Download Destination Positioing and Branding slidedeck File

DESTINATION MARKETING
SESSION 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
DESTINATION POSITIONING & BRANDING
SESSION 4
PREVIEW
DESTINATION POSITIONING
AND BRANDING
Brands and branding
Brand image
Brand positioning
DESTINATION MARKETING SESSION 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
SESSION 4
PREVIEW
DESTINATION POSITIONING
AND BRANDING
Brands and branding
DESTINATION MARKETING SESSION 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
The world’s Top 10 valued brands in 2014
Rank
Brand value-US$ billions
1. Apple
118.9
2. Google
107.4
3. Coca-Cola
81.6
4. IBM
77.2
5. Microsoft
61.2
6. GE
45.5
7. Samsung
45.5
8. Toyota
42.4
9. McDonald’s
42.3
10. Mercedes Benz
Source: Adapted from http://www.bestglobalbrands.com/2014/ranking/
34.3
Video link
• What is branding?
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKIAOZZritk
The importance of brands
• Today’s consumers have more product choice but less decision-
making time than ever before
• Consequently, a brand that can help simplify decisions, reduce
purchase risk, and create and deliver expectations is invaluable
(Keller, 2003)
• The future of marketing will be a ‘battle of brands, a
competition for brand dominance’ (see Aaker, 1991 p. ix)
• Within the tourism industry, destinations are emerging as
the biggest brands (Morgan et al., 2002)
The importance of brands
• Increasing importance of brand equity
• Increasing global competition
• Commodification
• The power of retailers
• Sophisticated consumers
• Brand extensions
• Media cost effectiveness
• Short-term performance orientation
Branding destinations
What is a destination brand?
1. Brand identity
 Self-image
 Image desired in market
2. Brand image
 Actual image held by consumers
–
Brand identity and brand image not always congruent
Three components of branding
Brand identity
Brand
positioning
Mission/Vision
Name
Values
Logo
Desired brand image
Slogan
Brand image
Actual image
held by
consumers
Three components of branding
Brand identity
The desired image
aspired to in the
market place
Clear vision and
values
What the brand
stands for
Differentiates from
rivals
Brand image
(Chapter 10)
Brand positioning
(Chapter 11)
The actual image
of the brand held
by consumers
The attempt to
achieve congruence
between the brand
image and brand
identity
Might be quite
different to that
intended by the
brand identity
Clear differentiation
from rivals
Might not exist
Logo, slogan … and
supporting marcom
Succinct and
meaningful value
proposition
Destination branding is ...
… the set of marketing activities that
(1) support the creation of a name, symbol, logo, word mark or other
graphic that readily identifies and differentiates a destination;
(2) consistently convey the expectation of a memorable travel
experience;
(3) serve to consolidate and reinforce the emotional connection
between the visitor and the destination;
(4) reduce consumer search costs and perceived risk.
Collectively, these activities serve to create a destination image that
positively influences consumer destination choice.
Blain, Levy & Ritchie (2005, p. 337)
Video link
Destination branding vs slogans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDrvwOTHEdk
Brand critical success factors (Keller, 2000)
• The brand excels at
delivering the benefits
customers truly desire
• The brand stays relevant
to customers
• The pricing strategy is
based on consumers’
perceptions of value
• The brand is properly
positioned in the market
by offering a distinctive
value proposition
• The brand is consistent
• The brand portfolio and
•
•
•
•
hierarchy make sense
The brand makes use of, and
coordinates, a full repertoire
of marketing activities
The brand’s managers
understand what the brand
means to consumers
The brand is given proper
support, and that support is
sustained over the long run
The organisation monitors
the sources of brand equity
Destination brand identity development
• Brand champion
• Brand community
– Local residents’ sense of
place
– Local businesses
– Local government
– Travel intermediaries
• Brand charter
– Major goal to have as
many stakeholders as
possible using the brand
The host community’s sense of place
• When residents are called on to live the values of the brand in
pursuit of tourism goals, it would seem that marketers are in
danger of assuming too much influence and a sense of balance
needs to be restored. Societies cannot be engineered or places
manufactured for tourist consumption without a loss of
authenticity which is ultimately recognised by the visitor who
will move on to seek it elsewhere.
