0074 DEVELOPING REBRAND STRATEGY FOR SAIGONTOURIST HOLDING COMPANY

TR NG Đ I H C M TP HCM UNIVERSITÉ LIBRE DE BRUXELLES HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY SOLVAYBRUSSELSSCHOOL MBAVB4 CHAU HOANG NHUT DEVELOPING REBRAND STRATEGY FOR SAIGONTOURIST HOLDING COMPANY MASTER PROJECT MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (PART-TIME) Ho Chi Minh City (2011)  i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr HOANG THI PHUONG THAO for her patient guidance and expert supervision From the beginning of this dissertation, Dr PHUONG THAO has given to continue the encouragement to make this dissertation become possibility, sharp studying and successfully finishing Greatly and sincerely thanks are given to SAIGONTOURIST HOLDING COMPANY and Mr TRAN HUY THANG, Director of Sales & Marketing; Dentsu Inc expert team and other professors, lecturers of Solvay Business School, Open University of Ho Chi Minh City and Board of Examining who have excellent and professional knowledge and advices supporting me during post-graduate program and have spared their precious time to read through and given comments on this dissertation I also specially thanks to my colleagues, classmates and others who help me information, questionnaire development, contribution ideas and others Hoping that all of you are more and more healthful and successful in your life With all the appreciation Chau Hoang Nhut MBAVB4 March, 2012, Ho Chi Minh City  ii  COMMITMENTS I confirm that this thesis is a presentation of my original research work which I have studied and researched Wherever contributions of others are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussions This work is done for the study purpose Copying or using this paper for any other purpose must be subject to the written acceptance of the author Chau Hoang Nhut  iii  TUTOR’S COMMENTS Candidate: CHAU HOANG NHUT Project title: Comments:  iv  TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of Vietnam tourism industry and Saigontourist Holding Company 1.2 Problem statement 1.3 Project objectives 1.4 Scope and limitations of the research 1.5 Methodology of the research 1.6 Structure of project CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Concepts of a brand 10 2.2 Functions of a brand 10 2.3 Importance of a brand 12 2.4 Value of a brand 12 2.5 Concept of branding 13 2.6 Branding identity and image 14 2.7 Rebranding 16 2.8 Managing the corporate rebranding 18 CHAPTER INTERNAL ANALYSIS OF SAIGONTOURIST HOLDING COMPANY 24 3.1 Company background 24 3.2 Vision, mission and core values of Saigontourist Holding Company 25 3.3 Key facts of Saigontourist Holding Company in 2011 26 3.4 Current branding of Saigontourist Holding Company 27 3.5 Challenges to Saigontourist Holding Company’s brand 28 3.6 Summary: Strengths and Weaknesses of Saigontourist Holding Company 29 CHAPTER EXTERNAL ANALYSIS OF SAIGONTOURIST HOLDING COMPANY 31 4.1 Vietnam travel & tourism industry overview 31 4.2 Competitor brand evaluation 33  v 4.3 Customer perceptions about the brands of Saigontourist Holding Company, Accor group and Benthanh Tourist Service company 39 4.4 Summary: Opportunities and Threats of Saigontourist Holding Company 42 CHAPTER DEVELOPING REBRANDING STRATEGY AND NEW BRAND BROADCASTING PROGRAMS FOR SAIGONTOURIST HOLDING COMPANY 43 5.1 SWOT ANALYSIS 43 5.2 Saigontourist Holding Company new brand broadcasting programs 48 5.3 Rebrand project planning 51 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53  vi  ABBREVIATIONS SHC: Saigontourist Holding Company WTTC: World Travel & Tourism council VNAT: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism GDP: Gross Domestic Product VND: Vietnam Dong USD: US Dollar WTO: World Trade Organization SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats  vii  LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Research flowchart Figure 2.1: Corporate rebranding framework 19 Figure 2.2: Corporate rebranding framework for Saigontourist Holding Company 21 Figure 3.1: Saigontourist Holding Company 24 Figure 3.2: Saigontourist Holding Company 2011 key facts 26 Figure 4.1: Vietnam: Direct Contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP 32 Figure 4.2: Accor group worldwide 33 Figure 4.3: Accor Group in Vietnam 34 Figure 4.4: Accor brands 35 Figure 4.5: Perceptions of Accor group brand 36 Figure 4.6: Perceptions of Benthanh Tourist Service company brand 37 Figure 4.7: Perceptions of Saigontourist Holding Company brand 38 Figure 4.8: Customer perceptions of the three brands 40 Figure 5.1: Saigontourist Holding Company SWOT analysis 43 Figure 5.2: Saigontourist Holding