PROBLEM

aspire to create a proposal for how the destination brand identity of NYC could look today, seven years after 9/11. This aim is based on the discovery that NYC has not had a marketing department dedicated to the marketing and promotion of the city since 2006.

“Branding is perhaps the most powerful marketing weapon available to contemporary destinations marketers confronted by tourists who are increasingly seeking lifestyle fulfilment and experience, rather than recognizing differentiation in the more tangible elements of the destination product, such as accommodations and attractions.”1

It is no longer enough for a destination to have great attractions because most destinations today have superb five-star resorts, hotels, and attractions. Every country claims a unique culture and heritage, and each place describes itself as having the friendliest people and the most customerfocused industry2. Therefore, the destination marketer’s job has become more complex and difficult because it is no longer sufficient to promote the attractions as just that. Mainly because destinations have become style and status indicators, and offer the same consumer benefits as other more highly branded lifestyle accessories such as cars, perfumes, watches, and clothes3. Furthermore, globalisation has transformed the world into a complex and highly competitive marketplace with demanding visitors, who no longer settle for simple attractions that do not present emotional value to the individual visiting the destination. A destination needs to differentiate itself in a favourable way in order for the targeted visitors, investors, and corporations to notice it. Furthermore, the destination needs to develop an image that is believable and desired to be able to compete with the rest of the world. This is done best by matching the identity with the wished-for lifestyle of the targeted visitors. The reasons for this above-mentioned development within the area of destination branding are many. However, the following will name a few: One reason is that society is generating a need for experience economy, in which, the consumers are demanding experience products and unique travel adventures4. Secondly, prices have lowered, and the majority of people in the western world have a larger disposable income than ever before, which means, that more people have the opportunity to travel5 and expect unique experiences. Furthermore, the destination offers are rapidly expanding, and it seems that, for those who have money, the world has no limits when choosing a destination. Thirdly, the choice of a destination is important because it can be 1 Pride 2004, p. 60. 2 Pride 2003, p. 11. 3 Pride 2003, p. 4. 4 Pine and Gilmore 1999, p. 5. 5 Echtner and Ritchie 2003, p. 37.

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considered a significant lifestyle indicator for today’s aspirational consumers, and the places chosen must have emotional appeal, high conversational capital, and celebrity value6. When consumers make choices about products, including destinations, they are making lifestyle statements given that they are buying into an emotional relationship7. Additionally, souvenirs and mementos evoke and materialise those experiences, and postcards and logo-emblazoned merchandise proclaim a “been there, done that” attitude to whomever cares to notice8. Fourthly, some destinations symbolise

prestige. It is prestigious, for some people, to be able to fly to NYC for two weeks instead of a week camping in their home country. However, this is, yet again, a lifestyle choice that indicates that the innovative, outgoing globetrotter will not be satisfied vacationing in his or her home country. A fifth reason for this development is that globalisation has had its influence on the development of tourism with the improved infrastructure, making it easy to commute to airports and around less explored places. Lastly, the internet is making worldwide competition and marketing easier and much more intense. Because of the above mentioned reasons, each destination needs to create a unique identity to differentiate itself in the globally competitive marketplace of the world9. As Roger Pride, author of the book Destination Branding – Creating the Unique Destination Proposition10, states:

“In this marketplace what persuades potential tourists to visit, and revisit, one place instead of another is whether they have empathy with the destination and its values. The battle for customers in tomorrow’s destination marketplace will be fought not over price but over hearts and minds – and this is where we move into the realm of branding.”11

In relation to Pride’s statement, branding is very important to a destination because the destination cannot be tried on as a sweater or test driven as a vehicle before purchased. Therefore, future visitors often emphasise the preparatory work to estimate if a destination would be lucrative in ways of new experiences and the attempt to express their lifestyle through their perception of the particular destination.

6 Pride 2003, p. 4. 7 Pride 2004, p. 60. 8 Pride 2004, p. 4. 9 Pride 2003, p. 11. 10 Pride 2003. 11 Pride 2003, p. 12.

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1.0.1 Problem

On the basis of the above-mentioned reasons for the recent developments in the area of destination branding, the original intent of this thesis was to analyse the branding material and strategy of NYC in an attempt to unveil the promotional aspects which have made NYC the brand it is today. However, it seems impossible to uncover material about any current strategy for the brand NYC. In 2003, a department called Marketing NYC was assembled, in which Joseph Perello was appointed CMO. The aim of this department was to work in collaboration with Mayor Michael Bloomberg to take responsibility for the centralization of all city marketing assets, including media and promotion for NYC12. However, in 2006, he resigned to pursue to other challenges, and since then nothing has been officially written or done to promote a branding strategy for NYC. Perello’s initiatives will be explained further in the chapter 2.0 NYC Since 9/11. Since Perello resigned, no new successor has officially been appointed, no press releases sent out, and nothing printed about the department or its initiatives for the public to read. In fact, the website has been shut down and it is as if the department no longer exists. Does NYC no longer need a branding strategy? Was the brand promotion so well implemented that the marketing department became redundant? And did the problems of 9/11 fade so much that it holds no part in the brand identity? These are the questions

that led up to the subject matter of this thesis, and they will be kept in mind as the thesis continually develops and will be answered in the conclusion.

1.1 Aim

On the basis of these questions, the aim of this thesis is to research what it takes to create a successful destination brand and, on that foundation, aspire to create a proposal for how the destination brand Identity of NYC could look today, seven years after 9/11. This will be done using the theoretical approach to destination branding by Roger Pride13.

Vision

The aim of the thesis is to create a suggested destination brand identity for NYC. This is because research showed that the city lacked such an important constituent in its branding, and the motivation was that even with all the external promotion and outside help the city has been given through the media, it is still only in the top five visited destinations in America after Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Orlando212. Therefore, the vision for the suggested identity is to reach 50 million visitors annually by the year of 2015213 and, in eventually, become the number one domestically visited state and destination in the country of America. However, it is important to recognize that the identity is built to attract both domestic visitors who will visit for the first time and repeat visitors, but also to attract Americans who wish to settle and live in NYC, and thereby become part of the identity of the city presented to entice the visitors. By increasing the number of

212 Forbes Traveller. 213 Appendix 6.

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visitors and workers in the city, its economy will unsurprisingly increase, which is the indirect goal of branding a destination.

The challenge with promoting an iconic destination brand is the target audience develops a brand familiarity, which breeds complacence. People think they know a city and what it has to offer based on various media, but they don’t necessarily know what’s new and what’s beyond the iconic attractions.

The bureau is actively partnering with iconic personalities such as Taylor Swift, who moved to New York and wrote a song about her first impressions of the city. Swift then gave the song to NYC & Co. for free to use for promotional purposes.

Dixon said the bureau will probably never be able to duplicate as successful a branding partnership as with Swift, but it is moving forward with new celebrities based on how well Swift engaged new audiences.

Dixon said the goal is to have 7,000 LinkNYC stations running within three years, so people no longer have to huddle in Starbucks or museums to access free Wi-Fi.

Dixon said that New York City has not had a lot of traction in the family travel market until lately. The bureau has had success developing branding ambassadors around famous Nickelodeon characters such as Dora The Explorer, who brings the added benefit of resonating well with multicultural, bilingual visitors.