Progress So Far

Please feel free to reorganize in the order we actually accomplished the item.

1 - Creating the Business
2 - Incorporation of the Organization
3 - Developing the Business Identity (Name)
4 - Initial Development of the Business Plan
5 - Initial Market Research
6 - Initial Competitive Research
7 - Corporate Brand Logo Explorations
8 - SWOT Analysis
9 - Developing the Mission Statement
10 - Developing the Human Resources
11 - Developing the Organizational Structure
12 - Developing the Marketing Plan
13 - Developing Sample Business Collaterals (Invoice)

Cohesive Group SWOT

To Understand Destination Branding

• Article on Destination Branding
• Airline Branding
• Interview with Jose Filipe Torres of Bloom Consulting, Madrid about Nation Branding
• Suggestions on Better Destination Branding
• Book: Destination Branding

Data for Market Research

• Article: Most Buyers See Growing 2010 Travel Spend
• Future Brand's Country Brand Index 2008: Country brand analytics, travel motivations and insights into the challenges and opportunities within the world of travel, tourism and country branding
• Interbrand's List of Clients for the Hospitality, Travel and Leisure Industry
• Nation Branding's Nation Brands Index 2009
• Concierge.com's List of Top Destinations, Etc.
• 2009 Industry Outlook
• 2009 Travel and Tourism Trends
• List of Travel Resource Links

Sample Branding Campaign by Competitiors

• Deep Design Agency's Rebranding of Ritz London
• Lila Design's Airline Branding Projects
• Logos of Destinations
  

Revised Target Market

Initial Target Market
Groups that do not have strong identities

• countries that do not have a well defined or strong tourism board. They may need help enticing people to visit their countries.

• hotels within these countries that want a more luxurious, funky, fresh, etc. look

• transportation such as planes, cruise ships, or buses

• travel agencies - online such as expedia, or local groups

Refined Target Market, as agreed upon last meeting (Oct. 27)
Organizations within the travel, tourism, hospitality industries, and destinations that
1) do not have a brand identity
2) have an existing brand identity that is weak or ineffective (bad)
3) require design executions that further complement/supplement an existing strong identity.

Ascend, Inc. has the capacity to
1) create a brand identity for the organization which will be
2) strong, memorable, and impactful
3) representing the value of the organization in all its possible executions

Marketing Plan Outline

1. Executive Summary
2. Brand Name and Service Positioning
3. Situational Analysis
4. Segmentation and Target Market
5. Objectives and Goals
6. Marketing Tactics
7. Implementation Plan/Action Plan
8. Budget
9. Controls

Business Plan Outline

1. Mission Statement - Deb
   
2. History of the Organization - Linda
   
3. Marketing Plan - Kate
   
4. Competition - Deb
   
5. Promotion - Jessica
   
6. Financial Plan - all
   
7. Legalities - Erinn
   
8. Human Resources - Erinn
   
9. Job Descriptions - Linda
   
10. Organizational Chart - Linda
    
11. Design Process Plan - Deb
    
12. Bank Loan Application - any one?
    
13. Contract - any one?
    
14. Invoice - any one?
    

SWOT Analysis

Threats

• Dilution of established destination identities*
• Increased competition among emergent tourism sites*
• Highly damaging internal and external politics involved in creating destination advertising* (because tourism promotion does not persuade uncommitted potential vacationers but rather acts to confirm the intentions of those already predisposed to visit)
• The use of cliches and stereotypes in marketing and advertising by destination marketers.*
• Destination marketers have to reconcile a range of local and regional interests, and continue to promote an identity acceptable to a range of constituencies/"internal clients".*
• Destination marketers also have to reconcile the interests of external stakeholders like travel agents and tour operators which always want to please their travel customers.*
  
• Destination marketers have little control over the different aspects of their product (if it were a destination because it consists of different components like accommodation and catering establishments, tourist attractions, arts, entertainment and cultural venues, and the natural environment).
  

Weaknesses

• Destinations project very similar images.*
  
• Most national tourism organizations have limited budgets, and yet they have to market globally, competing not just with other destinations but also with other global consumer brands.*
• Startup: The business is new and does not belong to any industry-related network that can push its services onto potential target businesses.
• Startup: The service offered by the business does not include web advertising.
  

Opportunities

• Targeting travel-related businesses who are thriving because of the recession. Car-hire companies, train and bus lines are among the most profitable because of the current trend.
  
• Creating advertising images for the destinations that use the cliches as a means to express more detail, reshaping them and adding more depth to the connotations they draw.
• Tourists are not asking "what can we do on holiday?" but "who can we be on holiday?". Tourists are looking less for escape and more for discovery, and that creates the basis of an emotional connection with marketers can exploit in advertising.*
• The number of people traveling has increased dramatically because of increased economic ability, the growth of communication technology, and transportation infrastructure."
• A city deciding to develop a tourism industry can be in a stage of transition, when they still have attractive features to promote to tourists and available funds to develop and implement in a marketing plan.
  

Strengths

• Comprehensive identity programmes to differentiate destinations (e.g. cities, regions, nations) and to emphasize the uniqueness of their product, and also to attract tourism and inward investment, and to foster self-confidence and self-esteem*
• Innovative, attention-grabbing advertising on a budget, and maximizing the media spend*
  
• Discovering the meaning of their destination as a product to the potential consumer.
  
• Good destination advertising that is original and different yet sustainable, believable and relevant.
• Startup: The organization is composed of people who are well-traveled and can offer a broader view of branding its clients.
• Startup: The organization is composed of individuals who have worked in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry and therefore approach branding problems with educated solutions relevant to the client.

*Morgan, Nigel. Advertising in Tourism and Leisure. Butterworth-Heinemann. Jordan Hill, Oxford. 2000.

"Kolb, Bonita M. Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns: Using Branding and Events to Attract Tourists. New York.