Agro-food products, places and online experientiality: the Brand-Land connection via Web

The company website plays an important role in communication, for the information conveyed about the company and the products, as well as the experience it is able to build for users, in order to create a full involvement and establish a long-term relationship with consumers. The agrifood products, thanks to their high-cognitive value, represent an interesting example for the analysis of the websites’ experiential dimension. Indeed, the present research aims to investigate the experiential dimension of some Italian agro-food products’ websites, which are thought to be best practices in the representation of the brand-land ratio, such as their link with the territory of origin (latu sensu, in the acceptation of terroir). The study was conducted after the conception and experimentation of a specific model (called Sober) and using the technique of focus groups, through which it was possible to identify and evaluate the essential variables to promote/advertise the brand-land ratio using the Web. In fact, such variables may be considered really significant for the perception and the appreciation by consumers of the above-mentioned relationship and may involve them in a unique online consumer experience.