Executing a destination branding strategy: Louisville Tourism’s Urban Bourbon Trail

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to add new insights into the discussion of how a city’s destination marketing organization (DMO) can apply operant resources to act upon its operant resources to create, market and manage a unique brand over time.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an abductive approach to advance understanding of how to execute a branding strategy that evolves over time while strategically curating its unique and valued resources. This understanding is based on an in-depth review of Louisville’s branding journey, including written documents and interviews with people involved in building the branding strategy.FindingsThis paper presents a model to help destinations focus on how to create, market and manage the delivery of a branded ecosystem that capitalizes on its resources. The study adds new insights into how DMOs can curate a destination’s resources into an ecosystem that delivers its brand promise over time.Originality/valueThe study introduces the idea of ecotopes to expand an understanding of tourism ecosystems, it presents the concept of a customer journey to depict a destination’s branding strategy, incorporates Barney’s Resource Based Theory (Barney & Clark, 2007) into the process of creating a destination’s brand and applies Barnard’s (1938) classic Acceptance Theory of Authority to explain how DMOs can execute a destination’s branding strategy.