Company brand identity modification 46 Figure 5.3: New brand broadcasting programs for Saigontourist Holding Company 49 Figure 5.4: Estimated revenue to 2015 of Saigontourist Holding Company 52  viii  LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1: Customer segmentation and approaching method 44  1 ABSTRACT In today’s Vietnam travel & tourism marketplace, companies need to set up effective branding strategies in order to be competitive Saigontourist Holding Company is considered the leader in Vietnam travel & tourism industry, with 36 years of experiences alongside with many valuable assets: human resources, infrastructures, support from local and national authorities… But in the next stage of competition in travel & tourism industry, some weaknesses of the company are revealed, and one of the weak point of Saigontourist Holding Company is the branding system with unclear branding structure, inappropriate brand name in non-tourism business, brand awareness in global marketplace is low… which caused a lot of difficulties when the company want to join the international travel & tourism market The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the internal and external factors of Saigontourist Holding Company in order to find out what should be changed in the current branding of the company And after that, some modifications and change in the brand name, logo design, color design, slogans… will be conducted to suit the visions of Saigontourist Holding Company of doing business in the upcoming years both in domestic market and global market  46  Some modifications will be made to the brand identity of Saigontourist Holding Company and is listed in figure 5.2 Figure 5.2: Saigontourist Holding Company brand identity modification Source: Author’s data Besides of that, Saigontourist Holding Company new brand structure will be changed to a clear corporate branding structure Each subsidiary will have the mother company’s logo and depend to the services, color design will be different Compare to the two main competitors, a new position for Saigontourist Holding Company is proposed in figure 5.3  47  Figure 5.3: Repositioning for Saigontourist Holding Company Source: Author’s data From a company that heavily focuses on domestic market and has a ―classical‖ image in customers’ mind, Saigontourist Holding Company wants to transform to a more dynamic and internationally image This reflects the ambition of the company to enter global travel and tourism market The brand characteristics that Saigontourist Holding Company wants to deliver to the employees and customers in the new brand are: One of the top company in travel & tourism industry as well as a dynamic and pioneer in Vietnam and South East Asia market A company that offers high quality and prestige services for all of its customers The company is driven by Vietnamese traditional culture  48  5.2 Saigontourist Holding Company new brand broadcasting programs In order to broadcast the new corporate identity to public, a new brand broadcasting programs is planned These programs make the new brand identity of Saigontourist Holding Company brand goes inside consumer’s mind The core of brand communication is brand massages through the brand positioning; and the programs will create the massage and using all of media channels to communicate for the target audiences Because Saigontourist Holding Company is a state owned corporation, therefore the national and local authorities are also considered the target audiences in the broadcasting programs 5.2.1 External target audiences National and local authorities: Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Vietnam, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Ho Chi Minh city, Ho Chi Minh city People’s Committee Media channels: magazines, national and local TV and radio stations, online partners of the corporate, tourism websites representative… The customers who use services and products offered by Saigontourist Holding Company Travel associations like PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association), USTA (United State Travel Association)… 5.2.2 Internal target audiences Board of Management and Board of Director Saigontourist Holding Company middle managers and staffs Board of director and middle manager from the subsidiaries  5.2.3 49  New brand broadcasting programs All the new brand broadcasting programs for each segment of target audiences will be described in figure 5.3 Figure 5.3: New brand broadcasting programs for Saigontourist Holding Company Source: Author’s data 5.2.4 Internal training: Audiences: o Board of Management and Board