New Jersey Recreation & Park Association 38 th Annual State Conference Atlantic City, New Jersey March 3 – 6, 2013 Education Session “Strategic Branding of the Recreation Park and Tourism Product Monday, March 4, 2013 THE CONCEPT OF BRANDING IN RECREATION, PARKS & TOURISM I. What is Branding Branding Is the process of creating both an image and benefit(s) which leads to a level of Distinction, Brand Equity and Competitor Differential It is in Essence Your Organizations : Personality/Name Level of Professionalism Culture Visual Imprint (Symbols, Sign) Glue that holds your entire Marketing Program Together 2 It Involves: Service Benefits Strategic Advertising (Color, Look, Feel) Unique Recognition Luxury Brand Extensions Logo and/or Slogan Design Boundaries of Branding: A good Branding Strategy will not overcome poorly Managed Leisure Services Based upon the concept of “Consumer Behavior” or/The Process of Consumer Choice 3 1
How Good is your Branding Effort? Consider the following Positive Branding indicators: (1) Do you have lunch with the mayor or superintendent of School at least once every two months. (2) To you wear business level attire to the office at least twice per week (3) Is your building and office maintained in a professional manner (4) Do you conduct research on a regular basis to evaluate existing services or demand for new services 4 5) Have you generated data to show the Economic, Social and Environmental Values of your Services Negative Branding Indicators 6) Have you seen increased competition from other public or private sector providers begin to erode your operation 7) Has your Parks Division been taken away and merged with Public Works Services 8) Has your operating and capital budgets been reduced at a greater level than other departments 5 Defining Brand Equity (or Benefits and Value Provided) Brand Equity is First and Foremost Brand Upon: (1) Benefit Segmentation (2) Values and Risks Beyond that, Brand Equity Includes: Brand Awareness (Familiarity Based Upon Promotion) 6 2
Brand Loyalty (With Emphasis on Existing Marketing Share) Perceived Quality (Quality offerings can create a perception of a quality brand) Brand Association (Based on the concept of luxury brand extensions) Brand Assets (What special features beyond service benefits to you bring to the table) 7 Brand Benefits Good brands thrive in part due to the following: (1) Reduce Consumer’s Risks (2) Simplified Decision Making (3) Provide Greater Satisfaction Risk and Branding Improving brand image occurs by eliminating and mitigating the following risks: 1) Time Risk 2) Physical Risk 3) Financial Risk 4) Functional Risk 5) Psychological Risk 6) Social Risk 8 The Brand Decision Making Process Based on a involvement level: a) Continuous Buyer (Habit or Loyalty) b) Low Involvement c) High Involvement d) Complex Decision Making 9 3
II. Establishing and Maintaining a Brand Branding Strategy Begins with the vision and mission of your organizations: Vision: What you want to be Mission: How are you going to get there Establish the Specifics Benefits and Features of your Department: Benefits: Specific values that resident and/or visitors would most desire Features: Attributes not necessary unique to your department, but that add to the potential demand for services 10 A Superior Brand is one Which: Drives Demand for RPT Services Helps to Motivate Staff Secures Community Partners Reassures Elected Officials and Budget Committees 11 Two Major Aspects to Branding : (I) Establishing a Brand (II) Maintaining The Brand Brand Establishment A Brand is Built with Awareness, Buzz, Innovation and Luck (Unique Services, Flagship Programs, Specialized Communications and Promotions) Brands are Based Upon Some Unique Offering (Recreational or Other) Superior Brand are Based Upon Name Recognition 12 4
Establish a Culture An Organizational Culture is Development by Setting 1) Specific Standard 2) Creating Partnerships 3) Maintaining a Good Public Relations Image Stay Consistent The need to demonstrate a constant level of communication about professional services and image Develop a Brand “Signature” Statement 1) Use of well thought out slogans and logos (a) Institutional Slogans (b) Sales Slogans 2) Development with specific goals in mind 3) Must be more than tag line Ex: San Luis Obispo, California, Recreation and Parks “Live It, Protect It, Explore It” 13 Implement “Value Added” Strategies Process: TVA = P – E Total Value Added = Performance Minus Expectation Create Loyalty and Satisfaction Recreation, Parks and Tourism users Seek Satisfaction from three specific areas: 1) Operational Excellence (Tangible Services, Reasonable Prices, Reliability) 2) Service Leadership (Innovative Program & Facilities, Quality Offerings) 3) Customer Relationships (Focus on Resident and Visitor concerns and problem solving as function of Relationship Marketing) 14 III. Brand Management The following are five brandy Strategies for Managing and Maintaining a RPT Brand: 1) Fully Factor Resident/Consumers into the Brandy Equation Consumer must own the Brand Customer Diversity and Segmentation create the need to make Brands Relevant for different Markets 15 5
2) Develop Fully Integrated Channels of Communication Continue use of successful marketing methods (Brochures, Newspaper Advertising) with new technology (Mobile Phones, Online Blogs, Face Book, Twitter, etc.) Each method will help to reach both vested and non-vested markets 3) Growing the Brand For Long-Term Prosperity, Launching, New RPT Services are of Paramount Importance New Launches of such Services are Based Upon Three Key Issues: a) Brand potential is based upon specific Consumer Designed Benefits b) It the New Brand is an extension of a current RPT offering or an extension of a partnership, will it be a good fit and be profitable c) Sub-Branding a new product is enhanced by combing current Brand Elements to create excellence by association (Ex: Courtyard by Marriott is viewed as much more of a up scale hotel by virtue of the Marriott name) 16 4) Embrace Social Responsibility Many Residents and Sponsors want RPT Operations to do the “Good Things” for local communities RPT Operations are expected to embrace Social Responsibility and Behave Ethically at all times Need to always protect and respect the brand promise and meaning to residents 5) Know What Branding Efforts are Working and Why Less funds in government organizations requires an ability to demonstrate that services are working To help develop return-on-investment analysis, as a way to create brand loyalty 17 Assessing Brand Damage Of Major Management Concern is Brand Damage Brand Damage Occurs in Three Areas: 1. Cultural Crisis (Mismanagement of Responsibilities) 2. Business Process (Crisis Leading to Loss of Confidence) 3. Financial Crisis (Budget Mismanagement) A Simple Tweet Today Can Start a Full-Blown Crisis Ongoing Brand Bench Marking Prior to a Crisis Continually Monitor the Health and Vitality of a Brand 18 6
Experiential Branding Today, U.S. Culture Drive Distinctions Among Themselves: Based Upon Two Types of Capital: 1) Economic Capital 2) Cultural Capital When you choose from various of leisure provides, consumers make choices with economic capital But – Choices aren’t Solely Based on Money! 19 More Important than Economic Capital is Cultural Capital: Values – Family Culture – Education Opinions – Health and Leisure Activity These Resources are literally priceless regarding one’s purpose in life 20 Key: For Recreation, Parks and Tourism, the more meaningful a provided experience, the more cultural capital people associate with that experience Example: Starbucks Completely changed the coffee category by creating a coffee shop experience to escape life pleasures In order for a leisure service provider to perceived as important and understood, an agency need to provide a meaningful experience 21 7
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