Helsinki Design Week : Visitor Satisfaction and Marketing Communication

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate how satisfied the visitors were with Helsinki Design Week festival and its marketing communication. It also compared the satisfaction between the most important events defined by the organizers. Furthermore, it aimed to analyze whether satisfaction depended on visitor´s background information such as age, gender or work in the design field. It also aimed to investigate the usage of the Helsinki Design Week´s digital media (Helsinki Design Weekly, Webpage, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and if it was associated with visitor satisfaction. The practical purpose was to evaluate the overall customer experience to find out improvements for the festival program and marketing communication.

The theoretical framework of the study was based on marketing and customer satisfaction research. Quantitative methodology was used with online survey, which was sent to Helsinki Design Weekly online-publication subscribers inside the publication and to those visitors who had deliberately left their e-mail address in the event they visited. (n=226).

The results showed that Helsinki Design Week 2016 was able to reach a wide variety of audience. The respondents were satisfied with the festival (86%) with some differences between the main events. Of the respondents 82% would recommend Helsinki Design Week to their friends (Word-of-mouth). Respondents background had some effect on the satisfaction. The usage of Helsinki Design Week digital media was associated with visitor satisfaction as those respondents who were using these media were more satisfied than others. But there was some criticism about Helsinki Design Week´s communication and webpage. When the challenges of communication have been overcome, the satisfaction and overall customer experience will probably improve further. A wider audience can be reached in 2017, the year of the first World Design Week to be held in Helsinki.