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What Defines Your Brand?

If you find developing the new media marketing strategy for your company frustrating and difficult, you aren’t alone! Many times, the information at your disposal is imperfect and not fully complete. This is where defining your brand, and whether or not your brand promise is actually appropriate for your company become very important.

First, of course, you need to think about what a brand really is. You need to think about not only the company focused perspective of the brand (the things that are trademarked and can be legally protected), but also the more important side, the customer focused perspective.

In today’s market, your brand is in essence a collection of meanings based on how the consumer perceives your brand. It is a collection of the consumer’s associations of everything from overall quality level of the stay experience and service to the kinds of amenities offered in the hotel bathroom to their takeaway experience after a stay, to the other kind of customers typically associated with that brand. These associations form a more complete picture of what that brand experience would be.

It’s the brand strategists’ job to try to then communicate those meanings through various marketing channels so that the potential customers understand exactly what brand experience they can expect. The basis of that is the brand promise: the articulation of what that experiential take away for the brand will be.

 

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What you need to know about new media right now

This article, written by eCornell CEO Christopher Proulx, was originally published in HotelsMag.com.

As the marketing landscape explodes with new media channels, hospitality marketers have an increased number of methods by which to raise the visibility of their brands. Gone are the days of relying solely on static print ads or run-of-the-mill television commercials. Instead, in the world of new media, hotels can reach customers in a more dynamic and engaging way. Finding the ways in which to maximize this opportunity starts with an in-depth understanding of the new media landscape.

Here are the top three things every hotel marketer needs to know right now:

Evolving media brings more opportunity for creativity

As dollars continue to shift away from traditional media to new media channels, there is a world of opportunity for marketers to shine from a creative perspective. By leveraging new media tools, hotels can offer guests a chance to more fully engage with a brand before making a decision to book travel. For example, some hotels provide virtual tours of rooms and unique property features (such as world class pools, water slides, spas). This allows customers to try before they buy in a way that’s much more meaningful than a static marketing piece. Video has also become an integral part of new media marketing as we see premium brands create professional pieces in an effort to convey what a guest might experience during a hotel stay. (The Ritz Carlton does this very well). Because there are now so many new ways to connect with customers, creative elements can go a long way in a new media campaign. Now more than ever, generating creative social media content needs to be built into a hotel’s marketing strategy.

Consistent messaging is key

With the increase in marketing channels comes the increased need for hotels to monitor their marketing message. One major change as it relates to communication is the consumer’s ability to influence the brand. Consumers routinely recommend hotels online, and reviews, both positive and negative are widely accessible online. That means that variation in the way that a hotel is discussed online should both be anticipated and addressed. In addition, the way a hotel is described through social media channels can differ from the rest of the messaging if the social media strategist is not working closely with the brand team. The result? A diluted message about what a customer can expect from a particular hotel experience. Now more than ever, hospitality marketers must be mindful of all marketing communication, including monitoring online reviews and discussion, responding where appropriate, and develop a tight messaging to be used throughout all channels.

The importance of search will continue to grow

Over the last several years, search engine optimization (SEO) has become critical to the hospitality industry. According to a recent Google study, 78 percent of all hotel transactions involved search at some stage of travel selection by the consumer, and 61 percent of people making online hotel transactions were directly referred to a hotel website by a search engine. With the migration fromhorizontal search (i.e looking at options a thousand miles wide but one inch deep) to vertical search (i.e. looking more narrowly at one particular point in the search process), the specific focus on the travel industry and the introduction of social filtering through search, today’s hospitality marketers must understand how to leverage search marketing in order to stay competitive.

The bottom line is this. In the fast-paced world of new media, hospitality marketers must stay informed and nimble. Each day is a new opportunity to reach potential customers in a meaningful way, which is why a deep understanding of new media tools is a must for hospitality marketers.

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Search Heats Up

Keep your eye on the world of Search.  There is deep interest from the user and the investment community in expanding the world of Search.  Google continues to add new functionality. Twitter users are developing a broad set of search tools aimed at harvesting knowledge from one’s social network.  Microsoft has rebranded their search as Bing and poured resources.  And, my inbox is filled with recent venture notices from engines like Wowd and Yebol.  Instructional designers will need to do some deep thinking about the role of Search in learning architectures.

From Elliott Masie’s Learning TRENDS #580, June 8, 2009: