Hwy 111 Marketing Alliance
"Think outside the Palm Springs box!" |
The Problem with Palm Springs Branding.
by Lance Cory Frank 4/23/04
Note to newcomers: “CVA” refers to the “Palm Springs Desert
Resorts Convention and
Visitors Authority”, an association of many cities including Palm Springs.
The “Palm
Springs Bureau of Tourism” is the City of Palm Springs own tourism
agency.
When the name of a famous city is chosen as the brand to represent several
other less
famous cities a second brand is automatically created: The “Everyone
else” brand. When
we say “Other Resort Cities”, “Down Valley” or “East
Valley” what we are really saying
is “Not Palm Springs” and if you’re not Palm Springs the
implication is you’re not as
good. What helps the CVA make us competitive in the global marketplace is
a double
edged sword. If you’re not Palm Springs, it cuts both ways.
The CVA’s “Palm Springs Desert Resorts” brand is a well considered
attempt to transfer
some of Palm Springs’ fame to the other cities. But because
“Resort” is frequently used
by individual hotels, the impression is given that this is a brand for resorts
located within
Palm Springs. According to recent reports, even the tourism industry gets
confused by
this. If you sell a group on Palm Springs then tell them they’ll be
staying someplace else,
they’ll probably feel less satisfied than if they stayed in Palm Springs.
Satisfied
customers book and book again. Unsatisfied customers do not.
“Palm Springs Valley Resorts” has been suggested to remove the
inhospitable
implications of “desert,” but this apparently requires officially
renaming the Coachella
Valley. Historical purist and businesses with “CV” in their name
object. Ironically, so do
some Palm Springs residents who want to maintain the distinctiveness of their
location.
A more ominous problem for the CVA are questions being asked “down
valley” about the
cost effectiveness of funding Palm Springs branding. They argue they could
continue to
derive the same “trickle down” benefits for free from the Palm
Springs Bureau of
Tourism’s efforts. In yet another irony, they say the money might be
better spent touting
their own distinctiveness as cultural alternative alternatives to
“new” Palm Springs.
Tourism aside, consider also that dwindling tax revenue may force cuts in
basic services
such as police and fire. Reducing contributions to the already under funded
CVA or even
the disastrous move of withdrawing entirely are real options being considered.
Other than
praying for the return of economic boom times, the CVA’s best hope is
to work within its
present budget to do what it was created to do: increase sales. One way to
do that is to
improve branding efficiency by reducing the disenfranchisement of its members.
The Hwy 111 brand can help the CVA do just that. It clarifies the relationship
of
“everyone else” to Palm Springs while elevating all and marginalizing
none. Its unique
commonality to most cities makes it synergistic with everyone’s present
branding
including the CVA’s. It makes the valley’s cultural diversity a
marketable asset rather
than a liability. It requires no change in geographic designation or names
of businesses
and best of all, costs virtually nothing to integrate into existing media
campaigns.
Hwy 111 will not only help keep the CVA’s Palm Springs train together,
it will create a
powerful second engine from the “cars” to make us a more competitive
tourism market.
|
