Journal of Vacation Marketing

Volume 5 Number 3

Academic papers
Branding a state from features to positioning:
Making it simple?
Norma P. Nickerson and R. Neil Moisey
Received (in revised form): 3rd March, 1999
Refereed anonymously
Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, SC 441, University of Montana-Missoula, Missoula,
MT 59812, USA
Tel: 001 406 243 2328; e-mail: nnickers@forestry.umt.edu

Dr Norma Polovitz Nickerson is an associate

research professor and director of the Institute for
Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) and
faculty member in the School of Forestry at the
University of Montana-Missoula. As ITRR director
she is responsible for the legislatively funded
travel research programme for the state of Montana which conducts market, economic and environmental research on travel and tourism in the
state. Dr Nickerson's expertise includes strategic
planning, travel behaviour, tourism marketing,
outdoor recreation impacts, economic impacts of
travel and nature-based tourism.
Neil Moisey is an assistant professor in the
Geography and Recreation Department at the
University of Wyoming. His research focuses on
natural resources, recreation and tourism. Dr
Moisey has worked closely with natural resource
management agencies, community tourism development specialists and tourism marketing
agencies and organisations.

ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS: branding, destination-specic
icons, features, market clusters, positioning

This paper provides an argument for going back to

the simplication of branding and positioning
based on features expressed by visitors as the

attraction to a destination. Research indicates that

as a result of visiting a destination, images tend to
be more realistic, complex and differentiated.
Therefore, an understanding of what attracted
visitors can furnish the basis for image development
and market positioning. Vacationers were cluster
analysed and compared for signicant differences
based on the attraction features. The `attraction
package' portrayed ve visitor group types. Within
each visitor group a destination-specic icon was
identied for market positioning.

INTRODUCTION
The plethora of papers written on branding,
imaging, and positioning lead one to believe
that the issues and methods employed are still
confusing and leave many questions unanswered. In terms of a statewide branding
strategy, branding refers to what images people have of the state and what kind of
relationship they have with it. The rst useful state image studies were developed in
19751 and have been ne tuned by researchers since that time.2 Positioning, on the other
hand, takes the images and denes the state
by showing how it compares to competing
states.3
Many authors would suggest that features
(sometimes referred to as the cognitive component of image) are only one component of

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Journal of Vacation Marketing

Vol. 5 No. 3, 1999, pp. 217226,
& Henry Stewart Publications,
1356-7667

Page 217

Branding a state from features to positioning: Making it simple?

image.4 Echtner and Ritchie5 believe that a

destination image involves a three-dimensional space where features such as mountains would be included in the functional
characteristics. Other characteristics include
holistic imagery or a general feeling and
attributes such as friendly people. Similarly,
other researchers, such as Gartner,6 argue
that destination images are developed by
three hierarchically interrelated components:
cognitive, affective and conative. Baloglu
and Brinberg7 found that the affective images
of tourism destination countries varied across
both positive (arousing, exciting, pleasant
and relaxing) and negative (sleepy, gloomy,
unpleasant and distressing) dimensions. The
argument of these and other authors would
be that image and position studies in tourism
have dealt with the cognitive component of
the image concept but these other constructs
should be used as tools by marketers to
position tourism destinations.
While it is theoretically true that places
evoke all sorts of emotional experiences,8 it
is difcult for a marketer to provide an image
such as relaxation, pleasantness, a challenging
experience or something inspirational that
would be interpreted in the same way by all
potential visitors. For example, a photograph
depicting the ocean and palm trees could
produce such differing emotions as romanticism for the young couple in love or a
physical challenge for the avid surfer. The
ocean is the feature that provides the desired
emotion depending on the needs of the
individual consumer. Additionally, if the
consumer has spent time by an ocean, old
memories will evoke various types of emotions which only that individual can reect
upon. If the consumer has not had an ocean
experience, then the perceptions of what
that photograph can provide are within the
psyche of the individual. It is believed that
each consumer will potentially have a different emotional response to the same feature.
Previous researchers have suggested that
by studying vacationers' past travel behaviour and looking at the benets they realised rather than benets sought, marketers
would have a better understanding of their
travel motivations which in turn provides in-