Henderson (2000)
Mikkeli’s brand identity
Core promise – what we
promise our destination brand
will deliver to visitors
http://www.visitmikkeli.fi/en
Brand personality – how our
destination brand is portrayed,
based on human characteristics
Brand values
SESSION 4
PREVIEW
DESTINATION POSITIONING
AND BRANDING
Brands and branding
Brand image
DESTINATION MARKETING SESSION 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
The role of image in destination marketing
• The images held by consumers play a significant role in travel
purchase decisions
– an understanding of the images held of the destination by
consumers is critical
• Perhaps the most important issue in destination marketing
Perception is reality
• Images people hold of a destination dictate their decision
making
• The brand image might not be related to the brand identity
• ‘What is defined or perceived by people is real in its
consequences’
(Thomas & Thomas, 1928, p. 572, in Patton, 2002)
Video link
• Perception is reality
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maUICwTzK5k
Three components of branding
Brand identity
Brand
positioning
Mission/Vision
Name
Values
Logo
Desired brand image
Slogan
Brand image
Actual image
held by
consumers
The role of image in destination marketing:
The marketer perspective
– Intangibility and risk
– Inseparability
– Variability
– Perishability
– Substitutability
The role of image in destination marketing:
The visitor perspective Attitudes: 3 components
• Cognition
– The sum of what is known or
believed about a destination,
and might be organic or
induced
• Affect
– An individual’s feelings about a
destination, which may be
favourable, unfavourable or
neutral
• Conation
– Analogous to behaviour since it
is the intent or action
component
– Intent refers to the likelihood of
destination visit
Organic and induced images
Cognition
The sum of what is known or believed about a destination, and
might be organic or induced
• Organic
– Developed through an
individual’s everyday
assimilation of
information
• School geography
lessons
• Travel experiences
• Media exposure
• Induced
– Formed through the
influence of tourism
promotions directed by
marketers
• Advertising
The role of attitudes in the visitor decision
making process
Need
awareness
Develop
alternatives
(Cognition)
Evaluate
alternatives
(Affect)
Choice
(Conation)
Visitor decision making
• Consumers aware of an almost limitless number of
destinations
• Decision set consists of only those brands the
consumer will actually consider in the next purchase
decision
• Four plus or minus two destinations
– Consistent in the literature
• Implications for those destinations not included
• Importance of unaided ‘top of mind awareness’
• Importance of travel context
Evoked decision set
• 4+/-2 brands considered by consumers in purchase decision
• Destinations included in this set have a competitive advantage
• Implications for destinations not included in this set?
• Top of mind awareness (ToMA) is the first destination that
comes to mind in trip planning
Measuring destination image
• Qualitative studies involving personal interviews or focus
groups
– Small sample, not generalizable
• Interpreting the content of what people write or photograph
– About their travel intentions and planning
– About their actual travel experience
– Emerging web-crawler technologies
•
Quantitative studies administering questionnaires to a large
sample
Assignment:
Measuring Mikkeli’s image online
1. Research what people are saying online about Mikkeli’s image as a destination
and one of its competitors (use the home town of one of the members of your
team). Do not use the destination’s website as a source for your postings.
2. For each of your two destinations, find a positive posting, a neutral and a
negative posting, and determine the credibility and influence of each. You will
need a total of at least 6 postings. What actions would you recommend
regarding the negative postings? Create a document similar to what you see
below and post to MyCourses.
Destination image change
• Destination image change occurs only slowly over
time
• The larger the entity the slower the change
• Implication is destination branding takes time
– Consistency of message over a long period of time
SESSION 4
PREVIEW
DESTINATION POSITIONING
AND BRANDING
Brands and branding
Brand image
Brand positioning
DESTINATION MARKETING SESSION 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Market Positioning
• Market positioning is defined as the process of identifying and
selecting markets or segments that represent business
potential, to determine the criteria for competitive success in
each
• This must be based on a thorough knowledge of the needs,
wants, and perceptions of the target market,
along with the benefits offered by the destination.
• To do this, a few crucial questions must be answered. These are:
Market Positioning Questions
1.
What is important to the target
market?
2.
How does the target market
perceive the destination?
3.
How does the target market
perceive the competition?
4.
What should a destination
emphasize to convince the target
market that it is a better value than
its competitors?
The reality is that
if the target market
doesn't perceive the value,
the value does not exist.
Market Positioning & Destination Image
• Market positioning research also requires an evaluation of the
image that customers have of a tourism destination.
• This can be used to identify the attributes which comprise the
benefits.
• The beauty of a destination, the architecture of a palace, and
the historic artifacts in a museum are examples of attributes
that may produce a benefit, or may be a tangible
representation of an intangible benefit, but are not themselves
the benefit.
