Defining your tourism message

What experience are you selling?The Destination

The LURE: the experience that motivates the visitor to actually come to your destination.

DIVERSIONS: things visitors can do closer to home but will do in your destination because they are already there.

AMENITIES: Things that make the visit a comfortable one

AMBIENCE: historic buildings, public art, street entertainers, etc.

LuresLures

4

5Preikestolen, Norway

6

ExperiencesExperiences

9

10Ketchikan, Ak

11Tongass Nat’l Forest Bend, OR

12Ketchikan, Ak

13Seattle, WA

DiversionsDiversions

15Lodi, California

16 Park City, UtahBend, OR

17Juneau, Alaska

AmenitiesAmenities

19Snoqualmie, Wa

20Lake Chelan, Wa

21Juneau, Alaska

22Juneau, AlaskaKetchikan, AK

23Ketchikan, Alaska

24Juneau, Alaska

Sisters, OR

What experience are you selling

“First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions”

What experience are you sellingThe way-finding components

– Directional signs

– Gateways

– Kiosks

– Pole banners

– Map Stands

What experience are you selling

What experience are you sellingConnect the Dots

AmbienceAmbience

32Sisters, OR

33Juneau, Alaska

34Enterprise, Oregon

35Walla Walla, Wa

36

37Snoqualmie, Wa

Product or Service Appeal

• Lead with the benefit (remember the visitor point of view)

• Name the company second• What are you? Lure, diversion, amenity or

ambiance• Are you part of a larger niche or destination

brand?• Who does your product or service appeal to?

Do you understand your customer profile?

Businesses

What experience are you selling

What experience are you selling

Retail Signs

What experience are you selling

Store Fronts

What experience are you selling

Local InteractionLocal Interaction

43Ketchikan, Alaska

44Ketchikan, Alaska

45Seattle, Wa

46Pike Place Market, Seattle

Exercise

Positioning& Branding

Positioning & Branding

Positioning & Branding

Positioning & Branding

Positioning & Branding

Positioning & BrandingA Brand is a promise of what you are going to deliver.

Positioning is how you describe what you are selling.

Destination Branding is directed toward the outside visitor or investor. Its focus is on luring new cash into the local economy.

Community Branding is directed at reflecting the internal community’s perception of themselves. Its focus is on creating a self identity of the residents.

Positioning & BrandingProduct and Services Branding

• Follow the branding principles

• Tie in with a destination brand when possible

• Become known for something special

• If the product is not unique, make the service special

Positioning & BrandingExample: The Bike & Trike Shop

Rock Springs:ServiceCool LocationEspressoAll the parts

Positioning & BrandingSuccessful Brands follow these rules:

1. Brands are perceptions – what people thing of you – NOT what you think of yourself or what you say in the market place.

Brands are determined by your customers, so deliver what you promised, or more.

Positioning & Branding2. Branding is the art of differentiation. Setting

yourself apart from everyone else.

Be unique, or be the best.

This matters only within your intended market area.

Positioning & Branding3. Brands are specific.

The narrower the niche the better.

Stay focused.

Offering everything or many things, dilutes your brand.

Become known for ONE THING. Then add to it.

Positioning & Branding4. Brands are built on products or services, not

marketing. Marketing is use for positioning.

Many businesses and destinations fashion a new marketing campaign, logo or slogan and wonder why it did not work. Because brands are a promise, they only become valuable if the product or service delivers.

Focus on a superior product and your marketing becomes easier.

Positioning & Branding5. Brands are earned through performance. You

don’t roll out a brand like it’s a campaign.

Creating a successful brand takes a long time. The value of the brand grows with positive experiences of the visitors.

Positioning & Branding6. Tourism brands must be experiential. That means

activities, not things to look at.

Location-based branding is dead, unless you are Mt. Rushmore or the Grand Canyon. Visitors choose what they want to do, THEN where to do it.

History is not a good basis for a brand because it is difficult to make experiential.

Positioning & Branding7. Position your brand through public relations.

Word of mouth and third party testimony is essential. Use advertising to maintain your position.

Remember, your brand is not what you say it is, so advertising does not build brands.

More than ever, because of the internet, travelers can get third party opinions about your product or destination.

Positioning & Branding8. Build your destination brand on feasibility, not

sentiment or public consensus.

Successful destination brands must lure visitors and investors. Publicly developed brands usually fail when they focus on things that are not important to the visitor, but rather to the resident. They often are not specific enough, different from other towns, or experiential.

Positioning & Branding9. Build your destination brand from the grassroots.

Destination branding efforts that are forced from the top down by municipal governments or DMO’s don’t succeed as often as those developed by a handful of local “champions” and “doers” who work tirelessly to engage all the many participants necessary to make a brand pervasive throughout a community.

Positioning & Branding10. Even if you do nothing, you still have a brand. It

just may not be the one you want.

Because consumers decide what your brand is, your product, service or destination has a brand.

Do you really know what your brand is?

Positioning & BrandingLogos & slogans

Positioning & BrandingLogos & slogans

Positioning & Branding

Case Study – Angels Camp, CA

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

• Historic Gold Rush town – population 3,400

• In Calaveras County, foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains

• Adjacent to Stanislaus National Forest

• Abundant outdoor recreation year-round

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

• Made famous by Mark Twain – “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”

• Annual Jumping Frog Jubilee

• Frogs, frogs, frogs

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

Primary Markets:

• Sacramento

• Stockton

• San Jose

• Greater Bay Area

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

Brands Considered:

• Gold rush/western theme

• Antiques/art

• Mountain sports

• Golf

• Culinary/wine

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

Brand Statement:

Angels Camp is the capital of and place to be based for mountain sports in the Sierra Nevada.

LURE: The one place where visitors can find a concentration of support services for their mountain sports experience, from outfitters, specialized retailers, lodging, dining and after hours entertainment.

DIVERSIONS: Experiences in the downtown that the visitor might find closer to home.

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

Keys to Success:

• Local commitment and enthusiasm

• Already has the accommodations – motels, b&bs, etc.

• Needs to recruit outfitters, specialized retail, restaurants, pubs to downtown core.

• Create amenities and ambiance.

• Branded product development and marketing.

• MOST IMPORTANT: Deliver on the promise.

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

Tagline: “Redefining the Rush”

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA

Positioning & BrandingCase Study – Angels Camp, CA