Destination Branding of The New Forest

Destination Branding of The New Forest
Peter Edward Burbidge

Candidate No: 013712
MSc Marketing University of Exeter September 2011
Student Number 013712
Index
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 10 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 1.2 Destination branding ........................................................................................................................................... 11 1.3 The New Forest ...................................................................................................................................................... 12 1.4 Aims and objectives ............................................................................................................................................. 13 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 2.2. Secondary research data gathering ............................................................................................................. 14 2.3 Primary information ............................................................................................................................................ 15 2.4 Primary research data gathering ................................................................................................................... 15 2.5 Data analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.6 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 3.2 Definition .................................................................................................................................................................. 21 3.3 Key elements of place branding...................................................................................................................... 21 Brand Equity ............................................................................................................................................................. 22 Brand Identity .......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Brand Image .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Analysis of The New Forest Destination Brand ................................................................................................................. 27 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 27 4.2 Role of The New Forest Tourism Association and Business Partnership .................................... 27 4.3. The New Forest brand image, personality and values ........................................................................ 28 Image ............................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Values ........................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Personality ................................................................................................................................................................. 30 4.4. Targeting and positioning ................................................................................................................................ 30 4.5. Communications ................................................................................................................................................... 31

PR ................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Website........................................................................................................................................................................ 32 Brochures ................................................................................................................................................................... 32 4.6 Brand logo and slogan......................................................................................................................................... 32 4.7 Other brand elements ......................................................................................................................................... 33 New Forest Marque and New Forest Breakfast ........................................................................................ 33 The New Forest Card ............................................................................................................................................. 33 Discussion: Results from Visitor Surveys ........................................................................................................................... 35 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 35 5.2 Visitor surveys ........................................................................................................................................................ 35 Comparative Analysis.............................................................................................................................................................. 51 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 51 Future research ........................................................................................................................................................................ 55 Appendices ................................................................................................................................................................................ 61 Appendix: The New Forest History Time Line ................................................................................................ 62 Appendix: History of Branding ............................................................................................................................... 65 Appendix: The New Forest ....................................................................................................................................... 66 Appendix: Pilot Interview with Retired Member of The New Forest Tourism Association ....... 68 Appendix: Destination Branding Interview with Members of The New Forest Tourism Partnership...................................................................................................................................................................... 72 Appendix : Transcript from Interview with Stephen Lorton, Chairman of the NFTA ................... 78 Appendix: Final Destination Branding Visitor Survey ................................................................................. 79 Appendix: Extant Literature .................................................................................................................................... 92 Appendix: Definitions of Destination Branding .............................................................................................. 94 Traditional Perspective........................................................................................................................................ 94 Post-modern perspective .................................................................................................................................... 94 Appendix: Challenges.................................................................................................................................................. 96 Appendix: Benefits of Destination Branding .................................................................................................... 97 Appendix: CBBE............................................................................................................................................................. 98 Brand Identity and Brand Image ......................................................................................................................... 100 Appendix: The New Forest in Popular Culture ............................................................................................. 101 Appendix: 5 Ways to love the forest .................................................................................................................. 102

Appendix: Economics of Happiness ................................................................................................................... 103 Appendix: Final Destination Branding Visitor Survey Results ............................................................... 104 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................................ 108 Books ................................................................................................................................................................................ 108 Journals ........................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Reports ............................................................................................................................................................................ 113 Internet ........................................................................................................................................................................... 114
Statement of Originality
What impact has Destination branding had upon The New Forests tourism industry?
Submitted by Peter Burbidge to the University of Exeter as a dissertation towards the degree of Master of Science by advanced study in Marketing in September 2011.
I certify that this dissertation is an original piece of work and that all material in this dissertation that is not my own work has been properly referenced and that no material is included for which a degree has previously been conferred upon me.
Signed:
Date: 9th September 2011
Acknowledgements
There are a few individuals who have been instrumental in the creation of this dissertation, to whom I would like to give special accreditation and demonstrate my sincerest appreciation to.
Firstly, I would like to thank my dissertation tutor Gareth Shaw for providing advice, encouragement and support and whose door was always open.
I would also like to show my appreciation to Professor Brian Cariss of the University of Portsmouth for his assistance with questionnaires, for his unrelenting practical advice, for his boundless enthusiasm and for constantly being a sounding board for ideas and arguments.
Furthermore, throughout this program of research I have been fortunate enough to meet many kind people who went out of their way to assist me with and who were always happy to contribute in any way they could. For this I am truly grateful and very humbled by such goodwill. In particular I would like to offer special thanks to Stephen Lorton, Peter Frost and Catherine Ames of the New Forest Tourism Partnership for their time, patience and useful insights and for their genuine interest in what I have been doing.
A special note of thanks goes to Anthony Climpson, OBE, who has benevolently provided countless hours of his time, limitless energy and a myriad of resources in assisting with this research. His passion and dedication to The New Forest has been inspirational and very infectious, whilst his warm, engaging and lively personality have helped make this research project highly entertaining, very educational and utterly fascinating. I am truly grateful Anthony for everything.
A big thank you goes to every visitor to The New Forest who participated in my field research, generously providing their time and honest answers to my surveys. Apologies for any inconvenience but this dissertation would not have been possible without such valuable input.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents who, as always, have demonstrated unconditional support, assistance, advice and reassurance. Thank you for your patience, tolerance and understanding, I truly appreciate all you do for me and I am eternally grateful.
Abstract
With the contemporary tourism marketplace characterised by globalisation and fierce competition, product parity and substitutability, the need for effective differentiation and enhancing product recognition has moved to the top of the marketing agenda (Kaplan, 2008, P. 1288).
The concept of destination branding is a fairly recent marketing phenomenon. Whilst it has garnered increased interest over the past few years, it remains a narrowly defined and commonly misunderstood subject by many practitioners, and it continues to be poorly represented in the extant academic literature.
This dissertation attempts to examine the concept of destination branding within the context of The New Forest. The study is an empirical investigation into how the DMO responsible for the destination have utilised branding strategies in order to increase visitor numbers and how these attempts have been received by day visitors and tourists. As a relatively new topic, there is much contestation surrounding the theoretical framework and very little agreement exists in terms of definition, application suitability or fundamental principles.
We begin our study by identifying four key themes from traditional branding theory believed to be important considerations in the application of destination branding. These include brand equity, brand identity, brand image and stakeholder participation. This paper then moves to an examination of the current elements salient within The New Forests branding strategy . This is achieved via an analysis of promotional material, case studies, marketing reports and interviews with key members of The New Forests DMO, The NFTA. Survey research is subsequently conducted within the forest in order to gauge visitors awareness and attitudes toward The New Forest brand.
This paper finds that the success of any place brand is predominantly predicated upon local endorsement and support from local stakeholders. It is the areas residents and businesses that define and actualise the brand, thus it is imperative that they are encouraged to participate and are given the opportunity to contribute to brand development. The New Forest have shown that this can be achieved via an organised partnership that works to combine and coordinate the interests and the needs of local commerce, government, the environment and local communities.
New Forest Tourism Time Line

1079 The New Forest designated as a royal forest and hunting ground by William the Conqueror. Access is restricted, granted only by permission of the King. The New Forest becomes an exclusive destination. 16th Century The System of Common Rights developed from medieval times was formalised in the mid 16th Century. Whilst the majority of these Rights are no longer practised, the rights of pasture (for ponies and cattle) and pannage (for foraging of pigs) are still very important and protected by The New Forest Court of Verderers. There are between 400 and 500 active commoners living in and around the forest today. This remains a key tourism attraction today and is a core element of what makes The New Forest a special place to visit. 1847 The London to Southampton railway was extended to Dorchester. This made The New Forest much more accessible and marked the beginning of modern tourism in the area. In the early years the number of tourists was small and their overall impact was minimal. The first instances of undesirable impact caused by tourism are witnessed as a result butterfly collecting a hobby popular amongst the Victorian and Edwardian genteel class. 1969 The New Forest became a National Nature Reserve. 1960s / 1970s Camping and touring started to emerge as a very popular leisure pursuit. In the New Forest camping and car parking was uncontrolled and visitors could roam wherever they liked, with many cars venturing as far as they could away from the roads. This caused numerous undesired environmental impacts and immeasurable damage and disturbance to the local flora and fauna. The sheer number of vehicles and people on the landscape resulted in vegetation and habitats being destroyed whist a significant threat to the local species of animals was also recorded. 1972 The Forestry Commission began a process to address the above situation, with the construction of barriers to prevent cars from leaving the roads and the creation of 142 car parks. All camping was restricted to 18 campsites and subsequently 10. 1981 - Wildlife and Countryside Act reinforced the legal status of the forest as Site of Special Significant Interest. 1988 The New Forest Tourism Association was formed in 1989 in partnership with the New Forest District Council to promote the destination as a popular, quality year round holiday and business destination.

1994 The New Forest District Council published a consultancy document called Living with the Enemy, in which it emphasises the importance of tourism and visitors to the economy and recommended a strategy to manage the problems the annual influx caused. 1999 The Green Leaf Tourism Scheme was launched. This is a program to encourage tourism businesses and their visitors to understand, respect, and care for The New Forest. Green Leaf Tourism Business agree to set aside at least 10% of their grounds for wildlife, improve waste management and recycling, improve water and efficiency, increase use of local foods, suppliers and services, encourage walking, cycling and car free activities and promote the New Forest transport initiative to all visitors. 2003 - PROGRESS Project set up to investigate the impact recreation has on sensitive sites, and devises plans to guide management on how to protect the Forest. 2004 - The New Forest Marque was launched. This is a recognized sign that can be easily identified, which indicates that the produce is from the New Forest and meets the criteria of quality. In order to qualify for the Marque, New Forest producers have to ensure their goods meet stringent standards relevant to their own particular speciality. 2005 - The New Forest became a National Park on 1 March. The New Forest Breakfast was launched as a showcase for local produce. Developed by the areas top chefs, it is available at most restaurants, hotels, campsites, cafes, pubs and B&Bs. The breakfast is part of the larger New Forest Produce Marque acting as a quality standard for regionally sourced, organic ingredients. 2006 - The New Forest is selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Tentative List) 2007 New Forest Tour Bus Launched during summer season. Open top buses allow visitors to enjoy The New Forest sights and sounds from 20 feet up. Visitors can jump on and off where they want and bikes can be transported as well. Since its inception the tour route has grown to encompass more of the forest and has proven to be one of areas most popular tourist attractions. The New Forest Business Partnership also won 3 awards at the International Responsible Tourism Awards. The New Forest Tourism Partnership picked up awards for Best Destination, Best Personal Contribution for Anthony Climpson and Overall Winner. 2009 Brand New Forest launched. A community campaign that aims to help people get the most out of the unique environment of the New Forest while, at the same time, helping visitors and residents to support the local economy. Within Brand New Forest there are 6 programs: Doing Better Business, Enjoy Local, Eat and Grow Local, Exercise Local, Save Energy Local, Shop and Buy Local. An important element to this initiative is the Brand New Forest Card, which offers discounts and special offers to visitors and many benefits to local businesses and organisations.
Introduction
The battle for customers in tomorrows destination marketplace will be fought not over price but over hearts and minds in essence, branding will be the key to success.
Morgan and Pritchard, 2000, P. 51
1.1 Introduction
Over the past two decades tourism, as recognised by Hem and Iversen (2004, P. 83) as The process of attracting visitors and catering to their needs , has become one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world (Mowlana and Smith, 1993). The WTO reports that in 2004, worldwide earnings on international tourism reached 390 billion, with the UK generating 17 billion of this (Tourism Highlights, 2005). Furthermore the UNWTO estimate that travel and tourism now represents 14% of total global GDP (UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, January 2011) and since 1998, the sector has consistently ranked first among world export groups, ahead of petroleum, motor vehicles and electronic goods (Baines, 2008). Furthermore, in employment terms, tourism is today the single largest industry on the planet, contributing over 240 million jobs annually (Hassan and Bohairy, 2009) and representing the principle metier in many countries, cities and regions across the world. Tourism, needless to say, is directly responsible for sustaining a myriad of local and micro economies.
With such a rapid proliferation of the contemporary tourism marketplace, fierce competition has become regnant at every level of the industry. In such a highly competitive environment it is no longer just individual establishments, hospitality corporations or tour organisations that are working to attract more inward investment, visitors and jobs (Caldwell, 2004). With wider recognition of the importance of tourism to area prosperity and with the international travel markets constantly becoming more crowded, entire destinations are being Forced to enhance their market position and reinforce their competitiveness (Williams et al, 2004, P.6).
Morgan, Pritchard and Piggott (2003, P. 285) stress that in the modern tourism marketplace all leading destinations offer excellent accommodation, interesting attractions, genuine customer service and quality facilities, whilst also claiming unique culture and indigenous heritage too. The authors thus proffer that the need to portray a unique identify is now of paramount importance. This urgency is reaffirmed by Pike (2009, P. 1) who propounds that, as consequence of such
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acute homogony existing between destinations, Enhanced product recognition and effective differentiation has become critical to survival, let alone future growth or success.
One particular marketing technique that has been growing in popularity with DMOs of all sizes lately is that of place branding. Proving to be both incredibly effective in differentiating one destination from another and extremely puissant in winning market share, destination branding is rapidly becoming a Valuable ally to destinations and their marketers (Barke, 1999, P. 93).
1.2 Destination branding

In todays hyper-competitive and overtly homogenous marketplace the strongest influence in persuading potential tourists to visit one destination opposed to another is whether they empathise with the place and identify with its values (Morgan, Pritchard and Piggott, 2003). Accordingly, a common concurrence by destination managers is that this can be largely achieved via destination branding, which is believed to facilitate the establishment of A memorable bond or emotional connection between the target customer and a destination through the development of a unique identity or image (Williams et al, 2004, P. 8).
In essence, a brand (product, service, place) is A market offering made distinctive by its positioning relative to the competition and by its personality, which comprises a unique combination of functional attributes and symbolic values (Kavaratzis and Ashworth (2005, P. 508). Branding theory, therefore, is widely understood to be equally as applicable to geographic locations as it is to physical goods or organisations. Underpinned by the same over-arching objectives, destination brands attempt to increase awareness of the core product (the location) and then to link desirable associations that create favourable images in the minds of consumers for the purpose of enticing consumption (visitation) (Keller, 2008).
For destinations the branding process involves capturing market position by Creating a unique and appealing identity for both visitors and the host community, with attributes that are distinct, favourable and non-substitutable and that which conveys the values that are consciously or intuitively linked to the destinations Sense of place (Ritchie and Crouch, 2000, P. 5). The most efficacious place brands are deemed as those that surpass providing a distinctive destination identity and Create an understanding of and affection for the intrinsic values that are clearly place specific (Rowden, 2000).
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1.3 The New Forest

One well-renown and celebrated destination that has effectively utilised the concept of place branding to secure and proliferate their tourism industry, and which also happens to be the subject of this investigation, is the New Forest.
Extolled as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK today, The New Forest attracts over 18 million visitors annually and brings over 500 million in revenue to the area every year (The Economic Value of Tourism, 2008). Nestled between Southampton and Bournemouth on the South coast of England, The New Forest enjoys a substantial sphere of influence over both dayvisitors and tourists. Widely praised as A special area with a unique character and heritage (Seymour, 2011), it is the largest area of unspoilt and unenclosed countryside in southern Britain and one of the few remaining medieval forests in Europe. Ponies, cattle, deer and pigs roam freely and help to maintain a very special landscape of flora and fauna. Animals enjoy right of way and have become an important symbol of the Forest, especially the New Forest Ponies that are now a recognised breed. These animals are also a significant attraction for tourists and represent a major USP for the destination brand.
Another major draw is the pastoral nature of the area, with visitors coming to enjoy the clean air, recreational opportunities and relative peace and tranquillity the forest has to offer. Popular with nature lovers, it is equally favoured by those interested in walking, riding and cycling. Museums, stately homes, leisure parks, theme parks, farms, wildlife centres and activity centres also draw millions of visitors on an annual basis. As a result, tourism now accounts for around 45% of total employment in the area, creating more than 8,000 jobs for local residents ( Sustainable Tourism in The New Forest A Case Study). Ergo, The New Forest is perceived by many as a place of both outstanding natural beauty and of amenity value.
Marketed as the Premier South Coast destination (www.nfta.co.uk), today the forest is widely recognised as The UKs best loved outdoor treasure (www.visitsoutheastengland.com). This position has been cemented further by the recent global economic downturn and the subsequent renaissance in popularity of day trips and Stay-cations (Annual Tourism Review, 2010). Scores of people are opting to explore their native country and local tourist attractions rather than venture abroad for expensive holidays. The New Forest has thus established a unique position, which has allowed them to successfully capitalise on the domestic market. Furthermore, through the careful and strategic development of a recognisable and meaningful brand, over a number of
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years, it has managed to secure year round popularity. In turn, it has reinforced its position as one of the preeminent tourist destinations in the UK. (See Appendix the New Forest)
1.4 Aims and objectives

This investigation aims to: o Examine how The New Forest has adopted the concept and theories of destination branding within their overall marketing strategy. o o Identify the extent to which visitors are cognizant of the destination brand efforts Measure the degree of influence the destination brand possesses upon visitors decision to visit The New Forest.
The objectives of this dissertation are therefore to: 1. 2. 3. Undertake a critical discussion of the extant literature and current theory pertaining to destination branding. Explore the current practices applied in branding The New Forest as an attractive, engaging and unique tourist destination. Conduct interviews with members of the New Forest Tourism Association in order to attain a deep understanding of the cogitations and reasoning that underpin the branding strategy. 4. 5. Administer visitor surveys for the purpose of gauging visitor reactions to the current destination brand and determining degree of influence levied over visitation decision. Identify areas within the New Forests current branding strategy that require further attention or reconsideration.
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Methodology
2.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses the methodologies and processes utilised in conducting primary and secondary research.
2.2. Secondary research data gathering