Perceived Benefits
• The benefit itself is what the attributes do for the visitor, for example,
perceived benefits of Rock and Lake might include…
• Benefits, like positioning, exist in the mind of the customer
and are determined only by asking the customer.
•
Only after this information is obtained, can a destination
match its strengths to the visitors' needs and the benefits
sought
Psychological Positioning
•
Psychological positioning is a
strategy employed to create a
unique product image with the
objective of creating interest and
attracting visitors.
•
Since it exists solely in the mind
of the visitor, it can occur
automatically without any effort
on the part of the marketer and
any kind of positioning may
result.
•
There are two kinds of
psychological positioning in
marketing: objective
positioning and subjective
positioning. Each has its
appropriate place and usage.
Objective Positioning
• Objective positioning is concerned, almost entirely, with the
objective attributes of the physical product.
• It means creating an image about the destination that reflects
its physical characteristics and functional features.
• It is usually concerned with what actually is, what exists.
• For example…
The “Unique” Factor
• Objective positioning can be very important and is often
used in the tourism industry. If a destination has some
unique feature, that feature may be used to objectively
position the destination, to create an image, and to differentiate
it from the competition
• Less successful objective positioning occurs when the feature is
not unique. This is why many destination promotions with
pictures of beaches fail to create a distinct image or successfully
differentiate the product.
• Other unsuccessful approaches may include a picture of two
people looking at a mountain that looks like any other
mountain or lying on a beach that looks like any other beach.
• One of the first rules of effective positioning is uniqueness
Where in the world are we?
Where in the world are we?
Where in the world are we?
Which hotel are we in?
Which of these is Rock and Lake?
If you can’t tell the difference, how can you
expect potential customers to do so?
Subjective Positioning
Subjective positioning is the image, not of the physical aspects
of the destination, but other attributes perceived by the
tourist, (i.e., they do not necessarily belong to the destination
but to the tourist's mental perception of the experience).
What the marketer hopes is
that the people in the target
market will agree on a
favorable image whether or
not the image is true.
This is the test of effective
subjective positioning.
Market Positioning Approaches
• While psychological positioning creates an image, market
positioning attempts to influence the picture, using visual and
words, to reinforce what the destination does best and what
benefits are offered.
• Tourism marketers may decide to select the most appropriate
of the following approaches, depending on the information
gathered during market and psychological positioning.
• Positioning by attribute, feature, or customer benefit. For this
strategy, emphasis is placed on the benefits of the particular
features or attributes of the destination.
For example, Thailand promotes the friendliness of its
people with the statement
"The world meets in the land of smiles."
Positioning by Price Value
• International destinations are not
usually positioned on the basis of
price because lower prices may be
perceived as connoting lower
quality.
• However, value offered to visitors
can be effectively used. For
example:
• "Malaysia gives more natural
value." With this positioning
statement Malaysia is appealing
not only to the sense of value
(more for the money) but also to its
natural attractions.
Positioning with respect to use or application
• Here a destination is positioned based
on the reasons for visiting it.
• Bermuda positions itself
to the American MICE market with
"Sometimes you have to leave the
country to get any work done" which
promises productive meetings in a
relaxed environment.
•
Cancun, Mexico is positioned as "The
meeting place for sun worshipers."
Positioning according to users or class of users
• In this case, positioning features the people who should visit
the destination.
• Hong Kong appeals to the incentive travel market with the
statement 'When they've reached the top, send them to the
peak," referring to Victoria Peak, a major tourist site in Hong
Kong
Positioning with respect to a product class
This technique is often used to associate a
destination with experiences that are extraordinary and / or
unique.
•
For example, the Principality of Monaco is positioned as "The
fairy tale that does not end at midnight," or
• Holding a convention in Thailand is "Smooth as silk where
the sky's the limit, or
• "If your looking for an ideal meeting place, here's one that's
close to heaven" for Israel.
Positioning vis-a-vis the competition
• This approach is not used
frequently in international
tourism destination marketing
since it may involve negative
statements about another
country or region.
• However…
Consider these questions
• What position does Rock and Lake own
now? (In the mind of the target market.)
•
What position does Rock and Lake want
to own? (Look for positions or holes in the
marketplace.)
•
Who must Rock and Lake out position?
(Manipulate what's already in the mind.)
• How can it be done? (Select the best
approach that will work for the target
market.)
SESSION 4
PREVIEW
DESTINATION POSITIONING
AND BRANDING
Brands and branding
Brand image
Brand positioning
DESTINATION MARKETING SESSION 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
DESTINATION MARKETING
SESSION 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
DESTINATION POSITIONING & BRANDING