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roads into market segments.9 Again, this

concept relates the past emotional experience to future emotional experiences but
relies on benets as the main motivator.
Benet segmentation has been used considerably by destination marketing organisations
but there has been little proof of its ability to
persuade more visitors to the area.
In theory, much of the research completed
to date which has analysed the psychological
contributions of destination image, motivation and travel decisions of the visitors has
provided a great many conference talks and
academic papers but little in terms of application. Portraying feelings and emotions in
destination marketing campaigns will certainly capture some of the consumers, but
may inadvertently turn other people away.
Therefore rather than attempting to place
the `feeling' into the consumer through the
photograph, it may be more advantageous to
provide a visual image of a feature such as a
mountain, and allow the consumer to determine if the mountain provides relaxation,
physical challenge or spirituality.
The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to
provide an argument for going back to the
simplication of branding and positioning
based on the visitor's experience as seen by
features in a destination. Research indicates
that as a result of visiting the destination,
`images tend to be more realistic, complex
and differentiated'.10 Therefore, can visitors
who identify attractions or features of the
destination be segmented by those features
which in turn provide the destination marketer with various avenues to position their
destination? It is hoped that this can be so.
The study area
Montana is the fourth largest state in the US
with a population of less than 900,000 people. This gives every six people in the state
their own square mile, allowing for a great
deal of open space and uncrowded areas.
The geography of Montana includes prairies
and badlands in the east and the Rocky
Mountains range in the west. Montana is
known for its two national parks, Glacier
and Yellowstone. Yellowstone is the world's

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Nickerson and Moisey

rst national park and is renowned for its

spouting geysers, bubbling mud cauldrons,
canyons, waterfalls, lakes and abundant wildlife. While Yellowstone is mostly in Wyoming, three of the ve entrances into the park
are in Montana. Glacier National Park, on
the border of Canada, joins Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada to create the
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park
World Heritage Site. Glacier has more than
700 miles of foot and horse trails and maintains one of America's most spectacular
winding alpine roads over the continental
divide, the Going-to-the-Sun Highway.
In addition to the national parks, Montana
has 41 state parks, 15 wilderness areas, nine
national forests and seven Indian reservations. The state has ve national wildlife
refuges, one national bison range and one
national wild horse range. Over 560 guides/
outtters/dude ranches are listed in Montana's 1998 Travel Planner. The history of
Montana includes Native American culture
and the site of the most famous Indian battle
in the country; the Lewis and Clark expedition which spent more time in Montana than
any other state; and the boom-and-bust
gold-mining towns of Virginia City, Nevada
City, Bannack, and Garnet to name but a
few.
Montana hosted nearly nine million nonresidents in 1998. Seventy-ve per cent of
the summer visitors and over 90 per cent of
the winter visitors have been to the state in
the past.11 Summer visitation makes up
nearly 65 per cent of all non-resident visitors
to the state and of those summer visitors,
over three-quarters are in the state for vacation, recreation or pleasure as a purpose for
visiting. The state promotional division
along with the six regional promotional areas
in the state spend approximately $7m to
entice non-residents to the area. Promotions
include television, newspaper, magazine and
radio advertisements as well as a lm ofce
to encourage the use of Montana for movies
and commercials.
Movies such as `A River Runs Through
It' and the 1998 movie `The Horse Whisperer' have provided positive images of the
state for a worldwide audience. These organ-

