Efteling
Looking at your brand from a different perspective? An international brand study on Efteling's brand image
Case Information
To allow guests to escape the daily grind in natural and fairytale-like surroundings. That is Efteling’s mission. But what about Efteling’s brand image and brand strength? Where does the brand currently stand on the various brand KPIs that Efteling tracks? And how does this differ across the various markets? And what are the levers to achieve (and sustain) brand growth?
The Challenge
Efteling wanted to look at the brand differently, specifically through implicit measurement. Blauw researched the brand image and brand strength in combination with competitive positioning in the Netherlands, Flanders, Wallonia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom among (potential) visitors. An international study clearly shows the differences between the regions and provides insights to further strengthen the brand and opportunities to achieve brand growth.
The Vision
International Brand Research
Efteling wanted to map out its brand image and brand strength by conducting research in a different way: implicit measurement. With this research, Efteling aimed to gain tools for brand growth and insights into the various brand KPIs.
The Solution
Phase 1: Exploratory Phase
We started with an online community study in the Netherlands, Wallonia, Flanders, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, where we engaged in (online) discussions with (potential) visitors about the leisure category.
The community consisted of diverse Efteling target groups. People with young children, as well as young people and grandparents, participated in the community. This ensured that we could guarantee the representativeness of Efteling’s target groups.
By engaging with (potential) visitors, we discovered at which ‘moments’ visitors thought about leisure activities, theme parks, and Efteling. We also discovered what visitors considered to be the most important perceptual signals of Efteling and its competitors.
Additionally, we found out which words and images spontaneously came to mind for visitors when they thought of Efteling. This allowed us to map Efteling’s brand elements (Distinctive Brand Assets), associations with the theme park, and moments (Category Entry Points) when the park was considered.
Phase 2: Quantitative Validation
Based on the community research, Efteling had an overview of all important moments, brand elements, and associations. Subsequently, it was time to validate these insights among a broader audience in the Netherlands, Flanders, Wallonia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
Brand Power Building Blocks
In this quantitative phase, Blauw researched the important building blocks from the Brand Power model that contribute to Efteling’s brand strength: salience, affinity, and performance. Want to know more about these building blocks? Read our blog about Brand Power research.
Online questionnaire with various modules based on the Brand Power model
The questionnaire was designed to test the three building blocks from the Brand Power model and to map Efteling’s most important KPIs. Various modules were used to provide insight into Efteling’s salience, affinity, and performance. With the collected results from phase 2, we were able to substantiate the strength of the Efteling brand with figures. We could also see Efteling’s brand position relative to the competition in the different countries.
“What truly made the collaboration excellent was that we felt understood as a client; they thought along with us from our perspective.”
Quantitative Researcher, Efteling
<span data-metadata=""><span data-buffer="">The Result
What did the research yield for Efteling?
At a glance, Efteling discovered how all six regions perceive the brand. Did the United Kingdom think differently about the theme park than Germany? What were the differences between Flanders and Wallonia regarding the park’s awareness? Because we researched the same KPIs across all diverse regions, it gave Efteling a good overview of all – whether similar or different – results. During a workshop (concretisation session), we were able to formulate a number of concrete action points together with Efteling, enabling the park to make more targeted strategic choices per region.
In practice.
Want to know more?
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