Touring promotional association rebranding strategy through PR intervention

Tourer Marketing Bureau Case Study Analysis

The Touring Marketing Bureau Case Study

Situational analysis

The organization which benefited from the PR company's services was the Touring Promotional Association (TPA). The latter encompassed nine UK-based enterprises which manufactured caravans, a product category which had become a sort of 'rara avis' within the framework of the British touristic landscape, in 1996. Thus, caravan owners were perceived as old-fashioned and eccentric individuals who despite coming of age wanted to look young and trendy. The result of the negative perception was a sharp decrease in sales. Hence, if 1989 brought a total volume of sales of 36,500, 1996 reported a total volume of 20,400. Some of the major reasons that generated the significant decline were the difficulties experienced by the economy of the 1990s, the wide range of alternatives that tourists had for spending their holidays, and the unfavorable image that was being attributed to touring caravans (Gregory, 2002).

Being confronted with such disheartening circumstances, the nine UK manufactures decided to unify their efforts for defeating the negative light that was hanging over caravanning. Therefore, they created TPA and resorted to a PR consultancy firm - BRAHM in order to ensure their survival and success on the market (Gregory, 2002).

Yet, before asking for external advice, TPA carried out its own research for identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Gregory, 2002).

Among the major strong points, TPA discovered: the freedom to choose whatever location or time of the year; the possibility of having conditions similar to those from home; the chance to reiterate traditional family values because of a holiday which brought together parents and children within an intimate, warm framework; the possibility of carrying pets and special equipment needed for different sports or hobbies (bikes, skis, surf boards, boats etc.); the image of caravanners as trustworthy, cheerful, sociable people, always ready to help their comrades when these find themselves at a loss.

However, TPA also found several weak points like: the difficulties that owners encountered when storing and maintaining caravans; the negative impact exerted on the environment; the old and traditional design that projected its echoes onto the owners' image; the British weather and the not too attractive sites provided to caravanners; the caravans' fragility in terms of security; the more expensive and difficult trips to Europe and so forth.

The main opportunities that TPA found were: the need for a chic design that would express a distinct, modern life style, the desire to spent unforgettable holidays at low costs and the resurrection of traditional family values reuniting members under the same roof for enjoying spare time together.

Among the various threats detected by TPA, the most prominent were the generous range of low cost holidays, the modifications undertaken by British mentalities which had come to favor short breaks and farmhouse holidays, the reticence of new customers towards touring and the incapacity of sites to cope with the large number of tourists at peak periods.

The conclusions above were also backed up by BRAHM's focus group discussions which revealed that caravanners continued to be devoted to the concept but sold their caravans because of not being able to maneuver them anymore, individuals with anti-caravan attitudes considered such experience to be a stigma and a way of remaining tributary to the old times, while persons having neutral attitudes confessed they were pleasantly surprised by the comfortable and modern interiors (Gregory, 2002).

3. The program objectives

According to Hendrix (2004), objectives are essential to any PR campaign as they represent the aims which precede and guide the program. Consequently, they are a preliminary stage which plays a vital role because it shapes the entire PR trajectory.

The hierarchy identified by the author above mentioned comprises three types of objectives: informational, attitudinal, and behavioral.

The first type consists of building awareness by conveying information with regard to special events, new products or new features added to old products, the advantages of using a certain product, the benefits that can be obtained and so forth. Thus, this level of the hierarchy targets the rational coordinate of the human nature.

The second type of objective (attitudinal) addresses the consumers' feelings and tries to develop a new attitude or to change an old one. This stage aims at inducing an emotional relationship between the client and the product, thus representing the 'sensibility' part of the 'sense and sensibility' pattern.

The category which closes the triad - behavioral objectives, refers to changing an existing behavior or creating a new one. This level implies actions like buying a new product; choosing a competitor's product over the brand to which a consumer is loyal, visiting a certain store, trying a product etc.

In conclusion, Hendrix (2004) defines the objectives of a PR campaign as the impacts that this should have on the audience. If one takes a close look at the hierarchy, he/she can state that this corresponds to the pattern identified by Severin which encompasses three steps - cognitive, affective, and conative (Newsom, Turk & Kruckeberg, 2004). These follow the learn-feel-do sequence which is also endorsed by Hendrix's informational, attitudinal and behavioral objectives.

Returning to the TMB's case, one could assert that BRAHM used a combination of the three goals above.

Firstly, it addressed the cognitive coordinate by making people aware of the improvements and advantages boasted by the new TMB caravans. In this context, it provided information especially with regard to the comfortable and modern interiors.

Secondly, BRAHM focused on attitudinal change. Thus, it tried to deconstruct the negative perception by introducing the idea of independence and by putting a great emphasis on the design turned into the emblem of a sophisticated, refined lifestyle. Hence, the company brought benefits rather than utility or functionality into the lime light.

Thirdly, the PR campaign also targeted the behavioral coordinate as it strived to bring potential customers to dealerships and, implicitly, to make them buy the TMB caravans.

In conclusion, BRAHM opted for a mix of objectives. Yet, the most important segment was the attitudinal one as this was the main responsible for the sharp decrease in sales. Consequently, if TMB hadn't made people take to caravans again, visits to dealerships and purchases (i.e. The conative effect) wouldn't have been possible. Therefore, the company chose a soft version over a hard one thus appealing to consumers' feelings for determining a major change of attitude.

