By all sound measures, Sir Richard Branson succeeded in created the uber-brand – a brand brand. It genuinely represents a lifestyle and concept rather than any specific product. It can live independent of any one of its product lines. Rather than simply studying how the brand may be extended, the company looks at how it might be flipped, morphed or otherwise refracted. The novelty of this approach is a part of the brand’s success and longevity, though it seems very tied to the personality of Branson himself. Regardless, there is no arguing with their overall financial results.

In the last month, the Virgin Group got press again after announcing its new foray into hotels. Not to be confused with the exclusive collection of Branson’s private retreats, ingeniously turned into revenue producers and marketed as Virgin Limited Edition, this new (and much more accessible) hotel product targets the coveted young-playful-and-hip-with-some-disposable-income-and-an-expense-account category.

Although the copy on their website describing the brand could accurately describe any number of boutique hotel operators or chains (not limited to Starwoods‘ W and Hilton‘s deceased Denizen), it’s hard to hold that against Virgin at this point. After all, design and service are hard to describe in the abstract and in practice it’s actually very hard to reinvent the world’s oldest industry. (That would be Innkeeping, by the way. Although Virgin’s marketers might acknowledge the fleeting notion of something more ribald with a knowing wink.)

One has to assume that Virgin will successfully translate its fun and stylish brand into a physical space. Certainly all eyes expect the perfect balance of price, place, product and promotion.

In this climate, when hoteliers have retreated and most hatches are still battened, it seems a bold move. It’s the big, exciting kind of travel positioning that is fun – but takes years – to plan. Often, our own planning and consulting is designed to allow companies and lifestyle brand managers to test the waters with a series of low-risk experiments to gain exposure and test the market. But this is also a case of the right move for the right corporate and brand culture.

Virgin has been in the travel and entertainment space for years, so their own market research has been widely available and is cited as justification for their move.  And this big, asset-dependent launch is consistent with their own corporate operation, and the hotel operation model also relies on other investors and hotel owners to shoulder much of the capital requirements.

Despite its name, when it comes to a strategic product launch, a big rollout and a favorable financial advantage, Virgin is an old hand.

Presented in 10 points (plus one in an orange box), each less than 140 characters.

1. We each have our own champion spokesperson, one that easily trumps the “Likes” of our friends but is harder to track online.
2. As much as we all value our friends’ endorsements, we’re all much more attached to our own. Yes, even on Facebook.
3. But since they are metrics that usually rise, “Likes” are seductively quantifiable. We (and our bosses and clients) like numbers that rise.
4. What truly matters are advocates – consumers who go out of their way to encourage others to try a product or service that they love.
5. The Net Promoter Index is valuable because it can identify your most loyal, engaged customers – but not how to develop them.
6. It works for one reason – it flags the people who have the most personal, devoted relationship with your brand, company or product.
7. If you connect with your customers while they’re engaging in their self-defining passions, your brand is more likely to become one of them.
8. When they choose to vacation or travel, people almost always pursue activities that fit their favorite parts of themselves.
9. This “favorite self,” or the self-idealized version of any consumer, is the ultimate customized celebrity spokesperson.
10. So that’s where we focus. We believe in creating real life product placements and actual product places to develop lasting brand loyalists.

The self-billed newspaper features a handful of online audio and video feeds (or podcasts) repurposing and expanding on print content and featuring a signature violin riff that is both clever and classic.

But the typically unnamed pundits at The Economist have found an avenue to connect to both established and new readers in their monthly “Doing Business In” podcast.  Here they rely on their local (unnamed) editors to provide insight into international business capitals.

Toronto, Mexico City, Singapore, London, Buenos Aires, D.C., Delhi, Bangkok, Cairo and Tel Aviv all get equal treatment. And they are just the beginning.  Approximately 12 minutes long, each podcast highlights topics like local arrivals at customs, transportation from the airport, local business etiquette, distinguished hotels, other cultural norms, seasonal considerations. and even what you should check out if you have a spare afternoon.

Most importantly, with “Doing Business In,” The Economist illustrates a clever and efficient way to capitalize on its existing network of international reporters to provide an efficient and relatively easy additional service, without massive investment. All the way, reinforcing the newspaper’s position as a network of international business experts.

Even though the Wizarding World of Harry Potter didn’t open at Universal Studios Florida until the last two weeks of Q2 2010, the resort posted its first attendance jump in two years and realized almost 13% in increased sales over Q2 2009.

The draw of the new immersive land – and its devoted fans buying unique Harry Potter merchandise, food and drink is credited for the surge. Oddly enough, Universal spokespeople are citing surprise at the attraction’s popularity and news stories focus on how park managers have had to go back to school on crowd control. The company literally claimed to have been overwhelmed by the success of a heavily promoted attraction based on one of the most popular all-ages franchises of the 21st Century. Possibly the only more fervent fans in recent history are Avatar devotees, who likely would camp out for weeks for a chance to visit the bio-luminescent jungle world of Pandora (Expect this to be Universal’s next big theme park franchise bidding war).

Putting any new operation or program into place certainly requires adjustments, so many tweaks are to be expected. But did the management really not anticipate that they would experience a rush of Potter fans that would be many times over the midnight mobs that famously gathered in bookstores across the US when J. K. Rowling released a new novel?

Questions that the resort management should have considered in advance of the opening:

• What sort of operational contingency plan should be put in place if we surpass our attendance estimates? What if we fall short?
• What should be done if every person who comes into the park wants to spend all of their time in the Harry Potter land?
• How could the Potter experience be populated throughout the park during this launch, without jeopardizing the integrity (or licensing agreements) of other brands including Marvel, Jurassic Park and Dr. Seuss?

Examining the impact of the recession on Chip’s earlier whitepaper, Old Brands Rising in New Hotels from September 2007, this document reveals how the economic constraints of the marketplace have driven branded partnerships in new and more creative directions.

It looks at announced projects such as Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott and the Margaritaville Casino & Resort and proposes the reasons and methods for right-sizing lifestyle marketing and product forays into the travel space.

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