ic images, created by media or movies rather

than the destination marketing organisation
itself,12 have portrayed Montana as a majestic
yet serene place. Additionally, Montana's
logo of `Big Sky Country' has been reinforced through visitor comments about the
sky, its vastness, and its rich blue colour.
In contrast to the positive organic images,
Montana has had its share of negative images
through the media. Montana is known as the
home of the Unabomber, the stand-off between the FBI and the `Freeman', and now
the `capital shooter'. When states were allowed to set their own speed limits, Montana
went back to their `reasonable and prudent'
speed limit, which meant to many people
that you could drive as fast as you wanted.
The national media spent a substantial
amount of time lamenting the fact that Montana was a racing-car driver's dream. This
perception made the thought of driving in
Montana a little unsafe and therefore not a
rst choice, especially for the retired visitor
market. (This image has potential to change
since the writing of this paper. The 1999
Montana State Legislature enacted a speed
limit law to take effect from the end of May
1999. It will be interesting to note whether
the national media makes mention of this
newly created speed limit.)
Methodology
Since 1988, non-resident visitor studies have
been conducted in Montana approximately
every three years.13 These studies provide
the state promotional division with information on visitor characteristics, expenditures,
travel patterns and use of information
sources. For this study, data were collected
by intercepting non-resident travellers to
Montana during the months of June, July,
August and September at gas stations, airports, and rest areas. Seven survey personnel
intercepted 12,941 visitor groups, asked
eight upfront questions of the visitors, and
then left a mail-back survey with the visitor
to complete during the visit. Since the majority of the questionnaire reected the travel group and not the individual, survey
personnel were instructed to intercept the

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Branding a state from features to positioning: Making it simple?

rst adult seen in each travel party. Due to

the nature of the questionnaire (ie a diary to
be lled out as events occurred), no followup measures such as a reminder postcard or
replacement survey were used. Therefore,
the 45 per cent response rate achieved for
the study was deemed acceptable for a `rst
and only mailing'.
While the survey contained numerous
questions about purpose of trip, activities,
expenditures and so forth, the analysis for this
paper deals strictly with the question, `If you
indicated vacation/recreation/pleasure as a
purpose of your trip, what attracted you to
Montana?' In previous non-resident visitor
studies to Montana,14 `scenery' was the feature visitors most often indicated as the top
attraction. The inherent problem with `scenery' as a feature is being able to identify what
visitors meant by scenery. As mentioned earlier, Montana has just about every type of
scenery possible except oceans. Therefore,
for this study, `scenery' was expanded into
seven additional variables and added to the
other list of attractions to the state. These
seven additional variable were derived from
questions on previous surveys which asked
the non-resident to identify in a word or
phrase their image of Montana before the trip
and their image of Montana after the trip.
These images included mountains, rivers,
lakes, uncrowded areas, open space, badlands
and Great Plains. In total, 20 different features
were listed for the visitor. These included
specic national parks, some outdoor activities, history themes and the scenery features
just described. Respondents could tick as
many `attractions' as tted their travel group.
Results
Three analysis steps were performed. First,
descriptive statistics illustrate the relative importance of the attractions that visitors felt
were important, providing some insight into
the images that visitors have prior to their
visit. Secondly, a cluster analysis of respondents' expressed attractions illustrates the
shared images visitors form prior to their
visit. Finally, differences between image
clusters reveal the marketing proles that can

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be utilised in packaging the branding images

for the state.
Most vacationers were attracted to the
state by more than one feature (Table 1).
The top ve attractions were the mountains
(65 per cent), Yellowstone National Park
(51 per cent), rivers (45 per cent), Glacier
National Park (41 per cent), and open space
(40 per cent). When further asked to identify
the primary attraction to the state, the top
ve were Glacier National Park (26 per
cent), Yellowstone National Park (23 per
cent), mountains (11 per cent), shing (6 per
cent), and open space (5 per cent).
A K-means cluster analysis of the 20 attractions was conducted to gain a better
understanding of the `attraction package' and
the image visitors held of Montana based on
these attractions. The K-means cluster analysis places each visitor into one and only one
image cluster, maximising the differences between clusters while minimising the variance
within clusters. With the K-means cluster
analysis, selection of the number of clusters is
normally a subjective procedure and the nal
choice of the appropriate number of clusters
is based on the practical application of the
results.15 In this analysis, the authors based
their choice of the number of clusters on
achieving an even distribution of cases
among clusters and on nding a meaningful
difference in average variable scores between
clusters. Several cluster analyses of the scale
scores were conducted and, based on the
above criteria, ve clusters appeared to result
in a distribution most useful for this analysis
because they displayed recognisable differences on the ve benet domains and a
reasonable distribution of cases between
clusters, thus allowing the authors to analyse
them as separate market segments (Figure 1).
Cluster one, containing the highest number of visitors (39 per cent) was a group
which was only attracted to Montana by the
two national parks, Glacier and Yellowstone.
This group was given the category title of
`Parks only'. A second cluster was titled
`Ideal Montana' because of the desire for
mountains, open space, uncrowded areas and
friendly people. `Ideal Montana' represented
21 per cent of the visitors. A third cluster