For producing the desired effects, the objectives of a campaign must obey several rules. First of all, they have to be strictly correlated with the impasse that a company tries to solve. Secondly, they have to be established according to reality and they must also be achievable. Thirdly, they have to allow an easy measurement of the outcomes obtained (Newsom, Turk & Kruckeberg, 2004).

In the TMB's case, the three objectives corresponding to the informational, attitudinal and behavioral levels of Hendrix's hierarchy were: building awareness, changing the negative attitude and generating visits to dealers (and, implicitly, purchases). All of them were closely related to the significant decline in sales and looked realistic and achievable, at the same time. Moreover, they could be easily measured by calculating notoriety rates, the percentage of people who would buy TMB caravans, the percentage of people who visited dealerships and the total volume of sales or market share achieved after completing the campaign.

4. The program tactics

The main tactics that BRAHM used in order to get to potential customers' hearts consisted of motivating the mass media and dealers to exert influence on the targeted public.

On one hand, media were approached in several ways. First of all, the company used them for advertising the TMB's new corporate identity. Secondly, it informed them on the organization's intentions and explained the core idea behind the PR campaign. Thirdly, it took advantage of several news which discredited certain means of transport or hotels (e.g. The delay in airport travel in the summer of 1999 was exploited by emphasizing the freedom that caravans offered; the negative articles published by the Hull Daily Mail on the conditions offered by some Spanish hotels were taken advantage of by posting an advert with the following title - "Instead of a holiday from hell, have one hell of a holiday"; the 2000 peak winter holiday season was exploited by inserting features and advertisements focused on the possibility of carrying ski equipment, taking hot showers etc.). Fourthly, it provided subjects to journalists by taking them to different sites in U.K. Or overseas or by inviting the press to various shows (Gregory, 2002).

On the other hand, BRAHM concentrated on dealers. These were promised significant profits if they accepted to update their knowledge and selling techniques through trainings. Secondly, they were invited to collaborate with the TMB by providing suggestions, reporting progress, helping the manufacturers build a customer database. Thirdly, they were offered several facilities such as low cost brochures and cut-away caravans for attracting customers and thus boosting sales (Gregory, 2002).

In conclusion, one could state that, in the mass media's case, BRAHM used the agenda setting theory because it tried to and finally succeeded in exerting a significant influence on gatekeepers, i.e. those persons who choose the news that is going to receive the 'red carpet treatment'. Thus, the PR firm has managed to urge journalists to positively write and broadcast about touring. Unlike the mass media, dealers were approached through the social exchange theory as these were motivated to obey the TMB's instructions by both the perspective of higher profits and the major benefits received from the producer. Furthermore, the persuasion theory was implemented by using prestigious representatives like the chairman of the TMB, famous and likeable personalities such as the British comedian - Bill Oddy or persons perceived as holding similar positions to the audience like the two journalists who recounted their touring journey between the extreme points of Great Britain (Gregory, 2002).

These tactics above described were perfectly subordinated to the repositioning strategy. Thus, the media took care of conveying the new identity and the corresponding messages to the public while dealerships significantly improved their appearance at trade shows and shifted the focus from the product to the benefits and the trendy image provided by caravans.

5. The program tools

Tools may be considered those levers that a company uses for implementing its tactics. In TMB's case, the main tools considered by the PR firm were: press packs mailed to journalists, full covered advertorials which resembled newspapers articles, brochures and coupons attached to them, phone calls, competition entries for winning the Range Rover Freelander, features, news releases for the media, radio types, touring journeys and trainings for journalists, trainings for dealers offered by the Caravan Industrial Training Organization on the basis of the £100,000 award received from the Government Department of Trade and Industry, cut-away caravans, newsletters offered to dealers, caravanning shows, and the three main projects - the Tourer 2000 Millennium Survey, Tourer for the Millennium and Breakout Magazine (Gregory, 2002).

These tools were closely related to tactics and strategy as they succeeded in both attracting the media's attention due to their interesting, newsworthy profile and convincing dealers to co-operate thanks to the advantages (cut-away caravan, cheap brochures, free trainings) and the up-to-date information offered by the manufacturer.

Moreover, tools were tailored according to the informational, attitudinal and behavioral objectives. Thus, they managed to inform due to the brochures and newspaper articles, to influence attitude through the positive features and broadcasts and to determine action by compelling potential customers to go to dealers for receiving the visa needed for participating in the Range Rover contest or by organizing shows where they could take a look at the improved comfort and design of the TMB caravans.

6. Conclusion

To conclude with, the PR campaign that BRAHM carried out between 1996 and 2001 proved to be effective because it clearly defined the targeted public and successfully molded over the characteristics of each segment. Thus, the company chose carefully the mass communication channels and the newspapers or broadcasts that enjoyed impressive circulation, and, respectively, audience. Moreover, BRAHM also addressed to dealers as these were important opinion leaders that exerted a significant influence on customers' options.

Consequently, one could state that the PR campaign's success was due to both the integrated approach that BRAHM used and the long-term perspective (five years) dedicated to supporting repositioning efforts.