Situation: The destination had been sold as an “earlier
version of Hawaii.” However, this identification with Hawaii may have
created misconceptions about Tahiti, of which these were prominent:
• It’s American – actually it’s French Polynesia, a unique, beautiful
and exotic collection of over 115 islands, with its own warm, welcoming
culture.
• It has big, modern, American-style hotels and resorts – in fact,
Tahiti at that time (mid-1990s) was rustic, secluded, ‘untouched’ by
modernity or stress.
• There are many inbound flights – the flight time from Los Angeles
International Airport to Papeete, Tahiti is 7.5 hours; and, there are
less than a handful of airlines that serve Tahiti.
Research Methodology:
• The destination tourism board took the agency, of which JH was a partner, to Tahiti on a series of guided “Fam Trips.”
• The team developed and held a series of focus groups with the target audience members.
• In recruiting focus group respondents, the team relied on the work of
Stanley C. Plog, Leisure Travel, A Marketing Handbook, who had
identified international travelers into two primary categories; the
recruiters made sure to have a mix of these two types of travelers:
Allocentric, or Venturers
Intellectually curious; open to new experiences; seeking secluded,
unspoiled destinations; even preferring ‘experiential’ factors such as
rustic, beachfront or over-water bungalows with an occasional “gecko” on
the wall.
Psychocentric, or Dependables
Cautious and conservative; prefer popular, well-known brands; like
structure and routine; would like to be surrounded by friends and
family; choose American-style hotels and resorts within easy (3-5 hour)
flight distances.
BRAND DNA
Target Audience Insight
The Venturers were clearly the preferable target for Tahiti. It came to
be that active, self-reliant, adventurous travelers would like to visit
islands that had not been previously visited – in effect, “Islands
Beyond the Ordinary” (and this became the tagline).
Tahiti. Islands Beyond the Ordinary
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Situation: In 2004, the City of Beverly Hills embarked on an unprecedented municipal campaign, funded by hotel taxes. Budgets were decided and allocated by a blue ribbon committee of hotel and retail leaders. A team leader was selected from the entertainment industry to work for this Beverly Hills Marketing Coalition, and along with the agency, the city, merchants and hoteliers, a carefully researched campaign was developed.
Objective: Create a compelling, Beverly Hills-branded campaign to increase revenue in Beverly Hills during Holiday 2004.
Research: A unique group of respondents were recruited from customer lists provided by participating hoteliers and retailers.
Methodology: One-to-one interviews and focus groups to determine attitudinal and preference issues around the Beverly Hills brand. Uniquely, interviews were also done with retail staff, clerks and management.
BRAND DNA
Target Audience Insight
Shoppers were reluctant to shop in Beverly Hills, thinking it was all luxury goods. The strategy of creating this marketing coalition of retailers ensured that consumers could learn they had many more choices than they had thought they had. A ‘catalog’ of participating merchants and hoteliers (for overnight stays), with a sophisticated, fun artistic “look and feel” was developed to carry seasonal messages and specific shopping opportunities.
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Situation: Already the leader in the luxury cruise category, Crystal Cruises was planning the launch of their third ship, the Crystal Serenity. The new ship meant that the cruise line had a 58% capacity increase in an industry experiencing reduced demand, lower capacity utilization and slim margins (after 9/11).
Market Issues:
• 90% of Crystal Cruises’ previous business had come from “experienced cruisers”(Crystal loyalists, luxury cruise lines e.g., Silversea, and upper-premium –e.g., Holland-America).
• Overall Industry capacity increased by 50 new ships.
• Demand was dropping –capacity utilization declined from 90.4% to 85.1%. There were 5% fewer people on an average cruise – a crucial 5% because this is where the profit margin often exists.
• Margins dropped even further, and faster, as lines began to offer deep discounts to stay afloat .
Objective: Crystal Cruises Marketing wanted to increase sales to new segments of guests, while lowering costs per new guest acquisition.
Research Methodology:
• JH as the team leader on the account recommends the client consider targeting the “luxury traveler” who has not previously cruised.
• The agency branding team boarded each of the Crystal Cruises vessels on portions of three highly popular cruise itineraries – Alaska, The Baltics/Russia, and South America.
• Researchers did one-to-one interviews and one focus group per cruise with pre-selected passengers, including a high concentration of “first time cruisers.”
BRAND DNA
Target Audience Insight
The team used Crystal Cruises’ depth of customer knowledge based upon member data acquired in conjunction with the affinity group, The Crystal Society, then combined it with more information from co-branded associations JH had helped acquire (e.g. Leading Hotels of the World, Tiffany, Neiman Marcus, Berlitz, Mercedes-Benz, and others).
The insight was that while women are the destination decision-makers, men just needed “encouragement” to try a cruise – this encouragement was couched in the successful language of luxury brands with which they were already familiar.
Then, once they enjoyed a Crystal Cruise, men became even more avid Crystal Cruises brand advocates than their mates.
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