of Director o Saigontourist Holding Company middle managers and staffs o Board of director and middle manager from the subsidiaries Objectives: o To communicate the new brand identity and brand messages to all of the employees of the corporation in order to make all personnel of the company understand the new brand characteristics and thus, they can deliver core values of Saigontourist Holding Company to the customers o To make the clear understanding of the new brand characteristics and how to apply the new brand design in each related unit of the corporation  5.2.5 50  Press conference: Audiences: o Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Vietnam o Vietnam National Administration of Tourism o Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Ho Chi Minh city o Ho Chi Minh city People’s Committee o Representative from media channels: magazines, national and local TV and radio stations, online partners of the corporate, tourism websites o Representative from travel associations Objectives: o Officially published the new brand identity and brand characteristics of Saigontourist Holding Company to the authorities and public o To communicate the company vision, mission and core values to the media and public o To introduce the services and products that Saigontourist Holding Company offers 5.2.6 Media broadcasting: Audiences: o To all target audiences in Vietnam and foreign tourists Objectives: o To declare the new brand identity and brand characteristics of the corporation o To enhance the brand of the company in Vietnam, create a higher brand awareness to foreign visitors and to attract customers’ attention to the new brand Broadcast channels: o Television: National TV channels like VTV and major cities TV stations in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Can Tho Cable TV channels that have high rating like HBO, Discovery…  5.2.7 51  o International and local magazines o Tourism websites Promotion programs These promotion programs will take advantage of Saigontourist current infrastructures like hotels and resorts, restaurants and travel services Based on the customer segment, the company will offer customers with coupons or vouchers so that they Audiences: o Customers who are using services and products of Saigontourist Holding Company at the time of the new brand broadcasting programs conducted Objectives: o 5.2.8 To create brand awareness and attract customers’ attention Online/Digital campaign o To integrate online booking, loyalty programs on the corporate and subsidiaries website o Focus on optimizing the information of Saigontourist Holding Company on search engine like Google, Yahoo, Bing… o Marketing on social network websites like Facebook, Multiply… o To advertise the corporate brand identity on famous booking website like Travelocity.com, booking.com, tripadvisor.com… 5.3 Rebrand project planning 5.3.1 Rebrand project budget and timeline Saigontourist Holding Company has planned a total of $200,000 for the rebranding project This cost include the two phrases of market research: before and after the new brand identity system is launched and the cost of project management  52  The project will be executed during 2012 – 2013 period, and staffs from Sales & Marketing department of Saigontourist Holding Company will observe the progress of the rebranding project 5.3.2 Estimated sales performance In 2012, total revenue of 12,600 billion VND is expected, and in 2013, after the rebranding project is finished, Saigontourist Holding Company estimated that the total revenue will be around 15,000 billion VND Figure 5.4: Estimated revenue to 2015 of Saigontourist Holding Company Source: Author’s data  53  CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This thesis research in branding tries to find out some aspects how to apply rebranding theory into a state owned company, and Saigontourist Holding Company is used like the case to analyze Through the expert interview, data collecting, this research brings out the characteristics of a brand name through brand strategy driving, and try to apply the rebranding theory to create a new characteristics for an famous existing brand in Vietnam, so that the company will be well prepared for the emerging local and international competitors After all, this thesis research tries to plan a new brand broadcasting program to deliver the new brand identity and brand message to the public Focusing on analyze and develop a rebranding project, the research could not approach all aspects of rebranding a large company like Saigontourist Holding Company For the further research, another aspects should be