A rich and profusely diverse range of academic papers and journal articles has been paramount in shaping the arc of this research. As a principle source of unbiased, authoritative and detailed information, journals have lent depth, reliability, credibility and consistency to our work. In particular, The Journal of Marketing Management, The European Journal of Marketing, The Journal of Vacation Marketing, International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research and Place Branding and Public Diplomacy were all found to be considerably insightful.
The range of books published pertaining to destination branding is widely acknowledged to be quite limited. A few recent texts, however, were found to be commendably conducive to this research, including How to Brand Nations, Cities and Destinations (Moilanen and Rainisto, 2009), Destination Branding (Morgan, 2009), Places (Anholt, 2009), Place Branding (Govers and Go, 2009), Nation Branding (Dinnie, 2007) and Branding Small Cities (Baker, 2007). Whilst these texts have predominantly concentrated on nations and cities, much of the theoretical framework discussed is highly transferrable and adaptable to the empirical example of The New Forest, thus proving very pertinent. Other texts purchased for this research include local guidebooks (Ponting, 2009, NFDC, 2010) for the purpose of learning about the core product the physical destination.
The Internet has also contributed tremendously to this research providing a veritable wealth of information, articles, background reading, useful links and the names and details of important contacts. In particular the many New Forest affiliated websites have been very informative, including The New Forest Tourist Association, The National Park Authority, The Forestry Commission, The New Forest Trust and Tourism South East. The Brand New Forest website and The New Forest Marque websites were also incredibly helpful in learning about the brand, whilst websites and blogs belonging to destination branding industry practitioners such as Simon
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Arnholt, Wally Olins and Seppo Rainisto provided great insight into real world applications and practical examples of the concept.
The NFTA generously provided the author with a plethora of resources relating to The New Forest, the local tourism industry and the various marketing strategies that have been implemented. These included the consultation reports Living with the Enemy and Making New Friends, the tourism and visitor management strategy Our Future Together, presentations of the recent sustainability initiative Wise Growth, Sustainable Tourism Management case study, The Economic Impact of Tourism Review for the past 3 years, an advice sheet Building and Aligning your Destination Brand and various other useful documents and related materials. In the course of this research a multitude of brochures, guides, pamphlets and promotional literature were also collected that added further weight to our understanding of what the New Forest brand embodies.
2.3 Primary information

Clark et al (1998) suggest that although secondary data is useful in a support capacity, it is unlikely to provide answers to specific research questions. In this study, whilst the theory underpinning destination branding was both topical and relevant to our investigation, a pressing necessity for exploratory quantitative research was also recognised.
2.4 Primary research data gathering

We began our primary research by first conducting interviews with prominent members of the NFTA. A list of names, roles within the association and contact details was formulated from secondary data and then those members considered to be most germane to this field of research and in a position to significantly contribute to this project were contacted. Emails were sent detailing the objectives of this research and requesting a time and place that would be convenient to meet.
Two interviews were arranged with members from the NFTA - 1. Stephen Lorton (Chairman of the NFTA) and 2. Anthony Climpson (Tourism Manager for The New Forest District Council) (See Appendix Final Interview Script). These individuals represented the collective diversity of interests and influences that partner together to steer and promote the local tourism industry.
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Information compiled from these interviews was then used in creating and shaping visitor surveys. An early decision the author made when formulating this dissertation was that questionnaires would be the most apposite instrument for gauging the general publics degree of awareness, reaction and cogency toward The New Forest brand. The benefits offered by this technique are numerous, but in particular it is recognised as a Cost and time effective means of obtaining information from large samples whilst facilitating manageable and uniformed data analysis too (Thomas, 1997, P. 4).
A pilot survey was constructed and administered to a non-probability convenience sample of 5 people, all familiar with the author and all known to have recent experience of visiting The New Forest. Two participants had just returned from a 2-week camping holiday, two had recently celebrated an anniversary at a 5star hotel and the other regularly frequents with her family. As consequence of this pilot study a few minor alterations and improvements to format, length, layout and wording were then made. All but one of the descriptive, open questions were removed from the survey and replaced by simpler yes/no closed questions or Likert-scales. The number of selections a respondent could make for question 8 and 26 were also increased from 1 to 3, thus providing a broader perspective of how both the destination brand and the brandpersonality are perceived by visitors. A section for respondents to express personal comments or suggestions was also included on the final survey however this was largely disregarded. See Appendix Visitor Survey.
All final questionnaires were personally administered, on a face-to-face basis. This approach afforded complete control over the survey process when dispensing questions, ensuring that all respondents received a complete and coherent understanding of that which was being asked. It also meant that one could oversee that all responses were genuine. Provision of further information, clarity or assistance was given if required. Walliman (2005) attests that an additional advantage to this method is that the presence of an official researcher typically begets more honest and sincere answers, with many people feeling inclined to be more considered and attentive with their responses. Many participants also feel obliged to express personal opinion and engage in dialogue, providing greater depth and insight into the topic.
Survey research was conducted at two well renowned honey-pot locations within The New Forest. The first site for research was Lyndhurst, considered to be the Capital of the Forest (Ponting, 2009, P. 26) and home to the Forest Museum and the Visitor Centre, as well as a wide range of shops, tearooms, restaurants and pubs. It is usually the first stop for people travelling into the forest and is a popular destination for first time visitors and regular returners. The
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second site, Lymington, is a famous market town and ancient sea port that hosts the St Barbe Museum, the other Visitor Information Centre and ferry service to the Isle of White. These prominent sites are notorious for attracting perpetual droves of tourists and for generating heavy volumes of visitor traffic, especially over the summer months when overcrowding becomes a serious problem. Because of the throngs of people passing through, both day visitors and tourists, these sites were considered ideal to administer questionnaires.
A total of 50 surveys were collected from 2 separate occasions during the summer. We collected data on both a weekday and weekend and at two different times (Noon to mid afternoon and late afternoon to evening) to get as broad array of visitors as possible. Survey questions were designed to be clear and coherent, using plain language and an accessible format. Tick boxes were used to assist speed of recording and analysis. Survey completion time on average was 12 minutes.
Visitors were selected on a random basis to achieve as realistic and representative sample as possible. We did attempt to maintain an even balance between age and gender groups but this was not feasible due to notable participation resistance from some demographic bands. We do believe that a fairly accurate representative spread of visitors to the forest was achieved, however, with respondents ranging from 18 up into their mid 70s. Whilst an even balance between day-visitors and tourists was not actively sought, the eventual split was fairly equal.
Finally, visitor centres, the Forest Museum and The New Forest Show were all visited by the author for the purpose of collecting promotional material, engaging with local residents and employees, meeting members of the NFTA, making observations and familiarising oneself with the destination brand.
2.5 Data analysis

All interviews were digitally recorded and a typed transcript was subsequently produced. Transcripts were used for deep examination of The NFTAs current destination branding efforts and to critically compare the organisations branding strategy against the extant marketing literature.
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Survey response data was tabulated onto an Excel spreadsheet and findings were presented in graphical format. Visitors reactions and opinions toward The New Forest brand were then broken down and analysed in intricate detail.
Lastly, results from the visitor survey were cross-examined against findings from the NFTA member interviews in order to attain an extensive insight into how efficacious and commercially viable destination branding of The New Forest has proved to be. This allowed the author to draw conclusions and identify future areas of further research.
2.6 Limitations
Several limitations and constraints have been noted in completing this dissertation. Firstly, the sheer magnitude of the topic and the immense breadth of research accumulated have rendered it considerably difficult to remain focused and relevant on the question at hand. Initial concerns regarding the limited literature available were proved unfounded and the author has encountered a profuse abundance of qualitative data for both destination branding and The New Forest tourism industry. Applying and moulding this mass of information into a succinctly coherent, considered and convincing argument has proved particularly challenging.
The collection of primary data was also marked by difficulties and problems. The decision to use 2 honey-pot locations for administering surveys was to achieve a broad spectrum of visitors coming to the area. Extending the scope of this research to include more locations may have had a considerable impact on the outcome of our research. Using locations that are not heavily frequented by tourist traffic might have produced different results as well. Our findings are representative of visitors attracted to the destinations hot-spots, however, significant variations in responses might exist from those who are attracted to the more remote and quieter locations of the forest.
Time of day and the season of the year might also attract different types of visitor who offer different survey responses. These variables could possibly return quite different survey findings and in turn produce a significantly disparate research outcome.
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A survey sample size of 100 responses was targeted. Due to time / resource constraints and notable difficulty in attracting questionnaire participants, however, a sample size of only 50 surveys was achieved. Whist we believe this number to be respectable, it could be argued that such a small sample size is unrepresentative and limited in scope. As more data usually implies greater reliability, the efforts of just one person will always be of limited value though (Swetnam, 2005, P. 83). It would also have been desirable to attract more male respondents and greater input from the 18 24 age brackets.
The decision to only interview members of the NFTA might also have limited the depth of this dissertation. It would have been interesting to expand the breadth of research by engaging the views and opinions of a wider range of associated bodies and regional partners, such as The New Forest Trust, Hampshire Tourism and The New Forest and Dorset Tourism Partnership.
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Literature Review
3.1 Introduction
Destination branding is fast becoming an integral element of modern day tourism management (Gnoth, 1998). Recognised by Morgan, Pritchard and Piggott (2003, P. 285) as a Powerful weapon in the marketing armoury of contemporary destination managers , the concept of place brands has begun to garner increased attention and considerable interest from both marketing practitioners and researchers alike in recent years. In response to escalating global competition, product parity and substitutability, nations, cities and regions have all been rapidly waking up to the realisation that market success is now delivered by brands, not products or services (Aaker, 1995). A distinctive brand, based on a destinations unique identity, can, therefore, provide A key source of competitive advantage (Wheeler et al, 2011, P. 15), offer Limitless opportunities and benefits (Kalandides, 2011, P. 175) and concoct a Remedy for many of the economic and political ills of a place (Buhalis, 2000, P. 98).
Despite the recent proliferation of destination branding as an effective marketing solution, it is still largely deemed to be a New and emerging field of study (Hankinson, 2001), and one in which the theoretical framework remains vague and inconclusive. Scholarly interest in place brands has only begun to emerge over the past 2 decades, with the first academic conference convened in 1996, the first journal articles presented in the late 1990s and the first bo ok published in 2002 (Caldwell and Freire, 2004). Although the antedated literature is frequently referred to as Rather diffuse (Lindstedt, 2011) and Lacking in empirical grounding (Maheswari et al, 2011), many researchers strongly attest that destination branding is developing into a major field of academic study (Kaplan, 2008). Rausch (2008, P. 136) describes it as A modern research phenomenon, whilst Pike (2005, P.258), comments The lack of literature has always seemed incongruent with the many suggestions that the future of marketing will be a battle of the brands, and destinations are arguably the tourism industrys biggest brands. (More detail on the extant literature can be seen in Appendix: Literature).
With that said, because destination branding is a relatively new and under-explored concept, still chiefly in its infancy (Foley and Fahy, 2004), fierce contestation and dispute has naturally become rife amongst scholars and practitioners. Disagreement prevails in both the academic literature and between practitioners in regards to definition, structural composition and functional application. Ergo, until the field becomes entrenched in a sound theoretical base,
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supported by irrefutable conceptual frameworks and evinced by pragmatic empirical examples, it is unlikely that a general consensus on these terms will materialise any time soon.
3.2 Definition
Partly due to the fact that it is a fairly recent marketing phenomenon and also, in part, because Almost nobody agrees on what exactly place branding means (Anholt, 2004, P. 4), at present no singular, broadly accepted or consensually concurred definition of the term destination branding exists. Consequently, much of the nomenclature and many of the core concepts also lack clarity or qualification (Pryor and Grossbart, 2007). Much of the dissention surrounding the term stems from the inimically opposed perspectives regarding whether destinations can be branded in the same way as products and services or not. For instance, Dinnie (2004, P. 107) attests that because the interests of places and companies are primarily similar, with both desiring stability and prosperity, Contemporary brand theory is completely applicable to all products as well as goods or services. Many scholars, however, vehemently disagree with this disposition, affirming that, in the real world, destination brands fundamentally, categorically and unequivocally differ from regular product brands (Wagner and Peters, 2009). Ergo, Morgan Pritcahrd and Piggott (2003, P. 287) asseverate that Destinations cannot and should not be marketed as if they were soap powder. Greater detail of definitions can be found in Appendix: Definition. Regardless of the dissidence surrounding the concepts definition, authors from both perspectives unanimously agree that the branding of destinations is highly politicised and very complex. Many authors have elucidated on the various complexities and numerous unique challenges faced in destination branding. One of the most significant issues related to places is that they are Multidimensional brands. This means they are subject to Multi disciplinary roots, they address a complex composite of stakeholders, landscapes and social processes and thus, they possess multiple identities which may or may not happily coexist (Kavaratizis and Ashworth, 2005, P. 506). (For more complexities see Appendix Challenges).
3.3 Key elements of place branding

Destination branding is therefore considered a multifarious, contentious and complex topic. It is equally, however, a concept that offers great opportunity and one that harbours the very real potential of significant returns (See Appendix: Benefits). It is apparent from the extant literature that numerous elements contribute to the make up and formation of a successful destination
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brand, however, in this study we have decided to focus on 4 key elements. These are Brand equity, Brand identity, Brand image and Stakeholder participation.
Brand Equity
Kotler et al (2009, P. 836) define brand equity as the Added value endowed to products and services by the brand name. This value is reflected in how consumers think, feel and behave in response to a particular brand (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001). Hasan and Hamid (2008) postulate that brand equity stems directly from the greater confidence consumers are willing to place in one brand as opposed to competitor offerings. This confidence (positive equity), in turn, is believed to translate into positive consumer behaviour in term of Purchase frequency and intensity, brand loyalty, price insensitivity and willingness to recommend (Reynolds and Phillips, 2005, P. 172).
Taylor et al (2007) propose that the effectiveness of destination brands can be measured by brand equity. The authors maintain that two approaches to measuring brand equity prevail a financial perspective and a consumer-orientated perspective. The latter, known as CBBE, was introduced by Aaker (1991) and is situated on the belief that equity occurs when the customer has a High level of awareness and familiarity with the brand, retaining some strong, favourable and unique brand associations in memory (Keller, 2008, P. 48). Kotler et al (2009, P. 837) further expound that, under CBBE, the inherent power of the brand is situated in What customers have learnt, thought, felt, seen and heard about the brand from previous experiences, direct and indirect, over time, or as Keller (2008, P. 43) emphatically surmises What resides in the minds of customers. Therefore, in order to create brand equity, consumers must believe that meaningful differences exist between competing brands; consumers must be convinced that one particular brand can satisfy the greatest number of needs and is better than the others. (See Appendix: Brand Equity)
Brand equity is thus perceived as the extension of brand recognition and brand loyalty (Krishnakumar, 2009) and is an imperative consideration for any destination marketers branding strategy.
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Student Number 013712 Brand Identity

