Little Rock Destination Brand Guide

DESTINATION BRAND GUIDE

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THE CONCEPT OF BUILDING A PRODUCT BRAND GOES BACK

Destinations are products, too Little Rock as a destination is an experience to be purchased. A successful destination brand clearly defines the community’s unique and distinctive attributes that have both emotional and functional benefits to its visitors. It is not enough to have great accommodations, museums and attractions.

Little Rock was discovered by many, as a destination, in 2004 when the William J. Clinton Presidential Library opened. Since that time, the city has seen an amazing amount of redevelopment, revitalization, expansion, and growth of destination amenities. The city is truly a different place than it was ten years ago. Due to that fact, the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (LRCVB) decided the timing was right to embark on a new strategy for the destination brand to help reposition itself in the marketplace and take advantage of its past and ongoing revitalization.

SUCCESSFUL BRANDS ARE ABOUT EMOTIONAL FEELINGS:

Just as Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group said, “branding demands commitment to continual re-invention.” LRCVB decided to expand that definition as well –“redevelopment and revitalization demands rebranding.”

LRCVB partnered with two nationally recognized firms, and two research firms, to assist in collecting needed market research to help assess Little Rock’s destination strengths; identify weaknesses to further strengthen the brand and make the city more competitive; and develop a brand and subsequent messaging to best articulate those strengths in order to increase visitation.

Competition is fierce between destinations as they fight for tourism dollars and visitor’s time. It is critical that Little Rock, as a travel destination, develop a strategy that will differentiate itself in the marketplace and provide an even greater awareness of its beneficial amenities. In order to survive in today’s tough marketplace a destination, like a business, must treat its brand identity as a strategic asset, one that is just as critical as the hotels, restaurants, attractions, arts and entertainment that make up the destination product.

This Little Rock Destination Brand Guide will not only explain what a destination brand is, but also tell the Little Rock brand story from its development to final execution.

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Beginning in 2011, the LRCVB began this process when it undertook the first steps with a destination Brand Assessment and the development of a destination BrandPromise® Commitment (Promise). LRCVB is now accelerating this process by bringing the brand to life throughout the entire community.

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– DUANE KNAPP, BRANDSTRATEGY INC.

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This destination brand guide is designed to assist the community in understanding not only the brand development process, but also its very significant role in bringing the brand to life and ensuring its success.

By collectively understanding and delivering on our Promise, Little Rock will stand stronger and more unified in facing its competitive challenges in a strategic fashion.

Additionally, this destination brand strategy will help serve as an important tool for LRCVB in its marketing efforts by clearly identifying its strengths and unique selling propositions in an emotional way that connects with visitors.

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- LITTLE ROCK MAYOR MARK STODOLA, LITTLE ROCK ADVERTISING & PROMOTION COMMISSION

“ It is important to note that this is a community-wide initiative that will involve city leaders and residents, the business community, and all others that depend on a vibrant and healthy economic flow to Little Rock. While LRCVB spearheaded this brand initiative, it is the community as a whole that delivers the distinctive only-inLittle Rock experience.

This experience will determine the success of Little Rock as a travel destination. The Little Rock community must work together to deliver the Promise.

The Destination BrandScience™ process followed by LRCVB consists of four phases, and was created by BrandStrategy, Inc. I: Brand Assessment II: BrandPromise® III: Brand Blueprint IV: Brand Culturalization

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– GRETCHEN HALL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, LITTLE ROCK CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

Each of these phases will be explained and outlined in this document.

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BRAND ASSESSMENT FINDINGS

PHASE I: BRAND ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES The purpose of the Brand Assessment is to determine the feelings, perceptions and attitudes that key local stakeholders, as well as visitors, non-visitors and meeting professionals have towards Little Rock as a travel and meeting destination. Through the use of multiple individual interviews and surveys, the following information was obtained and is summarized here.

• Determine how visitors, non-visitors and meeting professionals perceive Little Rock as a destination • Learn how the business community and local stakeholders feel about their city.

• Research real and perceived attributes of Little Rock as a destination • Ascertain how city leaders and hospitality employees view the Little Rock experience • Identify and understand what is truly unique and distinctive about Little Rock

HOW WE DID IT • Administered surveys with key stakeholders including city staff, business leaders, political leaders, front line hospitality staff, and residents on perceptions of Little Rock.

• Compiled information from target groups of frequent travelers in Los Angeles, Chicago, Kansas City, Tulsa, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Shreveport and Arkansas (but not Central Arkansas) on perceptions, attitudes and feelings regarding the Little Rock visitor product.

• Gathered information from meeting professionals about perceptions, attitudes and feelings regarding Little Rock as a meeting destination.

• Worked with Duane Knapp, BrandStrategy Inc., GMA Research and Karen Flake & Associates to develop and analyze the data and conduct stakeholder interview sessions.

• Compared stakeholder views with results from consumer and meeting planner information identifying commonalities and conflicting views and ideas.

• Reviewed Little Rock’s competitive set locally and regionally to determine distinctive product attributes.

