Strategic Marketing Plan for Brennia

This strategic marketing plan evaluates the external and internal market situation of Brennia, a 5-star resort in Maldives. It includes market analysis, competition analysis, SWOT analysis, and marketing strategies. The plan aims to design effective marketing strategies and a 7Ps strategy for the 'InNature' brand.

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Strategic Marketing Plan for Brennia

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Executive Summary
The strategic marketing plan is carried out for evaluating the external and internal market
situation of Brennia that operates as a 5 Star Resort based in Maldives. The external audit is
carried out to highlight on the macro and micro environmental situation of the resort company
with also evaluation of the competitors and the distribution and marketing methods that are being
undertaken by Brennia in the tourism market. Further, the internal audit is also carried out in the
report focusing on the brand and product/service positioning of Brennia with also the
introduction of the change to be divulged in the product platform. Further analysis is also carried
out regarding the stakeholders’ position to the brand and to the present nature of
product/services. The internal audit also focuses on carrying out a SWOT analysis with
identification of Key Success Factors and other critical issues that need to be administered. The
purpose of the plan is to thereby focus with designing effective marketing strategies and
designing 7Ps strategy for designing of the ‘InNature’ brand.
Maldives as a nation offers potential challenges owing to political unrest for the carrying out of
tourism activities and also owing to the entry of foreign hospitality firms in the region. Potential
opportunities are identified in terms of growth of international tourists and also the use of
technology for marketing and promoting of tourism plans and activities.
Effective recommendations are focused in terms of designing both online and offline surveys for
understanding consumer viewpoints and also designing of 360 degree performance appraisals.
Further, the design of loyalty schemes with also the implementation of the CCTV circuits inside
the resort and the nature theme park are also needed to be taken into account by Brennia’s
management.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................6
Overview of Brennia....................................................................................................................6
Mission Statement.......................................................................................................................6
Corporate Objectives...................................................................................................................6
Marketing Audit...............................................................................................................................7
External Audit..............................................................................................................................7
Market Analysis.......................................................................................................................7
Competition Analysis..............................................................................................................9
Marketing Practices Analysis................................................................................................12
Internal Audit.............................................................................................................................12
Current Offering....................................................................................................................12
Competitive Positioning........................................................................................................12
SWOT Analysis.....................................................................................................................13
Key Success Factors..............................................................................................................13
Critical Issues.........................................................................................................................14
Marketing Objectives.....................................................................................................................14
Marketing Strategies......................................................................................................................16
Segmentation Strategy...............................................................................................................16
Targeting Strategy.....................................................................................................................18

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Positioning Strategy...................................................................................................................21
Marketing Mix Proposal................................................................................................................22
Product.......................................................................................................................................22
Price...........................................................................................................................................23
Place...........................................................................................................................................23
Promotion..................................................................................................................................24
People........................................................................................................................................25
Process.......................................................................................................................................25
Physical Evidence......................................................................................................................26
Implementation and Control..........................................................................................................26
Key Milestone Plan....................................................................................................................26
Indicative Budget.......................................................................................................................28
Measurement and Control..........................................................................................................29
Key Recommendations..................................................................................................................29
References......................................................................................................................................31
Appendices....................................................................................................................................35
Appendix 1: Brennia..................................................................................................................35
Appendix 2: The Nautilus..........................................................................................................36
Appendix 3: The Kandima.........................................................................................................37

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Introduction
Overview of Brennia
Brennia is designed as a 5 Star Resort designed by a Maldives based entrepreneur. The resort is
designed to actively compete with other global resort firms that are intending to expand over to
the Maldives region. Brennia focuses on gaining consumers from different international regions
like China, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy. The resort management aims in
attracting customers based on the presentation of diverse offerings and thereby to compete with
regional and foreign resort firms (Brennia, 2019). The image of Brennia Resort is reflected in
Appendix 1.
Mission Statement
Brennia Maldives focuses on becoming the most demanded resort in Maldives amongst other
hotels and resorts and also aims to be recommended by tourists for its unique and personalised
services and packages. Further, the management of Brennia also focuses on both creating and
enhancing the value for its different stakeholders like owners, staffs and investors. The
management also aims in generating and sustaining an environment of trust and loyalty inside
the organisation and in encouraging a sense of team work and empathy (Brennia, 2019).
Corporate Objectives
-To focus on enhancing the productivity of the resort staffs and making them responsive in
nature in that the same helps in enhancing the level of customer satisfaction.

