Branding Strategies

De-positioning: The Most Effective Way to Position a Brand in Market

Ask not how your branding agency can help you change the world. Ask how your branding agency can help grow your business.

 

My twenty-plus years career running branding agencies have taught me what works and what doesn’t work in terms of positioning a business for growth. Many trends, perspectives, and buzzwords come and go. New ones continually pop up.

 

You’ve heard of approaches like disruption, differentiation, relevance, unique selling propositions, and personalization. But today, what you hear the most is brand purpose. Not just the what, how, or who the brand is, but the “why” you should care and how it makes the world a better place. This “why” is supposed to align with something bigger, which is more important than the straightforward selling of products.

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Transforming tourism through an “island mantra”

The caribbean island of Anguilla was looking to increase tourism without bringing cruise ships to the island. Their high-end hospitality businesses were flourishing, but mid-market businesses were frustrated. Their tourist board came to us with tandem goals: create a big idea to clarify why anguilla matters and elevate the island’s midmarket offerings strategically so as not to devalue the luxury segment.

Our goal was to create something aspirational to set Anguilla apart from the typical Caribbean vacation. Our big idea, “feeling is believing,” became Anguilla’s “island mantra.” And our “charming escapes” brand positioning aligned the island’s mid-market properties with its luxury offerings by presenting them as affordable but like-minded alternatives.

To create a campaign graphic that would engage locals as well as tourists, we created an abstract design based on an aerial view of the island. The novel approach of using locals to “campaign the campaign” was very effective in spreading the word around the island and gaining adoption. We delivered 30% more heads in beds our first year, and annual tourism to the island grew at a steady rate of 15%. We increased that rate every year in the three subsequent years.

Brand strategy, brand positioning, brand messaging, visual ID, design system, brand consulting, brand naming, brand experience, brand marketing, campaign execution.