Conceptualising tourist based brand-equity pyramid: an application of Keller brand pyramid model to destinations

Abstract

Purpose -Different scales available for measuring the brand-equity of destinations are found to be much tourist centric and did not present a holistic view regarding building sustainable customer based brand-equity for destinations. Current study aim at conceptually addressing this important issue and present a modified framework for developing and measuring the customerbased brand equity of tourist destinations using Keller (2001). Design -Extensive literature review was done and 84 articles published in the domain of brandequity in tourism and related areas were downloaded from various known databases to support arguments. In addition, UNWTO reports were also used. Cooper (1980) guidelines were used for exploring relevant articles. Findings -It is argued that the first step for building strong brand-equity of destination starts with identification of destination' salience followed by destination performance and destination imagery, destination judgements and feelings, and destination brand resonance. Consequences of having high brand-equity are also discussed. Originality -The tourist based brand-equity pyramid is the very first framework which is using Keller (2001) for explaining sustainable brand-equity formation of tourist's destinations. Current framework not only give a deep understanding of how to build brand-equity of destinations but also on how to develop strong, emotional bonds with the tourists and hence sustaining the brandequity.

Effective island brand architecture: promoting island tourism in the Canary Islands and other archipelagos

“…These results are important because building a strong brand architecture in island tourism starts with identifying a destination's performance, reputation, and imagery, within a product category at any given point in time (Yousaf et al, 2017). Below, and to further analyse the main goal of this study: What are the other island brands with each island should cooperate?…”

“…(Yousaf et al, 2017). Pike (2005) studies the process of development and management of a set of interrelated brands, contributing to a better understanding of the challenges tourist destinations face when trying to put into practice the theoretical framework on brand architecture management.…”

Refinement and Validation of a Multidimensional Destination Brand Equity Scale for Inbound and Outbound Chinese Travelers: A Cross-National Perspective

“…For example, the fewer gaps in uncertainty about the destination brand, the higher the sense of assurance compared with other brands, and consequently, the higher the probability of the destination brand’s selection. Therefore, greater attention should be paid to well-known destination brand names that facilitate brand recall (Keller 1993)—as these build relationships between the destination and the tourist—whereas the tourism destination becomes dominant in a tourist’s consideration set without requiring a previous visit to the destination (Yousaf, Amin, and Gupta 2017).…”

“…As a financial means of measuring brand effectiveness is considered irrelevant for destinations, a primary concern involves measuring destination brand performance using consumer-based brand equity instruments (Pike and Bianchi 2016). As Yousaf, Amin, and Gupta (2017) pointed out, different DBE scales and frameworks have been applied to a variety of destinations to solely focus on destination image dimensions, but not from a holistic perspective (Gartner and Ruzzier 2011).…”

Achieving Resonance for Online Travel Brands via Mobile Devices

“…Kotler and Keller (2016) depicted the building blocks of an effective brand as a progressive process defined by the ways the customer experiences and reacts to the brand. The levels of the Brand Resonance Pyramid reflect the degree of engagement of the customers and the objectives brand owners in general should be seeking to achieve at each level (Keller, 1993;Keller, 2008) and for travel brand destinations specifically (Yousaf, 2017).…”