Tourism: Name doesnt Google well
July 3, 2008 · Updated 10:30 PM
Your May 18 article about Whidbey Scenic Isle Way indicates that, one of the toughest parts of the planning process, was coming up with a name.
I appreciate the brilliance of employing the scenic byway concept to draw attention to the charms of our island, but fear that the toughest part of the process still lies ahead. Heres why.
Google Whidbey Island and you get approximately 286,000 hits. Google scenic byway and expect a list of 177,000 pages. Search Whidbey Island and scenic byway to turn up 143 hits. Oh, scenic isle way turns up three pages.
Why should the committee care about these statistics? In the marketing business its known as branding. Call the paved backbone of the island Whidbey Island Scenic Byway and you capitalize on familiar terms people understand, can spell and will remember. Thats effective, inexpensive branding.
Certainly, it is possible to build an entirely new brand around Whidbey Scenic Isle Way, but it will take longer and cost more than adopting the more obvious name. Try both options on a focus group and see what happens.
Then please save time and money by adopting the less creative but more effective brand.
M. Denis Hill
Coupeville
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