Linking Travel Motivation,Tourist Self-Image and Destination Brand Personality

Abstract

Despite a growing body of work on destination branding, there has been little investigation of whether or not tourists attribute brand personality characteristics to tourism destinations and whether or not an emotional connection exists based on tourists' perceived self-image and the ‘brand personality’ of destinations. The aim of this study is to explore the links among four key constructs proposed for the destination branding and choice processtourist needs, destination brand personality, self-congruity, and intentions to visit and satisfaction with a visit. The results indicate that where tourists can make an association between a destination and a destination brand personality, and where this association is consistent with their desired holiday experience, a high level of congruity will exist between the tourists' self-image and their perceptions of the destination. In turn this self-congruity was related to satisfaction with a visit to the destination but not to intention to travel to the destination.     

Towards a Mekong Tourism Brand

In early 2008, the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Office (MTO) led a noteworthy regional tourism brand development exercise, the objective of which was to create a more recognizable identity for the Greater Mekong Subregion's (GMS) burgeoning hospitality and tourism industry. This paper provides a synopsis of the stakeholder-inclusive approach taken by the MTO to develop a tourism logo and slogan for the GMS. The branding exercise was part of a larger marketing plan for the subregion and applied a very practical methodology. In total, the Mekong Tourism brand development was conducted in five phases, each of which is described in this paper along with any relevant and pertinent lessons learned. The paper ends with a summary of implications for the practical implementation of the study findings.     

Branding the destination versus the place: The effects of brand complexity and identification for residents and visitors

This article contributes to a broader understanding of how the branding of places affects both residents and tourists. While branding often relies on simplified messages, the effectiveness of such strategies for complex brands remains questionable. Residents in particular possess a confounded knowledge of the place and could disagree with simplified destination brands. To test the role of brand complexity for residents and tourists, we conducted two empirical studies (N = 765; N = 385), showing that, for residents, positive place attitude (i.e., place satisfaction, identification, and attachment) and place behaviour (i.e., positive word-of-mouth) increase with a higher brand complexity. The second study shows that the positive relationship of brand complexity is stronger for residents than for tourists, supporting the conclusion that brand complexity is relevant for place brands, but that the place brand for residents requires more complexity than a destination brand, while it imperative that both are integrative parts of an overall brand.     

市场定位与差异化竞优势的建立——以绿谷灵芝胶囊的市场定位为例

随着买方市场的到来,市场上商品种类增多,企业之间竞争加剧,企业要在竞争中取胜并占据有利的市场位置,唯一的途径就是——市场定位。市场定位是识别差异化竞争优势,选择合适的差异化优势及与目标顾客进行沟通的过程,其目的是在目标顾客心目中确立有别于竞争对手的差异化竞争优势。     

零售业的公司品牌化趋势——基于英国零售业品牌战略演变分析

本文以英国零售业品牌战略演变为个案研究对象，提出了零售业的公司品牌化趋势的观点。同时结合文献研究进一步印证了零售业日益清晰和普遍的公司品牌化意识。最后结合零售业业务特点和公司品牌内涵对该趋势形成动因进行了充分讨论。     

Building a strong services brand: Lessons from Mayo Clinic

A strong services brand is built and sustained primarily by customers’ interactions with the provider. A services branding model depicts the dynamics of brand creation. From the interrelationships among the presented brand, external communications, and customers’ experiences emerge brand awareness, meaning, and, ultimately, equity. The Mayo Clinic case study illustrates the services branding model by showing how one organization has created, extended, and protected a powerful brand through an unwavering commitment to the well-being of its customers. Managers outside of healthcare can benefit from three branding lessons embedded in the Mayo Clinic story: (1) attend to organizational values; (2) play defense, not just offense; and (3) turn customers into marketers.     

Gender identity and brand incongruence: when in doubt,pursue masculinity

Gender identity is the extent to which an individual identifies with masculine or feminine personality traits. Sex roles in Western societies continue to evolve, so this research examines the developing relationship between gender identity and consumer responses to gendered branding. Grounded in self-congruency theory [Sirgy, M. J. (1982). Self-concept in consumer behavior: A critical review. Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 287–300], the present research reports an experiment that supports a congruence relationship between gender identity and brand response. Masculine consumers prefer masculine brands. The results also show incongruent brand rejection where masculine consumers react negatively to feminine brands although feminine consumers are more accepting of masculine brands. Further, the results suggest that gender identity is a more effective dimension for customer segmentation than biological sex. Overall, the results suggest that masculine brands are more effective than other gendered brand profiles for masculine, feminine, and androgynous consumers.     

Political brand identity: An examination of the complexities of Conservative brand and internal market engagement during the 2010 UK General Election campaign

This paper seeks to build an understanding of the importance of internal communications when building a strong political brand. Using Kapferer's brand prism as a conceptual framework, the paper explores UK Conservative Party members' attitudes towards the development of the Conservative brand as personified by David Cameron. There are clear implications for political strategists as the findings suggest that it is crucial to engage the internal market in the co-creation of the marketing communications strategy for as brand evangelists they interpret the brand promise at the local level.