Key challenges in developing and effectively applying a destination brand
• Understanding customers and non-customers
Qualitative perception research __________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________• to understand deeper motivation__________________________________________
Unlike commercial product brands, which risk becoming devalued if used by others, a destination brand increases in value the more it is used by other ‘suitable’ organisations – the more it is used by different stakeholders, the more visible it will be; and therefore it will have greater market penetration and awareness__________
The most powerful way of stretching a destination brand is by persuading suitable partners/stakeholders to convey the destination brand values in their own marketing communications_______________________________________________________
Identify key stakeholders who would be suitable and prepared to incorporate the brand in their own marketing communications_______________________________
A destination logo (as distinct from the NTO corporate logo) can be useful in stretching the brand through its usage by stakeholders in their own marketing communications_______________________________________________________
Stakeholders’ usage of a destination logo needs to be carefully controlled through licensing for authorised users only________________________________________
• User-generated content and social networking: threat or opportunity
Firstly, comments posted by visitors about tourism products and destinations on blogs and on the most used sites tend to be both frank and mostly positive_________
Secondly, it offers an opportunity for visitors to post their holiday photographs, and perhaps more significantly, their holiday videos, on public sites_________________
Fourthly, this poses a significant challenge for NTOs to remain relevant to potential visitors______________________________________________________________
- suitable for all media on which the NTO wishes to use it (e.g. electronic, print, outdoor)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- consistently applied in all marketing communications________________________
• Different slogans can be used for different campaigns to different segments and in different countries________________________________________________