When it comes to being the consummate marketer, Adam Stewart is a chip off the old block, Gordon “Butch” Stewart.

A case in point was Wednesday, October 16, 2024 when Sandals Resorts International (SRI), the Caribbean’s tourism mega force, for which Stewart succeeded his late father as executive chairman, brought 1,000 industry stakeholders from across the globe for a day in Jamaica under the theme ‘Sandals Jamaica Love Showcase’.

The magnitude of such a marketing event is astounding, not to mention the budget, which must have been in the millions of US dollars. In his address to the gathering of local and foreign tourism stakeholders, business partners, and our prime minister and tourism minister, gathered at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, the SRI head honcho dropped a genius of a value proposition. I quote from a newspaper report of the event: “Jamaica’s brand has never been bigger. Jamaica is a rock star, and Sandals is a rock star brand too. It is the biggest most recognized corporate brand ever to come out of the Caribbean.”

That SRI is a rock star brand is not in doubt. Some years ago, Interbrand, the world leader in brand strategy, design, and valuation, named SRI one of the top-20 brands in the 56-member British Commonwealth.

How did the founder, management, and team members of this home-grown global brand achieve such an improbable feat? Based on my own outsider knowledge and experience staying at Sandals properties, it comes down to what I term the three-dimensional method of branding. Great expectations before…
‘funtastic’ experience during… and lasting memories after each hotel stay.

Even before setting foot on the property of choice, one has great expectations, borrowing the title of the 13th novel by English author Charles Dickens, of being in paradise. The feeling comes from a carefully crafted public relations and advertising campaign and is heightened by personal testimonies of repeat visitors. Usually what follows is a let-down. Not so at Sandals. The culture of excellence, well-trained and pleasant team members ensure the experience exceeds expectations. The memories one leaves with can last a life time. This is not SRI spiel. It is an honest assessment of how the brand and business deliver superior customer value and seamlessly continues to do so even after passing the baton to the next generation of leaders.

Here is the challenge though: How does one transfer the model from a resort, SRI, to the destination, Jamaica? By my calculation, the value of Brand Jamaica is between $US32 and US$37 billion, roughly twice the gross domestic product (GDP) of US$17 billion. But why is there a gap between the country’s brand value and the value of the goods and services it produces?

The question is partly answered by pointing to those issues Stewart carefully avoided in his masterful sales pitch as reported. I will identify just three:

1) The sometimes chaotic and unwelcoming situation at our airports

2) The harrowing experience travelling by road from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to attractions

3) Crime, violence, and harassment

There are destinations in the Caribbean, some of them we disdainfully refer to as small islands, which have gone further in resolving or mitigating these perennial problems we seem comfortable living with.

Notwithstanding the environmental, logistical, and social impediments, as well as the negative United States travel advisories, Jamaica’s tourism is forging ahead. The front-page headline of the December 1, 2024 edition of the Jamaica Observer captures the dynamism and optimism: ‘Strong winter tourism season looms – Forward bookings spike after Sandal’s Jamaica love promotion’.

In the accompanying story, SRI Corporate Director Resort Operations Jeremy Jones is quoted as saying: “We are starting to see immediate results from it [the Sandals’ Jamaica love promotion]. The long term is that we are seeing some good business coming and layered down for Q1 next year.” This is good news, and not just for SRI. In destination marketing, “a rising tide lifts all boats”.

Managing a brand is more than promoting name recognition and popularity. One must consistently deliver superior customer value by focusing on the three dimensions of branding — before the experience, during the experience, and after the experience.

As a tourism destination, we, especially the Government, have a lot of work to do to enhance what players in the accommodation sector, like SRI, are doing.

Jamaica’s tourist season officially starts December 15 and runs through April the following year. There are strengths and opportunities the Government, industry players, and all of us working together can immediately leverage even as we work at resolving the more entrenched problems requiring longer term solutions.

Dr Henley Morgan, is founder and executive chairman of the Trench Town-based Social Enterprise, Agency for Inner-city Renewal, and author of My Trench Town Journey — Lessons in Social Entrepreneurship and Community Transformation for Development Leaders, Policy Makers, Academics and Practitioners. Send comments to hmorgan@cwjamaica.com.