Comparative strategic positioning of grape harvest festivals: an AI-supported analysis of TikTok promotional videos from Ica (Peru) and Curicó (Chile)

Turpo H.; Guillén N.K.; Rundshagen V.; Garayar D.; Ciriaco S.; Murakami K. · Journal of Foodservice Business Research (2026) · DOI: 10.1080/15378020.2026.2678341

Resumen

The objective of this study is to compare how grape harvest festivals in Ica (Peru) and Curicó (Chile) are strategically positioned through their promotional videos on TikTok. A total of 52 videos were analyzed, including 36 from Ica and 16 from Curicó, posted between May 2023 and March 2025. The videos were transformed into key-frame sequences using Python, compiled into standardized PDFs, and processed with Claude 4.0 to generate objective narrative descriptions. These texts were cleaned, lemmatized, and integrated into a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework that assessed six key dimensions of strategic positioning: event scale, cultural authenticity, commercial orientation, community engagement, modernization, and traditional preservation. Grounded in representation theory and visual semiotics, the approach demonstrates how AI-assisted analysis of visual narratives can decode the symbolic strategies embedded in promotional content. The findings reveal distinct promotional positioning logics. The Ica Festival projects itself as an “Authentic & Large Scale” event, emphasizing ritual continuity, multigenerational community participation, and strong preservation of traditional practices such as grape-stomping and folklore performances. In contrast, the Curicó Festival highlights a “Commercial & Modernized” identity, with high sponsor visibility, professional staging, and advanced audiovisual technologies, while placing less emphasis on ancestral heritage. Positioning maps show that both festivals occupy complementary rather than directly competing niches: Ica appeals to heritage-driven cultural travelers, while Curicó targets experience-seeking enotourists. The study contributes to positioning theory by showing how AI-based video analysis can reveal promoter-driven branding strategies, and it provides managerial insights on balancing authenticity and modernization in festival promotion.

Instituciones: Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola