The study attempted to focus on the effects of the mega events in variety of areas including how it might affect a country’s national brand image. Furthermore, the study tried to demonstrate how continually hosting mega events might have the effects...
The study attempted to focus on the effects of the mega events in variety of areas including how it might affect a country’s national brand image. Furthermore, the study tried to demonstrate how continually hosting mega events might have the effects to maintain the national brand image, which had once been formed—seeing the example of Korea and how the country has formed its own national brand image and also suggesting how Korea could possibly maintain what they had formed. The study concentrated in proving the correlation between the effects of the mega events, and the formation and the maintenance of the nation brand image. It also endeavored in analyzing effects of Korea’s mega events employing its IT media convergence skill and how it influences the formation and maintenance of a country’s national image—in efforts to suggest possible propositions and support for the future planning of the mega events.
In terms of research methodology, I reviewed different scholarly works to select my theoretical approach to formation of national brand image. Such method also allowed me to define the significance of an event, the true effect of mega-events in different sectors and its cause and effect relationship among variety of fields. I limited the scope of research to case studies of the mega-events that I participated in directly—the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup, the dinner cultural events for the 2005 APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Busan, the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, and the opening ceremony of the 2012 Yeosu World Expo. I then carried out empirical research,analyzing case studies, conducting surveys of the public, and interviewing experts who took part in these events. In addition, taking into account the symbolic and abstract nature of culture and the arts, I decided to use the socio-psychological theory that is often used in researching cultural events in tourism studies. Social exchange theory, a behavioral theory that aims to understand and to predict the behavior of individuals in situations of reciprocal exchange, was applied to assess the effect of these mega-events on the following five areas: economy, politics and diplomacy, environment, society and culture, and tourism.
The research results from the hypothesis test, the interviews of the experts and the descriptive analysis are described as below.
First, I adopted the hypothesis that the economic, political and diplomatic, environmental, social and cultural, and tourist effect of cultural events affect the formation of the national brand image. This hypothesis was found to be very explanatory, with an explanatory power of R2=.611,meaning that it accounts for 61.1% of the total image formation effect. Second, the hypothesis was adopted that the economic, political and diplomatic, environmental, social and cultural, and tourist effect of cultural events affect the maintenance of the national brand image. This hypothesis was found to be very explanatory, with an explanatory power of R2=.641, meaning that it accounts for 64.1% of the total image maintenance effect. Third, hypothesis 3-1 (t=-2.367, p<.05) was adopted from among the hypotheses stating that the national brand image formation effect of opening ceremonies at cultural events will be different for the general public and for experts. Hypothesis 3-2, which suggested that the national brand image maintenance effect of opening ceremonies and other cultural events at mega-events would be different for the general public and for experts, was discarded (t=-2.367, p<.05). Fourth, Korea’s image of a future-oriented and developing IT powerhouse was formed through cultural events at mega-events. The four cultural events had been planned to be integrated multimedia performances combining culture and technology, and this suggests that the events achieved cross-correlation through cumulative reach as intended, that they created a repeated exposure effect, and that the image was expressed to ordinary participants.
Research found that the most important thing for managing and maintaining the national brand is the consistent and continual expression of the image of Korea as an IT powerhouse. The areas that are regarded as more important for maintaining the national brand image once it has been formed are creativity, consistency, and continuity, in that order. This study confirms that the social exchange effect of cultural events at mega-events is very substantial and that this can be used to form and to maintain the natural brand image. An even more important question is how to manage and maintain the national brand image once it has been formed. As we can see from the example of Coca-Cola, which has long maintained its status as the most valuable brand, brand maintenance is something that must be done continuously and consistently through ongoing reinvention.
The study was first ever to focus on the cultural mega events. It is hoped that this study will be of assistance for the upcoming 2014 Incheon Asian Games and the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics providing a chance to enhance the national competitiveness of Korea once again. Korean gained the right to host these global mega-events with great difficulty, and it must take full advantage of such hard-earned opportunities.