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Nickerson and Moisey

Table 1: Images of what attracted visitors to Montana and their primary

attraction in visiting
Attraction to Montana

%

Primary attraction

Mountains
Yellowstone National Park
Rivers
Glacier National Park
Open space
Viewing wildlife
Uncrowded areas
Lakes
Camping
Friendly people
National forest area
Hiking
Viewing historic sites
Fishing
Montana history
Native American culture
Designated wilderness
State park
Badlands
Northern Great Plains

65
51
45
41
40
36
35
34
24
22
20
19
17
17
14
13
10
8
8
7

Glacier National Park

Yellowstone National Park
Mountains
Fishing
Specic attraction
Open space
Uncrowded areas
Special event
Friendly people
Camping
Wildlife
Historic sites
Lakes
Montana history
National forest
Rivers

26
23
11
6
5
5
4
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1

 Does not add up to 100% as respondents could choose more than one attraction.
Image cluster's average score on each attraction to Montana

titled `Parks and outdoors' was a group of

people who were attracted to the parks,
mountains, lakes, wildlife, hiking and camping. This group was not interested in any

Figure 1

type of history or the badlands and plains of

the eastern part of the state. Like the `Ideal
Montana' group, this group of people represented 21 per cent of the visitors. A fourth

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Branding a state from features to positioning: Making it simple?

cluster representing 10 per cent of the visitors appeared to be the active group which
was simply attracted by everything the state
offers. This group showed the highest preference for all attractions except two and
was therefore named the `Active image'
group. Finally, a fth cluster called `History'
showed a group of people who were most
interested in visiting historic sites followed
by Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks,
Montana history and Native American culture. This group was also somewhat high in
being attracted by mountains. The `History'
group was the smallest cluster and only contained 9 per cent of all visitors.
These image clusters were further analysed
to identify their trip-related and sociodemographic differences. Signicant differences
were found among the groups by their primary trip purpose. The `Parks and outdoors'
and `Active image' groups were most likely
to list vacation and recreation as their primary trip purpose (and least likely to be
passing through on their way elsewhere).
The `Ideal Montana' group was more likely
than all other groups to be visiting friends or
relatives in the state. The other signicant
nding was the `Parks only' group which
was more likely than any other group to be
passing through the state. This group had
one purpose, to see the parks on their way to
somewhere else.
There were also signicant differences between group characteristics. About half of all
groups were travelling as a couple but the
`Ideal Montana' group was far more likely to
be travelling alone. Average group size of
the `Parks and outdoors' groups was the
largest (3.0 people) followed next by the
`Parks only' groups (2.8 people) and the
`Ideal Montana' groups were the smallest
(2.5 people). The `Ideal Montana' group was
more often than not a return visitor and was
signicantly different from all the other
groups of people on this variable. Finally,
one to three months of planning time was
the typical response for most groups. However, the `Parks only' group was more likely
to plan their trip in less than one month
compared to the other groups and the
`Active image' group was much more likely

