Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts branding

Promotion 14 iv. Place 15 v. People 16 vi. Process 16 vii. Physical evidence 17 Conclusion 17 References 18 Introduction Organisation Background Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is the trading name for a Canadian-based international luxury hospitality private company, Four Seasons Hotels Limited. According to the Company’s founder and Chairman, Four Seasons has “chosen to specialize within the hospitality industry, by offering only experiences of exceptional quality” (Four Seasons, 2018, p1). Through continuous international research and innovation, the company has invested in the hotel industry's first-ever fully branded jet. Thus, Four Seasons has positional itself as a leader in the luxury international hospitality industry and its marketing and promotion strategy heavily rely on creating a premium brand. The company also has a heavy internet presence ranging from its website to its social media sites.

Further, the company has developed its own app that enables customers to access their easily access their services. Brooks and Brooks (2017, p. define branding as “the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. ” Alternatively, Sarin (2015, p. defines branding as “endowing products and services with the power of a brand. ” Thus branding refers to the procedure of giving a meaning to products, services, or a company by a brand in the customers’ minds. Keller (1993, p. states that the first step in branding is brand identity which is characterized by brand salience. Aaker, on the other hand, states that brand identity represents the promise of the organization to the customers and thus provide meaning to the brand.

Thus Four Seasons have always strived to ensure that they create their own brand identity. For instance, during the post 9/11 attacks when everyone in the hospitality business was cutting their prices due to a slump in the hospitality business, Four Seasons refused to do the same so as to protect its brand as a premium product. Kunigis (n. d. provides 12 brand archetypes. These include the innocent, regular guy or gal, hero, outlaw, explorer, creator, ruler, magician, lover, caregiver, jester, and sage. Four Seasons have adopted “the explorer” archetype. For this reason, Four Seasons engages itself in numerous philanthropic activities with a focus on building communities, sustainability, and advancing cancer research. For instance, Four Seasons is a founder of Terry Fox Run which has grown into the largest single-day fundraiser for cancer (Four Seasons, 2018a, n.

p). These and many other philanthropic activities have greatly served to increase the company's brand affinity. Keller’s Brand Equity Model Figure 3: Source; (Sinčić Ćorić and Jelić, 2015, p. Such reasons include expanding the business into new areas, diversifying the business and customers, running away from steep competition in the local market, take advantage of a new market segment, counter-seasonal fluctuations, and reduce dependence on one market (Brady, 2010, p. No matter the reason, the specific reason each organization has, the ultimate goal is always to maximize shareholders wealth in the long-run. Four Seasons Orientation International marketing orientations refer to organizational attitudes towards involvement there are four major orientations as proposed by Douglas and Perlmutter in 1993 commonly known as the EPRG (ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, and geocentric) orientations.

Drachal, 2014, p. With ethnocentric, the organization adopts the home policies and the default standard for the rest of the subsidiaries. The advantages and disadvantages of both strategies shown in the table below. Figure 5: Source; (Alwazir, W. p. Sven Hollensen’s Glocalisation Concept Hollensen stated that adaptation and standardization are two extreme strategies in international marketing mix continuum, that is, as one increases, the other one decreases and vice versa (see figure six). Thus Hollensen (2001, p. Thus makes Aruba the perfect destination for Four Seasons as there is a ready market for the luxurious hospitality business. Thus, standardization strategy will be the most appropriate strategy in serving these diverse group of customers from across the world. ii. Price Price refers to what the customer has to pay to enjoy a given product.

Four Seasons has positioned itself as a premium brand and thus charges premium services for the services offered (Richter, 2012, p. billion (The World Factbook, 2018, p. Aruba has a varied culture over 92 nationalities living on the highland. However, Dutch influence can still be seen through observation of some Dutch ceremonies. The past decades have seen an advancement in technology in the area with the influx of foreign nationals who have brought with them various technologies. Environmental protection is a topic of concern within the island as it has consistently struggled with proper disposal of a large amount of wastes produced by the huge number of tourists. Further, there has been an increase in internet usage across the world as seen in the table below.

Since, Four Seasons targets customers, across the world online marketing will be the best strategy (Internet World States, 2018, n. p) Figure 8: Source; Internet World Stats, 2018) v. People People represent the most vital component of any service offerings. This is because services are produced and consumed at the same time as it cannot be stored thus the aspects of consumer experience have to be modified to meet the individual needs of the consumers (Keller, 2013). Physical evidence Physical evidence relates to how a business’s products are perceived in the market. Physical evidence is highly related to branding and the concept that is usually associated with market leaders (Keller, 2013). For instance, when one thinks of a private jet or fully customizable hotel bed in the hospitality business, Four Seasons quickly comes into the mind (Four Seasons, 2018c, p6).

With physical evidence, the company manipulates the perceptions of the customers to the point that their brands are always first in line within that niche industry. In entering Aruba, Four Seasons will have to adapt their services so as to leave a lasting experience for its diverse customers and boost its physical evidence. online] A Collection of my MBA work. Available at: https://successfulglobalmarketing. weebly. com/untitled/global-marketing-strategy- standardization-vs-adaptation [Accessed 10 May 2018]. Brady, D. How Our Youth Can Change, Improve or Become An Influence In Those Things They Desire. Denver: Outskirts Press. DeLuca, N. Gaining Brand Recognition with the Millennial Generation: How Wine Companies can Market to this Demographic. Drachal, K. a.  Building Communities: Four Seasons Corporate Social Responsibility. online] Fourseasons. com. Available at: https://www.

pdf/ [Accessed 9 May 2018]. Four Seasons Press Room.  History Behind Four Seasons - Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. online] Four Seasons Press Room. Available at: https://press. V. Multinational Organizational Development: A Social Architectural Approach. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Hollensen, S. Global Marketing (2nd edition). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity.  the Journal of Marketing, pp. Keller, K. L. Building strong brands in a modern marketing communications environment. Little, S. E. Go, F. M. Poon, T. Vignate (Mi), Lampi di stampa. Prodromou, T. Ultimate guide to Twitter for business: generate quality leads using 140 characters, instantly connect with 300 million customers in 10 minutes, discover 10 Twitter tools that can be applied now. Irvine, Calif. Entrepreneur Press. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 28(1), pp. The World Factbook. cia. gov/Library/publications/the-world- factbook/geos/print_aa.

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