• Reviewed all existing visitor marketing materials about Little Rock, produced by the LRCVB, and current messaging.

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No resorts Generally rated less distinctive than other regional destinations, and not viewed as a “One of a Kind” destination Little Rock’s awareness levels among Frequent Travelers and Meeting Professionals was moderately low

How would you rate your last visit to Little Rock?

100

80 60

40

20

0

Excellent/Exceeded expectations

Good but not a one-of-akind experience

Average compared to other city destinations

Frequent Travelers

Website Visitors

Poor/disappointing

Most-used descriptive words for Little Rock

Most used descriptive words for Little Rock: Charming Surprising Small Charming Southern Friendly Surprising Beautiful Unknown Small Affordable Southern Historic Engaging Friendly Welcoming Beautiful Beyond expectations

Unknown Affordable Historic Engaging Welcoming Beyond Expectations

Based on everything you know or have heard, rate each of the following destinations “DISTINCTIVE COMPARED TO OTHER DESTINATIONS” (1 to 10 Scale: 1 = “Poor”, 10 = “Exceptional”) SEGMENTS:

Little Rock

Dallas Fort/Worth

Jackson

Memphis

Nashville

Oklahoma City

St. Louis

Frequent Travelers

4.67

6.24

4.45

5.94

6.71

4.95

6.07

Website Visitors

6.24

7.06

4.62

6.88

7.35

5.12

6.41

Based on everything you know or have heard, rate each of the following destinations on “DESTINATION AWARENESS – WELL KNOWN” (1 to 10 Scale: 1 = “Poor”, 10 = “Exceptional”) SEGMENTS

Little Rock

Dallas Fort/Worth

Jackson

Frequent Travelers

5.01

7.55

4.55

Website Visitors

5.65

8.35

3.62

Memphis

Nashville

Oklahoma City

St. Louis

7.07

7.69

5.43

7.08

8.18

8.35

4.12

6.00

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How well does each of the following words/phrases describe your image of Little Rock?

(Scale: 1 to 10 where 1 = “Not At All”, 10 = “Very Well”) Words/Phrases

Frequent Travelers

Website Visitors

Easy to get to

6.49

8.06

Friendly and welcoming

6.54

7.71

Relaxing

6.36

7.24

Romantic Value for the money

One of a kind

4.96 Source: MMGY Global

6.13

4.73 6.71

5.24

5.47

How well does each of the following words/phrases How well does each odescribe f the following ords/phrases Rock? your w image of Little describe y our i mage o f L ittle R ock?

(Scale: 1 to 10 where 1 = “Not At All”, 10 = “Very Well”) (Scale: 1 to 10 where 1 = “Not At All”, 10 = “Very Well”)

Words/Phrases

Words/Phrases

Frequent Travelers

Easy to get Easy to to get to

Frequent Website Travelers Visitors

Website Visitors

6.49

6.49 8.06

8.06

Friendly and welcoming 6.54 Friendly and welcoming

6.54 7.71

7.71

Relaxing

6.36 7.24

7.24

Romantic

6.36

Relaxing

4.96

Romantic

Value for the money

6.13

One of a kind

5.24

Value for the money One of a kind

4.73

4.96

4.73

6.13

6.71

5.24

5.47

6.71 5.47

Fun

5.59

6.12

Affordable

6.36

6.88

Family friendly

6.39

7.18

Crowded

5.01

5.12

Safe

6.03

6.47

Clean

6.23

7.24

Compared to 3 years ago has Little Rock……?

In the next 3 years, will Little Rock……?

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Frequent Travelers

Past 3 years

Stakeholders

Frontline Staff

Website Visitors

Improved

19

80

71

53

Stayed the same

43

20

26

37

BRANDPROMISE BREAKDOWN

PHASE II: BRANDPROMISE A destination’s Promise is the community’s internal commitment for how it wants its visitors to feel about their experience. It is not the advertising message; however, the Promise drives all advertising messages and brand communications.

OBJECTIVES To define Little Rock’s distinctive and unique visitor experience through emotionally charged words. The idea is to capture the distinctive essence of the benefits, both emotional and functional, that guests can expect to receive from experiencing Little Rock. Then use this Promise internally as the guiding star and focal point for all hospitality training, community support and tourism marketing.

HOW WE DID IT • Reviewed Brand Assessment data to determine words that frequently appeared to describe Little Rock from all survey results.

• Prioritized those key attributes that incorporate the full scope of the varied components of the Little Rock experience (from people to places).

• Developed an aspirational (but deliverable) Promise paragraph that will become the focal point and guiding star for all brand and marketing initiatives going forward.