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to plan six to 12 months ahead. There were

signicant differences in the average age of
each image group. The `Active image' and
`Parks and outdoors' groups were the youngest (average age 47) while the `History'
group was the oldest (53 years). No signicant differences were found in education or
occupation between image groups.
Signicant differences were also found in
the use of information sources for trip planning and the exibility of travel plans. For
pre-trip planning, the `Parks only' group was
more likely to use the Automobile Association of America (AAA) as an information
source while the `History' group used the
Montana Travel Planner. The `Parks and
outdoors' group used national park brochures (Table 2). Once each group arrived
in Montana, the most useful information
sources for each group also differed (Table
3). The `Parks and outdoors' group relied
most on information gathered at visitor centres. The `Ideal Montana' group was far
more likely to access information from private businesses. The `Ideal Montana' group
had the most exible trip plans followed next
by the `Active image' group (Table 4). The
`History' and `Parks only' groups had the
least exible travel plans.
Trip length and visitor spending in Montana differed signicantly between groups
(Table 5). The `Parks and outdoors' group
had the longest average trip length (7.5 days)
while the `Parks only' group had the shortest
(4.2 days). Average daily group expenditures
and total trip expenditures also differed by
image group. The `Active image' group had
the highest average daily expenditures ($118)
and total trip expenditures ($885). The `History' group spent an average of $103 per day
resulting in total trip expenditures of only
$545. The `Parks and outdoors' group spent
a daily average of $101 totalling $695 for the
entire trip. The `Parks only' group spent the
least amount, averaging only $100 per day
and $421 in total.
Implications for statewide marketing
Nearly all of the features or attractions used
in this study could easily be used by most of

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Nickerson and Moisey

Table 2: Primary pre-trip planning information uses by image cluster (%)

Parks
only
State travel information
telephone service
Regional travel information
telephone service
Internet
State travel brochure
National park brochure
State park brochure
Travel show
Local information centre
Private business
Guide book
American Auto Association
None used

Ideal
Montana

History

Parks and
outdoors

Active
image

3.9

6.2

4.2

6.7

2.6

0.1

0.0

0.7

0.6

0.3

3.1
9.3
12.6
0.9
0.1
3.2
4.4
19.2
41.2
2.0
100.0

1.7
16.2
7.2
0.3
0.7
7.6
3.8
19.9
34.4
2.1
100.1

3.5
14.5
7.5
0.7
0.4
5.7
7.7
18.9
33.5
2.6
99.9

2.1
15.6
14.1
1.4
0.0
4.4
3.8
17.3
32.7
1.3
100.0

2.0
14.4
10.2
1.6
0.0
9.2
4.3
22.3
30.5
2.6
100.0

Chi-square signicant at the 0.05% level.

Table 3: Primary planning information used while in Montana by image cluster

(%)
Parks only
Person in information
centre
Computer info centre
Highway info sign
Business billboard
Person in private business
Brochure rack
Other

History

Ideal
Montana

Parks and
outdoors

Active
image

23.3

28.0

16.0

31.7

25.7

0.1
17.7
1.1
23.9
15.8
18.1
100.0

0.3
11.8
1.9
19.3
22.4
16.5
100.2

0.0
20.0
2.6
27.3
16.9
17.2
100.0

0.0
17.0
0.4
21.3
13.9
15.7
100.0

0.3
16.4
0.3
19.8
18.0
19.6
100.1

Chi-square signicant at the 0.05% level.

Table 4: Flexibility of travel plans by image cluster (%)

All stops planned, not exible

Most stops planned, somewhat exible
Some stops planned, fairly exible
Few stops planned, quite exible
No plans, very exible

Parks
only

History

Ideal
Montana

Parks and
outdoors

Active
image

18.9
29.9
20.0
21.5
9.8
100.0

9.3
34.9
24.7
23.6
7.4
100.0

12.8
22.9
23.3
24.6
16.4
100.0

11.9
28.3
27.0
25.5
7.3
100.0

6.6
27.5
28.9
28.0
9.0
100.0

Chi-square signicant at the 0.05% level.

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Branding a state from features to positioning: Making it simple?

