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From today forward, this blog will no longer be updated.
All new posts will appear on The Brand Canada Blog.
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| Posted by Steve Wright at | | | |
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One of the key considerations in developing a destination brand is to understand that no destination exists in isolation. Destination brands are related, in reality and in the consumer's mind, to their surrounding brands and included sub-brands.
Perceptions of and the brand positioning of Toronto, for example, are influenced by the perceptions and brand positioning of Ontario (its provincial master brand), Canada (its nation brand) and so on all the way up to "Western" culture as a brand. But Toronto is also a Master brand in its own right, holding such sub-brands as Cabbagetown and Yorkville, and attraction brands such as the Canadian National Exhibition or the Royal Winter Fair.
Tourism marketing and destination branding strategies often run into difficulty when there is a disconnect between the surrounding brands and the destination brand. Think of it as trying to assemble a set of Russian Dolls when one of the pieces in the middle is square and all the rest are round.
Waikiki in Hawaii is one such example. In recent years tourists have sometimes felt that Waikiki didn't align with their "idyllic pacific island" and "aloha" perceptions of Hawaii. The fact is that Waikiki offers a fantastic tourism experience, but the expectations of tourists aren't in sync with the realities of the brand. The folks at the Hawaii Tourism Authority recognized the issue and I was very pleased to participate in the development of a new marketing program for Waikiki -- their first efforts and their strategic tourism marketing plan for Waikiki are publicly available on the HTA website.
For most tourism organizations, the task is one of alignment -- finding the strengths in each related destination brand and the common thread that links them all together, then carving a unique role for each brand within the "Russian Doll."
For some, the task of managing the inter-relationships between related destination brands and nation brands is much harder. Consider Kurdistan. The message the Kurds would like to communicate is:
It's spectacular.
It's peaceful.
Where democracy has been practiced for over a decade. It's not a dream.
Their tagline?
umm... err.... the "other" Iraq?
I get what they're trying to say, but my initial reaction is "does the world need another Iraq?"
The good folks in Kurdistan probably fell into the trap of taking a conventional view of consumer research. And a conventional view would have told them that roughly 100% of the world's population view Iraq as a rather unstable region at the moment (my approximated numbers only). But an unconventional view of the same research might have revealed that a good chunk of that same population has about as much chance of picking out Kurdistan on a map as I have of pinning the tail on a donkey after twelve mojitos. And therein lies the real consumer insight: if consumers don't have a reasonable understanding of your destination brand in relation to its surrounding brands, and your surrounding brands tend to be most associated with things that go "boom", stay the bloody hell away from your surrounding brands.
Attaching yourself to Iraq, even if it is meant to say that "Kudistan is the other Iraq that is nothing like the Iraq you know", is about as effective as saying "Unhydrogenated oils, the other fat."
The lesson is the same for other destionation brands. Be aware of what other brands are associated with your brand in the consumer's mind and make a conscious evaluation of what elements of those brands you want to attach to you brand and which ones you wnat to discard. Sometimes, in rare ocassions, destination brands simply have nothing in common with their surrounding brands (or at least, nothing you want to promote). Kurdistan is one. Hope that your brand isn't another.
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| Posted by Steve Wright at | | | |
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Up-selling is one of the keys to increasing revenues in tourism
marketing, but what do you do when your base product is already meeting
the needs of consumers?
A case study over on the Brand Canada Blog.
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| Posted by Steve Wright at | | | |
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| Simply put, I believe the Saudi's will save us. Not because they necessarily believe Global Warming is an issue, but because they believe making money is a good thing. |
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| Posted by Steve Wright at | | | |
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| Wales found the brutal truth in their brand and turned it into a differentiating brand position. Instead of trying to convince the consumer that they were as good as their competitors, they focused on what makes Wales special. Turning a seeming weakness into a competitive strength is counter-intuitive, but it's sometimes the best place to look for your point of difference. |
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| Posted by Steve Wright at | | | |
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| Intrigued, we turn to the official Kazakhstan Tourism website to uncover the truth about this vast and mysterious land. A few excerpts:
"National games. These are usually performed on horse-back and are an opportunity to witness the Kazakh's outstanding riding skills. The games baiga (horse racing over 25, 50 or 100 km), kokpar (a sort of polo game played with a dead goat), kyz-kuu (catch the girl) and alty bakan (six-pole swing) can all be viewed during the summer and particularly on holidays."
Wa-wa-wee-wa! A sort of polo game played with a dead goat? How did that end up on the cutting room floor? |
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| Posted by Steve Wright at | | | |
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A look at the benefits of collaboration within the tourism industry, over on the Brand Canada Blog.
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| Posted by Steve Wright at | | | |
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