BRANDAUDITJOONDALUP RESORT

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS

Prepared by:

6th August 2018

TACTICAL MARKETING SPECIALISTS

DEBORAH IEVERSPGrad MSc (Marketing) AsBBus (Business)

Tel: (08) 9206 5773Mobile: 0401 003 631Email: marketing@redivy.com.au

www.redivy.com.au

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Table of Contents ...............................................................................................................................................2

1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................3

Table 1 - List of services offered by Joondalup Resort ................................................................................3

2 Brand Inventory ...............................................................................................................................................4

2.1 Core Brand Values ..................................................................................................................................4

2.2 Brand Elements ......................................................................................................................................5

Figure 1 - Selection of Joondalup Resort and its business entities logos ..............................................5

Figure 2 - Joondalup Resort brand mantra and slogan ..........................................................................5

2.3 Brand Communication ............................................................................................................................6

2.4 Secondary Brand Associations ..............................................................................................................8

3 Evaluation ........................................................................................................................................................8

3.1 Positioning ..............................................................................................................................................8

3.2 Target Market ..........................................................................................................................................8

3.3 Brand Elements ......................................................................................................................................9

3.4 Communications .....................................................................................................................................9

3.5 Positioning related to competitors ........................................................................................................10

Figure 3 - SWOT Analysis .....................................................................................................................10

3.6 Brand Equity .........................................................................................................................................11

4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................12

Reference List ..................................................................................................................................................13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lakeview Ballroom

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1. INTRODUCTIONJoondalup Resort was opened in April 1996 as a boutique resort built as an extension of the

Joondalup Country Club and Golf Course.

The hotel side of the business comprises 70 accommodation rooms as well as a restaurant, British

style pub, six function venues and three meeting rooms. Except for the Lakeview Ballroom, which

was opened in 2013, the hotel setting resonates its heritage with traditional furniture and fixtures

throughout public areas.

The Country Club side of the business features a 27 hole golf course, traditional Clubhouse, Café

and ProShop overlooking a driving range, practice greens and 2 separate function areas as well as a

golf academy.

Table 1 - List of services offered by Joondalup Resort

Accommodation 70 room hotel consisting of 30 Double rooms, 34 Twin rooms, 2 Twin

disabled rooms, 2 Twin Suites with one interconnecting and 2 Double

Suites with king size bed.

Golf 27 hole championship course and driving range open to the public 7

days, corporate golf facilities, proshop & golf academy

Memberships 7 day, 5 day, Junior, international & social golf memberships.

Social Club membership offering discounts across the business.

Quarry Club ‘VIP networking’ golf memberships.

Weddings Multiple outdoor & indoor ceremony and reception areas

Private Functions Caters to functions from 6 - 900 guests over 11 available venues for

private hire including school ball & sports club packages.

Conference Facilities Caters to meetings & conferences from 6 - 900 guests over 11

available venues and break away rooms for private hire. Offers 3

levels of day rate packages and inclusive accommodation package.

Special Events Hosts a variety of special events including both live show & DJ music

nights, calendar event functions (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter,

Christmas etc) and specialty dinners

Food & Beverage

Outlets

Caters in house guests, conference attendees and public patrons,

host a variety of calendar event functions. 4 outlets on-site: Bistro

38, Cafe 28, Kangaroo Arms & Members Clubhouse.

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Joondalup Resort is known as a high end, luxury resort. Their main, and only local direct

suburban competitor offering similar services is Novotel Vines in Swan Valley, a less prestigious

family friendly hotel and spa, which is perceived as being a more affordable business venue than

Joondalup Resort.

Indirect competitors located in Perth have localized transport with both hotel accommodation and

conference facilities, but lack a wide-open “resort style” green environment with a golf course. The

leading Perth competitor being the Crown casino and hotel which targets a “gambling patron” but

lacks the team-building or ‘togetherness” option for conferences or wedding events as everyone

dispersers into the casino on the first opportunity.

