Don't neglect your brand
Choosing a holiday is one of the most emotional purchasing decisions a consumer will make, yet why are so many DMOs still making rational arguments to win these customers? 'Don't neglect your brand' is the message from Stephen O'Neill, former Executive General Manager, Marketing, at the Australian Tourist Commission and now a marketing and brand consultant.
While the move for DMOs to expand their activities to cover management rather than just marketing of their destinations, and while concentrating on the supply side and sustainability is to be applauded, they will ignore their brands at their peril.
 Regardless of whether it wants it or not, every destination, from a country, region or city has a brand. Its choice is whether it wishes to manage this brand. A destination's brand is what makes it stand out from other destinations, differentiates it from its competitors, allows it to be more than a commodity and compete on something other than price.
Faced by pressure on their finances, most DMOs recognize the need to manage their resources in a more effective manner. They certainly also recognize the need for an entirely different approach to distribution.
 They acknowledge that the consumer has changed, virtually beyond recognition. Demographic analysis is no longer the only key to customer segmentation. There are now new ways of grouping consumers, recognizing their needs for more than leisure and downtime when they travel, and recognizing that they seek personal development, often spiritual and emotional, sometimes physical too. This leads to tourism operators developing new products and experiences that meet these changing consumer needs, continually driving change in the tourism market.
But as the market continues to evolve and consumers become more sophisticated, knowledgeable and demanding, how many DMOs have actually moved to a new level with their branding and communications activities?
Nobody will argue that holidaying and travel are amongst the most emotional purchasing decisions that a consumer will make, yet how many DMOs are still making rational arguments to win these customers? While holidays are all about how someone feels, so many destinations still seem to insist on showing consumers what they can do and what they can see, presenting a menu of holiday options, a travelogue of ideas.
If the automobile industry employed the sort of communications approach that the tourism industry often engages in, then car adverts would have us looking under the trunk at the engine or discussing the range of colours available. But they have moved on from this. Car adverts imply escape and freedom. These companies recognize that if they win the customer's heart, then the head will follow. It is time for many in our industry to learn this lesson.
While first-class destination management will ensure that visitors have a wonderful experience and ensure that they come back again, it is a destination's branding that will win them over in the first place. If it is done right.
 While market research is important in helping to identify competitive positions and to target customer groups, it is similarly important that DMOs' brand strategies are not completely research driven. If every destination allowed its brand position to be customer-research dominated, then customers would tell us all the same things and we would end up with many very similar destination brand positions. Which really seems to be where we are today.
In order for a destination to truly stand out, it must make sure that its brand is driven from the 'inside out'. It must clearly articulate what it is that a destination wants to say about itself and what it believes makes it truly different. At the same time, it needs to be objective and this is why many DMOs choose to enlist external assistance informulating their brand strategies.
To be successful, DMOs - and particularly NTOs - must also recognize that they are not the only organisations impacting upon the image of their country in international markets. There are many other organisations and people doing the same thing, from government departments to private corporations, from sports teams to actors and musicians. Each of these people and organisations has an impact on what people think of the destination, and for a coherent and sustainable brand position to be developed, this greater power should be harnessed.
 The recent relaunch of Brand Australia attempted to tackle some of these issues head-on. Tourism Australia decided, with the support of the Government, that it could not articulate a brand for tourism in Australia without first defining a broader Brand Australia position. So it worked with other people and organisations to ensure that the brand captured and represented a true picture of Australia.
It recognized that the brand was much, much more than an advertising campaign and that it was vitally important to identify the values and behaviours that were fundamental to Australia and which made Australia different. Australia's brand is as much about its peoples' values and behaviour as it is about its communications. These values and behaviours must be reflected in every way that Australia represents itself as they will certainly be experienced by its visitors.
In order to mean something to consumers, it is crucial that the communication of a destination's brand is accurate, clear and simple. If it is not, then the experience will not live up to what has been promised and visitors will go away feeling let down. And we know what that means for a destination.
Stephen O'Neill can be contacted at soneillirl@hotmail.com
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