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-To focus on the generation of increased awareness about the resort brand and the facilities and
services rendered to target customers both along national and international sphere.
-To focus on driving business profits and revenue margins and augmenting the level of market
share in the hospitality market of Maldives.
-To focus on generating services and packages in a differentiated and customised fashion and in
promoting growth based on responding to market opportunities both along the regional and
international sector.
Marketing Audit
External Audit
Market Analysis
Market Size and Growth and Profitability
Tourism market in Maldives recorded a growth by around 9 percent during 2017 to reach a value
of $2.7 billion. During 2016, tourism contributed to around 22.7 percent to the GDP of Maldives
(Maldives Insider , 2018).
Geographic Market Concentration
Maldives is comprised of 1190 coral islands grouped under 19 atolls that comprise a total area of
90,000 square kilometres (Maldives Tourism, 2018).

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PESTEL Analysis
Political Factors
The imposition of emergency by Abdulla Yemen, the President of Maldives in terms of refusing
the order given by Supreme Court regarding freeing of opposition leaders has created political
unrest in Maldives. The event potentially affected the tourism industry in the region leading to
around 40 percent cancellations of hotel rooms on an average daily basis (Financial Tribune ,
2018).
Economic Factors
Maldives reflects a robust economic position in terms of a per-capita based GDP of around
$11,151 during 2017. The sectors like fishing, construction, transport and communications and
also tourism contributed in enhancing the growth of real GDP by around 6.3 percent during a
five year term. During the initial quarters of the 2018 period the economic growth was recorded
to be around 9.1 percent in which tourism contributed around 2.2 percentage points (The World
Bank , 2019).
Social Factors
The Maldivians are known in the international landscape as hospitable people that entertain the
flow of guests and tourists in their country. The total population of Maldives recorded as on 2017
amounts to around 341,256 out of which 60,000 people are identified as foreigners. The
Maldivian people are observed to share the same type of cultural, historical and religious lineage
that accounts for growth of harmony and unity amongst them (Maldives , 2017).

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Technological Factors
The management of the hotels and the resorts based in Maldives increasingly focus on the use of
social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram amongst others in promoting
their offerings to a wider audience in the international market (Jalaluddin et al., 2017). The social
media activities are carried out with a focus on generating customer engagement through the
generation of a maximum of four posts involving the right quality and quantity of contents in a
timely and informative fashion. Further, along with the production of videos along platforms like
YouTube and Facebook the hotel and resort management also focus on the use of Artificial
Intelligence in the form of Chatbots to drive customer engagement (Semeraro, 2018).
Environmental Factors
The government of Maldives is focusing on the growth of ecotourism in the region through the
promotion of eco-friendly hotels and resorts. The eco-friendly tourist accommodations are built
in such fashion that they are self sustained regarding generation of electricity and water and
thereby attract large number of regional and international tourists (Domroes, 1985). Money
obtained from tourist reservations in these hotels are used for the sustenance and development of
wildlife and other natural habitats in the region. A plethora of adventure games like scuba diving,
swimming, fishing and also surfing are organised in the region for attracting tourists to
sustainable tourism avenues (Maafushi Maldives, 2019).
Legal Factors
In a recent move, the former President of Maldives, Abdulla Yemen Abdul Gayoom was arrested
by the police along with two other cabinet ministers for money laundering issues of about $1
million that was to be employed for the development of public islands in the region (Steinmetz,
2019).

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Competition Analysis
Major Competitors
The major competitors of Brennia in Maldives are Nautilus Maldives and Kandima. The resorts,
Nautilus and Kandima are reflected in Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 respectively.
Key Strategic Groups
The key strategic groups in the hospitality industry in Maldives essentially encompass the hotels
and resort companies along with the tour and travel operators. The key strategies of the
constituent partners relate to the production of 360 degree, virtual and also 3D videos that would
help the target audience gain an actual feel of the attractions and other services provided by the
hotels and resorts. The members of the strategic group also focus on the development of apps for
Smartphones that would enable booking and reservations to be carried out in a convenient
fashion. Influential marketing in the form of content creation reflecting the culture and history of
Maldives and other tourist attractions along with involvement of celebrities and storytelling
activities are also focused on being undertaken for attracting tourists (Manik, 2018).
Porter’s Five Forces
Buyer Power
The consumer power in the tourism industry of Maldives is considerably great owing to the
employment of websites and other social networking platforms for promoting the tourism
services and in rendering needed awareness regarding the tourism services rendered by the hotels
and resorts to the larger audiences. Consumers focus on using the websites for viewing, sorting,
selecting and also comparing between the different types of available services and the pricing