Brand identity is defined as the Aspirational self-image that is planned and created by the DMOs (Pike et al, 2009, P. 435) and it concerns how a destination desires to be perceived by the consuming public. It Encapsulates the features and beneficial attributes, as well as the symbolic, experimental, social and emotional values of a place which are imbued in the brand (Kavaritz and Ashworth, 2005, P. 506). Rainisto (2003, P. 49) further elucidates that brand identity is the Unique set of brand characteristics that destination marketers want to create or maintain and that differentiate it from other places. Identity therefore comprises the ways in which a destination is positioned in the market and in consumers minds - it specifies what the place brand aspires to be, what it stands for, how it is unique, how it creates meaning and what promises are implied to visitors. An effective brand identity can hence be seen as one that Establishes the destination character and value proposition, conveys the character in a distinctive way and delivers emotional power beyond a mental image (Kotler, Haider and Rein, 1993, P. 22).
A core element of brand identity is brand personality, defined by Aaker (1997, P. 357) as the Human characteristics or traits that can be attributed to a brand. Crask and Henry (1990) propagate that personality serves as a distinct and enduring basis for differentiation. Capturing the emotional side of brand identity (Biel, 1997), personality is believed to have significant impact on consumer response and susceptibility to a particular brand. Deemed as a significant factor for the success of a brand, it greatly influences both consumer preference and choice. Brands perceived to possess personality traits that are a reflection or extension of consumers own self-identity thus tend to be favoured (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2004). Fournier (1998, P.350), therefore, asserts that a well-established brand personality can result in Consumers having stronger emotional ties to a brand, greater trust and deeper loyalty .
Brand Image
Where as brand identity Relates more to the sender, with an internal focus on the image aspired to in the marketplace (Kaplan, 2008, P. 1290), brand image, refers to the actual image held in consumers minds, thereby residing on the receivers side. Deemed to be the sum of beliefs, ideas, thoughts and expectations that people have of a brand (Crompton, 1979), it is measured on a scale of validity, believability, distinctiveness and appeal (Kotler et al, 1999). Dobni and Zinkham (1990, P. 113) proffer that brand image represents the Meaning that consumers associate with the brand, based on experiences, impressions and perceptions of the functional, emotional and symbolic benefits offered.
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Brand image, in the context of tourism destinations, is considered to be a pivotal stimulus in motivating purchase decisions (OLeary and Deegan, 2005). Um and Crompton (1990, P. 434) attest that Image is a critical element in the destination choice process, irrespective of whether or not the image is truly representative of what a place has to offer. Numerous studies have demonstrated that perceptions of destinations and visitor purchase intentions are positively correlated (Mayo and Jarvis, 1981 Woodside and Lysonski, 1989), whilst strong, positive images are considered especially important in situations where limited knowledge or no previous experience exists (Greaves and Skinner, 2009). Furthermore, Coshall (2000) propounds that brand images are important because they allow potential visitors to generate a set of expectations about a place before visiting; these expectations subsequently determine the places potential for satisfaction. Marketers however, must ensure the reality of destinations match visitor expectations (Bigne et al, 2001).
Destination brand image formation is widely believed to be a multistage process that is developed from an eclectic array of different sources (Hanlan and Kelly, 2005). Greaves and Skinner (2009) provide 2 main stages of image development. Firstly, the organic image is formed primarily through exposure to non-tourist sources such as TV programs and films, news articles, editorials, art and music, books, friends and family, famous residents and travel websites. Following this comes the induced image, which is a result of the Direct influence by tourism organisations promotional activities (Hem and Iversen, 2004, P. 85) and includes PR, advertising, brochures, logos, slogans. Gertner (1993) affirms that the main difference between the two images is the degree of control exercised by the DMO. The author therefore advises that image-building strategies should aim to combine a balanced mix of both information sources.
Ergo, because a brand represents an identity for the marketer and an image for the consumer, Pike (2004) suggests that brand positioning should be seen as the interface between the two. Rainisto (2003) further contributes that communications can likewise be used as a mechanism to achieve congruence between identity and image.
Stakeholders
Morgan et al (2011) proffer that a destinations ability to maintain competitive advantage and deliver a quality visitor experience is largely contingent upon the attitudes of and relationships between local stakeholders, formal partnerships and distribution networks. Because it is the internal stakeholders who Define the brand and actualise the experience (Vasudevan, 2008, P.
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331), satisfying their needs and objectives, encouraging participation and involvement, and securing their commitment and support are all considered to be fundamental necessities for successful and sustainable place branding (Baker and Cameron, 2008, P. 92). This is recognised by Anholt (2005, P. 119) who attests that Effective place brand management demands the broad, long term complicity, or at least compliance, of the full range of stakeholders .
It is thus apparent that the responsibilities of place branding should not lie solely with DMOs. However, stimulating a collaborative, coordinated and consistent approach towards local tourism is considered to be one of the most significant challenges in destination marketing today. One prominent solution widely advocated by both researchers and practitioners alike is internal branding. Mayes (2008, P. 129) avers Not only is internal branding essential to convey the message of the brand and instil it within the local populace, but often the brand has to emerge out of what the internal franchise is all about. Pike (2008, P. 266) accords that it facilitates a common understanding amongst all stakeholders as to What the brand identity is, what the brand image is and what the brand positioning strategy is. This, in turn, enables stakeholders to more effectively integrate their own marketing and customer interactions.
Internal branding has been shown to work on three levels (Vasudevan, 2008), comprising: 1. 2. 3. Connecting direct stakeholders partnering together the various players who share a direct interest in sustaining the tourism industry, such as hotels, pubs, and restaurants, etc. Adoption of tourism by the local population educating local communities to the benefits of tourism and securing their support. The blending of tourism into peoples cultural psyche moving the message of the brand into popular culture through media, entertainment and the arts.
A significant element of internal branding is the facilitation of stakeholder interaction and cohesiveness cultivated through organised partnerships and official associations. These allow all interested parties to share a role in developing and shaping the local tourism industry and provide a platform to articulate their vision of the destination brand. Pike (2008, P. 266) proposes three sensibilities underpinning Co-opitition partnerships including:
1. Financial sense of pooling together limited promotional budgets to create a louder impact in the market place.
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2. Commercial sense of ensuring that all businesses are working to a uniformed standard of visitor service and delivering a consistent brand experience. 3. Collaborative sense of working together to achieve synergy.
A clear, focused and shared sense of purpose that a sound marketing strategy and solid internal branding engender are, therefore, acknowledged to unite public-private interests and to galvanise stakeholder engagement and endorsement of the destination brand.
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Analysis of The New Forest Destination Brand
4.1 Introduction
We will now examine The New Forest brand strategy in detail, discussing the brands core attributes and values and exploring the individual elements that shape visitor perceptions and expectations. This analysis is predicated upon information gathered via interviews with members of the NFTA, promotional literature, local industry reports, documented NFTA marketing initiatives, personal observation, information retrieved from the internet and the media. Interview participants names have been abbreviated to surnames.
4.2 Role of The New Forest Tourism Association and Business Partnership
The NFTA is a unique partnership that exists between the New Forest District Council (NFDC), the National Park Authority, the Forestry Commission, The New Forest Trust and a coterie of local business owners. The organisation is a stand alone, independently funded body that exists for the principle purpose of promoting and marketing the forest as a Premium-quality, year round holiday and business destination (www.nfta.com). Founded in 1989, members are primarily drawn from local tourism related businesses, with membership today exceeding 300. It is the management board (steering committee) of the NFTA that devise, agree upon and then orchestrate the destinations brand strategy and the subsequent initiatives related to this. Responsibility then falls upon the various NFTA members to actualise these decisions by communicating, shaping and driving these solutions forward amongst the local community.
When the NFTA was first established it began to openly debate the idea that tourism could be used as an agent to improve all aspects of local life if conducted properly and in a balanced and considered fashion. The council introduced the VERB model (visitor, environment, resident, business)1 as a means of creating stakeholder engagement and collective action to benefit all parties interests and establish a sustainable future (Leonardo Project). Today, this framework largely governs The New Forest brand strategy and has proven to be imperative in terms of getting people from the local area on board and behind the brand (Climpson). The VERB model is a structure to maintain an integrated tourism management plan that balances the interaction between and objectives of visitors, the businesses that serve them, the community that hosts them and their collective impact on, and response to, the environment.
1
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Considered by Lorton to be a very unique structure, possibly the only one like it in the UK, it has proved to be enormously successful. Climpson suggests that the strength of this partnership lies in the careful balancing of responsibilities and objectives, attesting The private sector can do things that the public sector cant and vice versa. Thus together we can do everything. That includes planning regulations, establishing quality standards and marketing and communications, to list but a few. For example, whilst the NFDC will pay for the PR contracts, it is the local hotels that provide complimentary accommodation and hospitality for editorial features.
A major strength of this partnership has been the networking benefits realised. Actively promoting the fact that a common vision and common interest exists amongst local businesses has led to a far more co-ordinated approach to tourism. Local businesses now work with each other and they share their best operational practices, learning from and supporting one another (Lorton). This spirit of Co-opetition has also noticeably driven standards up between hospitality providers (Climpson). Furthermore the NFTA partnership is responsible for considerably raising visitor expectations of The New Forest brand via their establishment of a bespoke Quality Standards Assessment scheme. This ensures tourism operators and accommodation providers are maintaining a consistent and uniformed level of customer service and delivering visitor satisfaction. Accommodation businesses cannot join the NFTA unless they have been NFTA or AA assessed.
One particular NFTA initiative that has proved incredibly successful and which has helped to further define/ characterise the destination brand is the Green Leaf Scheme. This is a program that Encourages tourism businesses to become more sustainable and reinforces the New Forest as a leading green destination (Discover Guide). It entails a programme of activities to help reduce the negative impacts of tourism, promote local interests and to enhance the environment. It includes car free tourism, improving waste management and recycling, improving water and energy efficiency, increasing consumption of local produce and visitor stewardship education programs. Internationally lauded, the program has won a plethora of awards and has led to the New Forest being crowned the Greenest, car free destination in the UK by The Green Tourism Scheme (http://www.green-business.co.uk/).
4.3. The New Forest brand image, personality and values

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Student Number 013712 Image

The New Forest brand is characterised by a longstanding, staid image. The common image believed to be in consumers minds is one of the quintessential English, idyllic countryside, with ponies roaming freely over the heath land and tents pitched under the canvas of ancient woodland (Climpson). This image has been largely formed and reinforced via the media and through sources of popular culture (such as films, books and famous residents) over a number of years (See Appendix Popular Culture). The NFTA recognise that, whilst it is important to maintain these associations, it is equally important to bring the brand into the 21 st Century and make it more current and relevant to contemporary visitors. Ergo, a very active attempt is being made to modernise the brand image and develop new, fresh and meaningful outward expressions of both what the forest constitutes and what the brand represents.
In attempting to create a wider and richer tapestry of connotations in the minds of the general public, the NFTA have initiated a number of programs to alter current attitudes and common perceptions held by the general public. Climpson states that the goal is for the forest to be regarded as an energised and unspoilt landscape but also a place of sanctuary and recovery. The brand associations purposively being projected at present, via media communications and through other static sources therefore include relaxation and refreshment (serenity), adventure and activity (excitement), and culture, education and entertainment (fun). The purpose is to use these individual visuals in a manner that creates an overall, holistic image of the forest as somewhere different a uniquely special place (Climpson).
One-way the NFTA have been gauging this success and measuring visitors current perceptions of the forest is via the 3 things I love about the forest campaign. Launched by Chris Evans, one of the most frequently made comments to emerge concerns is the perception of authenticity stemming from the fact that nearly all businesses are owned locally, with very few large, corporate operations located there.
Values 29

Lorton attests that the values the destination brand is predicated upon, and which the NFTA work very hard to maintain and promote, comprise of diversity (in terms of landscape, accommodation, attractions), sustainability (green tourism and preserving the local ecology), quality (high visitor service standards and value for money) safety (family friendly and very congenial), and reliability (the forest will always be there, visitor experiences will always be pleasant and memorable). These brand values are actualised through the NFTA and members of the local community who espouse and live up to what the brand stands for everyday (Climpson). One-way the NFTA promotes these brand values is through the '5 ways to love the forest pamphlet (See Appendix: 5 Ways). Businesses provide this pamphlet to guests as a guide for how to respect the area (as a tourist destination, as a site of conservation and as an inhabited community), presenting the forest as a special and delicate place, which needs to be looked after, and engendering a sense of stewardship.
Climpson attests that these values perfectly reflect the nature of the forest in the sense that they are perennial they are not going to change. This notion of consistency is expressed in an NFTA motto, The New Forest olde but forever New, which implies not only is the forest going to continue to remain as it is found today, but the values which underpin and guide the business of tourism and, therefore, the public face of tourism (the brand), will also remain steadfast.
Personality
The New Forest brand is understood to embody a number of salient and amiable personality traits, reflective of the character and spirit of the place. These are emphatically conveyed in NFTA / NFDC sponsored communications and promotional activity in order to reach a very diffuse audience, on multiple personal levels, channelling many different meanings. Lorton identifies these traits as wholesome, romantic, pastoral, mysterious, charming, sophisticated and spiritual.
4.4. Targeting and positioning

Climpson states that one of the biggest challenges that The New Forest brand faces is that it appeals to everyone. It is attractive to nearly every demographic age, sex, lifestyle, life-stage, budget, social status and personality type. When coordinating communication strategies and promotional campaigns the NFTA do not tend to target age groups, per se, because of the scope and nature of the core product (Climpson). Instead the brand focuses on life stages of visitors, splitting the market into 2 broad categories: couples and families. Families are obviously
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attracted during the summer, in school holidays and at weekends, whilst couples are used to fill in the gaps, such as Spring and Autumn and midweek / overnight visits.
Brand communications are then driven by the time of year, such as the radio adverts aimed at young families, which are aired around holiday times. The geo-cast video on the tourism website, on the other hand, is very clever in how it speaks to a number of different target audiences, seamlessly blending different meanings and messages that are particular to different demographs. These are hosted on the website throughout the year, but are updated to match the season.
The positioning statement of the forest is clear To be the best outdoor, rural experience in the UK. All respondents were then unanimous in identifying the biggest competitive threats as The Lake District, The Cotswolds and Devon.
At present no definite or commonly agreed upon brand vision exists. Lorton suggested they wanted to be The premium destination of choice, whilst Climpson proffered The economics of Happiness (See Appendix: Economics for more). There is thus a salient and pressing need to establish a clear, concise and focused brand vision that can provide all stakeholders with a shared sense of purpose, direction and opportunity.
4.5. Communications
The NFTA and NFDC pool their resources together in order to deliver more attractive, cohesive and more compelling promotional campaigns. Or as Lorton says, return More bang for our buck. The NFTAs budget is made up of membership fees and then married to the NFDC Tourism budget, which generates around 75,000. The majority of the brands communications are concentrated on PR activities, with Climpson stating that The New Forest is a Below the line destination brand. As such, we seek to manipulate the communicated media, we do not buy space. The budget is roughly split 25,000 for PR contracts and 50,000 for publications, website development and a minimal amount of advertising (radio and local press).
PR 31

Editorials, in magazines and the travel press, are the major vehicle for communicating the brand message and allow for impressive visuals that can sell the destination. The NFTA purposefully use the iconic businesses in the area, such as Chewton Glen and Limewood, to promote the destination because these attract more interest amongst the general public. This approach generates business for everyone because not all visitors can afford or feel inclined to stay at one of these hotels. Regional campaigns such as New Forest Rocks festival and the annual New Forest show also attract a considerable amount of attention and visitor traffic. A double page spread is also taken out in the Times every 18 months.
Website
The New Forest website attracts over 100,000 four-minute visits every month. Additional to providing a veritable wealth of information on where to stay, what to do, discovering the forest and so on, it also hosts links to the Brand New Forest web page, which contains details about the New Forest Card, The Marque, the tour bus and the Green Leaf scheme, as well as posting events and special promotions. Web-videos and geo casts are a particularly effective communications tool and are updated every couple of months.
Brochures
500, 000 free Where to stay and Discover guidebooks are printed every year. Imagery is a key element of these publications, used to Tell the story of what The New Forest is about (Climpson).
4.6 Brand logo and slogan

The brand logo is designed to be reflective of the New Forests key characteristics , indicative of the forests past and to ignite positive associations in the consumers minds. Climpson views the design as Attractive, contemporary, engaging and memorable. He explicates that the use of the colour green represents the rural nature and green-tourism of the destination, where as the colour purple denotes the regal history and past associations with royalty. The typeface is from the Bayeux tapestry, representing the areas deep heritage whilst the fern is a futuristic deign, implying the forest is contemporary and forward-looking.
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The brands slogan is DiscoverThe New Forest and is supposed to entice visitors to come and explore. This phrase generates connotations of freedom and adventure within a serene yet wild, untouched landscape.
4.7 Other brand elements

New Forest Marque and New Forest Breakfast
The New Forest Marque is a symbol of top-quality, authentic local produce that has travelled very few food miles. This scheme helps to sustain the local economy, maintains traditional country ways and support local enterprises. Items include meats, sausages, pies, seasonal fruit, vegetables, cakes, chutneys and preserves, cheese, baked goods and ice cream, all of which have to meet stringent standards relevant to their own speciality.
The New Forest Breakfast is only made from local produce and has won considerable acclaim and recognition with tour operators and green-tourism bodies since its inception. The NFTA now partner organised morning walks, such as the Blueberry walk, with local hospitality establishments located on specified routes. This allows visitors to enjoy an early morning stroll, exploring the forest, before dining on a gourmet, locally reared breakfast.
The New Forest Card
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The New Forest Card is a loyalty program that provides discounts and exclusive offers from local businesses. Once a card has been registered online, the NFTA also record visitor details on a mailing list. The purpose of the card is to encourage greater spending in local businesses, to further boost the local economy and to reward regular visitors by helping them to save money.
Tour Bus
Offering an alternative to taking the car, the open-top tour bus is now a prominent feature within the forest and a very popular visitor attraction. Visitors can take one of two routes, which cover the whole of the forest, and they can get off and on as desired. Bikes can also be carried and on board commentary provides interesting insight into the area and sites on the way.
This dissertation now seeks to measure the response from visitors to the above brand elements and to determine how salient The New Forest brand has been in influencing consumers decisions to visit.
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Discussion: Results from Visitor Surveys

5.1 Introduction
Results from administered visitor surveys are presented in this chapter. Key responses are discussed below but for a full break down of tabulated results please see Appendix: Results.
5.2 Visitor surveys

