Ms. Nagy

Social Media & PR

Five Branding Tips to Make your Hotel Stand Out from the Crowd

By Jennifer Nagy, President, jlnpr

As consumers, we encounter brands every single day, on TV, in person, online and even while buying our morning latte (or in my case, a triple venti non-fat, bone dry cappuccino). But while we do encounter many brands day-in and day-out, most people aren’t actively aware of it. However with each brand encounter, we register our thoughts, feelings and impressions of that company’s brand, which shapes how we feel about the company and, often, the company’s product.

Prominent brands, like Apple, Nike, Super 8, the Ritz Carlton, etc. have all been very successful at communicating their brand to consumers but these success stories didn’t just happen overnight. They happened because of carefully planned out strategies that developed over time… a lot of time. It took hard work, attention to detail and most importantly, consistency to turn their visions into reality.

So how can you learn from these highly successful brands to create a visible, recognizable brand for your property?

Follow these steps to create and implement your own brand identity. Keep in mind that it isn’t necessary to start from scratch; even if you already have the basics of your brand finalized, use these tips to hone and improve your current brand in order to make 2012 your most successful year to date.

Figure out who you are

Before beginning any branding activities, it is important to figure out what image you are trying to project for your property. Are you selling yourself as a budget property, appealing to customers who are looking for the best rate rather than luxury or a long list of amenities? Or are you a luxury property, offering high-end service and a top-of-the-line experience?

Once you’ve made that decision, all of your brand elements must reflect that image in order to ensure that is how customers actually perceive your property.

Key message development

After figuring out what you want your brand to be known for, you need to figure out the specific key messages that you want to deliver to your various audiences. It will be impossible to maintain a consistent brand message and brand image if you don’t first identify what your messages are. The reason being is that if your employees don’t know what messages to deliver to various audiences (guests, vendors, marketers, etc.) then they may completely miss the mark and sell your brand in a different way. This dilutes the efficacy of your brand, making it harder for your audiences to determine who you are and what you offer, and as a result, make your brand less valuable and less able to sell effectively. So when developing your key messages, be as specific as possible because the more specific, the more effective you will be at delivering that message in all of your branding materials.

Brand elements

All of these brand elements are vital in delivering your company’s brand and illustrating who you are so consider the following carefully before starting the design process:

Colors

The colors used in your logo, marketing materials, website, etc. can communicate different feelings or impressions depending on how they are used. For example, red can be interpreted as angry or passionate, depending on the context in which it is used. Be careful that you’re choosing colors that reflect the image and messages that you’re trying to communicate.

Font

The font(s) and typography that you choose can say as much about your brand as the words that you actually use. Are you trying to portray a stark, modern feel or a warm, homey feeling? Are you targeting a young, trendy audience or a more mature, Boomer crowd? The font used is an important part of reinforcing the messages that you deliver in your marketing materials.

Images

Again, think about your audience before choosing images for your marketing materials and website. If your audience is young adults, then ensure that the images that you chose reflect that target demographic. The same holds true if you are targeting Boomer travelers. No matter your audience, choose images that reflect the audience that you’re trying to appeal to.

Implementing your new brand image

Once you have finalized the key messages and design elements of your brand, the next step is to ensure that it is implemented consistently throughout your organization. Consistency is key to a successful strong brand. If your employees aren’t able to properly communicate your brand, it will be next to impossible for your customers to interpret it as you intended.

I often suggest that companies create a brand guide for their employees, which outlines a standard as to how the brand should be used and implemented. The brand guide should include the following information:

• An overview of the property’s elevator pitch – i.e. a 60-second description of who the property is and it offers.
• The key audiences that you are trying to reach through your branding (i.e. customers, employees, media, etc.).
• The key messages that you want delivered to each specific audience.
• Logo and branding guidelines, which specify how/where the logo should be used, a list of the fonts/pantones used, etc.
• The approval process for any initiatives that fall outside of the current brand guidelines – i.e. who can your staff speak to if they have a question or want to try something new?

After completing and distributing the brand guide, the marketing team should organize a meeting to review each and every element in detail. Every employee who encounters the public in any aspect – from the reservation department to senior management – should attend the meeting to ensure that they fully understand the new brand and restrictions. By giving them time to review the guide beforehand, the meeting gives them the chance to discuss, ask questions and feel more comfortable with the changes.

Tips for 2012

The last two years reinforced in the importance of new marketing channels for the hospitality industry, including social media and mobile. These channels present new challenges and new opportunities for hotels to interact with their target audiences.

Today, more and more consumers are booking at the last minute, making mobile channels very popular with certain demographics. As well, the increase in importance and usage of social media in consumers’ day-to-day lives, makes it the perfect vehicle to sell hotel rooms. As these channels develop further, more and more customers will interact with hotels only through these channels making it equally, if not more important, that a property’s brand is strong and consistent throughout these channels as well.

If your property does not yet have a mobile or social media presence, then 2012 is the time to get started; think of it as brand management 2.0.

Some things to consider when planning your mobile and social media strategy:

• It isn’t necessary to develop a brand new mobile website. Instead, ensure that your current website is optimized from the mobile web. Keep in mind that graphics and multimedia content will not necessarily be viewable on the mobile web so keep it clean and plan accordingly.
• Although there are hundreds of social media channels to choose from, no one has time to successful maintain all of them. Choose the top 3 to 5 channels that are most often used by your target audience and make sure that your strategy is effectively implemented through those sites. If you’re not sure which to choose, start out with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, which combined will give you good exposure to a wide variety of demographics. Facebook and Twitter are best for communicating with consumers and LinkedIn is a great tool for fulfilling HR needs such as finding new staff, keeping up to date on industry happenings and business networking.
• Social media channels can now go beyond just communicating and become a real booking channel. There is software now available on the market that enables consumers to book directly through social media channels, making this an even more valuable channel for hoteliers to consider.

These tips may give you a good idea of where to start but, as always, if you have any questions or would like help in creating or implementing your property’s brand, please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.

Jennifer Nagy, President at jlnpr, is a public relations pro with a passion for the hospitality industry. Jennifer’s work with high-profile national and international clients in the travel and tourism, airline, lodging, cruise and meeting/event sectors has focused on crafting coherent messaging and creating wide-scale media exposure with the end result of creating new business opportunities and increasing revenues. Ms. Nagy is widely recognized as an expert in hotel and hospitality marketing by her ongoing columns in leading industry publications Ms. Nagy can be contacted at jenn@jlnpr.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.