With the skies opening up again to foreign travel, I was struck by a very upbeat interview with Dalton Philips, the CEO of the DAA.
I can only imagine the stress that everyone in the travel industry has suffered. Yet despite the long road ahead to recovery, we heard his positivity and hope.
I paid a visit to the airport last Monday for a meeting and found the atmosphere to be electric.
As I waited and watched, I thought about the attractions of one far-flung destination over another and what shapes our opinions in advance. It’s all about branding.
Brian McGurk is founder of BrandCreate Ltd. He is also the author of a very practical book on brand, called Stand Out, Building Brilliant Brands for the World We Live In. He brings the reader back to basics and challenges some assumptions about brand and branding. I also enjoyed how he shows how branding is linked to destinations.
When you think of Dubai, luxury, architecture and heat stand out. This destination’s brand is synonymous with wealth, tax-free salaries and wonderful opportunities. “As a compact highly-managed offer, Dubai delivers on what it promises. In short, brand Dubai is sure about itself,” said Brian.
New York, on the other hand, is known for its out-of-this-world shopping and being the city that never sleeps. “Branding and brand-planning starts with recognising what’s front of mind and then delving deeper into the brand psyche,” he said.
NYC is also known for its skyscrapers and iconic buildings and places, such as the Empire State Building, Broadway and Central Park. If you were chief marketer for NYC, you wouldn’t need to change its branding.
Brian added: “NYC presents itself to at least two key and distinctly different audiences, financial and leisure. It’s a multifaceted destination with a multifaceted brand. As such, NYC must be one of the most understood offerings in the world of destination brands. Rating highly on my scorecard of brand consistency, credibility and coherence, NYC demands attention, is always attractive and deserves its destination advocacy. It delivers the visitor experience again and again without fail.”
You don’t have to actually go there to form a strong brand opinion. “Perception remains reality until you go there. If your reputation precedes choice which precedes experience, that’s one way of understanding the power of a brand. Brand reputation acts as either a boon or a barrier to brand potential and commercial success,” Brian said.
The learnings about branding apply to your organisation too. Because branding is a philosophy of winning the hearts and minds of the customer through emotion, personality, values and distinctiveness. I asked Brian to share his top tips here.
A brand has values, is emotional and conjures up images and perceptions in the mind. A logo, however, is a visual design. It does of course supplement the brand but on its own it is not enough. In other words, don’t start and stop with your logo as if it was the be all and end all. Think deeper than the logo and look for meaning and relevance.
For example, if you didn’t know Penney’s/Primark, its logo wouldn’t tell you a lot. However, if you travel across Ireland and Europe and come across the logo, your familiarity with the logo is reassuring.
Think big and brave about your real business purpose and your possible impact on people’s lives. Branding, on its own, will never make up for a small vision, narrow thinking, or poor ideas. Ryanair has always unashamedly promoted its brashness. It bravely takes a stand with outspoken anti-establishment views, always appealing to its value-conscious customer.
The act of buying something and using it can often be different. Recently I had to buy a new laptop. I decided to replace my Microsoft Surface Pro as it has been my favourite laptop of all time. I wish I could say the same for the re-buying experience. Experience is all about emotion and if I was to make a buying decision on that dreadful experience, I’d have jumped ship. What emotions are conjured up for your brand, at all customer touch-points?
If you have travelled around Ireland, you will have come across Applegreen. Its premises are spick and span, well-laid out with a varied menu.
”Being outstanding is a leadership strategy, which often requires some risk and change,” said Brian.
Having a consistent and stand-out brand strategy is only part of the story. Translating that into a personalised message to individual consumers or select target groups is something else. The future of brand penetration requires this and digital technology enables it.
Alan O’Neill, author of Culture Matters is a Change Consultant and Keynote Speaker, specialising in strategy, culture and customer experience. Go to kara.ie to get support in growing your business.