What Brand Culture Means to Tourism — Tech News

What Brand Culture Means to Tourism — Tech News

What Brand Journalism and The New Brand Culture Means to Tourism Marketing — Gigaom Tech News and Analysis.

Why Tourism Must Enmbrance Brand Culture

Why Tourism Must Embrace Brand Culture

The article by Giganom is very relevant to tourism thought it was not direct to this market at all. The fact that Public Relations (PR) professionals now outnumber journalists 4 to 1 gives some indication of what is happening in the media: Companies are publishing their own content with magazines, videos, music and even newspapers and media companies and journalist are loosing markets. The Internet is an open gateway for all to become media entities and companies like Red Bull now see themselves as Media companies every bit as much as an energy drinks company.

In this age of participation consumers are increasing insensitive to the source of information and hence Journalism is thinning relative to those in PR; the business of content publishing and media management. Thomas Kellner, Former Forbes Executive echos this saying that “People these days don’t care as much about where the story comes from as long as it tells them something.” Of course that means the content must be of interest and that the story has value.

All major brands are now story tellers, they know the art and power of the story: Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ campaign (Wunderman/Ogilvy Australia) is a great example of this. “It sets the stage for an experience to happen. Seeing our own names, or names of those we know, respect, or care about, reflected on the product triggers memories. And a call to action on the product to share might activate a change in behavior, like saving bottles with friends’ names as a novelty”. Taken from Brand Strategy Insider.

In the current demand-based economy it is consumers that rule, not producers, and with that the power and authority of the main stream media has diminished. Brands now speak for themselves on many platforms as well as on their own sites and media properties. Increasingly brand stories are carried in the traditional media as “native” advertising. As Josh Benton pointed out recently in the Nieman Journalism Lab, “native advertising is here to stay — and in many ways has always been here, except it was called “advertorial.” Now it, like every other form of content, is everywhere, often indistinguishable from journalism.”

Its all part of the new content marketing landscape, which is something all leading hotel and tourism Brands are deeply involved in. Every hotelier should be also. “Not just in blogs about your hotel, but beyond that as a ambassador of your destination, your brand your product, your self and your market.”

Market Forces are requiring a more integrated approach.

Marketing, Advertising, Social Media and Publishing are now closely integrated and cannot not be seen as separate entities. Anyone who has done any sort of Search Engine Marketing will know that all communications build on each other and that strategic marketing will require careful planning to put the right content in the right medium at the right time. This is yet another reason for brands to take control of all communications and do more of it themselves.  A magazine, a video a press release are now fundamental parts of internet marketing, more valuable than a blog or an article in gaining authority for the brand. We have done a whole series on this in our TourismMarketingMachines.com (see this on the top menu), one of the videos is listed below.

Hotel Brands and Responsibilities

As hoteliers we have at least 4 brands. Your hotel (and its products), Yourself, your destination and your marketplace. You own the first two, you are ambassadors for your destination and your market, and with that comes responsibility to be true to your market, your customer, your destination and your environment.

Corporate social responsibility is taking on a brand new face as the social role of governments get smaller and brands that are trusted, are starting to assume social and community responsibility. To support a cause or contribute to a purpose and to help provide social solutions.

Tourism is no different. Every tourism professional and employee now have a social responsibility – I coined the phrase a decade ago that “A brand is a promise and expectation” and it is no less true today. More and more consumer are expecting social responsibility from the brands they choose to align with.

Tourism professionals and all those involved in hospitality can help to make the world a better place.

More to come Brand Sound http://www.thesoundagency.com/what/Tourism Branding, Hotel Branding, Personal Branding,  Brand Journalism, Video Branding, Music Branding
Scent Branding, the Silent Brand and the Love Brand.

See videos below on Tourism Branding.

Brand Engagement on Facebook Plumets | The Content Strategist, by Contently

Brand Engagement on Facebook Plumets | The Content Strategist, by Contently

New Report Reveals Just How Drastically Brand Engagement Is Plummeting on Facebook | The Content Strategist, by Contently.

