St. Croix + Captain Morgan = New Marketing Potential

Diageo and the USVI have announced a new Rum Distillery for St. Croix that will build a new rum production facility  for the Captain Morgan brand of spiced rum.

St. Croix has already benefited from the Cruzan Rum brand which has helped 'brand awareness' of the island with their brightly colored tropical-flavored rums associated with country music singer Kenny Chesney.

If the USVI can combine the geo-brand of Cruzan along with the image-brand of Captain Morgan and leverage both with the success of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' - it could be a real marketing bonanza for St. Croix.

One of the great 'undiscovered' islands of the Caribbean - this could be the key to unlocking the potential of St. Croix's unique combination of history, eco-potential, laid-back style and off-beat charm.  

As one of the largest islands that have resisted the 'Floridia-fication' of their tourist product - Captain Morgan could attract tourists who want an 'old-style' Caribbean experience.

Captain Morgan has been produced in Ponce, Puerto Rico - which never leveraged its brand for tourism purposes - since most people assume that Captain Morgan rum is from Jamaica (where it originated).  The pirate theme never meshed well with the Latino brands - Bacardi (San Juan) and Don Q (Ponce) which both feature Puerto Rico in their marketing.

Caribbean Consulting will be working on St. Croix during July - so we'll give an update when we get back...

Diageo's Press Release

Budget Hotels set new Upscale Standards

Get ready for another round of 'keeping up with Motel 6' - as the mainland budget chains have announced plans to upgrade the 'sub-$100' sector with new 'no-frills-chic' design.

Great idea, since the cost is probably not much more than upgrading the dull old designs - but the market perception should bring these properties into a whole new range of customers who might never consider a Motel 6 in the past.

Based on the designs shown - some will look like 'chic on the cheap', while others are more 'South Beach' than 'wrong side of the tracks' that many associate with the very cheap prices....

If you're a Caribbean hotelier - take a look and see what will become the new 'minimum standard' in the minds of your mainland market.  If people get all of this for less than $100 at home.... it will be hard to satisfy them with run-down rooms for the high prices that Caribbean properties demand.

Our clients say 'but they have to understand..... this is the Caribbean.....'

But very few guests care....  In their view 'This is a 4-star hotel and doesn't even have everything the local Motel 6 offers'.....

We went through this with In room phones, air conditioning, cable TV, Wi-Fi.... and now design may be the next 'manditory' upgrade you should consider....  

before the 2-star property down the beach does it...

USA Today Article: Budget Hotels Going More Upscale 

Great Example of How to Stand out on the Web and create Viral Marketing

This ad for HEMA, the Dutch Department Store is so much fun that you can't help watching it more times than you care to admit and passing it along to everyone you know....
They take a lot of web design elements that are often annoying and turn them into fun!
Surprising thing is how effective it is in making you wish that there was a branch right down the street that you could run out and start shopping at....
Check out the site and make sure you have your volume turned up...
http://producten.hema.nl