Heritage signs and symbols in marketing actions: is a relationship possible? Considerations from the advertising of National Sweets Fair (Fenadoce) in Pelotas, RS, Brazil.

This study emerges from the need to understand if marketing strategies consider heritage symbols and signs in tourism branding and image building. This is an exploratory study of a qualitative nature using content analysis (Bardin, 2011) to answer the research question. Identity, heritage, and marketing categories and their subcategories were identified in the literature review on the topic. After, the advertising campaigns of Feira Nacional do Doce (Fenadoce) were analyzed, to understand how the identity and intangible heritage of the sweet culture of Pelotas (RS), Brazil, are being used by marketing managers. All categories and subcategories were found, more or less explicitly, in the advertising messages in the five campaigns analyzed. The findings suggest that the relationship between heritage and marketing will only be possible if the first category is inserted in the second. In addition to managerial contributions, the categories and subcategories found can be used in similar studies in future research.