Total engagement for the top 10 most-followed brands on Facebook has declined 40 percent year-over-year. This is largely as a result of FB changes to the position of post in the FB Newsfeed.

As they say “The bottom line? Build an audience that secretly belongs to a social media mob at your own peril, and don’t be surprised when the brands and publishers that own their audiences are the only ones that survive”.

How to Build Brand Awareness for Your Business

How to Build Brand Awareness for Your Business

How to Build Brand Awareness for Your Business.

With all the moves by Google and the search engines to list only authority sites in the first page search results, your brand is become in some cases more important than your keywords. In this blog, Neil shows you how to start building your brand online.

As he says “When it comes to building brand awareness for my company, the method that’s worked best has been content marketing. Although it involves a lot of work, and it takes six months to a year for it to be effective, it’s been proven to provide the biggest bang for the buck.”

 

How to Build Brand Awareness for Your Business
Courtesy of: Quick Sprout

 

 

 

 

Millennials in 4 years will be 60% on our Business says Marriott

Bill Marriott: Where hotels are going and the new Millennials.

“In four years, 60% of our business will be millennials,” says Mr. Marriott, who adds with a laugh, “All of us old folks are moving on.”

Mr. Marriott says the company now pulls data focus, groups, research and from social media. As an Example, it asks guests for ideas of how to improve travel. “When one wrote back asking for healthy vending machines, the company flew her to London to find items in farmers’ markets that could be stored in a machine.” Now the Company will launch the first of its new nutritious vending machines—with items such as fresh fruit and energy bars—in Chicago this fall.

Bill Marriott, the 82-year-old chairman of Marriott International, syas we have to be cool: The $19 billion hotel-management company, is done with flowered drapes and white tablecloths. In place of fusty bedspreads and fluffy carpets, he wants most of his 200 new luxury and lifestyle hotel projects to be filled with sleek flat-screen TVs, hardwood floors and hopping bars.

Marriott will soon launch its new hotel chain, Moxy Hotels, aimed at the millennial generation (roughly ages 18 to 33). It will feature small, low-cost rooms with grab-and-go food and the feel of a Silicon Valley startup.

– See more at: http://online.wsj.com/articles/bill-marriott-where-hotels-are-going-1405716717?

If this idea interest you be sure to read these stories and analysis of what we are calling the new Independent Traveller = From the Independent UK read a philosophical article about new cultural, self discovery and life changing trips by traveling. Also see our article on brand culture with an example from Travelersinsights and Barbados holidays for the independent traveller

Disney Restricts OTAs From Buying Their Search Terms

Disney to restrict travel sellers from buying search terms.

What a lesson for hotel brands who find that their ranking on search results has dropped off of page 1 as OTAs and other vendors bide top dollar for the placement.

The new Disney policy, effective on Jan. 1, 2015 will also add a clause to resellers agreements that restricts travel professionals from using Disney trademarks, trade names and service marks in domains as either the destination URL or as the display URL, or as a subdomain.

Turns out it not the first. Back in 2010, Carnival Corp. prohibited travel agencies from bidding on their trademarks as keywords in online searches. The move was not popular with OTAs and travel sellers who use search engine optimization and buy keywords to improve their search engine results.

– See more at: hhttp://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Disney-to-restrict-travel-sellers-from-buying-search-terms//disney_to_restrict_travel_sellers_from_buying_search_terms#sthash.Ccx0WwIl.dpuf

Who’s Really Controlling Your Destination Brand?

Who’s Really Controlling Your Destination Brand? PART ONE – Small City Branding Around the World.

Branding is evolving to fit into the social world and the digital age. This article looks at ideas at the heart of the brand. Some say that consumers now control brands marketing organizations are no longer needed. But can the fragmented behaviors of destination partners and the marketplace alone build a coherent brand?

Read on to see whats at stake and what you can do to influence outcomes. It may be that marketers are no longer in control in the way they used to be in a world where we all play a part.