08. National Parks - Brand Strategy
User-centric solution brings the parks to people
In 2000, tightened federal funding and increased visitations were seriously stressing park resources. Dependent on funding from visitors, National Parks needed a brand strategy and loyalty program that would encourage the needed support and give visitors what they were looking for- an enjoyable and memorable experience.
National Parks turned to Continuum to develop a brand strategy that would inspire awareness, increase contributions, and relieve long lines by moving people through the entrances quickly. Continuum envisioned a park pass desirable for reasons other than being a low cost entry to the parks, but to conceptualize this vision research needed to be done. To help create a pass program that resonates with visitors who frequent the national parks and serve as a keepsake for new and current members, Continuum assembled a team with expertise in consumer research, information design, and business consulting. Early on, it was decided that the pass should create a universal sense of belonging for all pass users, so design-ethnography techniques were applied to every type of person or organization that would handle the new pass. Additionally, Continuum’s strategist immersed themselves in park life, working as uniformed Park Rangers in a fee entry booth to understand the experience of admitting visitors to a National Park. Research findings illustrated why the system needed significant modifications to support the values, motivations, and limitations of the actual people who made up the system. This change in thinking inspired the pass that furthered stewardship of the National Parks by the public, fit within the National Park Service system and was easy to administer. 
This project resulted in a number of significant changes. Changes affected the embodiment of the pass, image selections, promotional techniques, and basic attributes, which included a naming strategy. Instead of credit card like passes that were active from production, the new passed were inactive until point-of-purchase. The new pass also provided personalized ID cards, a detailed program overview, a map of the National Parks system, and a window decal, that enabled participants in the program to become "stewards" of the National Parks. The development and launch of new parks pass program helped the National Parks fortify their brand to build trust, engender loyalty, and enhance program recognition, which led to a stewardship relationship with the end user. A shift in emphasis from bargain entry to support for the National Parks' mission enabled the program to successfully meet it original goals while increasing public support for the preservation of historic and natural resources in the oldest National Park system in the world. In the end, the success of this program was not about bringing people to the parks; ultimately it was about bringing the parks to the people.
"The course Continuum set us on was the absolute right course, and the results have paid off in increased sales and extremely high customer satisfaction."— Michael Bento, Senior Vice President of Marketing, National Park Foundation
Related Content |