Branding and Marketing Walled Towns

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Branding and Marketing Walled Towns

• Robyn Griffith-Jones

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Can you brand walled towns?

• Do walled towns have pulling power?
• A clear positioning?
• Are they worth marketing?
• What would it cost?

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Market prospects are good

• Europe is a premier destination
• Visiting heritage sites is a mass past-time
• Short breaks are growing
• Europeans on holiday
• 63 visit seaside resorts
• 60 heritage sites
• 40 churches/religious sites
• 28 theme parks

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What is a brand?

• A brand is NOT a logo or a brochure
• A brand is the total response of the consumer to
  the symbol or name that states who you are and
  what you offer and what differentiates you from
  your competitors

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In the factory we make beauty products in the
shops we sell hopeCharles Revlon
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(No Transcript)
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If this business were to be split up, I would
gladly take the brands, the trademarks and
goodwill. You could have all the bricks and
mortar and I would fare better than you. John
Smith, Chairman, Quaker Food Group
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TOURISM BRANDS
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Destination Branding
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Developing a brand for walled towns

• Do walled towns have an identity?
• Do people know about you?
• Who is your target market?

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Research on historic towns Walled towns all
have

• Consistencies
• Cathedral, medieval history
• Concentrated city centre enclosing shops, tourism
  and cultural facilities
• Powerful but intangible spiritual and historical
  references

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Research on historic towns/2

• Common values
• Cultural and educational leisure activities
  (theatre, museums, parks)
• Hospitality to visitors (their historic function)

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Research on historic towns/3

• Common basic truths
• Robust physical environments
• Containers of humanity
• Places where people meet
• The focal point of their regions

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Research on historic towns/4

• Long term ambitions
• Aspire to retain civic heritage
• Aspire to conserve local culture and environment

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Do walled towns have an identity that makes them
stand apart from historic towns?

• Do walled towns have enough common identity to
  keep them together?

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Do people know about you?

• Using the Communications Life Cycle
• Unawareness
• Awareness
• Understanding
• Conviction
• Response

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Waterway promotion
CLC - Understanding
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Who are the target markets for walled towns?

• Use segmentation techniques

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Market segments

• What do they wear? Where do they live?
• How much money do they have to spend?
• What disposable time do they have?
• Are they loyal to the same destination or
  product?
• Are they environmentally aware?
• Are they easy to reach?

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Umbrella segments used by the British Tourist
Authority

• Youth
• DINKS (Double Income, No Kids)
• Seniors
• Education/English as a Foreign Language
• Families with kids
• Older professionals
• Business travel
• Young professionals
• Others

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The questions to answer

• Why do you want to create a brand?
• Why do you want to do any marketing?
• Do you want more visitors?
• What sort of visitors?

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The challenge for walled towns

• Agree the core brand values (ie define a clear
  identity)
• Agree the priority target markets
• Be prepared to use the brand values consistently,
  in all communications
• And finally..

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Be prepared to spend a lot of money!

• If the destination cannot shout, the market
  cannot hear