Marketing Review - Spring 2008 - (Page 51)

Team-building activities and business dinners on the sand complete with bonfires and volleyball games year-round, notes Donovan, immerse guests in southern California traditions. They also recall the Del’s early promotion as a sanitarium where guests could fight off urban ail- Disneyland is not the only California address boasting an iconic castle. On an island to the south, Hotel del Coronado combines Victorian elegance with old Tinseltown glamor. ments with heavy doses of fresh ocean air and sunshine. To escape the downsides of aging, “The Del stays on trend,” claims Donovan, citing a new spa and tech amenities. The combination of legacy with contemporary conveniences keeps engagements, weddings, honeymoons and anniversary parties at The Del a continuing tradition of many California families—and accolades as the nation’s top wedding setting. Biz-visionary McCulloch had an idea. He bought the bridge for $2,460,000, including cast iron bridge lampposts molded from French cannons captured during the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, and granite stones bearing the damage of exploding shells fired by the Germans during the WWII Battle of Britain. At $2.7 million, shipping and reconstruction exceeded McCulloch’s purchase bid. When dismantled, each of 10,276 pieces was numbered to ensure exact placement during reconstruction. London Bridge traveled via cargo vessels across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, to Long Beach, California. From there, the world’s biggest jigsaw puzzle was trucked to Arizona. Total distance: 7,000 miles. The cornerstone was laid in Lake Havasu City in 1968, the bridge opened in 1971, and a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction was born. Limned with five arches, the granite bridge is 939 feet long, 49 feet wide and weighs 22 million pounds. Unused stone from the original site became souvenirs. To complement the English theme, McCulloch acquired an ornate 19th-centu- twist of contemporary, the bridge-side resort’s 110 acres encompass 122 suites, winding walkways, hidden gardens, manicured grounds, and dignified fountains fit for royalty. Holding court in the lobby: a 24-foot-long, gilded replica of a Royal Coach complete with cherubs, Florentine paintings, and framework integrating sculpted palm trees, lion heads, and trophies signifying Britain’s war victories. The storybook carriage was a gift to McCulloch. Of the hundreds of events the resort hosts each year, many are themed to the historical aspects of the London Bridge, confirms Sheehy. These range from high teas to “Lunch with the Queen.” He attributes increasing interest among meeting planners to “the unique options” offered by the resort and its surroundings—including a story that has helped draw 2.5 million visitors to Lake Havasu City each year. Bridges may be built and bought, but history suggests that brand stories are best made from scratch. Consider the Karmatians who stole the magical Black Stone from Mecca’s Grand Mosque in the year 929*. They’d hoped it would attract a London Bridge, Still Standing Others saw only an abandoned Army Air Corps landing strip by a reservoir behind a dam on the Colorado River. Robert McCulloch, Senior saw an airport that would bring in land buyers and travelers. He bought land in 1963, teamed up with Disneyland master planner C.V. Wood, and built a city between California and Arizona. It was McCulloch’s next savvy purchase that turned Lake Havasu City into an enchanting getaway. Built in 1831, the London Bridge had carried 100,000 pedestrians and 10,000 vehicles by the early 1960s. Unfortunately, all that weight took a toll on the icon: It was sinking an eighth of an inch each year. A completely new structure was needed for the ever-growing urban traffic. What to do with the original? SPRING 2008 • HSMAI MARKETING REVIEW LONDON BRIDGE ry gate from the Earl of Dudley’s grand Italianate palace. “We absolutely believe that an engaging story is very important in selling a destination and gaining popularity with guests,” says Cal Sheehy, general manager of the London Bridge Resort & Convention Center. “The story of Lake Havasu offers tourists a great historical aspect to their travel experience.” Designed as an English Tudor with a profitable stream of pilgrims to their own tribal homeland. The tourist promotion scheme failed and the Karmatians returned the stone to its rightful place. The moral of the story? Find one of your own. I *source: “The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam’s Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda” by Yaroslav Trofimov (Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday 2007) 51

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marketing Review - Spring 2008

HSMAI Marketing Review - Spring 2008 Contents COLUMN: The Online Marketer COLUMN: Success Stories COLUMN: Guest Column Ten Trends Now Shaping the Future of Hospitality Turning the 2008 Consumer Tax Rebates into Hospitality and Travel Sales 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality and Travel Sales and Marketing The Lure of Lore: Connecting with Customers Through a Unique Brand Story A Careful Balancing Act A Meaningful Relationship: How Technology Affects the Connection Between Hospitality Marketers and Meeting Planners SPECIAL SECTION: The 2007 HSMAI Adrian Awards Building Five Star Imagery

Marketing Review - Spring 2008

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