considered are: financial planning, evaluating the project and how to apply the new brand identity for all Saigontourist subsidiaries For evaluating step, the company should investigate the results of the broadcasting programs and should a quantitative research with customers to check the customer behavior and how well the new brand get the attractions from the public   54  REFERENCES Albaum, G., Duerr, E., & Strandskov, J (2005) International Marketing and Export Management London: Pearson Education Limited Czinkota, M.R & Ronkainen, I.A (2004) International Marketing Ohio: Thomson South Western Daly, Aidan & Moloney, Deirdre (2004), ―Managing corporate rebranding‖, Irish Marketing Review, Vol 17 Issue ½, pp.30 – 36 Gotsi, Manto & Andriopoulos, Constantine (2007), ―Understanding the pitfalls in the corporate rebranding process‖, Corporate Communications, Vol 12 Issue 4, pp.341355 Hollensen, S (2007) Global Marketing Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited Ind, N (1997) The Corporate Brand London: Mac Millan Press Kapferer, Jean – Noel (2004), The New Strategic Brand Management 3rd Edition, Kogan Page Limited: London Kay, M.J (2004) Strong 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Communications 2nd Edition, Pearson Education Limited: London Van Gelder, S (2003) Global Brand Strategy: Unlocking Branding Potential Across Countries, Cultures and Markets London: Kogan Page Yin Wong, H & Merrilees, B (2007) Multiple roles for branding in international marketing International Marketing Review 24 (4), 384-408 Yu Xie, H & Boggs, D.J (2006) Corporate branding versus product branding in emerging markets: A conceptual framework Marketing Intelligence & Planning 24 (4), 347-364  56  APPENDIX A Interview guide for Mr Thang, Director of Sales & Marketing Department of Saigontouris Holding Company and expert team from Dentsu Inc How many brands that Saigontourist Holding Company is managing? What is the current branding structure of Saigontourist Holding Company? How many kind of ownership that Saigontourist has in its system? Will the varying of ownership and entity structure be a challenge to Saigontourist Holding Company branding? Who are Saigontourist Holding Company target customers? What are the visions of Saigontourist Holding Company in the next years? What you think about Accor group brand characteristics? a Attributes of the brand b Benefits that the company deliver to the customers c Values of the brand d Culture of the brand and the way the company business e Personality of the brand as a person f Users of the brand What you think about Benthanh Tourist Service company brand characteristics? a Attributes of the brand b Benefits that the company deliver to the customers c Values of the brand d Culture of the brand and the way the company business  57  e Personality of the brand as a person f Users of the brand What you think about Saigontourist Holding Company brand characteristics? a Attributes of the brand b Benefits that the company deliver to the customers c Values of the brand d Culture of the brand and the way the company business e Personality of the brand as a person f Users of the brand 10 What modification that should be made to Saigontourist Holding Company brand identity design? a Brand name b Symbol c Color design d Slogan  58  APPENDIX B Questionnaire design QUESTIONNARE DESIGN Date of interviewing: Age of interviewee: Occupation: Do you like travel? Like Dislike What kind of hotel below you usually stay at? stars hotels stars hotels stars hotels How much will you pay for night at the hotel? Below 50 USD (~ 1,000,000 VND) From 50 USD to 100 USD (from 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND) Above 100 USD ~ 2,000,000 VND Do you know Accor group? Yes No Do you know Benthanh Tourist Service company? Yes No Do you know Saigontourist Holding Company? Yes No  59  Please give your mark about these attributes of Accor group (Accor), Benthanh Tourist Service Company (Benthanh) and Saigontourist Holding Company (Saigontourist), arranged from 1(bad) to 5(good) High quality service Reliable & prestige services Diversified services Multiple customer segments Accor group Benthanh Saigontourist Accor Benthanh Saigontourist Vietnam characterized High class & elegant Internationall y regconized Mordern Dynamic design Impressive design Famous in Vietnam Please give your mark about these attributes of Accor group (Accor), Benthanh Tourist Service Company (Benthanh) and Saigontourist Holding Company (Saigontourist) brand identity design, arranged from 1(bad) to 5(good)  60  APPENDIX C Saigontourist Holding Company new brand identity system