Using Experience Industry Strategies to Increase Quality of Youth Program Experiences

Allen S. Taggart, Gary D. Ellis, Jingxian Jiang, Andrew Lacanienta

Abstract


We evaluated 4 “experience industry” strategies for enhancing the quality of immediate experiences for 4-H youth: theming, adding multisensory experiences, personalizing interactions, and providing memorabilia. These strategies are commonly used by theme parks, restaurants, resorts, attractions, and other experience industry organizations, but their application to youth services is sporadic. 4-H youth (n = 30) participated in a series of 8 outdoor recreation activity sessions. Each activity session, 1 per week for 8 consecutive weeks, was structured using a unique combination of the 4 strategies. Participants completed questionnaires measuring 5 dimensions of experience quality after each activity session. Theme and personalization of experiences were found to significantly increase experience quality.


Keywords


youth program quality; experience; theme; 4-H; engagement

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2019.749

Copyright (c) 2019 Allen S. Taggart, Gary D. Ellis, Jingxian Jiang, Andrew Lacanienta

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