Sensory Stimuli and Crash Imagery in F1’s Risk Marketing

Abstract

F1’s one marketing tactic is to promote risk that stimulates spectators’ sensory experience. This strategy appeals to spectators’ tendency toward sensation-seeking. One intense sensory experience arises from imagining car crashes and collisions, involving multi-sensory imagery that combines diverse types of sensory stimuli. Retrieving cross-sectional data collected at the 2013 Korea F1 Grand Prix, this study identified F1 spectators’ multi-sensory imagery of car crashes as a valid factor. The study then tested a model in which spectators’ perceived sensations through five senses affected multi-sensory imagery, and the imagery, in turn, affected arousal, satisfaction, and intentions to revisit. The results suggest that racing-related sensations significantly influenced their multi-sensory imagery, whereas service-related sensations did not. Twelve years after relinquishing F1 hosting, South Korea has formed an F1-hosting committee. As risk marketing is controversial, the committee should properly leverage the marketing potential of car crashes, especially in the market where F1 racing is growing.