Table 5: Trip length, average daily and total trip expenditures by image cluster
Image cluster

Average trip
length (days)

Average daily expenditures

per group (dollars)

Total trip expenditures

per group (dollars)

Parks only
History
Ideal Montana
Parks and outdoors
Active image

4.20
5.30
7.03
6.86
7.51

100.37
102.85
102.23
101.05
117.86

421.55
545.11
718.68
695.22
885.13

One-way ANOVA signicant at the 0.05% level.

the western states including Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and Colorado.
While the ve clusters identied in this study
do provide the state with a better look at the
types of people who visit based on the simple
questions of what attracted them to the state,
it is imperative that Travel Montana, the
marketing division for the state, use images
that are specically associated with the state
both to create and reinforce the destination
image. These associations, called `destination-specic icons',16 are especially useful for
emerging destinations or destinations which
need to differentiate themselves. Differentiation is the search for recognition of a product's uniqueness, in order to assure its
sustainability.17 Therefore to differentiate it
from other mountainous states, there are at
least three types of icons which could be
used for Montana. These destination-specic
icons could be easily employed for some of
the market clusters identied in this study.
The `Parks only' group should be marketed with icons of Glacier and Yellowstone
National Parks along with suggested routes
between the two parks, since this group was
most likely to be passing through the state.
This group uses an automobile club such as
AAA more than any other group for their
information planning before the trip and is
also least likely to be exible in its travel
plans. Travel Montana, as part of its marketing strategy, would be wise to work with
automobile clubs to gain their awareness and
knowledge of what the state has to offer. In
addition, strategically placed advertisements
in automobile club publications showing the
national parks `along their route' would

Page 224

likely encourage greater visitation by the

`Parks only' group.
The `Parks and outdoors' group should
also include some familiar pictures, ie the
icon of the parks, but include active people
in the scenes. Other mountainous photographs of lakes, rivers and wildlife in the state
would also persuade this group. If the group
knows that Montana has the parks but can
offer much more, the members will probably
be encouraged to visit other places before or
after their park visit. This group would
probably be persuaded by similar advertisements used for the `Parks only' group in
automobile club publications.
The `Ideal Montana' group, having been
to Montana more often than any of the other
groups, does not need the `destination-specic icon' such as the national parks to encourage a return visit. This group knows what
the state has to offer and is especially interested in spending time with family and
friends in the mountains. Marketing to this
group can be as simple as showing two good
friends photographing a bighorn sheep in
one of Montana's wilderness areas. Additionally, a continuation of the `invite a friend'
programme should be encouraged since this
will more than likely encourage the `Ideal
Montana' group to keep coming back to
Montana.
The `Active image' group will be enticed
by just about anything the state can offer.
This group seeks variety, activity, the history
and the beauty of the state. The `Active
image' group is the least likely to have all its
plans made before arriving in the state and
the least likely to use an automobile club to

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Nickerson and Moisey

make all the travel plans. Therefore the

`Active image' group is the easiest group to
persuade to stay longer and see more sights.
This group is also easily swayed by information obtained by people in information centres. If brochures are available at the information centres showing all the variety within
the state and an enthusiastic information
centre employee shows all the `good things
to see and do', then this group will stay and
play and spend money. Any of the `destination-specic icons' would be a useful tool to
remind this group about Montana.
Finally, historical sites, Montana history
and the mountains intrigue the `History'
group more than anything else. A destination-specic icon for this group could easily
include the Indian battle of the Little Bighorn or the Lewis and Clark trail sign specically designed for Montana. Photographs of
the many ghost towns in the state would also
stimulate the interest of this visitor group.
The `History' group is persuaded by an automobile club in terms of trip planning but will
seek additional information from visitor information staff while in Montana. Therefore,
working with AAA would help promote
attractions to the `History' group as well as
providing the history tour information at
visitor centres. In addition, the Montana
Travel Planner, which is a statewide promotional piece identifying all the lodging facilities and attractions in the state, should
include history tours for the `History' group
since this group is most likely to pick up a
Travel Planner along the way.
While Montana has many common features with other mountain states, this study
has identied three or four destination-specic icons which could easily be used as
marketing tools for the ve market clusters.
The branding of the state through the icons
provide a `means of recognition' for each of
the ve groups. The key to portraying these
images as Montana's brand and subsequently
positioning the state in the marketplace is
knowing what icons or features attract each
market segment. This suggested marketing
approach is quite different from the current
approach used by the state marketing division. Travel Montana has been portraying