1. Gender. The distribution of survey participation was weighted heavily toward female respondents. Whilst an even balance of male and female representation in data collection was actively sought, females appeared to be more receptive and willing to contribute. This does not indicate, however, that a larger proportion of visitors to the forest are female.
Chart Title
1. Gender, Male, 17, 34% Male Female
1. Gender, Female, 33, 66%
2. Age. As is apparent from the below graph, a broad array of people from all age ranges are typically attracted to The New Forest. No age group was under represented, but some were more resistant to survey participation. This emphasises the forests universal popularity and the diversity in its offering.
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Chart Title
3. Length of Journey. From the below graph we can see that The New Forest attracts the majority of its visitors from a catchment area of up to 2 hours away. Tourists, however, are prepared to undertake much longer journeys in order to reach The New Forest, with travelling times of 5 - 6 hours upward recorded. In our survey participants were recorded as travelling from as far as Kent, Cornwall, Bristol, Manchester, Wales, Scotland, France, Germany, Belgium and Hong Kong.
3. How long did it take to get to The New Forest?
4. First Time Visitor / Repeat User. Only 7 respondents replied that this was their first experience of The New Forest. The vast majority of survey participants expressed that they were long-time, repeat visitors and very familiar with the destination, having consistently frequented the forest for many years and in many different capacities (as children, as young adults, as a family, on their own, etc).
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Is this 4. Is this your first time to The 4. New your first Forest? time to The
New Forest?, Yes, 7, 14%
Yes No
4. Is this your first time to The New Forest?, No, 43,
7. A Special Place? Respondents were asked to describe, in their own words, what makes The New Forest a Special place to them personally. From the wide range of thoughts and opinions we collected, presented below, one notable trend to emerge was the high degree of repetition in the responses, underscoring that The New Forest clearly has a well defined, widely-perceived and consistent brand identity. This is centred around a traditional rural concept that many people have grown up with from a very young age, predicated upon ponies and animals, wildlife, freedom, openness, natural and beautiful scenery, a green environment, space and peace and quiet. Visitor responses: Countryside Wild animals
Green environment
Trees Horses Animals Walking Space
Woodlands Cleanliness Small villages Open space Serenity
Horses Freedom Ponies Greenery Ponies
Scenery Openness Accessible Unspoilt nature Peace and quiet
Wildlife Free parking Dog walking Unique place Child friendly
Peaceful scenery Natural beauty
It can, therefore, be said that there is a great deal of continuity in why people hold the forest up to such a high regard - considerable stability exists in the popular perception of why the forest is deemed a special place.
8. Imagery. As can be observed from the graph below, The New Forest has a very strong and wellestablished prevailing imagery attached to it. Similarly to the above question, when respondents were requested to express which 3 images were most salient in their minds when thinking of The New Forest, again, suggestions of ponies, unique location, peace and quiet and beautiful scenery were all well represented. Two other popular choices were camping / caravanning and the mix of
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different landscapes the area boasts. These are the properties that have made the destination both hugely popular and widely renowned, defining the area and becoming deeply embedded in the consumer populations minds. Other popular responses included the opportunity for new experiences, history and heritage, rest and relaxation and the romantic nature of the location.
8. When youn 8. When youn 8. When youn 8. When 8. When 8. When youn 8.of When youn think of The New Forest, what 3 images think The New think of The New think of The New youn think of The New youn Ponies and free animals comewhat to mind? Forest, what Forest, what 3 Forest, what 3 3 think of Forest, 3 think of images come images come to New Camping images come to to The images come to The New mind? mind? , Ponies mind? , , Mix of Forest, Forest, mind? , Family Unique location landscapes, 12, and free animals, 8. When youn Romantic what 3 what 3 friendly, 4, 3% 8% R&R 34, 23% images think of The New location, 5, 3% images Forest, what 3 come to come to Modern attractions images come to mind? , mind? , History / heritage mind? , Beautiful Friendly Shopping scenery, 14, 9% people, and Escapism / discovery 8. When youn New Experiences 8. When youn think of The New think The New Peace and quiet 8.of When youn Forest, what 3 Forest, what think of The3 New images come Outdoor activities to images come to 3 Forest, what mind? , Camping, mind? , Quaint 8. When youn Beautiful scenery images come to 8. When youn 21, 14% towns, 4,,3% 8. When youn think of The New8. When youn 8. When youn mind? Peace of The New 8.think When 8. youn When youn towns think of The New think of The New Forest, what 3 think of The Quaint New and quiet, 13, Forest, what 3 New think of think The of New The Forest, what 3 what 3 images come to Forest, what 3 of landscapes Mix 9% images come to Forest, Forest, Forest, what 3what 3 images come to come to mind? , Modernimages come to mind? , New images images come to comeimages to Friendly people mind? , Unique Experiences, 9, mind? , History / attractions, 2, mind? , R&R, 5, mind? mind? , Outdoor , Escapism location, 14, 9% 1% heritage, 6, 4% 3% 6% activities, / discovery, 2, 1% 2, 1% 9. Reception from Local People. All respondents reported that local residents had consistently been friendly, polite and welcoming, with no issues or previous instances of inhospitality or discourtesy having occurred in recent visits. This shows that local residents and employees are beginning to understand the importance of tourism to the local economy, and their role in promoting and sustaining the local tourism industry.
10. Awareness of Tour Bus. Way over half of all respondents surveyed were aware of The New Forest Tour bus and demonstrated a high degree of knowledge about the intricacies of the scheme, including the different colours of the buses, the 2 routes available, when the scheme was introduced, the bus running times, the total length of the journey and the stopping points along the route.
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Are youaware of The New Forest Tour bus? 10.10. Are you aware of The New Forest Tour bus?, Yes, 34
10. Are you aware of The New Forest Tour bus?, No, 16
Yes No
11. Usage of Tour Bus. Despite the high awareness of the bus scheme, only 7 respondents had actually used this service, raising serious questions over the schemes ability to convert visitor awareness and interest into actual purchase action. Further examination of the factors currently deterring visitors from using this service is clearly required.
Chart Title
11. Have you used the New Forest Tour bus?, No, 27
Yes 11. Have you used the New Forest Tour bus?, Yes, 7 No
12. Awareness of The New Forest Marque. Only a very small number of respondents were aware of The New Forest Marque, suggesting that the communication and promotion of this element of The New Forest brand is in need of further attention. The vast majority of participants were very enthused and extremely receptive to the idea of a locally syndicated produce scheme, whilst the symbol used to denote provincial fare also proved to be particularly popular. Many people even
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requested further information on this matter. Most respondents, however, stated that they had no knowledge of this scheme and said that it was clearly under-promoted and under emphasised in stores and in local establishments.
12. Are you 12. Are you aware of The New Forest Marque aware of The New Forest Marque, No, 36
12. Are you aware of The New Forest Marque, Yes, 14
Yes No
13/14. Purchase and Satisfaction of The New Forest Produce. Only 8 people affirmed that they had purchased produce originating from The New Forest, however, all 8 respondents agreed that the quality of the produce had been of the highest standard and they were thoroughly satisfied with their purchase. Nearly all expressed their intention to repeat purchase.
13. Have you purchased any you locally made produce? purchased
13. Have you purchased any locally made produce?, Yes, 8 any locally made produce?, No, 42
13. Have
Yes No
15. The New Forest Breakfast. Again only a very marginal number of respondents confirmed any knowledge of this feature, with only 14% of the survey stating that they had actually sampled the breakfast. It is thus apparent that, similarly to The New Forest Marque, the breakfast also suffers from being under represented in promotional efforts and that not enough of a buzz from local
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traders is being generated. All respondents, however, concurred that it was both a novel and very inventive idea, providing huge opportunities and benefits to the local area, whilst also providing a distinctive product that marks the destination out. Nearly all participants proffered that they were extremely interested in trying The New Forest breakfast at some point in the future, with many expressing disappointment in not knowing about it earlier. 15. Have you tried The New Forest Breakfast? 15. Have you tried The New Forest Breakfast ?, Yes, 7, 14% Yes No 15. Have you tried The New Forest Breakfast?, No, 43, 86% 16 / 17. Awareness and Opinion of The New Forest Brand Card. Whilst only a very small percentage of the survey had any knowledge of The Brand New Forest Card, an overwhelming number of respondents stated that they thought it to be an excellent idea, declaring it to be pragmatic, functional and valuable to both visitors and local businesses. Again, the concept of the scheme proved popular with participants but was clouded out by a distinct lack of support in communications, resulting in visitor ignorance and low up-take. 16. Do you have The Brand New 16. Do Forest Card? you have The Brand New Yes 16. Do No you have The Brand New 17. Do 17. Do you think The Brand New you Forest Card is a good idea? think The Brand New Yes 17.No Do you think The Brand New
18. The New Forest Logo. Respondents were asked to select the image they believed to be the current New Forest tourism brand logo. The choice of emblems used for this question included:
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A. The current New Forest Tourism Brand logo
B. The old New Forest Tourism Brand logo
C. The New Forest Pony Club logo
D. An American housing company logo
Most respondents (29 replies) opted for logo C, justifying their decision by mentioning the presence of earthy, natural colours partnered with traditional, rural images. The actual New Forest tourism brand logo (A) was only selected 9 times, 1 more than the American housing company (D), indicating that visitors are generally unaware of the actual logo, indifferent to what it signifies and generally unreceptive towards it. It should be noted that in answering this question people may have simply been selecting the image they preferred or what they felt The New Forest tourism brand logo should be. This is still very telling, however, as to what the general public expect of The New Forests brand logo and emphasises that the current logo has failed to prove popular, effective or reflective of wide spread perceptions surrounding the forest. 18. Which of the following is The New Forest Tourism logo? 18. Which of the following is The New Forest Tourism logo?, C, 29
18. Which of the following is The New Forest Tourism logo?, A, 9
18. Which of the following is The New Forest Tourism logo?, B, 4
18. Which of the following is The New Forest Tourism logo?, D, 8
19. Impact of Logo. As previously mentioned, the current logo was not well received by the majority of respondents and largely failed to make a positive or lasting impression. Even those
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who correctly identified the brand emblem opined that they didnt like it very much. Most participants expressed preference toward the other logos and then continued to make several derogatory remarks about the design, use of colour and use of imagery of the actual brand logo. Surveyed visitors complained that the current logo was Weak, Thin, Wishy-washy, Anaemic, Dull, Uninteresting, Bland, Lifeless, Plain Inconsistent, Ordinary, Colourless, Boring and Disregard-`able. Most people assented that the logo failed to convey any message or illustration of what The New Forest embodies.
19. Do you think the logo effectively conveys what 19. Do you think the The New Forest is about?
logo effectively conveys what The New Forest is about?, Yes No
19. Do you think the logo effectively conveys what The New Forest is about?,
20. Rating of The New Forest Tourism Brand Logo. Although a few respondents did rate the logo preferably, participants principally responded unfavourably to the logo, expressing their negative opinion by posting low scores on the below Likert scale. The majority of those survey replied that they did not find the current brand logo to be particularly distinctive, authentic, memorable or aspirational and many people criticised it in terms of these values.
20. On the below scale, please rate The New Forest Logo 1 Distinctive Authentic Memorable Aspirational 14 15 18 21 2 16 15 16 17 3 11 11 8 7 4 4 6 4 5 5 5 3 3 0
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21. Influence of Communications. 14 people affirmed that their decision to visit the forest had been inspired, shaped or Helped along by some form of New Forest orientated media communication. The larger population of the survey, however, dissented with this opinion, attesting that their decision to visit had not been influenced in any way by such means. Participants instead professed that other motivating factors had been more prominent / instrumental in drawing them to the forest. Many stated they were largely oblivious to any current modes of communication activity and certainly not able to recount any specific examples.
Chart Title
21. Was your decision to visit The New Forest influended by comunications ?, Yes, 14, 28% Yes No
21. Was your decision to visit The New Forest influended by comunications ?, No, 36, 72% 22. Influences on Decision. This question asked respondents to indicate which variables were important in shaping their decision to visit The New Forest. Participants could record as many influences as they deemed appropriate.
The largest influences recorded were Previous visits (36) and Recommendation/ Word of mouth (29). These findings emphasise the top quality experience that The New Forest consistently delivers and also illustrates the fact that visitor satisfaction is permanently very high, prompting past visitors to not only return time and again, but also to recommend the destination to their friends and family. The Internet also emerged as a popular influence on peoples decision to visit, indicating that this is a pivotal conduit for communicating with current and potential visitors, offering innumerable opportunities and a plethora of potential benefits if used adroitly.
Other popular responses included recent commercials on local radio stations (14), NFTA-created destination brochures (such as the Stay Accommodation Guide and the Discover Local Area
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Guide) (13) and the use of promotional literature generated by both the NFTA and from individual attractions within the forest (such as Paultons Park, Chewton Glen and Beaulieu Motor Museum).
Traditional Above the line advertisements and paid for promotions appear to have been quite ineffective and easily disregarded. These findings suggest that this type of communication maybe unsuitable for promoting The New Forest destination brand in the future.
Chart Title following shaped following shaped
22. Have any of the 22. Have any of the your decision to your decision to visit?, Friend /visit?, Previous visit, family 36 recommendation, 29
22. Have any of the following shaped your decision to visit?, Internet, 22 22. Have any of the 22. Have any of the following shaped following shaped your decision to your decision to visit?, Radio, 14 visit?, Brochure, 13
22. Have any of the following shaped your decision to visit?, Television, 0
22. Have any of the following 22. Have any of the shaped 22. Have decision to any of the followingyour shaped following visit?, Newspaper, 4shaped your decision to your decision to visit?, Travel visit?, Magazine, 1 magazine, 0
22. Have any of the following shaped your decision to visit?, Promotional literature, 10
22. Have any of the following shaped 22. Have any of the your decision following shaped to visit?, Country your decision toshow / event, visit?, Local 2 produce, 0
23. The New Forest Tourism Website. Whilst a respectable percentage of the sample replied that they had used the tourism website (16 people), we believe that it is still under-utilised and under-appreciated by the consuming public, indicated by the 34 respondents who stated they were unaware of and had not used this particular application. A future key issue for the NFTA, therefore, is how to generate and direct more traffic to this website.
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23. Have you used The New Forest Tourism Website?, Yes, 16, 32%
Chart Title
Yes No
23. Have you used The New Forest Tourism Website?, No, 34, 68%
24. Website Rating. As can be seen from the below Likert scale, those who had made use of the New Forest Tourism website were very impressed and highly satisfied with their experience. Respondents rated this feature highly against all the values and made several complimentary remarks about how professional, comprehensive and user-friendly this facility is. One participant even stated that it had been a decisive factor in convincing him to holiday it the forest.
24. Please rate your experience 1 Attractiveness Ease of use Information Usefulness 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 6 2 1 2 4 4 10 8 8 5 6 4 7 6
25. Attitude Toward Slogan. Whilst opinion was divided amongst respondents in regards to the current logo, with the vast majority commenting that they disliked it intently, participants were almost unanimous in voicing their approval and general predilection of the current brand slogan. Many professed that it was very clever, incredibly meaningful and particularly apposite.
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Chart Title 25. Do you like the slogan "Discover The New Forest"?, No, 1, 2%
Yes
No 25. Do you like the slogan "Discover The New Forest"?, Yes, 49, 98%
26. Personality Traits of The New Forest. The purpose of this question was to gain a deeper understanding of how visitors generally perceived The New Forests brand personality. We adopted some of the dimensions from Aakers (1997) Brand Personality Scale, namely excitement, sincerity, sophistication and ruggedness, and then supplemented these with traits that were frequently mentioned within interviews of members of the NFTA. Respondents were requested to select 3 characteristics from a list of 32 that best described who and what The New Forest is?
The personality traits Charming and Peaceful (19 replies each) were the most popular terms used to describe The New Forest, closely followed by Natural (17 replies). Due to the rural nature and tranquil composition of the core product, however, these are fairly typical and expected responses, which dont necessarily provide any deeper insight into how people envision the destination brand. The next most commonly selected dimensions were far more telling, emphasising the less obvious yet commonly apperceived virtues of the forest. Respondents replied that the destination brand was widely considered to be wild (13 replies), unique (12 replies), adventurous (11 replies) and romantic (11 replies) place, suggesting that the consuming public behold the brands persona as both likeable and enchanting, characterised by a free, untameable and chimerical spirit.
Less popular but still well represented were the dimensions wholesome (7 replies), exciting (6 replies), safe (6 replies), fun (5 replies) and secretive (5 replies), which contribute considerably in painting a very defined picture of what makes The New forest a special place to visit, illuminating a rich and colourful brand personality which has multiple meanings for different people.
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All personality dimensions that respondents selected for being descriptive of The New Forest brand have been displayed in the below graph. For a full list of traits used please see Appendix Final Visitor Survey. Chart Title
27. Best UK Outdoors, Rural Experience? The majority of participants agreed with this statement, averring that they did perceive The New Forest to be the best out-door, recreational and leisure experience in the UK. This result, however, could be subject to participant bias. Because of the forests close proximity and ease of accessibility for many visitors, respondents might be answering that the destination is the ideal place for them simply because of its location.
Many respondents, however, said they did not agree with this statement and argued that there were many other locations across the UK that were equally as enjoyable and unique as The New Forest, if not more so. People suggested the following reasons: other destinations offered greater diversity of landscape; better provision of activities and leisure facilities; easier accessibility with superior transport links; more variability in the scenery; wider array of things to see and do; superior infrastructure or simply just a new and different place to explore. Respondents also listed the Peak District, Lake District, Brecon Beacons, The Highlands, The Isle of White, Cornwall, Yorkshire and the Welsh Valleys as areas that rival The New Forest for this distinction. Only three people replied they could not answer - 2 were international tourists and felt they were ill suited to answer this question whilst another said they couldnt decide.
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27. Do you think The New Forest is th"Best UK outdoor, rural experience"?, No, 15, 30%
27. Do you Chart Title think The New Forest is th"Best UK outdoor, rural experience"?, Don't know, 3, 6%
Yes No Don't know 27. Do you think The New Forest is th"Best UK outdoor, rural experience"?, Yes, 32, 64%
28. Experience Satisfaction. A resounding Yes was recorded for this question, with all participants confirming that they were enjoying their visit, were having a good time and were very pleased with their decision to come. This result speaks volumes about the quality of visitor experience consistently delivered by The New Forest and the levels of consumer satisfaction the destination has become renowned for.
29. Return Visit? Nearly all participants (44 replies) said they would return in the future, with some people commenting that they wished to return simply to experience elements discussed within this survey, such as the tour bus and the New Forest Breakfast.
With half the sample as day visitors, however, this result might not be as indicative or as insightful as we might wish. It is axiomatic that day-visitors will return frequently simply because of the forests close proximity to their homes but it is much harder to entice those who live outside the forests catchment area to visit again or to return regularly. Whilst the New Forest is backed up by a top quality and unique product and the visitor satisfaction is outstandingly high, this is not always enough to guarantee return visitors.
From those who said they would not return though (6 replies), respondents reasoned that it was either because a). They were visiting from a foreign country, making a return trip unlikely or b). Because of the desire to continually try new destinations and seek out new experiences, deliberately avoiding places previously visited. Neither of these responses reflects badly on The
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New Forest, however, and suggests that those who are capable and inclined to return to the destination will do so.
Chart Title
29. Will you return in the near future?, No, 6, 12% Yes No 29. Will you return in the near future?, Yes, 44, 88%
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Comparative Analysis
6.1 Introduction
From primary data it is clear that the New Forest brand is attractive to everyone and that the NFTA are correct in their decision not to target segments based on demographic bases. We also see that the brand enjoys a fairly wide sphere of influence, with people prepared to travel long distances to be able to enjoy the forest and all it has to offer. It is also apparent that the majority of visitors and tourists going to the forest have been before and know what to expect, underscoring the forests ability to engender consumer loyalty and repeat custom. The NFTAs future communications should perhaps be equally focused on relationship building adjacent to attracting new customers.
The survey results also showed that the connotations people have in their minds of the forest have, therefore, probably been informed and shaped by multiple visits over a number of years, not from any one single influence. A consistently defined and widely acknowledged brand identity clearly exists amongst the general public and this is centred around the traditional associations of the typical quintessentially English idyllic countryside, coloured with ponies and tents. The images that the NFTA are trying to get away from are still very salient in peoples minds and it would be unadvisable to move too far away from what people expect and perceive the forest to be. The NFTAs desire for the forest to be seen as a place for relaxation and refreshment, however, was starting to be appreciated by visitors. The associations of excitement and fun have not yet been largely adopted and perhaps need to feature more prominently in NFTA communications.
All respondents agreed that the local residents and business owners had been very pleasant and friendly, emphasising that the internal branding conducted by the NFTA is working. People understand the importance of tourism to the local area and appreciate the role they play within this industry. By educating the local population and encouraging participation, people, by and large, have embraced the tourism brand, made personal investments into it and work harder to see it succeed.
Whilst over half of those sampled were aware of the New Forest tour bus, very few people had actually used this. Awareness was probably because it is such a prominent feature within the
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forest. Very few people had used the service however, which could be attributed to a plethora of reasons including price or lack of information. The bus probably does not appeal to day visitors as much as to tourists and the price is seen as quite high (10 per person). If the NFTA could introduce a lower price and target day visitors in their communication, this might be more successful.
Only a very small number of respondents were aware of the New Forest Marque. This is still a relatively new scheme, only in its second year, however, perhaps greater attention is needed in the promotion of this brand element. There is clearly an interest from the general public but we believe that greater consumer education needs to be emphasised within local businesses. Greater promotion needs to happen on the operational level, with retailers and stores pushing the uniqueness, quality and authenticity of the local produce and what the Marque offers customers. Those who had purchased items reiterated the quality of the produce consumers just need to be made more aware of it.
Awareness of The New Forest Breakfast suffered a similarly poor representation within the survey, again, illuminating the need for greater promotion and consumer education, especially at the operational level. Many tourists commented they didnt know if their accommodation provider were part of the scheme, which illustrates that hospitality operations are not communicating this brand attribute effectively enough.
A further brand attribute that is believed to be under-represented in the NFTAs promotional strategy is the NF card. There is a clear lack of awareness about this scheme, however, for those who are cognisant of it, understanding and confusion on the part of the consumer is rife. Visitors didnt know what the card could be used for or where it could be used and people were not receptive to the idea of having to register their card online first. Again, a greater effort needs to stem from the local retailers and businesses in pushing this scheme forward. Providing greater clarity and detailed explanation in promotional activities might also help.
Consumer response to logo design was very insightful. When asked to select the logo they believed represented the forest the vast majority selected the one that plays on the traditional roots and perceptions of the forest (ponies and trees, yellow and green colours). The actual logo purposefully attempted to move away from these traditional images to promote a fresher, contemporary and more holistic design. Whilst it is important for the NFTA to shape broader perspectives of the forest, they need to be careful not to move too far away from how the general
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public actually perceive the brand. There must be a careful balance found between how the forest has traditionally been perceived and how the NFTA want it to be perceived in the future.
In general, visitors were not fond of the new logo and were largely unresponsive toward it. We question whether perhaps more assiduous consumer testing should have been conducted before launch. Whilst the NFTAs justifications for the selection of this log o are perfectly logical and well considered, the fact remains that the current logo was not memorable or liked by this researchs survey sample. The design scored low on all the testing variables measuring consumer reactions toward it, suggesting that perhaps a strategic rethink of the brands current logo is required.
Commensurate with information learned from interviews, we found that media promotions had a relatively nugatory impact on visitors decision to come to the forest. This supports Climpsons claim that above the line advertising is ineffective for this type of product. Most respondents were oblivious to any current promotional campaigns in any format and were hard-pushed to recall any previous forms of media communication. The largest influence on visitors decisions to visit were previous visits and referral / word of mouth. Clearly the quality of visitor experience is consistently high, encouraging people to return time after time. This implies that the NFTA could focus more on relationship building within communications and look to enhance their loyalty programs, such as the Brand card.
Whilst the Internet was a highly popular source of information assisting consumers decision to visit the forest, the actual tourism website proved to be considerably under utilised amongst our sample. Interviews with NFTA members did establish that a core focus of their branding strategy in the future was to improve and enhance the current web offering. Whilst the website itself is deemed excellent (in terms of appearance, functionality, information and ease of use), the issue lies in attracting traffic to it. This is, however, being addressed via investment in Search Engine Optimisation and pay per click advertising.
In contrast to the negative perceptions encountered regarding logo design, the brand slogan was very popular. Visitors considered it simple yet effective, deeming it to be appealing, meaningful, expressive and powerful. We believe that the NFTA should maybe think about replacing the current logo with something more commercially viable to partner this popular slogan. The impact of the brands outward expression would be significantly stronger and more palpable if these 2 attributes worked together and complimented each other.
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The brand personality traits that the NFTA ascribe to and try to promote in their marketing efforts were not well matched to how the general public perceive the brand. Whilst charming and romantic featured heavily, the other traits were not really recognised, raising questions over the saliency and cogency of these characteristics within the marketing communications.
Whilst The New Forest brand has not reached its positioning statement yet, it is clearly on the right track. This has been a very effective tool in focusing stakeholders and members of the local community on the purpose and benefits of place branding and on the significance of their role in driving the brand forward.
Finally, all visitors affirmed they enjoyed their visit and most said they would return. Those that said they would probably not return explicated that it was for a reason other than being dissatisfied with their experience. This emphasises that both visitor satisfaction and customer retention are extremely high within the new Forest brand. This is testament to the success of the internal branding activities undertaken by the NFTA Partnership and the emphasis they place on stakeholder participation / working together to achieve much larger goals. The New Forest brands success is very much a product of this relationship and so needs to be carefully maintained and managed to ensure continued prosperity, sustainability and growth for the brand, the local community and the natural environment.
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Conclusion
In response to escalating global competition for tourists and visitors, increased product parity and heightened substitutability of destinations, place branding has begun to emerge as a viable, pragmatic marketing solution and a source of great competitive advantage. As such, place branding is rapidly becoming recognised as an integral element of modern tourism management. In this research a salient, indisputable correlation between a strong brand and a successful tourism industry has been irrefutably demonstrated. The New Forest is an exceptional model of how focused and carefully orchestrated brand management can have a positive and meaningful impact upon the area - both in terms of increased commercial activity, stemming from an influx of visitors and tourists, increased inward investment from businesses and organisations and greater community agency.
Throughout this research we have continually demonstrated how four key elements of branding theory (brand equity, brand identity, brand image and shareholder participation) have underpinned the New Forests efforts in becoming the South Coasts destination of choice. It is thus our assertion that for destination branding to truly work, there must be some degree of utilisation of and interplay between these four elements within a destinations branding strategy. If any of these elements are absent, then no place brand exists.
Destinations must establish and carefully manage their Brand equity when creating a strong, favourable place brand. This is the added value inherent within an offering generated from the confidence consumers place in one brand over another, and it is a composition of a number of inter-related factors. Within the empirical example of The New Forest a high degree of brand equity was identified from consumer surveys, illustrated via positive brand resonance and brand loyalty. Visitors to The New Forest displayed salient willingness to engage with the destination, via purchase frequency and intensity, and deferential behaviour and attitudes towards the place. For example, we recorded strong numbers of returning visitors, many of who stated they returned frequently. Respondents further replied that they constantly returned in order to explore new areas and try new amenities / services available. Many respondents also expressed a feeling of guardianship toward the place, wishing to preserve its special character, whilst others acted as brand evangelists, demonstrating a healthy willingness to recommend to others, often having discovered the place through WOM and personal recommendation.
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A defined, honest and positively received brand identity is also imperative in creating and sustaining a strong destination brand. Understood to be how the governing DMO desires a place to be perceived by the consuming public, we have shown it to be the unique characteristics that are purposefully created and manipulated in order to differentiate one destination from another. Identity, therefore, is how the brand is positioned in the mind of the consumer. In the case of the New Forest, it concerns how the NFTA has actively attempted to make The New Forest stand out against other similar, popular UK tourist destinations such as the Lake District, the Brecon Beacons and Dartmoor. We have shown that the destinations brand identity is firmly rooted in the traditional, quintessential, British countryside idyll (trees, ponies and tents). This has proved to be a popular strategy and has been largely responsible for driving the brands success in attracting tourists and visitors over so many years.
More recently, however, attempts have been made to modernise the brand and inject new elements into its outward ipseity. Emphasis on themes such as fun, excitement rest and relaxation have all started to figure heavily in branded communications. Survey research suggests that whilst these themes have started to make impact on visitors and tourists, and whilst it is also important to constantly invigorate any brand via fresh and contemporary ideas, it is equally important for the NFTA to not forget where they came from and who they are. We recommend to not to stray too far from the original brand identity lest consumers become confused as to what the brand represents or begin to perceive the brand as having changed.
A significant mechanism in sustaining and propagating the brands identity further is that of the Internet. The New Forest has developed an exceptional website, that was rated favourably under every variable in our research (content, user-friendliness, presentation and functionality), and possesses many future exploitable marketing and communication opportunities for the NFTA. Whilst we found it to be currently under-utilised in our survey data we do appreciate that it takes time to effectively generate sizable attention and interest to any webpage. The NFTA clearly recognise the potential value inherent within in this medium, however, and are investing considerably in its future application and utility. In both interviews comment was passed upon the intentions of future website development, encompassing SEO and PPC advertising.
A final comment is to be made upon the introduction of such adroit and well-executed locally collaborative schemes, such as the NF Marque, the NF Breakfast, the NF card and the NF tour bus. These were considered to be remarkably creative and very enterprising ancillary services that reinforce a positive, authentic and environmentally-responsible brand identity which play
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directly into the traditional, back of the world rural idyll that so many visitors posses in coming to the forest.
Equally as important to developing a successful and meaningful place brand is the brand image that is created. We define brand image as the actual image of a place in consumers minds the sum of beliefs, ideas, thoughts and expectations that visitors and tourists hold of a place. From this research we have witnessed that image is generated via multiple sources. In regards The New Forest, organic agents such as editorials, news stories and travel websites do play some role in shaping visitor and tourist perceptions and how the place is received, however, we have clearly demonstrated that the most significant influence on the decision making process is recommendation from family and friend. Generous consideration should be given to this fact when considering future communications and how this factor can be incorporated into future promotional activity.
In terms of induced image, our research indicated that traditional advertising offers nearly no influence at all in regards to this type of product, as previously attested by Anthony Climpson. The brochures and promotional activity by the NFTA have been shown to offer some degree of impact in terms of shaping visitor / tourist understanding and perception of the place. The current brand logo, however, was not well received. It did not make people think of The New Forest as an exciting or enjoyable tourism destination nor did it effectively create any salient or distinct imagery in consumers minds. The brand slogan, on the other hand, proved to be particularly popular and was widely regarded as considered, inviting and evocative, conjuring up an affirmative, apposite brand image.
Finally, this research has led us to believe that the most important aspect to consider when devising a branding strategy, and the most critical factor to the success of a destination brand, centres upon community engagement and internal branding. Results from this paper have highlighted that a destinations ability to maintain competitive advantage and constantly deliver quality visitor experiences is predicated upon the acceptance and commitment from local stakeholders and the community at large. It is these individuals and informal groups who define the brand and actualise the experience and so it is imperative that their acceptance, involvement and support is secured. In the case of The New Forest this has been achieved by establishing a cohesive and collaborative partnership in the form of the NFTA.
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This partnership has proved to be remarkably trenchant in its efforts to navigate the place brand forward, acting as a responsible collective, and as a result it has been tremendously effective in marking out The New Forest as one of the UKs most popular tourist attractions. This has been achieved by 1) Educating and enthusing the local populous to the significant role tourism plays within the area, and 2) Through assisting interested parties to share a role in the future shaping of the destination brand. This has resulted in greater community engagement, improved visitor experiences and a more buoyant tourism economy.
In summation, the New Forest has developed into a very strong destination brand that draws from a very effective marketing model, predicated upon the successful utilisation of four essential elements. We believe that whilst commitment to all four elements is essential for a brand to become successful, the most significant piece of this jigsaw is that of community engagement and shareholder support. It would be extremely interesting to see if this model could be transferred to similar destinations seeking to replicate the forests success and measure how effectively the efforts of the NFTA could be imposed upon a similar, less successful locale.
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Future research
There are a number of areas that we would like to have developed further, time permitting, which represent future areas of investigation.
Firstly we would like to have extended our sample size in order to attain a more realistic representation of the population. Ideally we would have preferred to collect 100 - 200 surveys but time and resource constraints prevented this form happening. We could also have opened up the research by collecting from a wider selection of locations in the forest and splitting our efforts more purposefully between weekday / weekend visitors, day / evening visitors. This would allow us to examine a great variety of responses from considerably different visitors who come to the forest for markedly different reasons.
Another option would be to explore consumer perceptions of The New Forest from outside the forest, having visitors base their answers on recall and recollection. This could have included administering surveys in near by towns and cities surrounding the forest such as Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Winchester. This would also facilitate the examination of consumers propensity to consume regarding future visit and what factors would impact on this decision.
Another consideration for future research would be to explore a single element of the brand strategy and examine it in intricate detail. Dimensions such as The New Forest logo, brand personality, or brand image all could be explored in much richer detail and under different theoretical lenses.
An area of research that the author was particularly interested in studying at the offset of this dissertation is how The New Forest brand model could be applied to other similar locations. For instance, could this be applied to The South Downs, which has recently become the UKs newest National Park?
Another potential field of study would be to examine the New Forest brands wider role within promotional activity by South East Tourism. Much of the imagery and material used in the
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organisations promotional campaigns consist of The New Forest and it would be interesting to explore the relationship between The New Forest brand and other regional brands extending this spirit of co-opetition.
Finally, it would have been interesting to examine the perception of The New Forest brand on an international scale. The NFTA promote to North America and Northern Europe, especially Holland and Germany, so it would have been interesting to gauge both brand awareness and brand image within these markets.
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Appendices
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Appendix: The New Forest History Time Line