2. BRAND INVENTORY2.1 Core Brand Values

Core values are the beliefs of the organisation’s identity and guiding principles or moral compass

governing it’s behavior, helping organisations to determine if they are on the right path to

fulfilling their goals (Wood, 2000). Through this, brand equity can generate more revenue through

respected brand recognition, differentiating its products from competitors.

Joondalup Resort brand values have a rich history steeped in tradition that is well known in

Western Australia with a sophisticated brand personality being elegant and prestigious.

The Resort puts forward superior service as their main brand value. This comes across strongly

in their printed and online presence and while the core brand values are easily identifiable through

corporate communications, when researching the resort, the brand values do not appear to be

consistent across the different business entities.

The resort does not display its mission statement in any public areas or online making it difficult

to research exactly what they feel their brand values and ethos are, which among others, include

a commitment to a “green” environment through the use of brown-water, recycling of single-use

cups and cooking oils as well as the protection of indigenous fauna and flora.

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2.2 Brand elements

The most widely cited definition is that of the American Marketing Association, where brand

elements are defined as a name, logo, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these,

intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them

from those of competitors (Kotler & Keller 2006).

Brand elements such as the brand name, slogans, packaging styles and url’s should be

meaningful, memorable and distinctive as well as easy to recognise and recall.

The Joondalup Resort brand name and logo features heavily in both online and printed

communications and uses an associative descriptive approach (VanAuken, 2003), alluding to the

key brand benefit but failing to convey the multiple business entities as a benefit.

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS

Where service excellence is a tradition

Figure 1 - Selection of Joondalup Resort and it’s business entities’ logos

Figure 2 - Joondalup Resort brand mantra and slogan

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2.3 Brand communication

The concept of brand communication is the manner in which the organisation communicates it’s

brand message through consistent, meaningful and purposeful conversation with it’s stakeholders

through communications such as advertising, thereby creating it’s characteristics, attributes and

image in the mind of stakeholders.

Joondalup Resort branding communications utilise a wide range of media including :

Printed Materials: have a consistent theme across all business entities and medias. It is a

sophisticated, elegant theme highlighting the superior service and product being offered by the

Resort. Even though the different business entities within the resort have their own look and

feel, the essence of the material is consistent and well presented. Printed materials are visually

modern but keep the brand values and heritage of the resort within the design and copywriting.

Brand colours are used consistently across all corporate departmental communications and

brand elements are used consistently across all printed material.

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Social media platforms: The resort social media presence is fragmented and inconsistent. They

have 3 Facebook pages, a main resort page, a golf and golf academy page and a weddings page.

• Main Facebook Page – Resort posts on the main Facebook page are inconsistent in

language usage and often have spelling or grammar mistakes. Posts do not appear to be

regular or industry related, rather Facebook appears to be utilised purely as a selling tool

with no apparent target market in mind.

• Golf Facebook Page - This page is aimed at the golf club, golf academy and members

clubhouse. Golfing posts are sporadic at best and vary between sales posts from the

proshop and clubhouse, whereas the golf pros do a very good job in posting interesting

hints and tips as well as the occasional industry article. A problem that I have found on

this page however, is that often one of the golf pros posts as his own brand instead of the

resort brand creating brand inconsistency.

• Weddings Facebook Page - This page is dedicated entirely to the weddings market and

does not cross promote at all. Although posts are regular, they appear rushed and often

have spelling and grammar mistakes.

• Instagram - The Resort has one Instagram account that is very well utilised by both the

Bistro and weddings department. Posts are inconsistent in language usage and often

have spelling and grammar errors.

• LinkedIn - Even though this is an important social media platform for business to business

marketing, the Resort LinkedIn profile is defunct with the last post being in 2013.

Website - The Resort website is a bit dated and relies heavily on text as opposed to visuals.

Information is not well presented and can be hard to find what you are looking for. Navigation

is somewhat fractured which does not give the consumer a seamless experience. Visually the

website does not align with the brand values, however the brand values do come across in the

text. Corporate colours are not used at all on the website.

Joondalup Resort is easily found through various search engines when searching by business name,

business entity name or golf, however, Joondalup Resort is hard to find when searching by product

category such as restaurants or hotels in Joondalup and does not feature in the top 15 responses.

