesses with increasing profits from the boost in tourism and also plays a big role in the sustainability of the local area. Personally, this 'bemusement park' was the perfect example to show that traditional marketing methods are out-of-date and there are now better methods to attract an audience, without using traditional theories and instead, surprising the consumers unexpectedly with an intangible experience that triggers a thought and therefore creates a response.