1066 - Area was woodland and furze (gorse) with sparsely scattered farms and homesteads. Duke William of Normandy conquered England and became King William I. 1079 - New Forest created by William I as a royal hunting preserve. Forest laws were set up to protect beasts of the chase and their habitats with punishments for transgression ranging from fines to death. Indigenous peasants who were unable to enclose their land were granted the common right to graze domestic animals throughout the forest. 1086 - Area first recorded as the New Forest in the Doomsday Book. 1100 - William II (Rufus), son of William I, killed whilst hunting mystery still surrounds his death. 1204 - Cistercian Abbey founded in Beaulieu 1217 - Charter of the forest. 1269 - Foresters Table in the account book of Beaulieu Abbey. 13th 15th - Centuries. Demand for timber increased and became the principal raw material of the time. Six Royal Hunting Lodge sites had been established in the New Forest. 1379 - New Forest timber supplied for the defences of Southampton. 1483 - First tree-growing Act passed allowing large areas to be enclosed to establish woodlands areas to be opened when they had outgrown danger from cattle. Known as rolling power of enclosure because new areas were enclosed as mature woods were thrown open. 1565 - Timber census (5,800 acres of inclosures). 1611 - First recorded felling of timber for the Navy. 1698 - Act passed by William III allowed enclosure of further 6,000 acres for growing Navy timber. Rolling powers meant this could increase, to the detriment of commoners grazing rights. 1745 - First ship built at Bucklers Hard called the Surprise. 1776 - Scots pine introduced at Ocknell and Bolderwood. Production of Navy timber becoming more important than hunting. No record of any sovereign hunting after James I. 1781 - Nelsons favourite ship, the Agamemnon, built at Bucklers Hard costing 24,000 and using 3,000 oak trees. 1787 - Survey of the New Forest by Drivers, Richardson and King. 1808 - Act for the increase and preservation of timber in Dean and New Forest. 1845 - Southampton and Dorchester Railway Act extended the London to Southampton railway as far as Dorchester. 1851 - Deer Removal Act Attempt to remove all deer began and 10,000 acres enclosed and planted. 1860 - Schultz gunpowder mill at Eyeworth. Taken over by Nobel during 1914 1918 war. Closed 1926.
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1877 - Act of Parliament passed meant Crown gave up its rolling powers, and no more land could be enclosed beyond what had been during the reign of William III, and subsequently up to the passing of this Act. Court of Verderers established. 1909 - Commoners Defence Association formed. 1919 - Forestry Commission established. 1924 - Forestry Commission took over management of the New Forest from the Office of Woods. 1935-45 - Wartime airfields at Stoney Cross, Holmsley and Beaulieu Heath. 1949 - New Forest Act. Adjustment of New Forest Boundary perambulation. Conservation emphasised. 1969 - New Forest becomes National Nature Reserve. Minute of Intent signed by the Forestry Commission and Nature Conservancy Council (now English Nature), recognising the importance of working together. 1970 - New Forest Act. 1971 - Wild Creatures and Forest Laws Act abolition of Forest Law. Joint steering Committee report approved by Ministry of Agriculture. Conservation measures began. New Forest Consultative Panel formed. New Forest declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). 1981 - Wildlife and Countryside Act reinforced the legal status of SSSI. 1986 - Review Group formed to consider conservation of traditional character of forest for future generations. 1989 - The New Forest Tourism Association was formed in 1989 in partnership with the New Forest District Council to promote the destination as a popular, quality year round holiday and business destination. 1990 - New Forest Committee formed as a result of Rev iew Groups report. It was formed to coordinate the activities of six national and local government bodies which have greatest involvement in the life and future of the forest (New Forest Committee First Annual Report 1990). 1991 - National Parks Review Panel recommended to the Government that the New Forest be formally recognised as a National Park with a tailor-made constitution. Nature Conservancy Council becomes English Nature. New Forest Committee adopts New Forest Heritage Area. 1992 - Forestry Commission produces New Forest Management Plan 1992-2001 as its guidelines for management. The Government responded favourably to the National Park Review Panel recommendations. The New Forests unique value in terms of landscape and nature conservation was recognised as deserving the strongest protection in keeping with its national and international importance. Its distinctive management and administrative history should be maintained. 1994 - After public consultation, the Government announced that the New Forest would not be granted National Park equivalent status, nor would the New Forest Committee be granted statutory powers for management of the whole New Forest Heritage area. However, planning protection in the area was extended as if the New Forest were a National Park. 1995 - Declaration of Intent signed by the Forestry Commission, English Nature and the Verderers, committing each organisation to working together. 1996 - Several strategies brought out for the New Forest: Transportation Strategy for the New Forest Hampshire County Council Tourism and Visitor Strategy New Forest District Council A Strategy for the New Forest New Forest Committee
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1997 - LIFE Project set up to restore the historic landscape of the ancient woodlands and heaths through a series of conservation projects. The project is a partnership between English Nature, Forestry Commission, Hampshire County Council, Hampshire Wildlife Trust, New Forest Committee, Ninth Centenary Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Verderers of the New Forest and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Forestry Commission released A Framework for Recreation Consultation Document. 1998 - Ministers Mandate consultation draft released. 1999 - Launch of New Forest New Future a project to produce plans which will guide the management of the New Forest Inclosure woodlands into the next century. Ministers Mandate for the New Forest: 1999-2008, signed in July 1999, reflected that the conservation of natural and cultural heritage of the forest is the principle objective of management for the Crown Lands. It also underlined the importance of sustainable forestry and appropriate public recreation. In October, the Countryside Agency decides to begin the process of designating the New Forest as a National Park. 2000 - The Countryside Agency identifies the draft National Park boundary and initiated a three month public consultation. 2001 - Management Plan for the Crown Lands of the New Forest: 2001-2006 produced by the Forestry Commission. Seven detailed Subject Plans support the Management Plan: Access and Recreation Management Plan 2001 Working Together Community Plan 2001 Healthland Management Plan 2001 Ancient and Ornamental Woodlands 2001 Deer Management Plan 2001 Scheduled Ancient Monuments 2001 2001 - Forest Friendly Farming Project launched to support farming in the New Forest. The Countryside Agency considers responses to public consultation and undertakes a formal three month consultation on proposed boundary with local authorities affected, as legislation required. A National Park Designation Order was made and advertised in local papers. The Secretary of State announced that a Public Inquiry is to be held. 2002 - Public Inquiry scheduled for October 2002. If the Designation Order is confirmed, the New Forest National Park will be created. 2003 - PROGRESS Project set up to investigate the impact recreation has on sensitive sites, and devise plans to guide management on how to protect the Forest. 2005 - The New Forest became a National Park on 1 March. The New Forest Breakfast is launched as a showcase for local produce. Available at most restaurants, hotels, campsites, cafes, pubs and B&Bs. The breakfast is part of the larger New Forest Produce Marque acting as a quality standard for regionally sourced, organic ingredients. 2006 - The New Forest is selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Tentative List) 2007 The New Forest Business Partnership wins 3 awards at the International Responsible Tourism Awards. The New Forest Tourism Partnership picked up awards for Best Destination, Best Personal Contribution and Overall Winner. 2009 New Forest Tour Bus Launched during summer season 2010 Brand New Forest Card launched.
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Appendix: History of Branding

The concept of branding, as a means of distinguishing one producers wares from those of another, dates back centuries (Keller, 2008). The term brand derives from the Old Norse word Brandr, which means To burn, and stems from the traditional husbandry practice whereby livestock herders would sear an indelible mark or grade on to their cattle / animals for the purpose of denoting ownership (Holger and Holmberg, 2002). The practice of branding consumer goods for the purpose of commercialism began to emerge in the 19 th Century, fostered by the growing manufacturers of household-products and the large factories built by the Industrial Revolution (Blain, Levy, Ritchie, 2005, P. 328). Championed and popularised by companies such as Quaker, Gillette, Campbell and Kelloggs (all pioneers in this field), these companies began liberally applying brand names to all their product ranges in an effort to increase consumer familiarity and win purchase confidence. Today, regardless of the fact that the methods and instruments of branding have evolved over the years to become more sophisticated and far more profound, the core objective remains resolute - to Imprint a representational image of a product or service into the mind of the consumer Forristal and Lehto (2009, P. 214).
The strategic power of branding and its commercial utility initially emanated as a subject of interest for academic research in the 1940s, triggered by Guests early paper The Genius of Brand Awareness (1942), though it wasnt until the latter part of the 20th century and early 21st century that researchers really started to consider branding as a Hot topic (Blaine, Levy and Ritchie, 2005). Over the past twenty years, for instance, it is estimated that countless major journal publications (Papadopolous, 2002) and innumerable volumes of books and other texts that discuss branding (D. Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; D. Aaker, 1996: Bedbury and Finichell, 2002; Upshall, 1995, Keller, Aperia, Georgson, 2008; DeCharnatoy, 2010) have been written. In the context of the tourism industry, however, whilst brands have been visible in many categories of travel and recreational goods and services for a number of years (the first arguably being Thomas Cook in the 19th Century), the branding of actual destinations is a relatively new and developing concept and one that Has not yet been studied vigorously enough (Cai, 2002, P. 720).
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Appendix: The New Forest