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options before deciding on booking of reservations regarding hotel rooms and other added
services.
Supplier Power
The travel agents and operators tend to command a principal position regarding supplying of
potential tourists to Maldives. The hotels and resorts operating in Maldives are thereby required
to get associated with international travel agents operating in the region such that the same would
help them gain an effective flow of tourists around the year (Maldives.com, 2019).
Threat of Substitutes
Mabul located near Borneo acts as a potential substitute to Maldives in that it serves as a cost
effective option for tourists compared to that of the Maldives based resorts. It was estimated that
a stay in one of the luxury resorts in Mabul tends to cost at around $300 inclusive of meals
compared to a starting price of around $500 in the overwater hotels and resorts based in
Maldives. The tourists are encouraged to enjoy attractions like starfish gazing and deepwater
diving in Mabul (Kocharekar, 2017).
Threat of New Entrants
The tourism potential of the Maldives region faces threats owing to the government’s intention
of selling around 19 coral islands to a Saudi tourism developing group for around $10 billion.
The move taken by the government is protested by the opposition party reflecting the same as
that which encourages the growth of colonialism in the region (Cooke, 2017).
Competitive Rivalry
The level of competitive rivalry in the tourism sector of Maldives is quite high owing to the
growth of large numbers of hotels and resorts and also owing to the entry of large scale

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international luxury hotel brands in the region. Promotion of Maldives based on the use of social
media has accounted for populating around 200 islands of total 1200 by 2017 (Lawson, 2018).
Porter’s Sixth Force
The sixth force that influences the competitive advantage of a firm and the related industry
concerns the availability of complementors. The complementors are identified to be firms that
sell such products and services that contribute in enhancing the value of the customer offerings
made by the principal organisation or industry. The complementors to hotels and resorts in
Maldives contribute in supplying materials like pillow and linen, stationary items, glasses,
candles and other electronic gadgets for servicing the needs of customers. Other complementors
service consumer needs based on supplying alcohol and beverage products and other raw food
supplies (Vellas, 2016).
Marketing Practices Analysis
Main Distribution Methods
Brennia in Maldives focuses on integrating its website and other online travel agents or OTAs
for carrying out bookings and reservations of its accommodations and attractions (Brennia,
2019).
Commonly used Marketing Methods
Digital marketing tools like the development of an attractive website and also a social
networking medium, Facebook are employed by Brennia for interacting and communicating with
the target customers about its diverse offerings.

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Internal Audit
Current Offering
Brennia offers a range of diverse accommodation, dining and bar facilities, spa, art museums,
sport centres, deep sea diving, fashion and music for attracting potential tourists (Brennia, 2019).
Competitive Positioning
The offerings rendered by Brennia to its customers ideally match with that of its closest
competitor, Nautilus. Kandima however offers further attractions like studio shaped villas and
spaces for celebrating weddings and carrying out meetings and conferences.
Brennia acknowledged as a five star resort that focuses on servicing the touring needs of its
customers at affordable prices.
The customers are looking forward for the opening of the 5-Star Resort, Brennia.
SWOT Analysis
Strength
-Brennia is positioned as a five-star resort
-It has the potential of offering plethora of
accommodation, dining and recreation facilities.
-It has cultivated a social networking presence and
has an attractive website
-Generation of personalised services and
differentiated product/service packages
Weakness
-Brennia lacks space for hosting of seminars,
conferences and weddings.
-Lack of waste management initiatives
-Absence of nightlife shopping
-Existence of instable government
-Rise in costs of energy and food products

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-Participative work culture with presence of expert
and trained staffs.
Opportunity
-Growth of international tourists in Maldives
-Focus of government on enhancing the tourism
potential
-Growth of use of internet, social networking and
digital applications
-Growth of airline carrier networks
Threat
-Growth of international resort brands in Maldives
-Changes in political and socio-economic situation
-Emergence of terrorism
-Natural erosion of sea beaches
-Rise in costs of energy and other infrastructural
resources
Key Success Factors
-Direct Marketing activities are carried out through use of website and Facebook for marketing
and promoting attractions and offerings to customers. Apart from reflecting the culture and
heritage of Maldives the website reflects on the customised nature of offerings in terms of design
for attracting consumer mindset.
-The marketing communications is enabled based on the use of website and social media for
reaching customers that are interested in rejuvenating them by visiting to placid and serene
regions. Further, the marketing communications also reflect on the added offerings in terms of
providing them attractions like adventures and other social events (Duggal, 2018).
-Differentiated pricing tactics are used where pricing of the accommodation facilities are made
based on the quality demanded and seasonal parameters.

