Foundations of Marketing 5th Edition by Ferrell,William Pride

Exercise 18

Lonely Planet Provides Guidance to Lonely Explorer
Lonely Planet has been global since before it was even a company- in its audience, its scope, and its foundation. The now ubiquitous guidebook brand got its start in 1973 when Brit Tony Wheeler and his wife, Maureen, holed up in Australia to write a pamphlet on their experiences traveling in Asia. The couple met in their native Britain, found that they shared a love of adventure, and got married soon thereafter. For their honeymoon, they chose to make a trip that no one at the time believed was possible-a journey from Britain across Europe and Asia via land all the way to Australia. They made it, but by that time, they were stuck in Australia with 27 cents between the two of them. Tony made the best of the situation by writing the 94-page Across Asia on the Cheap, which sold 8,500 copies. From this suitably adventurous start, Lonely Planet ballooned into one of the powerhouses of the growing guidebook and phrasebook industry, with around 500 titles covering 118 countries. Lonely Planet now represents one-quarter of all English-language guidebooks sold in the world and has annual revenues in excess of $75 million.
The company has offices in London and Oakland, California, with its headquarters in Melbourne. It employs 450 office staff and around 200 authors. Thanks to these contributors from dozens of different countries, the company has a global scope and a global perspective, which helps the company successfully market worldwide. The huge variety of languages, cultures, and interests across their consumer base makes marketing and developing a coherent brand image difficult. To cope with these hurdles, Lonely Planet works on maintaining a balance between consistency in branding and customizing marketing to suit specific target markets.
In 2007, the Wheelers finally relinquished control of the company when they sold it to BBC Worldwide, which is the commercial branch of the British Broadcasting Company. The addition of the BBC's extensive network of distribution channels has helped Lonely Planet to market itself more successfully and to branch into complementary business areas such as Lonely Planet Images, Lonely Planet Television, Lonely Planet Foreign Rights Team, Lonely Planet Business Solutions unit, and Lonely Planet Foundation (which contributes 5 percent of all profits to international charities and has established a carbon offset program for printing and the travels of all employees). From the start, one of the fundamental tenets of the Lonely Planet brand has been that travel can truly change the world and make it a better place. Through the Lonely Planet Foundation, the Wheelers have tried to make profound differences in the places they visit. Their far-reaching message is being heard loud and clear, as evidenced by the more than 5 million unique visitors clicking on lonelyplanet.com each month.
This marketing strategy of selective customization, combined with relentless fact checking and updating, along with a focus on hiring the best and most knowledgeable travel writers, has earned Lonely Planet a reputation for quality. Lonely Planet books are not only popular; they are considered by many to be the definitive guidebooks. In fact, Jay Garner, the first American administrator in Iraq, considers Lonely Planet such an authority on global travel that he used the book Lonely Planet Iraq to develop a list of historical sites worth saving. Another nod to the success of the brand is the fact that in Asia, imitation Lonely Planet guidebooks are now sold alongside imitation Gucci and Chanel handbags and Rolex watches.
No matter what criticisms people may have of Lonely Planet, this single guidebook brand has been responsible for the soaring popularity of adventure tourism worldwide. Because of Lonely Planet, there are surf camps in El Salvador, foreign-owned luxury resorts in Nicaragua, and remote villages in the heights of the Himalayas with economies based around tourism-monuments to the success of its marketing strategy. Lonely Planet continues its trek toward boundless success, due largely to the organization's clear vision of its target market. The Lonely Planet traveler is willing to embrace foreign food and culture but still wants to do it comfortably and cheaply, if possible. The company reaches its market through smart marketing and promotion strategies that balance a recognizable brand with customization to accommodate local tastes. Lonely Planet has never forgotten that there really is no such thing as global-that the world consists of thousands of different local populations. And Lonely Planet, by knowing clearly who comprises its market and by smart marketing strategies, has grown from a pamphlet written in a cheap hostel to a huge global brand loved by millions of travelers the world over.
How could Lonely Planet guidebooks help marketers to develop effective marketing strategies in targeted foreign markets