the cowboy image in the plains of eastern

Montana with a few scenes showing mountains. This research suggests that the majority
of visitors are not attracted to the eastern
Montana image and therefore the state may
lose potential visitors.
The features identied by the visitors have
provided the ve vacation clusters for market
segmenting and positioning. It is now the
role of the promotional team to capture
these scenes so it encourages past and potential visitors to `live' whatever experience
they see from that picture. This method of
employing the features as the key decision
factor in segmenting and positioning Montana to non-resident visitors is simple and easy
to administer. Features are easy to identify by
both the visitor and the researcher. It does
not rely on emotional responses, but does
allow the consumer to have an emotional
experience based on the features portrayed.
That experience will vary from consumer to
consumer but can be aroused by the same
photograph.
REFERENCES
(1) Hunt, J. D. (1975) `Image as a factor in
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(2) Ehemann, J. (1977) `What kind of place is
Ireland: An image perceived through the
American media', Journal of Travel Research,
Vol. 16, Fall, pp. 2830; Pearce, P. L.
(1982) `Perceived changes in holiday destinations', Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 9,
No. 2, pp. 14564; Gartner, W. C. and
Hunt, J. D. (1987) `An analysis of state
image change over a twelve-year period
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(3) Keegan, W. J., Moriarty, S. E. and Duncan,
T. R. (1995) `Marketing', 2nd edn, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, pp. 318
319.
(4) Walmsley, D. J. and Young, M. (1998)
`Evaluative images and tourism: The use of
personal constructs to describe the structure
of destination images', Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 36, Winter, pp. 6569.
(5) Echtner, C. M. and Ritchie, J. R. B. (1993)
`The measurement of destination image: An
empirical assessment', Journal of Travel Re-

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Branding a state from features to positioning: Making it simple?

(6)

(7)

(8)
(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

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search, Vol. 31, Spring, pp. 313.

Gartner, W. C. (1993) `Image Formation
Process', in M. Uysal and D. R. Fesenmaier
(eds) `Communication and Channel Systems in Tourism Marketing', Haworth
Press, NY, pp. 191215.
Baloglu, S. and Brinberg, D. (1997)
`Affective images of tourism destinations',
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pp. 1115.
Walmsley and Young, ref. 4 above.
Shoemaker, S. (1994) `Segmenting the U.S.
travel market according to benets realized', Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 33,
Winter, pp. 821.
Echtner, C. M. and Ritchie, J. R. B. (1991)
`The meaning and measurement of a destination image', Journal of Tourism Studies,
Vol. 2, pp. 212.
Parrish, J., Nickerson, N. and McMahon,
K. (1997) `Nonresident Summer Travelers
to Montana: Proles and Characteristics',
Research Report 51, Institute for Tourism
& Recreation Research, The University of
Montana, Missoula, MT.
Pritchard, A. and Morgan, N. J. (1996)

(13)

(14)
(15)

(16)
(17)

`Selling the Celtic Arc to the USA: A

comparative analysis of the destination brochure images used in the marketing of Ireland, Scotland and Wales', Journal of
Vacation Marketing, Vol. 2, September, pp.
346365.
See the web page for the Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research for nonresident visitor studies, www.forestry.umt.
edu/itrr; especially Christensen, N., Maiorano, B. and Menning, N. (1995) `1993
Nonresident travel to Montana: Characteristics of visitors by season', Research Report
40, Institute for Tourism & Recreation
Research, University of Montana, Missoula,
MT.
Ibid.
McCool, S. F. and Reilly, M. (1993) `Benet segmentation analysis of state park visitor setting preferences and behavior',
Journal of Park and Recreation Administration,
Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 114.
Pritchard and Morgan, ref. 12 above.
Font, X. (1997) `Managing the tourist designation's image.' Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 3, April, pp. 123131.

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