Nestled between Southampton and Bournemouth on the South coast of England, the New Forest is widely regarded as A special area with a unique character and heritage (Seymour, 2011). Originally set aside as a hunting ground for the royal court by William the Conqueror in 1079, today it is the largest area of unspoilt and unenclosed countryside in southern Britain and one of the few remaining medieval forests in Europe. Ponies, cattle, deer and pigs roam freely and help to maintain a very special landscape of flora and fauna. These animals enjoy right of way and have become an important symbol of the Forest, especially the New Forest Ponies that are now a recognised breed.
Despite the ascribed moniker, The New Forest is neither new nor a forest per se, with less than half of the New Forests 93, 000 acres (145 Square miles) as woodland. Centuries of human management and livestock grazing have produced a multifarious mix of open pasture, marshes, bogs, lagoons, streams, coastal land, estuaries and quintessential hamlets / olde world villages. The Forests mainstay, however, is the heather and bracken covered lowland heath, reputed to be the largest remaining area in Europe and rarer globally than rainforest.
The area was first recorded as Nova Foresta, The New Forest, in the Dooms Day Book in 1086. (For a more detailed History of the Forest please see Appendix 1). The New Forest landscape and population have been largely shaped and moulded by various fads of the monarchy, priorities of the Crown and the changing local concerns over the past 900 years with the forests fundamental purpose changing from deer hunting to timber for naval shipbuilding, to oil refining and most recently to tourism and recreation. Many of the forests unique tra ditions and characteristics from Medieval times still remain and Commoners still depasture their livestock on the forest, as accorded by ancient grazing rights, and managed by Vereders.
Today, The New Forest is recognised as both a living and working area and as a place of outstanding beauty and amenity value. A key attraction for visitors is that it provides a cornucopia of biological diversity and is one of the most important sites for wildlife in the world. Home to 2,700 species of fungi, over 700 types of wildflower, all of Britains species of snakes and lizards (adder, grass snake and smooth snake; the common lizard and sand lizard), 6,500 animals of pasturage, over 5 species of dear, bryophytes, bats, birds, lichens, insects and invertebrates. It also contains the highest concentration of very old trees in Europe (Source). The Forest delicately
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balances habitat conservation with the 34, 000 residents who live in the area and the millions of tourists who pass through every year.
The cultural and historical record of the forest is likewise very rich and Boasts more than 2000 recorded archaeological sites in the area, 241 scheduled ancient monuments and 614 listed buildings (www.unesco.org). The New Forest became a Site of Specific Scientific Interest in 1971 and granted special status as a Heritage Area in 1985. In June 1999 the forest was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (making the Tentative List in 2006) whilst the Ancient and Ornamental pasture woodland has also been recognised as a Special Area of Conservation (cSAC). It holds an international significance in terms of its ecological value and so the emphasis on conservation and green tourism are thus of paramount importance. Such significance, both to wildlife and people, has been reflected in the 2005 designation of the New Forest as a National Park the smallest in the UK and the first in 50 years. National Park status has given assurance that The New Forest will be protected and conserved in its entirety for future visitors and residents. Preservation is essential to maintain the areas attraction and to secure the tourism industry.
Guests staying on overnight trips have a wealth of accommodation options to choose from, ranging from luxury hotels to cosy guesthouses, farmhouses to bed and breakfasts or the traditional, favourite mode of accommodation for the forest camping. As a result of tourism, a host of new restaurants and cafes have opened in the local villages whilst there is no dearth of pubs offering local fayre and ales in any part of the forest. A proliferation of craft and antique stores, souvenir and gift shops and tearooms has also exploded over the years.
The New Forest District Council takes responsibility for all tourism activates and destination / brand management, working with a wide range of partners and local interested parties to improve the visitor experience and general management of the forest. The new Forest Tourism Association, National Park Authority, Forestry Commission and Tourism South East are all equally instrumental in promoting and marketing the forest, encouraging sustainable tourism and providing interpretation, education and information services. All parties recognise the importance contribution tourism makes to the areas communities and economy and follow the VERB (Visitor, Environment, resident, Business) model strategy (www.newforest.gov.uk), which promotes responsible recreation and leisure pursuits whilst conserving the special qualities and local distinctiveness of the place.
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Appendix: Pilot Interview
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NFTA Group Member Interview MSc Marketing Dissertation in Place Branding
Pilot Questionnaire
1.
When did the NFTA start to consider destination branding as an important means of marketing the forest?
2.
How did the NFDC and NFTA initiate a branding strategy of The New Forest?
3.
What methods have been used to: a. Introduce the brand?
b.
Maintain the brand?
4.
What do you intend to accomplish by branding The New Forest?
5.
What market segments are you trying to reach with The New Forest brand?
6.
What makes the region special in comparison to other regions across the UK?
7.
What is the brand image you are trying to create for The New Forest?
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8. How are you developing this brand image?
9.
What communication channels do you use to promote the destination brand?
10. Can you tell me some of the challenges you have encountered in developing The New Forest brand?
11. How does the New Forest brand differentiate from other similar regions using branding techniques such as the Peak District, Brecon Beacons or Dartmoor?
12. What are the key strengths of the New Forest brand?
13. What current or potential weaknesses do you perceive within the current New Forest brand?
14. In regards to the tourism industry, who do you believe the main competitors to the New Forest to be?
15. How do you measure the commercial success of the brand?
16. How do you measure the success of The New Forest Marque on local produce?
17. What is next for the New Forest brand?
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18. Can you explain how the relationship works between the various bodies that make up the NFTA and how these relationships impact on the brand?
19. As a member of the NFTA what role have you played in creating the NF brand?
20. Can you recommend any other members of the NFTA or individuals associated with the New Forest tourism industry who might be of assistance to this research?
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Appendix: Destination Branding Interview with Members of The New Forest Tourism Partnership
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Date: Name of Interviewee: Position within NFTA Management: Years working with NFTA:
Place:
Interview with members from the NFTA
The New Forest
1. How would you describe the New Forest to someone who has never been?
2. What do you believe the New Forest is best known for?
3. What are the 3 most popular visitor attractions in the New Forest?
The New Forest Tourism Market
4. How does The New Forest differentiate their market offering from that of the competition (what is special / different about you what is your USP)?
5. Who do you perceive The New Forests main competitors to be?
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The NFTA
6. Which market segments do the NFTA currently target their marketing efforts at?
7. How does The New Forest Tourism Association currently market the region to visitors and tourists?
8. Can you explain how the relationship between the members of the NFTA works and how areas of responsibility are divided?
9. From your experience working within the NFTA, what is your interpretation of the concept of destination branding?
10. When did the NFDC and NFTA begin to use destination branding as a means of marketing the forest as a year round tourism destination?
11. What do you believe separates a good destination brand from a bad one?
The NFTAs branding of The New Forest
12. What is The NFTAs brand vision?
13. What policies and activities have your organisation undertaken in the application of destination branding of The New Forest? (What efforts have been utilised in branding The New Forest?)
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14. How do the NFTA involve the local community and regional stakeholders in developing the brand? (What internal branding does the NFTA undertake to get internal stakeholders on board?)
The New Forest Brand
15. In your personal opinion what does the New Forest brand represent to people?
16. What do you see as the main elements of The New forest brand and how do you emphasise them in your branding efforts? For instance nature, activity, freedom, history, ecology, leisure, adventure, tranquillity, rural traditions, etc
17. What are The New Forests brands core values?
18. What do you see as The New Forests brands strengths?
19. What is the destination image you are trying to create for The New Forest?
20. How do the NFTA communicate the brand to visitors, tourists, local residents and the general public at large?
21. How do you see the New Forest brand positioned in respect to other similar destination brands?
22. How do you ensure visitors receive a consistent brand image of The New Forest?
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23. To what extent do you measure if visitors perceive and understand the brand the way it is intended?
24. What does the brand logo say about The New Forest?
25. How do you emphasise sustainability in The New Forest brand?
26. Can you tell me about some of the challenges you have encountered in developing The New Forest brand?
27. What does the NFTA intend to accomplish by branding The New Forest?
28. How do you measure the success of the brand?
Brand impact
29. How does The New Forest brand work to secure consumer loyalty and repeat visitation?
30. What, in your own opinion, does visiting The New Forest say about who you are? IE. What lifestyle statement are people making by visiting The New Forest?
31. How do you ensure The New Forest brand remains current and relevant in todays fast changing society?
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32. Can you expand on what exactly the New Forest marquee is and how it plays into the wider branding strategy?
35. How is the marquees success measured (units sold, number of partners adopting it)?
36. What characteristics of the Forest are carried by the New Forest produce? For instance, authenticity, rural living, organic ingredients, handcrafted care, etc
Summation
37. What impact has the current economic downturn had upon tourism in The New Forest?
38. Do you believe the brand has helped the New Forest whether some of the detrimental impact the economic downturn has had upon the tourism industry?
Thank you very much for your time and participation. Your honest answers are gratefully received and will be of significant contribution to this research. I wish you a pleasant afternoon.
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Appendix : Transcript from Interview with Stephen Lorton, Chairman of the NFTA
Note: Due to the large volumes of information from interview transcripts, each interview averaging 9,000 words, only one has been included.
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Pilot Questionnaire Date: 3rd August 2011 Name of Interviewee: Position within NFTA Management: Years working with NFTA: Place: Paultons Park, The New Forest Stephen Lorton Chairman of the NFTA 4 years
Interview with members from the NFTA
The New Forest
1. How would you describe the New Forest to someone who has never been? The thing that separates us from other destinations is our diversity We offer the coastline and the forest and very few places offer both of those. And also, such a wide range of accommodation within our boundary everything from the Chewton Glen to bed and breakfasts and camping and everything in between, spa hotels and whatever. We also have the National Motor Museum, Paultons Park and Exbury Gardens. In a very tight area we have quite a lot of stuff going on here and of course we are bounded by Bournemouth, Southampton, East and West, 2 airports, plus Salisbury in the North. So we have got quite a lot going on for us and we are only an hour and a half from London. Those are, in no particular order the things that make us different from other locations such as the Lake District, Dartmoor, Exmoor, these sorts of places.
2. What do you believe the New Forest is best known for? Well, I think its probably ponies, camping and trees, I guess. If you ask people in the s treet this is what they will come up with. Whilst you havent been able to camp wild in the Forest since the early 1970s, those are things people think about naturally, albeit that we have much more than that.
3. What are the 3 most popular attractions in the New Forest? Depends on who you are and what youve got. If you are a family with young children then defiantly Paultons Park and then youve got the free attractions such as the coastline, and cycling and all that sort of stuff in the forest. If you are in the more mature years, then we have got Exbury Gardens and the National Motor Museum, although this falls part way between the two as young, 8, 9, 10 year olds will enjoy going there, although its not really one for preschoolers etc So as far as attractions go, thats it. I mean, cycling is becoming ever more popular. There is a plethora of companies setting up now for cycling, you may have seen it on the Internet, New
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Forest Activities is doing cycling, canoeing, Go Ape tree top adventure, the outward bound type of stuff. But lots of stuff going on. Sometime you need to go out and find it it is easy to find Paultons park and Exbury, but you need to dig a bit deeper for the other gems. The New Forest Tourism Market
4. How does The New Forest differentiate their market offering from that of the competition (what is special / different about you what is your USP)?
Imagery is very important, if you look at the website, www.newforest.co.uk, there is an image library, and with the stills, which I know is something Tony (Climpson) is very keen on, and also of course that has now moved into the geo cast video, which is now on the website and gets updates several times a year the trees, the car, the romantic couple in the Jaguar E-type, and the young family here at Paultons and the cycling and all that sort of stuff. I think imagery is very important in trying to get that message over and of course with people and the Internet thats so much more easy to access than possibly it was just on the printed page. Again, diversity I think is important in that, ok we are know for the trees and ponies but you can only do trees and ponies and beer so often, but when that is linked in with things like Lymington and the coast and these sorts of places then that ties in to give us that differentiator between other places. And I guess, a phrase I have used in various forums is that we are the Premier Destination of Choice. If I had to have the ultimate vision of The New Forest thats probably what I would try and get to, because, you know, we have got some great accommodation, we are very well located and we have got some great attractions for, I know we havent got a Thorpe Park or Alton Towers but thats not quite what we want, but we are the Premier Destination of Choice thats the ultimate kind of place I would try and like to get to in time.
5. Who do you perceive The New Forests main competitors to be?
Thats a difficult one to answer yes you have the Lake District and the Brecon Beacons, but you could also argue abroad. Everything from a short weekend break with the family to a 2 week holiday at Sandy Balls, Hobourne or Shorefields its everything in between. The motivation for a short family break maybe because you have young children and want to go to Pepper Pig World and are coming from Manchester so want to come and stay thats 1 motivation - whilst youre here you might as well go and do the cycling and all that stuff. 2 weeks at Sandy Balls, maybe the motivation is slightly different wanting different accommodation, what else is there to do and see, the attractions and all that good stuff. So I think it very much depends on what you want to when you are here in terms of what the motivators are. Do people come to the New Forest because they prefer our offering from Exmoor or Dartmoor? There is probably not quite as much to do and see, if you have a young family, youve got be somewhat of a hardened walker or whatever to get involved in that sort of stuff.
The NFTA
6. Which market segments do the NFTA currently target their marketing efforts at? Its a triangle really. The first thing we try and do is basically; our number one objective is to increase consumer awareness of the destination to the consumers. Now, in our membership, Im going to dance around a bit, within that membership we have got everything from Paultons Park,
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Chewton Glen, Hobourne, Shorefields, Sandy Balls, through to a 2 bedroom bed and breakfast and everything in between we have 300 odd members, now, you know Paultons and Shorefields and Chewton Glen will have their own marketing campaign and their own marketing budget but a 2man family run 2-bedroom bed and breakfast havent got that. You know, they pay their 9 0 100 quid membership; they havent got that expertise or budget or whatever to do it, so they can ride on the back, in the nicest possible way of what we do as an association. So do we target individual markets? Rarely. It tends to be more of a scatter-gun approach. You know budgets are very tight because we raise our budgets from our membership fees so basically the focus we do on advertising is on PR and now digital marketing (SCO and pap per click and all this sort of stuff). So thats the answer at the top of the triangle. We do then, if you like, pick off certain areas we think we need to get to and the two recent examples are London, which is the obvious low hanging fruit - market ourselves to London, do a radio campaign, something in the evening standard with the right imagery tying in with the right sounds and feel and audio of the forest, is the obvious one and we are only 90 minutes away. And the other one, we started the year before last, is Northern Europe. So we focus on the gateways through, either Bournemouth or Southampton or a ferry, so Holland, Netherlands, Germany (primarily) because we pull quite a lot of people from those areas, really to sort of heighten our awareness in those areas and thats a slow burn. I wouldnt say we have half of Holland descending on us but it is amazing how many we do get in from camping, because they are big campers, you know and they can just pop through the tunnel and it can be done pretty quickly. So we sort of pick those areas off, where we think we can do it effectively, but of course we cant go and, the rest of it tends to be this scattergun approach to market the destination as a whole.
We focus our campaigns on various different things, for example seasons of the year are important, For example February or October we might do something with crackling fires and romance. That kind of thing, I think in February we do the Bluebell Breakfast, around a theme so the grey market come and stay and have the New Forest breakfast followed by lovely walks through the forest, and sort of tie in whats going on. And you can actually tie some quite nice imagery to a couple in front of a crackling log fire, in a lake cottage in the depths of the forest, you know walking and all that sort of good stuff. So we tend to it that way pick things up where people can actually aspire to depending on where they are.
7. How does The New Forest Tourism Association currently market the region to visitors and tourists? Well we work very closely with our partners. The NFTA is basically a group of 300 odd businesses that get together, across various different segments, B&Bs, hotels, self catering, restaurants, holiday parks and attractions and corporate, and it is a stand alone, independentlyfunded body. However, and this the important bit, which I think is where we are very unique and a lot of other associations and destinations aspire to is that we have this very long-standing relationship with the district council. So by having that partnership, we can link closely with that partnership and also into the district council, as importantly, the district council can have a conduit into the businesses as well. So from a marketing perspective then we have this group called the Little Acorns Group which is made up of marketing representatives from the NFTA and also Tony and members of his team. That body, then, if you like, have a budget that we can then work to market the forest and it works quite well because we provide the budget, through our subscriptions, to market the forest, not necessarily purely driven that by public money from the council, so you know, in the current day and age if money is tight, its very difficult for the council to cut it because its not their money and also it sends the right message that actually, local businesses are helping themselves and working with the council.
We fund ourselves through subscriptions, then obviously the council have a budget and those two budgets are put together to promote the forest. From our point of view we want to have
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enough money to have a war chest and be financially astute in terms of what we are doing but beyond that we want to make sure that the money we have we use wisely. Its no good staying in the bank, it needs to be used to promote the forest sensibly.
8. Can you explain how the relationship between the members of the NFTA works and how areas of responsibility are divided?
Its all a completely voluntary organisation as far we are concerned. We are made up of officers, of which there is a chairman, a vice chairman, a treasurer and a membership liaison officer. Those are the main functions, then we have a representative to sit on the steering group from each one of the sectors, IE a representative of self catering, representative of hotels, etc and then there is a member from the district council. There are a number of co-opertaive reps that are also there. That body together then forms what we call the steering group of the organisation and that deals with all the strategic decision making, spending, funding and all that sort of stuff, of which I chair. We then have the Little Acorns Group, which are a similar type of group albeit, sometimes its the same people and sometimes its not, which then, if you like, is the marketing group of that organisation. And we include the NFTA and NFTC in that. The individual sectors have meetings every year, normally once a quarter but it does vary. The issues are raised to the chairman and they organise various talks and business improvement programs, points of interest, there can be anything, for instance the self caterers had something in terms of how best to do their laundry and cleaning. Whilst they are all individual businesses they share their best practices and its a spirit of co-opetition they are not competing against each other they are co-operating. Because you know, if we get it right, there is enough for everybody in terms of business coming into the area so sharing best practices and creating a quality environment, because at the end of the day if someone comes to the best destination in the world and they are staying at a ropey B&B or whatever then thats not good, so we have got to make sure we can provide the best quality, albeit at the relevant price points for our guests. So each sector has its own individual group meeting and thats how it works. We have an AGM every year of which the officers are elected or re-elected.
The membership liaison officer is actually a paid position but Christine (Membership Liaison Officer) has her own business and is a member in her own right. She handles our quality side and as a good example of how we work with visitors, there was a whole bunch of issues in terms of Visit Britains grading and accommodation and all this sort of stuff and they were being a lot more prescriptive in terms of how the quality standard had to be achieved for a bed and breakfast point of view or self catering IE you need to have flat screen TV, you need to have an en-suite bathroom, you need to have beams that you dont hit your head on and all that kind of stuff. But if someone is coming to a chocolate-box self-catering or B&B establishment in The New Forest then half the charm is having a low ceiling and no television in the room so the local enterprises felt they were being too prescriptive. And also, from a B&B point of view, its nearly 250 assessment every year, which is quite a bit in terms of percentage of what they get from their bed revenue compared to hotel yes they pay more but their room rates are a lot more and they have a lot more beds and all that sort of stuff. So as a percentage of their overall turnover, whilst its not massive its still bigger than they felt it should be so we thought well maybe we can do something about this. We werent getting any where with Visit Britain, perse, at the time so we developed our own assessment criteria and basically launched an NFTA Quality Assessment structure which works very well and Christine runs that. So we have, I think, 120 businesses that are actually on that program, which we assess every two years, its a lot cheaper than Visit Britain, its a benefit of membership, as well, if you are a self catering or B&B establishment we dont grade you either are or you arent. The criteria is to the minimum standard of Visit Britain basically and its gone down very well. Of course what thats unable us to is to monitor the quality, because we only will take members into the NFTA if they are accommodation providers that are NFTA, or AA assessed, they have got to have some source of quality standard. And thats
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quite important because the way it works is that you get a subscription by being a member to go into the members website and so by having that you know you are letting the right quality of people in and also from an attractions point of view you have to be BACKQUEST approved to actually get into the NFTA. So whilst its not absolutely full proof, we are en deavouring to make sure we are getting quality businesses in the NFTA which therefore give you a good standard of experience to our guests.
And that program is growing and growing. Its quite interesting now actually because Visit Britain are now talking to us about how they can work with us, so its gone full circle.
9. From your experience working within the NFTA, what is your interpretation of the concept of destination branding? I guess differentiating yourself from what else is around there. I mean, I guess we are the newest National Park, of course the National Park is another complexity, but it is another accreditation that gives us away to push ourselves forward as a credible alternative to other destinations, probably in some cases better known and with a lot more money spent on them, I mean how much dose Wales spend on their campaigns from a destination marketing point of view, with all the adverts on television at prime time, with mountain bikes being washed off and all that kind of stuff. Spending millions. Same as Yorkshire. We dont get anything like that, we have got nothing. We generate it ourselves with a little bit from the county council so we basically try to get as much bang from our buck to compete with the likes of Wales and Yorkshire and Northumberland, all driven by the various sources of funding they have got, but we dont have that sort of money to our disposal.
10. When did the NFDC and NFTA begin to use destination branding as a means of marketing the forest as a year round tourism destination? N/A
11. What do you believe separates a good destination brand from a bad one? N/A
The NFTAs branding of The New Forest 12. What is The NFTAs brand vision?
Not really because its not really the NFTA, thats the Little Acorns res ponsibility. But, I guess, if I had to say, it would be become the Premier Destination of Choice. In my opinion that wraps up everything else. The other point as well that has to be bourn in mind all the time is that we are very sustainable, actually sustainable aware I guess I would say. We know that it is not possible for everyone in Paultons Park to arrive on a bus or in a green car or whatever, but with young families, we are realistic and have to be careful we dont egg it and scare guests off coming. But I think there is a huge awareness among the members that we need to, and we have been doing this for years, and that is recognise that The New Forest is the golden egg and we have to look after it for future generations. So even before the National Park came on board it was in our interest to make sure we sustain the Forest, make sure t is looked after, make sure guests are educated and know not to feed the ponies, not to leave litter, close gates after them, dont tread
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or go off path during nesting season with baby birds. And there are various different initiatives that we have done over the years to make sure all that is happening. So yeah, increase visitor numbers, which is in all our interests, working in harmony with the special nature of the forest and make sure we maintain that, because the last thing businesses want to do, especially responsible businesses and we only have responsible businesses in the NFTA membership, is to start abusing the forest and spoiling it. That just cant be allowed to happen. We have got educational programs, we have got The New Forest Trust, etc to try and educate visitors in terms of why things are done, such as not feeding animals, because people from London may not understand why its not good to do this and what issues this creates.
13. What policies and activities have your organisation undertaken in the application of destination branding of The New Forest? (What efforts have been utilised in branding The New Forest?)
Its variable. PR is one of the big things we do and is key element to continued growth. We get a double page spread in the Times every 18 months, things like that which is significant because we get bags of things out of that. Out of that we can get over our special nature, we get over something special, we can get over the imagery etc and thats quite a good way of doing it.
Website is increasingly more important to us and we have various activates developing at the moment with search engine optimisations, improving how the website works including searchablility, improving usability on the newforest.co.uk, in terms of bookings and how people interact with the website. This is very difficult because you have the needs of a 2 bed room B&B are completely different from a 60 bedroom spa hotel. T hats starting to come. Its not perfect but its starting to come. If people put in romantic weekend away on the south, for example, the New Forest will pop up. Cycling or trips to Southern England, and that sort of thing will come up. Again, we are no where near where we want to be yet but we have got the contacts and alliances to make sure that happens and opens doors over time. And then we have various initiatives such as one dimension mentioned before, London, Northern Europe and maybe something in America going forward, but thats probably way in the future. But we need to be realistic and with in our budget and deliver something that will make an impact.
Another example is that on all promotional literature, leaflets, business cards and stationary of business addresses we are encouraging the use of the place name The New Forest, putting it in the address. This will help searchability and credibility. All NFTA business members do this now and its saying that we all are proud of where are located. Cer tainly as far as search engine optimisation and black out stuff on Google it certainly dos not do any harm at all.
Do we do as much as Id like? No. Do we do a good job with the money we have available? I think there would be a lot of people hard pressed to do as much as we do with as little as we got.
14. How do the NFTA involve the local community and regional stakeholders in developing the brand? (What internal branding does the NFTA undertake to get internal stakeholders on board?)
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We do have very good stakeholders. We have the NF District Council, the Forestry Commission, The National Park Authority, The Verdrers, The Commoners (both of which are a complexity many other places dont have) and I think generally there is a far better understanding now than there was probably x amount of years ago in terms of how we can all work together. I think over the years there has been a realisation that there is a very delicate balance between visitors and the economy, because the forest needs to thrive from an economic and commercial point of view to make sure that it continues to survive. And its great that there is that understanding across the Verderes and National Park etc So we work very closely together to make sure. For instance, today, here, I have the New Forest Activity Centre who have their own stand and are able to market themselves and their centre in Lyndhurst. They have some gazebos and educational stuff for the kids, so its all a case of working together to make sure we get over the fact of what makes the forest a special place and why it needs to be looked after.
In terms of the local community, there is no doubt that there is a recognition that tourism is the biggest industry in the area. Its getting some of the locals to un derstand that and work with us that is the issue. But generally, I think, there is a recognition that tourism, visitor attractions, hotels etc provide a lot of employment to the area and therefore its very important that we grow and thrive.
You could argue actually that, when the economy is tight, like it is at the moment, and people are not able or want to travel so far abroad, for whatever reason (the Greek economy, airport taxes, whatever) then actually lets just stick a tent in the back of the car and go down to somewhere thats lovely and saves us all the hassle.
The New Forest Brand
15. In your personal opinion what does the New Forest brand represent to people?
My view, is hopefully, one of quality, diversity and I would hope also sustainability, nature, that good green stuff.
16. What do you see as the main elements of The New forest brand and how do you emphasise them in your branding efforts? For instance nature, activity, freedom, history, ecology, leisure, adventure, tranquillity, rural traditions, etc
The ponies, the freedom and the forest. The coastline as well. The location, where we are. You can fly in from Scotland in 1 half hours to Southampton, hire a car, catch the train and you can be in Brockenhurst. So actually it is quite easy to get to from far afield, whether it be by plane, train or car plus we are only 90 minutes from the centre of London. So we have got a quite a unique place really. Juxtaposed because it is easy to get here, but when you are here, you could be a million miles from anywhere.
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The South Downs, for example, have just become a National Park, but I bet a lot of people would be hard pushed to put a line round where the South Downs are you know roughly where they are but nothing defined. Where as I think we are. We are the smallest National Park in terms of physical size but also the most populated.
17. What are The New Forests brands core values?
I would say definitely quality and good wholesome, bring your children out, fresh air, bit of education, fun. But within a quality, wholesome setting.
18. What do you see as The New Forests brands strengths?
I think thats the same. Hopefully in time, reliability, diversity, location.
19. What is the destination image you are trying to create for The New Forest?
If you are coming to the New Forest and want to sleep under canvass at Hollands Wood, and thats all you want, then you will have a great time. If you want to stay at Chewton Glen, you will also have a great time. Its horses for courses reliable quality, irrespective of where it is being pitched at. Whether that be quality of the experience, quality of the welcome, quality of the staff, quality of the bridal ways, quality of the information, location of car parks, car parking, public conveniences, travelling, attractions, all that kind of thing.
20. Please rank the importance of the following to the New Forest brand (1 = least important, 5 most important): Natural environment (wildlife / local ecology) Modern attractions (theme parks, visitor centres, leisure activities) Cultural / historical attractions (museums, castles, stately homes) Social aspects (rural villages, lifestyles, restaurants, hotels, clubs, associations)
Depends on who you are why you are coming here. Difficult to separate the above really depends on which market segment you belong to and what your motivations for coming are. If I am looking at it overall, first off what makes you come to the New Forest? Well, you come because its a forest, its in the country, its wholesome, its green, its an escape and all that sort of stuff, and I think that will be the same whether you are a young family or newly retired or whatever. But then it starts to split.
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The film that is on the website that Tony did, with the young family, the romantic couple, the older family and the oldies, if you out them on there, each one of those is having a good time in the area but their motivations for coming are completely different from each other.
Whilst this is a problem in many senses it is also a huge asset. Because we have that scope / room. If you take Dartmoor or Exmoor, you come up with walking, hiking, outward bounds and that sort of hardy stuff, but Im struggling after that. Where as here we have so much more to offer.
21. How important are the native species and indigenous ecology to The New Forest brand?
22. How do the NFTA communicate the brand to visitors, tourists, local residents and the general public at large?
Website, editorials, in house publications and promotional literature where to stay guide and discover guide.
23. How do you see the New Forest brand positioned in respect to other similar destination brands? 24. How do you ensure visitors receive a consistent brand image of The New Forest?
Its one body. Tony Climpson takes responsibility for synchronising and coordinating the brand message from bringing together all the various members of the steering group and
The council working closely with the businesses and vice versa helps it all go hand in glove really. Thats quite a unique partnership, to work that closely together. The PR budget we actually pay for that ourselves, but Tony manages that and the contracts on a day to day basis. Because he is the one that heads that all up. To have that sort of relationship is quite unique.
25. To what extent do you measure if visitors perceive and understand the brand the way it is intended?
Individual businesses do their own in house stuff and there are a number of surveys that are done by Tourism South East, which are commissioned. The bottom line is that the feedback we get back now via Facebook, Twitter, Trip advisor, individual businesses is on the whole very good and you tend to get a feel from that.
There is not an annual survey undertaken to measure visitor satisfaction with brand experience simply because there is not the time, money, resources or manpower to conduct such research. We could spend all our budget trying to get some results that turn out to be completely
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meaningless. I suppose the ultimate results are all the businesses doing well and are the occupancy rates where they need to be and is there repeat custom.
26. What does the brand logo say about The New Forest?
27. How do you emphasise sustainability in The New Forest brand? Very many different ways talking the talk and doing the do is the main thing. We work very closely with the Forestry Commission and the National Park Authority trying to educate people and all that sort of stuff but I think 3 or 4 years ago we won the sustainability awards world wide, it was very good and we were competing against some big contenders, such as Mauritius and other world wide destinations and we did very well. We won three awards actually and there is a lot behind it. It wasnt just a case of winning an award it was a case of committing on the ground level up and getting these schemes to work in the real world with a specific purpose of sustaining where we live and work.
Education about preservation and our fragile ecosystem are also fundamental to sustainability efforts.
Some businesses do a very good job of marketing themselves. A number of hotels, ditto B&Bs, have huge initiatives going on and many other schemes and innovative techniques, in terms of sustainability and trying to keep their businesses as green as they can. Its about protect and preserve as well.
28. Can you tell me about some of the challenges you have encountered in developing The New Forest brand?
29. What does the NFTA intend to accomplish by branding The New Forest?
30. How do you measure the success of the brand? Success of the brand is measured by visitor numbers, occupancy rates, using Trip advisor, Twitter and Facebook and feedback from businesses.
We do have some great businesses here but they are located in this fantastic destination, which does differentiate ourselves. Lots of other good campsites or attractions have nothing like this. Paultons Park is the only theme park in a National park. I could argue, thats a differentiator. There is lots of great 5 star hotels, but only Limewood and Chewton Glenin the New Forest.
Brand impact
31. How does The New Forest brand work to secure consumer loyalty and repeat visitation?
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32. What, in your own opinion, does visiting The New Forest say about who you are? IE. What lifestyle statement are people making by visiting The New Forest?
Huge variety of people from all walks of life. We have such a diverse spread of accommodation providers that we can cater for everyone really, irrespective of budget. You cant pigeon hole people like that. But because there is that wide choice people will be attracted. We have that diversity of a wide range of things that appeal to a wide range of people.
The brand is at the upper end. You could argue that people are coming down and enjoying a spa holiday with their children because its wholesome clean fun. It does offer fresh air and a change of scenery and will hopefully offer a fresh perspective on life. We are not however, exclusive or focused primarily on one type of people or one type of market (like the grey market only).
We have that diverse range that attracts us to everybody.
33. How do you ensure The New Forest brand remains current and relevant in todays fast changing society?
Website is a classic example; we have tried to make as current as possible but it s behind the leading businesses out there and the bigger businesses in a destination, because its bound to be. Obviously funding is via the public purse and via membership, but we try and embrace new initiatives as much as we can, in terms of how we market ourselves and also trying to keep up with the current trends Whats required, what the customer wants in the individual businesses. There is nothing prescriptive I cant go to a hotel and tell them to do this, this and this because its not my place, but its amazing what a difference makes when something is working for one particular business and then how quickly it gets around.
34. Can you expand on what exactly the New Forest marquee is and how it plays into the wider branding strategy?
35. How is the marquees success measured (units sold, number of partners adopting it)?
36. What characteristics of the Forest are carried by the New Forest produce? For instance, authenticity, rural living, organic ingredients, handcrafted care, etc
Quality. NF Marque as a branding exercise is excellent. It is good, wholesome and fits in with the accommodation and character of the area and all that sort of stuff. And the Brand New Forest from a visitor point of view and also a resident is the ability on both sides (business and visitor) to give that much more back to each other. It was quite inspirational as an idea and putting it
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together. It has also been proving extremely popular and successful. Many other destinations have tried it but not as successfully as we have because we have been allowed to give it that slow burn and of course it is supported by the local businesses and local authorities so it stands a good chance of succeeding and it is reasonably simple.
The NF Marque as a range will grow in terms of size, in effectiveness. At the moment it is still in the early stages of development but there is no doubt that having it for people who want it and that it ties in very nicely. People want their New Forest Marque Breakfast when staying in a local B&B as it gives something extra and a bit different from staying at the Premier Inn down the road.
Summation
37. What impact has the current economic downturn had upon tourism in The New Forest?
38. Do you believe the brand has helped the New Forest whether some of the detrimental impact the economic downturn has had upon the tourism industry?
Yes, I think it has. By having something they can grab hold of, even if they havent heard of somewhere to stay. They have heard of The New Forest but arent completely sure where to stay or what to do then they can tap that into Google, find out about it and then act on this. The brand is, if you like, the hook, umbrella, call it what you like, that covers this whole thing and I think it gives ownership to everybody involved or affiliated with the place and the place brand. People who work here are certainly very proud to have that association and I think the more we get it recognised for what it stands for then the more people will hook on to it. Once they have hooked on to it they can decide where they want to stay, what they want to do depending on who they are or what their budget is like, or what they like / dislike etc
Definitely continuing to build our market presence, as budgets allow, definitely to increase the effectiveness, usability and penetration of our website, definitely to improve our brand awareness and also, from an NFTA point of view, to continue to add benefits to membership, in terms of improved initiatives etc Its an interesting question because The New Forest has been around since 1066 and half of it is the thing is things dont change very much, and when they do they change very slowly. From a marketing perspective, in terms of the actual infrastructure of it, making sure visitors are educated as to what makes the forest special and why it has to be maintained, and why it will be maintained via working with our partners such as the Park Authority and the National Park and Forestry Commission and also making sure the businesses are operating well within it to a level of professionalism and high quality that we are making the local area standard. Which is where things like the NFTA and the business partnership and all this sort of stuff nicely links together.
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Thank you very much for your time and participation. Your honest answers are gratefully received and will be of significant contribution to this research. I wish you a pleasant afternoon.
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Appendix: Extant Literature

