Destination brand molecule

Destination brand molecule

Stanislav Ivanov, PhD

International University College, Bulgaria

Email: [email protected]

Steven F. Illum, PhD and Yating Liang, PhD

Missouri State University, USA


Destination brand and brand image

Brand molecule


Brand concept map

Destination brand molecule methodology

Application of the destination brand molecule concept

References


A brand is defined as “identifiable product, service, person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives relevant, unique added values which match their needs most closely” (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2003: 25)

Within the core of branding lies the creating of brand image

Destination brand image generally refers to a compilation of beliefs and impressions based on information processing from various sources over time (Crompton, 1979)


Marketers are interested not in the individual’s perceptions of a destination but the predominant perceptions actual and potential tourists hold about a destination and the links between these perceptions (the organisation of brand perceptions in tourists’ minds) – “Perception is reality”!

Current destination image measurement methodologies – 5- and 7-point Likert scales, semantic differentials, predetermined forced scales and destination attributes

Brand molecule

Lederer and Hill (2001)


Silver and Hill (2002)

Brand concept map

John et al (2006)


methodology

Stages:

Elicitation

Mapping

Aggregation

Consensus molecule

Validation

Application of the destination brand

molecule concept

Methodology was tested with 2 groups of

students in International University

College, Bulgaria and Missouri State

University, USA in 2009

Destination brand “Las Vegas”


molecule concept - Elicitation






molecule concept - Mapping

Respondents were presented the Aaker (1996) brand map of McDonald’s Restaurants for an example, and were asked to prepare similar individual maps for Las Vegas. We asked them to apply the following mapping rules:

use only but not all the associations from the aggregated lists

use 1, 2 or 3 lines between associations to denote a weak, medium or strong connection between the associations, respectively.

use +, – or 0 to denote a positive, negative or neutral influence of a particular association to the overall image of the destination – a so called “valence” of an association.

The 43 Bulgarian respondents generated useful 41 molecules while the 50 US respondents created 47 useful ones.


molecule concept - Mapping


molecule concept - Aggregation

Summarising the associations, the links between them, the strength of the links and the association valences

Separately for Bulgarian and US respondents


molecule concept – Consensus molecule


molecule concept - Validation


molecule concept - Assessment

The concept is applicable to every type of destination or large attraction

It shows how tourists perceive the destination

Tourists and potential tourists have limited time and the probability that they would like to participate in both stages of the research is not very high

The destination brand molecule is not a panacea for struggling destinations that have serious problems – it is a fine-tuning tool

References

de Chernatony, L., M. McDonald (2003) Creating powerful brands. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann

Crompton, J. L. (1979) An assessment of the image of Mexico as a vacation destination and the influence of geographical location upon that image. Journal of Travel Research 17(4), 18-24

Ivanov, S., S. Illum, Y. Liang (2010) Application of destination brand molecule on destination image and brand perception: An exploratory study. Tourism 58(4), 339-360

John, D. R., B. Loken, K. Kim, A. B. Monga (2006) Brand concept maps: A methodology for identifying brand association networks. Journal of Marketing Research 43(4), 549-563

Lederer, C., S. Hill (2001) See your brands through your customers’ eyes. Harvard Business Review 79(6), 125-133

Silver, S., S. Hill (2002) Selling brand America. Journal of Business Strategy 23(4), 10-15