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Critical Issues
-Erosion of the beaches owing to rise in sea levels due to global warming
-Waste disposal issues arising out of mass tourist visits and thereby in growth of greenhouse
gases from burning of wastes
-Underpayment of staffs compared to industry averages and rise of political tensions and impact
on tourists (Pile, 2016).
Marketing Objectives
Specific
-To focus on the
development of
public relation and
social media
campaigns
-To focus on the
development of
365 and virtual
reality videos for
helping customers
gain a feel of the
venue and
amenities
-To carry out
Measurable
-To be measured
in terms of
customer
engagement
-To be measured
based on number
of subscriptions
-To be measured
Attainable
-Social media
campaigns can be
focused to be
carried out through
Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram and
the like while
public relation
campaigns can be
carried out by
arranging contests
and seminars
-The videos can be
produced and
Realistic
-Public relation
campaigns can be
generated based on
collaboration with
event management
firms. Social
networking
campaigns are to
be designed
through using of
social media
platforms.
-The videos are
needed to be
Time-Bound
-6 months
-4 months
-1 year

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advertising and
promotion based
on the use of
broadcasting, print
and outdoor media
in an extensive
fashion
-To focus on the
hosting of cultural
and other music
events highlighting
the national ethos
of Maldives.
based on growth of
tourist visits to the
resort.
-Success of the
venture is to be
measured based on
the amount of
tourist visits and
revenue
enhancement.
made viral through
the use of
Facebook and
YouTube for
gaining wider
viewership
-Advertisements of
different slots need
to be prepared for
television and
radio while half
and full page
advertisements are
required to be
developed for
magazines and
newspapers.
-The same is
attainable based on
collaborating with
event partners for
hosting of the
cultural events
inside the resort
premises.
prepared using
effective software
and distributed
through use of
YouTube.
-Collaboration
with broadcasting,
outdoor and print
media need to be
carried out for
advertising.
-Tourists feel
interested in being
part of cultural and
social events
reflecting the
national culture
and heritage of a
-Seasonal in nature

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region.
Marketing Strategies
Segmentation Strategy
The management of Brennia Resort based in Maldives essentially focuses on the employment of
the following segmentation strategy. Six different classifications are entailed for dividing the
different types of hotel and resorts competing with it along Maldives. The six different segments
are highlighted as upscale luxury, full service, boutique or lifestyle, select service, economy and
finally the extended stay category. Herein, the management classifies Kandima as a full service
hotel in that it offers a range of upscale facilities for the customers associated with the
availability of swimming pools, recreational units, spas, health clubs, conference rooms, children
corners and other like facilities for carrying out of adventure and sporting activities (Chan &
Yean, 2016). Upscale luxury hotels are identified as fully luxury hotels that fall in the premium
segment and focus on offering personalised services to the customers. Boutique hotels on the
other hand are identified to encompass around 100 rooms at the highest and focus on operating
as that of full service or like upscale luxury hotels. Select Service hotels are also identified as
Focused Hotels in that they essentially focus on a niche or selected consumer category or
demography and thereby focus on making avail selected on-site facilities for entertaining the
selected consumer groups. Economy hotels are classified to be hotel categories that essentially
focus on meeting the needs of economy consumer or tourist categories and thereby belong to the
non-frills category. Finally, Brennia is identified to fall in the Extended Stay category in that it