As a relatively new concept within academic research destination branding is indubitably a field of study in its infancy. Although isolated studies related to this field have been appearing in journals for over 30 years, with Papadopoulos and Heslops (2002) work finding a total of 766 previous published place-branding papers, the vast majority of contemporary scholars maintain that the extant literature on this topic is comparatively sparse and decidedly weak (Caldwell and Freire, 2004, Tasci and Kozak, 2006). Recent articles have disparagingly described the antedated research as Under explored and under reported (Pike, 2007, P. 4) and Sparse and scarse (Maheswari et al, 2011).
Cited as the first authors to bemoan this dearth of research, Ritchie and Ritchie (1998, P. 89), lamented over a decade ago We have somehow failed to recognise the significance of the branding function in our efforts to increase awareness of destinations and to create the powerful attitudes that are so essential to the final choice of a travel destination . Whilst it is still widely believed that the destination brand concept has Not yet been studied vigorously enough (Cai, 2002, P. 720) and that Our knowledge of destination branding remains poorly understood and frequently misconstrued (Hem and Iversen, 2004, P. 83), destination branding is irrefutably attracting greater attention from researchers. While place brands have traditionally been a predominantly practitioner-led practice, high levels of academic interest are now beginning to materialise (Dinnie, 2004). Consequently, destination branding is beginning to emerge as a major field of academic study (Kaplan, 2008).
This accession in interest as a distinct and prominent field of research is further commented on by Blain, Levy and Ritchie (2005, P. 328), who posit The increasing importance of learning from the branding paradigm in destination marketing is just beginning to arise . This rise can be witnessed in the expanding purview of recent studies that have examined the brand concept through a wider array of differing lenses. These include destination brand personality (Murphy et al, 2007), destination brand identity (Konecnik and Go, 2008), destination brand image (McCartney et al, 2008), destination experience (Hudson and Ritchie, 2009), strategic branding of destinations (Balakrishnan, 2009) and public diplomacy (Fullerton, 2009).
Additionally, the expanding theory and conceptual framework that underpins place branding is now beginning to be applied to a diverse range of new and interesting empirical contexts (Kavartzis, 2005). Recent sub-categories of research that have started to attract interest have
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included nation branding (Fan, 2005), culture and entertainment branding (Hudson, 2010), city branding (Zenker, 2011), destination rebranding (Osei and Gbadamosi, 2011), place branding to attract businesses (Balakrishnan, 2008), event branding (Rodner et al, 2009) and heritage branding (Ryan and Silvanto, 2011).
Thus, it is clearly apparent that the perceived inherent value that destination branding assumes as a field of scholarly significance is finally coming in to the fore. This is substantiated by Pike (2005, P.258), who adduces that The lack of literature has always seemed incongruent with the many suggestions that the future of marketing will be a battle of the brands, and that destinations are arguably tourisms biggest brands.
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Appendix: Definitions of Destination Branding