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2.4 Secondary brand associations

Stakeholder judgments can be based on indirect or secondary brand associations which are not

directly linked to the product in question, including companies, countries of origin, distribution

channels and other brands, thereby convincing stakeholders that the brand possesses benefits or

attributes that will satisfy their needs / or wants (Lanseng, 2005).

Joondalup Resort benefits from secondary brand associations and does so in the form of the

golf academy located on their premises, with contracted out to two well known, world class golf

pros. The golf manager ensures that they operate under set agreements adding to the prestige of

the golf course and the marketing manager ensures that all communications bear the Joondalup

brand ethos.

In addition, Joondalup resort has formed a relationship with a local BMW franchise who advertise

their luxury products on site during major events, targeting a similar customer market.

3.1 Positioning

The hotel and restaurant market in Perth, Western Australia is in crisis at the moment after a

severe downturn in the economy. Up until 2012 hotel rooms were at a premium for most of the

year (Acott, 2018), however due to the decline in the mining boom and increase in new hotels in

Perth, hotel operators are increasingly focusing on their market positioning to gain competitive

advantage.

For the most part Joondalup Resort has a strong brand position in that they are perceived as

unique, credible and sustainable in the mind of the average consumer.

3.2 Target Market

• New and returning visitors traveling to the area

• Local Residents

• Middle- and upper-income bracket

• Businesses needing to hold conferences, team building or strategy sessions

• Localised area wedding and parties

• Couples, more so than family units

• Golfers

3. EVALUATION

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Unique selling position: Joondalup Resort is unique in being a 27 hole golfing venue

complemented by a superior hotel, bistro, conference and wedding venue, all located in a

magnificent setting, with the natural beauty of the bush and the irresistible charm of indigenous

fauna and flora making it the ideal environment for consumers to experience nature and forget, for

a short time, that they are in the heart of the suburbs, a mere 25 minutes from Perth’s CBD.

Pricing strategy: The aim of Joondalup Resort appears to be competitive in a difficult economy

while maintaining its integrity as a luxury resort & golf club. Each business entity has its own

pricing structure with few cross-promotional packages available. Corporate, wedding & special

event pricing appears flexible within reason in order to cater to clients’ budgets.

3.3 Brand elements

Associative descriptive brand names and logos assist with the recall of the main brand benefit

suggested by the name and logo but inhibit recall of other subsequent brand benefits or business

entities associated with the brand (Keller et al, 1998). Where the Resort’s Bistro, Cafe or pub

logos are used, these are always backed up with the main corporate logo, which keeps their

association to the Resort at the forefront.

3.4 Communications

Joondalup Resort communication collateral greatly contributes to the overall brand success but

sometimes results in dissatisfied customers where the customer believes that the resort has failed

to deliver a benefit in the way it was communicated resulting from internal stakeholders not up-

holding the brand value of superior service. This was apparent in online reviews when negative

reviews all voice a similar theme.

Social media platforms are being used extensively to promote the brand and results in a high level

of success but in some case fail to support the high-end value benefit being offered due to poor

language and extensive spelling errors.

Communications do not show the Resort’s commitment to green ethos which could result

in greater support from customers wanting / needing to feel that they contribute to the

environmental movement.

Each business entity within the Resort should be supporting the Resort’s brand image and it’s

positioning through its individual contribution to the guest experience. This is not immediately

apparent even though all business entities are presented on their website in a consistently

visual manner.

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3.5 Positioning related to competitors

Brand positioning has been defined (Kotler, 2003) as the act of designing an organisation’s

offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. In other

words, brand positioning describes a brand’s points of parity and points of difference from its

competitors and where, or how it is perceived in consumer’s minds.

Resort points of Parity:

• In most cases, the Resort’s competitors have hotel accommodation with high levels of

service benefits.

• Conference facilities.

Resort points of difference:

• The resort has a prestigious 27 hole golf course with an academy, a high-end reputation,

• Exceptional conference facilities and ballroom.

