Competitive Audit

1) Indirect Competitor – Different State

Destination Graphix

P.O. Box 618, Leander, TX 78646

P: 512-260-7886

http://www.destinationgraphix.com

Biodata

Destination Graphix is a creative firm based in Leander, Texas that offers identity design, advertising design, publications design, web site design, marketing, branding, PR, copywriting, online marketing, creative consulting, art and editorial direction, ad sales, and printing.

They have won two design awards for the Greater Leander Chamber Directory, namely 1) the American Inhouse Design Award from Graphic Design, USA; and, 2) First Place Media Award from the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Owner and creative director Gabrielle Melisende is an all-around marketing specialist and was recently named a finalist for Marketing Campaign of the Year by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Destination Graphix belongs to various industry groups online, including: Print Design Planet, Freelance Designers, Graphic and Web Designers Director, DesignFirms Design Community and Marketplace, and Top Design Firms.

They are also the preferred service provider in the online groups like: Leander, Texas Web Design Services of Marketingtool.com; and, Austin, Texas Website Designer of WebsiteDesignersList.com.

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Strengths

Destination Graphix leverages its awards by making those details prominent throughout their website. The organization also entered itself in numerous directory listings online, and sought the title of “preferred service vendor” or “preferred design firm” within their geographical market.

Their Weakness

Their company website lacked the basic information one would want to know about an organization one would want to hire. It has no mention of a corporate history and no explanation for why they are called Destination Graphix. There was no introduction of the people that make the company. It did not show any portfolio of their work, or the type of clients they cater to.

2) Same Market Niche – Different State

Navigant Marketing

2828 Coral Way, Suite 205

Miami, FL 33145

P. 305.445.9020

F. 305.445.9021

info@navigantmarketing.com

http://www.navigantmarketing.com/site/about.htm

Biodata

Navigant Marketing positions itself as a key marketer for hotel companies, travel agencies, global distribution systems, cruise lines, airlines and car rental companies. The organization is based in Miami, Florida and is run by four people – the principal, the vice president, the director of account services and the strategic planning director. They offer strategic marketing, public relations, print creative services, digital marketing and motion video development.

Because of their alliance with the IFA group in Hong Kong, their markets now span beyond the Americas to include the Asia-Pacific. The services they provide through IFA include the following: 1) culturally-sensitive adaptation of existing brand messaging for the Chinese market, 2) westernization of Chinese brand messaging, 3) copywriting, editing and translation, 4) public relation services in China, 5) media planning and buying in China, 6) trade show graphics, materials and event support in China.

The list of clients of Navigant Marketing consist of:

(hotels, resorts and spas)

Wyndham Hotel Group

Ramada Worldwide

Melia Hotels and Resorts

Hyatt Hotels and Resorts

Hard Rock Hotel

Gran Melia Hotels and Resorts

Baymont Inn & Suites

Wingate by Wyndham

Barcelo Hotels and Resorts

Sagamore

Paradisus

Valentin Imperial Maya

YHI Spa

Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts

Amerihost Inn

Howard Johnson

Radisson Hotels and Resorts

La Jolla de Mismaloya

(car service)

Thrifty Car Rental

Dollar Rent a Car

(cruise lines)

Royal Caribbean

Amadeus

(airline)

Aeromexico

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Strengths

Navigant Marketing keeps its website concise yet sufficient to understand what they do, the various capabilities they possess, who they are, and how they operate. They serve a very targeted audience, because that is the industry that the team’s collective experience has been catering to.

3) Same Market Niche – Different State

Tsunami Marketing

2469-C Puu Rd.

Kalaheo, Hawaii 96741

http://www.tsunamimarketing.com

Tsunami Marketing provides brand positioning and strategy, identity and logo design, advertising integration, business and product naming, strategic account planning, signage and vehicle branding, retail design, interior and exterior design, website design, database development, e-commerce integration and site maintenance and support.

The travel and tourism brands Tsunami Marketing has done work for are:

Air Ventures, Brennecke’s Beach Broiler, Fairwind Cruises, Hanalei Colony Resort, Holo Holo Charters, Poipu Bay Golf Course, Silver Falls Ranch, Smith’s Fern Grotto and Luau.