Pike (2009, P. 2) comments that the distinct lack of consistency in previous attempts to qualify and distinguish what destination branding constitutes have subsequently led to this practice being regarded as Akin to the Wild West. Definitions from the two opposing perspectives are provided below
Traditional Perspective
Caldwell and Freire (2004) articulate the position of many traditional brand theorists, arguing that a General agreement exists between academics and practitioners that places should be subject to the same treatment and techniques as consumer goods . Hankinson (2004, P. 110) further provides that As yet no theoretical framework exists to underpin the development of place brands apart from classical, product based branding theory . Researchers approaching destination branding with the belief that places should be treated like products thus frequently cite Hankinson and Cowkings (1993, P. 10) definition. This holds that branding is the process by which a Product or service is made distinctive via its positioning relative to the competition and by its personality, carefully utilising a unique combination of functional attributes and symbolic values.
Other popular definitions frequently transposed from product / service branding literature to places include Milligans (1995, P. 39) assertion that it is the act of Purposely and strategically differentiating your offering and making it special, Covas (1996) intonation that All branding should endow a product with a specific and more distinctive identity and Knox and Bickertons (2003, P. 99) suggestion that branding is The deliberate process of selecting and associating a whole set of physical and socio-psychological attributes and beliefs because they are assumed to add value to the basic product or service.
Post-modern perspective
Authors such as Cross (1996), however, question the appropriateness and effectiveness of attempting to brand a place like a pair of trainers, whilst Kalandides and Kavartzis (2009, P. 58) contend that the traditional construction of place brands based on the principle of treating places like products is considerably flawed because of the Failure to consider innate factors such as
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place identity. Moreover, Fan (2005) warns of the dangers of treating place brands like commercial brands due to the inherent and explicit differences between the two.
In departing from the traditional product-based theory, we have, therefore, recently witnessed a new conceptualisation of destination branding beginning to emerge in the literature. This is illuminated by Wheeler et al (2011, P. 15), who advance that destination brands are increasingly being Viewed and conceptualised in a more post-modern and interpretive sense. They cite Oois (2004, P. 113) description that place branding is The provision of a story that tourists can build their experiences round, developing a coherent, consistent and meaningful sense of place .
Other authors that echo post-modern sentiments and have embraced this new thinking include Olins (2000, P.56) who posits destination branding concerns Delivering a unique consumption experience and Cai (2002, P. 722), who professes it is the the selection of a consistent element mix to Identify and distinguish a place through positive image building. Baker and Cameron on the other hand (2008, P. 86) provide that branding is the Creation of a an emotional connection with consumers hrough the development of a unique personality or image for a product or service and therefore is a two way process that works with rather than to the consumer, helping to bridge the gap between an offeringsstrengths and potential customers perceptions. Finally, Tasci and Kozak (2006, P. 302) further provide Manifesting a memorable bond or emotional link between the target markets and the destination. This is achieved through the capturing of market position that appeals to visitors by identifying, simplifying, distilling and focusing on the core values and assets that are unique, appealing, distinct and non substitutable to that destination, while respecting the broader values and goals of the community, maintaining the sense of place .
It is our assertion, however, that Blain, Levy and Ritchie (2005, P. 337) provide the most apposite, comprehensive and compelling definition for the term, examining the concept from both supply-side and demand-side perspectives. The authors proffer that destination branding is The set of marketing activities that 1. Support the creation of a name, symbol, logo, mark, word, or other graphic that readily identifies and differentiates a destination; 2. Consistently convey the expectations of a memorable travel experience that is uniquely associated with the destination; 3. Serve to consolidate and reinforce the emotional connection between the visitor and the destination and 4. Reduce consumer search costs and perceived risk. Collectively, these activities serve to create a destination image that positively influences consumer destination choice.
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Appendix: Challenges
Challenges pertinent to this study are now discussed. Firstly, Tasci and Kozak (2006), suggest that the challenges peculiar to destination brands at the operational level are due to the unique characteristics of the tourism industry - namely intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity and the inseparability of production / consumption. De Chernaton and Riley (1999) therefore suggest a Consumer delighting culture should be championed through the application of internal communication, motivation and education. Furthermore, in response to consumer uncertainty that often stems from the purchase-risk attached to the intangible nature of the tourism product, Hem and Iversen (2004, P. 85) emphasise the importance of destination image as a critical stimulus in purchase motivation.
Morgan and Pritchard (2002, P. 338) attribute the challenges of destination branding to the Amorphous nature of the destination product, the politics involved in destination marketing and the limited resources available / allocated to destination marketing. Buhalis (2000, P. 98), on the other hand, deems destination branding to be complex because it involves Distilling a wide range of tangible and intangible attributes to the destination while keeping the values of multiple stakeholders involved. This notion is shared by Kavaratizis and Ashworth (2005, P. 506), who regard destinations as Multidimensional brands which Have multi disciplinary roots, address a complex composite of stakeholders, landscapes and social processes and thus, they possess multiple identities which may or may not happily coexist. Balmer and Greyser (2006, P. 730) thus adduce that the biggest challenge faced by destination brands compared to product brands is that they are Consumed by a variety of different stakeholders, in different ways and for different purposes recreation, employment, relaxation, investment, pleasure and identity creation.
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Appendix: Benefits of Destination Branding

The benefits of branding to tourism include:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Tourism involves complex and high involvement purchase decisions and so branding can reduce the choices available to consumers; Branding can help offset the effects of intangibility of the tourism product, especially if combined with positive past experience; Branding can communicate consistency in a sector that is sensitive to variability of experience; Branding can act as a mechanism to reduce the risk of ill spent time through selection of a poor destination; Given the inseparable nature of the tourism product and the desire for segment compatibility therefore being high, branding helps to ensure tourist satisfaction and thus facilitates precise segmentation
6.
Motivation and team work are of high priority in such a high contact service as tourism and brands can provide a focus for the integration of producer effort and assist people in working toward the same outcomes.
Benefits of branding to the community as a whole: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Creates a unifying focus to aid all public, private and not for profit sector organisations that rely on the image of the place and its attractiveness. Brings increased respect, recognition, loyalty and celebrity. Corrects out of date, inaccurate or unbalanced perceptions. Improves stakeholder income, profit margins and increases lodging tax revenues/ Increases the ability to attract, recruit, and retain talented people. Enhances civic pride and advocacy. Expands the size of the pie for stakeholders to get a larger share, rather thn having to rely on pricing to steal their share.
Taken from Clarke, J. 2000Tourism Brands: An Exploratory Study of the Brand Box Model, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 6, No. 4, P. 329 - 245
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Appendix: CBBE
Pike (2007) conceptualises CBBE for destination brands as a hierarchy that comprises brand salience, brand associations, brand resonance and brand loyalty. Salience is the foundation of all visitor activity and represents the strength of the destinations presence in the mind of the target consumer when a specific travel context is considered. It refers to visitors ability to recognise, recall and identify the brand. The goal is not to achieve widespread general awareness but to be remembered and to achieve top of mind recall, without prompting, for a specific type of travel occasion (Crompton, 1992).
Aaker (1991, P. 109) deems Brand Associations to be Anything linked in memory to a brand. It is important, however, to be remembered for the correct reasons and in a positive light, leading Keller (2008, P. 52) to propound that Associations must be strong, favourable and unique. Considered important because they aid consumer information processing and influence purchase decisions, it is critical that associations are managed carefully. However, because they are created and shaped by such a plethora of different sources, many of which are beyond the control of the governing organisation, this can prove to be a very difficult, problematic and formidable task. Such sources include direct experience, direct and indirect communications, word of mouth and recommendation, assumptions or inferences from the actual brand, or from cerebral connections to other companies, places, objects, people or events. DMOs, therefore, need to think realistically in terms of the current associations attached to their destination and strategically in terms of the associations that would be beneficial and a propitious fit to the place. They then need to work tirelessly and assiduously to communicate these.
Brand resonance represents the enthusiasm and willingness to engage with a destination (Pike, 2008). Moilanen and Rainisto (2009, P. 17) suggest that resonance should be perceived in terms of consumer behaviour, such as visitation or stated intent to visit, as well as behaviour during the visit, such as showing respect for the local area, environment and residents and demonstrating consideration and deference to the host destination.
Finally Brand loyalty, regarded as the pinnacle of the CBBE model, is ultimately measured via repeat and referral custom. Advantages of brand loyalty to destination brands include lower marketing costs, increased travel and trade leverage and word of mouth recommendations
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(Govers and Go, 2009). Research by Gitelson and Crompton identified 5 motivating factors that underpin return visitation: o o o o o Reduced risk of unsatisfactory experiences Locating people similar in mind and disposition Emotional or childhood attachment to a place or an experience Desire to experience unvisited or unexplored places or aspects of the destination To share a previously enjoyed experience with others.
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Brand Identity and Brand Image

Unique and appealing brand identity Convey values that are consciously or intuitively linked to the destinations sense of place (Williams, Gill, Chura, 2004, P. 8). These identities and Senses of place stem from the intrinsic features and the intimate history of a specific location. Anholt (2005, P. 125) holds that destination branding focuses on Distilling the concentrated essence of a place and using this to reinforce a few simple, coherent and compelling truth s. Gnoth (2007, P. 355) further asseverates that place brands should Support and portray a places culture while promulgating values that reflect the essence of the place. This notion of identifying a few core traits, predicated on historical, social, cultural or environmental honesty, and then utilising them to formulate a single, authentic and sincere core identity is emphasised by Finucan, (2002, P. 10) who propounds With the right attention to detail, and willingness to approach places holistically, place branding is all about uncovering a true brand essence, namely what a specific place is, and about the identity it wants to project.
Williams et al (2007, P. 7) holds that the portfolio of assets that contribute to defining a destinations identity encompass not just privately produced amenities and services (such as accommodation establishments, catering venues, entertainment and cultural attractions, transportation and so on) but also an eclectic array of public goods as well (such as landscape, scenery, ecology, historical landmarks, fauna and flora, forests, rivers, atmosphere and socio0cultural surroundings). Destinations need to carefully select a balanced and considered mix of these to feature prominently in promoting the destinations identity to external audiences. Bhat and Reddy, 1998) suggest that these elements should be expressed via a unique blend of functional, symbolic and experimental branding communications.
The most important thing to remember about identity, however, is that it exists entirely in the minds of the consumer. Upshaw (1995) postulates that an identity is not what marketers or DMOs create, but what consumers perceive as what has been created.
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Appendix: The New Forest in Popular Culture

o King William II, whose death is commemorated by the Rufus Stone at Canterton, was known as Rufus because of his ruddy-complexion. o Alice Hargreaves (nee Liddell), the inspiration for Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is buried at Lyndhurst Church. o The village of Sway is the setting for Captain Marrayats book The Children of The New Forest (1847). o Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 1930) is buried in the churchyard at Minstead. His novel, The White Company 1891), features The New Forest. o o The artist Augustus John lived and died at Fordingbridge. The landmak 218ft Sway Tower is a folly built by Judge Andrew Peterson in 1879. It boasts 13 floors, 11 rooms and 390 steps. It took a workforce of 40 men and cost 30,000. It was one of the first buildings to be built predominantly by concrete. o The famous snake catcher, Harry Brusher Mills (1840 1905), was born at Emery Down and lived in a charcoal burners makeshift hut. In his time he caught an estimated 30,000 snakes and 3,500 adders. The pub he used to drink in is called the Snake catcher. o The land speed record breaking car Bluebird was built and is today housed at Beaulieu Motor Museum. o The New Forest became Sherwood Forest in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner. o Many of Nelsons fleet for the Battle of Trafalgar were built in Bucklers Hard, including his favourite ship, The Agamenmon. o Bucklers Hard produced the Mulberry Harbours that were used for the D -Day landings during World War II.
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Appendix: 5 Ways to love the forest
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Appendix: Economics of Happiness
The economic of happiness, is something that ties into the Wise growth program, and it engenders the spirit of what we are trying to do. Its basically a way of getting people, the visitor, the environmental interest, the resident interest and the business interest to understand the part they play in the process of the experience, but that happiness is really the thing we are all after.
Its holds that Explaining wise growth from the benefits of visitor, environment and residents. Visitors are well informed before they visit, are welcomed when they arrive and looked after during their stay they tend to be happier. Happy visitors tend to spend more money, behave well and enjoy a better overall experience. A better overall experience means visitors are more likely to connect with the local place, residents and businesses therefore getting more from the place. Visitors who get more from the place because they better connect to the needs of the local environment, residents and businesses are more likely to invest in them financially and emotionally, so the needs of the local environment, businesses, residents are more likely to be met by happy visitors. Happy visitors will therefore tend to be less demanding on the public purse and more likely to tell their friends and social media followers about the great experience they just enjoyed .
So it is sort of a rhetorical statement of commitment to the whole process of playing your part in the economics of happiness. Thats what we are trying to do at the moment . By understanding the role you are playing, its actually what realising the significance of welcoming visitors, providing good services, fulfilling visitor expectations is what all this is about. The big problem with most marketing is that you can do all the best marketing in the world have great networks, offer great products, have great visitor experiences and then go to down to the local newsagents and have a negative singular encounter with a local resident who is impolite to them and this is the negative they remember.
The destination is only as good as the welcome each individual resident in it gives each other. The other thing to understand is that the visitors from Nottingham who come here and are welcomed by people of the New Forest are the very people who welcome the residents of the New Forest to Nottingham. So we try to get everyone to understand that host as visitor and visitor as host, which is a key tenant of our early strategy documents and part of the Living with the enemy? rebuttal is that actually we are not living with the enemy but we are actually trying to make new friends. And in making new friends we are all making a really big effort to make everyones life better by being nicer to each other. Its a simple philosophy of good hu sbandry and good relationships.
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Appendix: Final Destination Branding Visitor Survey Results
1. Gender Male Female 2. Age group 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55- 64 65+
17 33
5 8 11 9 11 6
3. How long did it take to get to The New Forest? under 1 hour 21 under 2 hours 16 under 5 hours 9 under 10 hours 4
4. Is this your first time to The New Forest? Yes 7 No 43 5. How frequently do you visit? Daily 0 2-3 times a week 3 Once a week 5 Once a fortnight 3 Once a month 7 Couple of times a 14 year Once a year 7 Less 4 6. What is the purpose of your visit today? Tourist 26 Day Visitor 24 7. What makes the New Forest a Special Place? 8. When you think of The New Forest, what 3 images come to mind? Ponies and free 34 animals Camping 21 Unique location 14 R&R 5 Modern attractions 2
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History / heritage Escapism / discovery New Experiences Peace and quiet Outdoor activities Beautiful scenery Quaint towns Mix of landscapes Friendly people Romantic location Shopping and gifts Family friendly 6 2 9 13 2 14 4 12 2 5 1 4
9. What reception have you had from local people? Friendly and polite 50 Distant and impolite 0 10. Are you aware of The New Forest Tour bus? Yes 34 No 16 11. Have you used the New Forest Tour bus? Yes 7 No 27 12. Are you aware of The New Forest Marque Yes 14 No 36 13. Have you purchased any locally made produce? Yes 8 No 42 14. If yes, were you satisfied with the quality of the produce? Yes 8 No 0
15. Have you tried The New Forest Breakfast? Yes 7 No 43 16. Do you have The Brand New Forest Card? Yes 6 No 44 17. Do you think The Brand New Forest Card is a good idea?
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Yes No 42 8
18. Which of the following is The New Forest Tourism logo? A 9 B 4 C 29 D 8 19. Do you think the logo effectively conveys what The New Forest is about? Yes 16 No 34 20. On the below scale, please rate The New Forest Logo 1 2 3 4 Distinctive 10 12 11 12 Authentic 13 13 11 9 Memorable 16 14 6 11 Aspirational 21 12 12 5
5 5 4 3 0
21. Was your decision to visit The New Forest influended by comunications? Yes 14 No 36 22. Have any of the following shaped your decision to visit? Television Radio Internet Brochure Travel magazine Newspaper Magazine Friend / family recommendation Promotional literature Previous visit Local produce Country show / event 0 14 22 13 0 4 1 29 10 36 0 2
23. Have you used The New Forest Tourism Website? Yes 16 No 34 24. If Yes, Please rate your experience 1 2 Attractiveness 0 0 Ease of use 0 0 Information 0 0 Usefulness 0 0
3 6 2 1 3
4 4 10 8 8
5 6 4 7 6
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25. Do you like the slogan "Discover The New Forest"? Yes 49 No 1 26. Please tick which 3 personality traits best describe The New Forest? Exciting 6 Charming 19 Adventurous 11 Romantic 11 Secretive 5 Mysterious 2 Gentle 3 Wild 13 Unique 12 Peacful 19 Rugged 1 Authentic 5 Natural 17 Fun 5 Wholesome 7 Friendly 3 Posh 1 Safe 6 Fragile 4 27. Do you think The New Forest is th"Best UK outdoor, rural experience"? Yes 32 No 15 Don't know 3
28. Are you enjoying your experience so far? Yes 50 No 0 29. Will you return in the near future? Yes 44 No 6
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Destination Branding of The New Forest

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Destination Branding of The New Forest

Peter Edward Burbidge

MSc Marketing University of Exeter September 2011

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Date: 9th September 2011

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New Forest Tourism Time Line

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Morgan and Pritchard, 2000, P. 51

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1.2 Destination branding

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1.3 The New Forest

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1.4 Aims and objectives

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2.2. Secondary research data gathering

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2.3 Primary information

2.4 Primary research data gathering

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2.5 Data analysis

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3.3 Key elements of place branding

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Analysis of The New Forest Destination Brand

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4.3. The New Forest brand image, personality and values

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4.4. Targeting and positioning

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4.6 Brand logo and slogan

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4.7 Other brand elements

The New Forest Card

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Discussion: Results from Visitor Surveys

5.2 Visitor surveys

1. Gender, Male, 17, 34% Male Female

1. Gender, Female, 33, 66%

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3. How long did it take to get to The New Forest?

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New Forest?, Yes, 7, 14%

4. Is this your first time to The New Forest?, No, 43,