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acts as the same as the Full Service category hotels with however a differentiated price mix. The
pricing rates for Brennia are differentiated based on seasonal patterns and property of choices
like Beach and Seasonal Bungalows (Enz, 2010).
The segmentation of the hotels however needs to be based on the classification or segmentation
made by Smith Travel Research or STR in that the same serves as an effective indicator for
highlighting the status of different brands and in drawing comparison between them. The
classifications based on chain-scale of the different hotels are mainly highlighted as luxury,
upper upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale and finally the economy category. The Luxury
hotels are identified as such that offers a range of different amenities like that of spa, swimming
pools, recreational centres, conference facilities, restaurants and the like. The Average Daily
Rate (ADR) for the luxury hotels is evaluated to be greater than $210. The Upper Upscale
category hotels potentially matches with that of the Luxury Hotel category in terms of amenities
and facilities rendered. However, in terms of ADR, the same varies here from $145 to $210. For
the Upscale category hotels the ADR is estimated to range from $110 to $145 while the other
parameters remain the same (HotelAnalyst, 2018). Upper Midscale category hotels are reflected
to encompass limited amount of recreational facilities and also has limited amount of
transportation facilities. The ADR for this category hotel ranges from $90 to $110. For the
Midscale category that bears the like features like the Upper Midscale the ADR ranges from $65
to $90. Finally, the Economy category of hotels are identified where the ADR is normally
estimated to stay below $65 in that it offers to its customers highly basic amenities and also
selected meals. For Brennia, in that the ADR is estimated to range from $336 to $499 the same is
classified to fall under the Luxury Hotel segment. Brennia offers to its customers a host of
different facilities and recreations associated to accommodation, dining, spas, swimming pools,

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museums, facilities for adventure and sporting activities and the like. However, like its
competitor, Kandima the resort fails to attract corporate or business tourists in that it does not
provide facilities for carrying out business meets and conferences (HotelAnalyst, 2018).
Targeting Strategy
Four different types of targeting strategies are employed by the hospitality and resort companies
around the world. The undifferentiated marketing strategy is incorporated in cases where
differentiation does not exist regarding characteristics of consumers. In such cases the product or
service company need not focus on the development of different types of marketing mixes in a
customised fashion. Thus, in the absence of potential marketing segmentation the company
would thus focus on the development of an effective marketing mix that stands true for different
cases. The resort management also focus on the employment of the other three target market
strategies like differentiated marketing, concentrated marketing and finally customised marketing
based strategies (Pride & Ferrell, 2015). In the existence of potential market segments the
product or service companies essentially focus on the strategising of different types of marketing
mixes that would stand true or effective for individual consumer or product/service segments.
Thus, the marketing mix prepared for resorts like Brennia falling in the Luxury Hotel segment
would not match with the marketing mix of hotels belonging to the Upper Midscale category.
Again, focus or concentrated target market based strategy turns suitable to be employed in cases
where the focus is made on a specific consumer or business segment. Herein, also the focus
being made on the Luxury Hotel segment encompassing resorts like Brennia the use of focused
or also concentrated target market based strategy earns needed suitability. Finally, the
management of Brennia can also focus on the use of the customised target market strategy in that

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the same denotes the development of marketing mix in a customised fashion for the tourists
visiting the luxury hotels and resorts (Pride & Ferrell, 2015).
As a Digital Marketing Manager of Brennia I potentially observe that the target market for the
resort company essentially encompasses tourists like newlyweds and other couples, families,
scuba divers, people interested in water sports and adventure enthusiasts, tourists interested in
body-mind wellness programs and other tourists interested in learning about the social and
cultural features concerning Maldives. The honeymoon couples visiting Maldives render
increased significance to the aspect of privacy while those concerned with water sports and
adventure activities focus on the thrilling aspect in Maldives tour. Again, the tourists interested
in spas and wellness programs are essentially featured in wanting rejuvenation in their lives
while those visiting with families focus on the fun aspects of lives. The main customers
identified are the tourists interested in deep-water and other adventure sports, newlyweds, those
interested in rejuvenation programs and the family groups (Haris, 2019).
The buyer-decision making process of the tourists visiting the Maldives region to stay in hotels
and resorts is reflected in the following model.

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(Nuraeni et al., 2015)
The above model reflects that the demographic factors like the age and income of the tourists
with the psychographic factors like personal value sets and lifestyle in combination with the
accessibility to channels like websites and social media platforms and pricing standards all
influence the decision of the consumer regarding conducting of tours. Further, the level of
awareness gained about the tourism destination with also the preference and choice patterns all
govern the purchasing behaviour of the tourists. The tourists also focus on gaining information

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from people that have prior visited the concerned destination and thereby takes decisions based
on the experiences gained through word-of-mouth (Nuraeni et al., 2015).
Positioning Strategy
Brennia in Maldives is positioned as a Five Star Resort that focuses on meeting the needs of
upscale customers or tourists visiting the region for taking part in adventure and underwater
sports, honeymoon tours and also for rejuvenation needs. The resort is highlighted to belong to
the Luxury Hotel segment. The resort encompasses a host of different amenities and facilities
like swimming pools, museums, spas and other sporting and adventure centres for accomplishing
consumer needs. The positioning matrix for Brennia is reflected as follows.
High
Brennia
Low High
Quality Level Services/Facilities
Low
Price/Rate
The positioning of Brennia as a resort company essentially focusing on the needs of the leisure,
health and holiday traveller needs to undergo a change in that the same is required to attract