Their team is composed of the president, the managing director, the accountant and office manager, the programming specialist, the creative brand director, and the web developer/system administrator.

Tsunami Marketing has amassed a number of awards and accolades, including the frequent Hawaii Advertising Federation/Pele Award of Excellence, the AIGA/Hawaii’s 5-0, Top 5 Award for Identity and Letterhead Package, the National AIGA Addy Award, Optima Design “Silver Medal” Award, among others.

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Strengths

The exhaustive list of awards of Tsunami Marketing contributes to an image of capability, recognition and prestige. Tsunami Marketing also introduces each team member’s roles beyond their designations.

4) Same Market Niche – Different State

USDM.net, or US Destination Marketing, Inc.

606 N. Carancahua St. Suite 1400

Corpus Christi, TX 78476

P: 361.883.8833

F: 361.883.4329

Toll Free: 800.208.8661

consulting@usdm.net

http://www.usdm.net/

USDM.net is an interactive agency and media company delivering digital solutions in terms of creative output, marketing, branding, strategy and media to the travel and tourism industry. Formed in 1993 by Leah Woolford, USDM.net has since built its reputation up as a digital travel marketing authority, having been endorsed by the Travel Industry Association and the Destination Marketing Association International. It was the first private company hired by the US Department of Commerce to design and manage the digital marketing campaign of the government office for the target international audience.

Its clients include NYC & Company, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau, Atlanta CVB + Brand Atlanta, Tourism Toronto, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood, ResortQuest. From travel and tourism, USDM.net now also caters to international governments and Fortune 500 companies in real estate, finance and insurance industries.

USDM.net has garnered much acclaim for its campaigns, among the most recent of which are the 2009 Internet Advertising Competition Award for Best Events Online Campaign, Best Leisure E-Mail Message Campaign, Best Regional Online Campaign.

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Strengths

Concentrating on the travel and tourism industy has led USDM.net to develop marketing programs that were unique, innovative and effective in showing a return on investment. The success of their client base made USDM.net successful and worth endorsing within the destination marketing industry. Their strategy of putting the client first, and making sure the client’s businesses thrived because of their designs, enabled USDM.net to branch out to other fields, establish satellite offices, and collect various awards for their campaigns.

5) Same Market Niche – Same State

Wanderlust Travel and Destination Marketing

297 River Street

Troy, NY 12180 USA

P: 888.754.3210

http://www.createwanderlust.com/

Wanderlust offers branding, website design, internet marketing, social media marketing, advertising, tourism and traveler research and management consulting to destinations, resorts and tourism attractions. The process they follow involves three steps: 1) Baggage Check, 2) Chart the Course, and 3) Create Wanderlust.

There are four people that lead the organization: the President and Chief Strategic Officer, the EVP on Image and Identity, the EVP on Planning and Research, and the Director of Marketing. They are also joined by a manager for Hospitality Consulting, and another manager for Business Development Strategy.

Wanderlust belongs to numerous associations like the AIGA, American Resort Development Association, Association of Travel Marketing Executives, Bucksnorts, Destination Marketing Association International, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, National Ski Areas Association, Travel Industry Association, United States Polo Association, and Who Is Who In Hospitality.

Among its clients are Albany Institute of History & Art, Boston University International Programs, Camp Chingachgook, The Century House Inn & Conference Center, The Chickasaw Nation, Dubai Sports City International Center for Sports Medicine, Greene County, NY, Howe Caverns, Jiminy Peak, Magic Mountain, Mount Snow Resort, Norman Rockwell Museum, Proctor’s Theater, Saratoga, Performing Arts Center, Long Island’s South Shore Bayway, Troy, NY, Vista Climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, Windham Mountain, The Winwood Inn.

The most recent awards given to Wanderlust are the 2009 American Graphic Design Award by Graphic Design USA for their tourism brand identity solution for Howard Caverns; a Gold Award in the 39^th Creativity Annual for their work for Windham Mountain; and, the Award of Excellence for the cinema advertising and online video campaign work for Howard Caverns in the 2009 Videographer Awards – Commercials/Amusements/Entertainment category.