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OUR BRAND PROMISE

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– LENA MOORE, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WILLIAM J. CLINTON FOUNDATION

DISCOVER THE PLEASANT SURPRISE OF LITTLE ROCK. ENJOY OUR CHARMING HOSPITALITY, SINCERE SERVICE, GENUINE PEOPLE AND ENGAGING EXPERIENCES. WELCOME TO OUR BRAND OF NEW SOUTHERN STYLE AS YOU EXPERIENCE OUR HISTORY AND CULTURE. PHASE III: BRAND BLUEPRINT New brand creative designed and formulated based on the results of the Brand Assessment and development of the Destination BrandPromise. The distinctive brand blueprint will be executed through marketing and creative concepts and will become the strategic direction for all messaging, graphic and visual brand elements.

The creative concepts designed to articulate the Little Rock Promise are based around the phrase “…with a Southern accent.” The creative consists of a large, single visual (“hero shot”), and copy in the form of a personal story that highlights many of Little Rock’s key attractions and destination selling points. Additionally, the striking visuals are always identified, to build awareness for the rich variety of experiences and attractions that the destination contains, in order to build upon “the pleasant surprise” of Little Rock.

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CREATIVE CONCEPTS I N T E L L E C T UA L LY

INSPIR E D

E MPOWERING

SOUTHERN

SOUTHERN

WITH A

ACCENT.

Arkansas Art Center > To see more, visit LittleRock.com

PE RSPECTIVE S W ITH A

ACCENT.

Great Hall, Clinton Presidential Center > To see more, visit LittleRock.com

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CREATIVE CONCEPTS

Creative concepts displayed represent a sample of advertising concepts and do not represent the entire campaign collection. Editorial copy is also not included in some of the samples shown.

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PHASE IV: BRAND CULTURALIZATION Everyone throughout the destination must become an champion for the brand. No one person alone can do it alone.

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OBJECTIVES Involve the entire community in delivering the Promise to each of Little Rock’s guests.

To develop a tangible program of action that will take the Promise and bring it to life.

Through customized training programs and a clear understanding of what Little Rock means to individual businesses, these programs will assist the community by delivering a consistent and united Promise for residents and guests alike through education and improvement to the overall guest experience. People must be ‘emotionally’ capable of delivering a Promise before they can be ‘functionally’ able.

WHAT WE ARE DOING In 2013, the following Brand Culturalization programs will be the focus of delivering on the Little Rock Promise: • Collaborating with Duane Knapp of BrandStategy, Inc. for the destination Little Rock brand culturalization, and MMGY Global for our creative brand implementation.

• Little Rock Destination Brand Strategy unveiling: a community gathering of civic and business leaders to explain the Little Rock Brand program, its history and steps for implementation.

• CVB Staff (and convention center staff) Brand Training: BrandPromise training has been developed that is consistent and supportive of the Promise and will aid in more integrated and unique organizational service delivery as well as establish the agency’s culture.

• Guest Contact Service Training: A complimentary training program for all Little Rock guest contact employees is being designed with a focus on quality, knowledgeable customer service and cultural awareness about the destination.

The program will outline how to deliver a quality Little Rock experience that is consistent with the destination BrandPromise. It is anticipated that a regular, ongoing dialogue with the hospitality community will be undertaken to update it on the program’s status. In addition, regular, on-going training sessions will be offered as refresher courses and introductions for new staff.

• Sales Staff Training: A training program will be developed to assist Little Rock hospitality industry personnel with how to better sell the destination and their individual product while delivering and selling the Little Rock Destination BrandPromise.

• BrandPromise Training Guide: collaborate with Duane Knapp of BrandStrategy, Inc. to design and develop a training guide that will ensure the accurate delivery of the Little Rock Promise to every guest.

• Developing a destination strategy for the brand that will: – Enhance relevancy – Create a stronger awareness and reputation – Develop a unique distinction – Deliver an exceptional experience – Energize all stakeholders – Guarantee satisfaction to our guests

– MICHAEL CHAFFIN, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, THE CAPITAL HOTEL

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” – CAPI PECK, OWNER, TRIOS RESTAURANT, VICE PRESIDENT, ARKANSAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, LITTLE ROCK ADVERTISING & PROMOTION COMMISSION

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The key to Little Rock’s continued success as a travel destination is a unified commitment to understanding the destination’s brand, its importance and its ability to provide our community with a competitive advantage. Little Rock is fortunate to have a strong and vibrant business and resident community that loves their hometown and embraces its heritage, celebrates the city with passion and continually displays progressive attitudes. The purpose of this Destination Brand Guide is to further this success by outlining the Destination BrandScience process and to aid businesses in the community to grow and develop while protecting the community’s vital assets and spirit.

Together, as the Little Rock community, we can make our destination a stronger and more economically viable community in which to visit, live and work.

Thank you!

2013 • BrandPromise, BrandScience and BrandStrategy are trademarks of BrandStrategy Inc. All other trademarks, brands and brand names are the property of their respective owners and are used for illustrative purposes only.

No sponsorship, association or affiliation with BrandStrategy, Inc. or LRCVB is intended or implied. This document contains material that is Confidential and Proprietary to BrandStrategy, Inc. and Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and may not be copied, reproduced or distributed in any manner whatsoever except for the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau’s internal use or as otherwise as required by law.