• The resort is situated in an immaculately kept picturesque “green” environment,

supportive of wildlife and situated away from distractions.

Figure 3 - SWOT Analysis

Established prestigious brand

Ideally situated out of the city with green spaces

“All-in-One” wedding venue

Golf and driving range facilities

Full service corporate function destination

Price positioning perception

Perceived as older style resort

Public transport accessibility

Build on customer and brand loyalty

Improve on superior customer service

Build on unique features including green sustainable ethos

Offer shuttle to nearby attractions

Increased competition in Perth

Negative reviews

Downturn in economy

Loss of customer base

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3.6 Brand equity

Brand equity is defined as the added value a brand gives a product

(Farquhar, 1989) and is a phrase used in the marketing industry to try to describe the value

of having a well-known brand name, based on the idea that well-known brand names can

generate more money from products that are memorable, easily recognizable, and superior

in quality and reliability.

Customers tend to support brands they are comfortable with, have a memory of a pleasant

experience with or have an emotional attachment to, as well as supporting their basic beliefs

or needs (Tepeci, 1999).

With today’s media platforms, a consumer’s perception, positive or negative experience can

spread rapidly across area, state or country impacting directly on a brand’s equity.

Joondalup Resort’s brand equity lies with it’s reputation as a world-class golf club,

supported by the prestigious member’s golf club house which is evident in their member

satisfaction, sought after member’s shares and positive customer experiences.

The resort lacks the same brand equity perception with their other products such as

accommodation, bistro and event facilities.

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4. CONCLUSIONThe resort does not establish a clear and attractive brand image of the hotel, bistro and event

facilities in the minds of consumers resulting in its tourism offerings being overshadowed by the

golf side of the business in a very competitive marketplace.

In addition to selecting attributes that appeal to their target markets, the resort needs to leverage

it’s brand image with respect to internal stakeholders, to develop core values throughout its

product offerings, staff skills and business entity structure. In this way the service and product

experience should support the promoted image with all business entities and staff working

together to supplement the brand image effectively.

The Resort’s social media platforms lack consistency, which could be the result of ineffective

management of employees contributing to posts and a lack of moderation before posts are

made public.

The resort fails to leverage its sustainability and environmental values by not promoting its

commitment to maintaining a small environmental footprint, protecting the environment and

indigenous fauna and flora, to all stakeholders.

For the most part Joondalup Resort has strong brand position in that they are perceived as

unique, credible and sustainable in the mind of the average consumer.

In order to retain its brand equity, Joondalup Resort needs to put a strong brand strategy in place

to reposition the hotel, bistro and event business entities to align themselves more closely with its

core brand values.

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REFERENCE LISTAcott, K. (2018) Perth hotel room glut risks jobs, businesses. Retrieved August 6, 2018, from

PerthNow News web site: https://www.perthnow.com.au/business/perth-hotel-room-glut-risks-

jobs-businesses/

Farquhar, P.H. (1989) “Managing Brand Equity”, Marketing Research. Sep89, Vol. 1 Issue 3, p24-33

Keller, K.L., Heckler, E.S. & Houston, M.J. (1998) “The Effects of Brand Name Suggestiveness on

Advertising Recall”, Journal of Marketing, Vol 62 p 48-57

Kotler P. (2003). Marketing Management. 11th ed. Englewoods Cliffs,NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2006) Marketing Management. 12th Edition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle

River. p 274

Lanseng, E.J. & Masandaviciute, S. (2005) ,”Effects of Secondary Associations on Brand Value: a

Study of the Relationship Between Corporate Image and Consumers’ Willingness to Pay”, Asia

Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 6, p 155

Tepeci, M. (1999) “Increasing brand loyalty in the hospitality industry”, International Journal of

Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 11 Issue: 5, pp.223-230

VanAuken, B. (2003) “Brand Identity Standards and Systems”, Brand Aid: an easy reference guide

to solving your toughest branding problems, 1st Ed p 63

Wood, L. (2000) “Brands and brand equity: definition and management”, Management Decision,

Vol. 38 Issue: 9, pp.662-669