Mrs. Heather Scheuppert
A drive is underway to rebrand Anguilla in the tourism marketplace, following the appointment of a new group of marketing representatives and a just-ended four-day retreat at DaVida Restaurant and Spa at Crocus Bay.
The event was convened by the Anguilla Tourist Board at the request of Cheryl Andrews Marketing Communications of Coral Gables, Florida, Anguilla’s new Marketing and Public Relations representative in North America. Her company is working in partnership with Tim Grace of Travel Marketing Network. They have offices in Miami, Houston and Toronto and were expected to open an office in New York.The retreat was conducted by Heather Scheuppert, CEO of Evolution Strategy – a US-based firm specialising in brand research strategy and design.
Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board, Leslie Richardson, told reporters that the retreat was preceded by an online survey and that it was a pleasure to have a great team working with the ATB on the rebranding of Anguilla. He commended the Government of Anguilla for developing a Sustainable Tourism Marketing Plan for the island – a platform on which the Tourist Board was now building the hospitality industry.
“To help us build this new framework, we have Cheryl Andrews and her team,” he stated. “They have taken on Heather Scheuppert from Evolution Strategy and have been working with us for the past two months or more putting this whole thing together.”
Mr. Richardson, who also introduced Tim Grace, who assisted with the retreat, continued: “Over the four days, stakeholders, including accommodation and ancillary service providers as well as representatives from Immigration, Customs, the Ministry of Tourism and the Anguilla Tourism Board, considered some critical issues. While some questions seemed simplistic – such as why people come to Anguilla, and why they returned – the answers proved to be quite complex.”
Mrs. Scheuppert said the online survey was aimed at eliciting feedback from tourism stakeholders, including locals and visitors. It examined Anguilla’s attributes, visitor experiences, how they have changed – and what was needed to take Anguilla’s tourism to the next level. The findings were used as a backdrop to the discussions during the retreat.
She indicated that there were many areas of consensus both at the research and retreat stages. “What emerged,” she said, “is a sector that is for the most part on the same page. There is an acute understanding of what Anguilla is, what it offers and who it wishes to attract. With this in mind, the real work begins now and on putting a new face and voice to Anguilla.”
Mr. Tim Grace said that Mrs. Scheuppert’s work at the retreat was the “bible” for the sales, marketing and public relations teams. “It has built a framework which we will follow to implement all our activities. We have draft annual plans in place … so that we can follow what the stakeholders’ input in the final draft [document] has determined. We will follow the brand and develop the website along the lines of the strategic planning session. So we are looking forward to getting hold of the documentation, applying it to our planning, and working with the ATB to finalise our plans in getting into the marketplace in North America and beyond to implement this new branding strategy.”
The Anguilla Tourist Board has expressed its thanks to all who participated in, and contributed to, the rebranding exercise and looks forward to on-going and active participation of the tourism sector in the future.