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Strengths

Wanderlust tailored its design process to speak the language of travel and tourism. The organization employed this language consistency in detailing who they are as a group, what they do, and how they do it. Moreover, their various awards and affiliations with groups from both design and travel industries help the audience perceive them as knowledgeable and well-connected in the proper communities.

6) Same Market Niche – Different State

The Hat Factory

Old Brewers Yard

17-19 Neal Street

London WC2H 9UY

Tel: +44 (0)20 7379 6937

http://www.destinationbranding.co.uk/index.html

Stephen Kreppel and Marie-Stella Ray brings 15 years worth of experience to the table with The Hat Factory, which is a London-based outfit offering destination branding. Specifically, the company offers the following strengths: marketing and strategic consultancy, website consultancy, web design and adaptation, product development, advertising, on-line promotion, publicity and PR, database marketing and management, print collaterals, tour operator liaison, salons, trade fair & event coordination, market research and practical support.

Their works on display at their website are mainly online designs for The Regional Tourist Board of Picardy, Northern France, The Entente Vallee du Lot marketing organization, and the Somme departement: restoring its tourism image (sic) following flood disaster.

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Weakness

The Hat Factory does a good job of providing relevant information about what destination branding is, what their services include in detail, as well as explaining other related topics like sustainable tourism. However, the only mention of their target market is a small blurb on one side of the website asking their site viewers if they happen to be a country, region, city, attraction, hotel, or an event. They fail to show the work that they have done outside of destinations, in areas outside of online marketing. Their name also misrepresents what they offer because it does not give people a clear sense that they are doing destination branding.

7) Indirect Competitor – Same State

Company C

160 Varick Street

New York, NY 10013

P: 212-561-6000

F: 212-463-8643

http://www.companycmarketing.com/index.html

info@companycmarketing.com

Company C is a direct and digital marketing agency based in New York which offers tools to build strategy, to develop the creative and media-related solutions and to execute those strategic campaigns that hope to engage consumers and generate results for their clients. They cater to all businesses, including travel and tourism-related corporations like Virgin Atlantic, and Millennium Broadway Hotel, New York.

The management team behind Company C is composed of the President, the Executive Director for Account Services, the Executive Director fo Production, the Creative Director, The Director of User Experience, the Director for Strategy and Analytics, the Group Director for Media, and the Director for Business Development.

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Strength

Company C employs an extensive group of people that have their own charge over the business, which should make operations better managed and workload well-distributed.

Their Weakness

Company C appears to be a “design firm that could”, one of the many small branding agencies trying to cater to everyone to gain revenue and clout. The company has not fully demonstrated its capacity through any show of work, or any affiliation with industry groups.

8) Indirect Competitor – Same State

Co-op Branding

115 Fifth Avenue

5^th Floor

New York, NY 10003

P: 646-524-1400

Co-op is a branding agency in New York City, focused on developing branding and marketing solutions to medium-sized companies. Working hand in hand with Agency 212, a full-service advertising agency also located in the city, Co-op spreads its net to offer work in terms of brand strategy, naming, identity, collateral, online, advertising & media, promotion, branded installations and brand films.

The company has done work for a diverse selection of businesses, but they have also created designs for hotels and tourist attractions like Loews Hotels & Resorts, and Madame Tussauds.

The team that makes Co-op consists of the Managing Partner, Creative Director-Partner, another Partner, the Senior Brand Strategist and the Senior Design Director.

Co-op promotes its company by participating in design talks, like for Columbia University Talk on “Coordinating a Unified Brand Image”, and for the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Talk, and by striving to be featured in industry magazines like Communication Arts, and “How Design Magazine’s 103 Award Winning Promotion Projects.”

What Ascend Can Learn From Them

Their Strength

Co-op builds its reputation as a competent branding agency because of its active participation in industry-related events. Even though they do not have any awards to boot, they make their presence felt by speaking in forums about design, and by getting promotion through magazines.