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tourists to actively participate in eco-tourism events and programs. The development of
ecological parks can be carried out coupled with nature museums and deep water diving
activities such that the same would help in attracting large number of tourists and researchers
interested in nature.
Ethical Awareness regarding development of Ecotourism
The development of ecotourism facilities in Brennia branded as ‘InNature’ in the form of eco-
parks or natural parks and sanctuaries is taken to encourage the growth of sustainability based on
creating and enhancing the level of social awareness amongst the local masses for protecting
nature and the society at large. Apart from the development of natural parks, Brennia can also
focus on hosting seminars, conferences and workshops regarding minimisation of impacts of
tourism on nature and the like. Thus, the growth of eco-tourism activities on an extensive scale is
ideally taken to meet the CSR objectives of Brennia regarding protecting of the natural habitat in
Maldives (Bickford et al., 2017).
Marketing Mix Proposal
Product
The ‘InNature’ brand of Brennia is taken to encompass different types of ecotourism activities
associated to bird watching, astro-tourism, hiking, trekking, camping, underwater photography,
deepwater diving, nature photography, fishing and roaming inside natural parks and sanctuaries.
The incorporation of the above product mix would potentially encourage the visits of
researchers, scouts and other people interested in studying and being with flora and fauna in their
natural habitats. The development of nature tourism by Brennia would also contribute in

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enhancing the level of responsiveness and accountability of the tourists and the local masses in
protecting the natural resources and flora and fauna from getting depleted and affected (Texas
Government , 2019).
Price
Different types of packages need to be designed ranging from $700 to $1300 for addressing the
demands of the customers associated to nature tourism. The packages for InNature would tend to
constitute a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities concerning visiting of nature museums,
butterfly gardens and other exhibitions on the indoor front while venturing into deepwater for
seeing coral reefs, bird watching, astro-watching, trekking and the like on the outdoor front. The
customisation of the product packages associated with the given price brackets would help in
attracting the right category of customers and in satiating their needs in an affordable fashion
(Mose, 2016).
Place
Regarding place mix, Brennia needs to focus on marketing and enhancing consumer awareness
about InNature through the use of its website and social networking platforms like Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram. It needs to encourage customers to book indoor and outdoor nature
attractions based on the use of their website and also based on the support extended by Online
Travel Agents or OTAs. The greater the level of accessibility regarding availing opportunities in
booking of natural attractions in ecotourism sites the greater would be the probability or chances
of tourist visits to such venues hosting natural attractions (Oriade & Robinson, 2017).

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Promotion
Different types of promotional tools like broadcasting media, social networking platforms,
digital applications like apps meant for Smartphones and Tablets, outdoor and also print media
can be effectively integrated in the form of integrated marketing communication for bringing
about needed awareness about the ‘InNature’ brand and thereby in attracting potential tourists to
the destination. Regarding broadcasting media advertisements of effective slots need to be
prepared for the television and radio mediums that would essentially highlight the different
features and attractions concerning the ‘InNature’ brand. Likewise, different types of social
media contents are required to be developed focusing on the nature of target audiences associated
to the different types of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest
amongst others (Gursoy, 2017). The contents need to be prepared based on an amalgamation of
different types of contents like posts, videos, pictures either singly or in a combination reflecting
the features and attractions of ‘InNature’. 360 degree and also live videos can be made and
posted along Facebook and YouTube to give tourists a feel of the ecotourism activities provided
by Brennia in Maldives. Similarly, bird photography and wildlife photography contests can also
be organised for attracting large number of tourists to the region. Further, full and half page
advertisements need to be prepared for nature and wildlife along with tour magazines and
newspapers which would help in attracting potential customers to the natural parks and eco
attractions. Celebrity promotions along with development of blogs can also be focused for
promoting ‘InNature’ to potential tourists spread around the globe. Likewise, the use of outdoor
media activities along with public relation campaigns can also be constituted by Brennia for

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generating needed awareness about the nature or ecotourism activity carried out by it (Gursoy,
2017).
People
Different types of training modules need to be prepared for training both the internal staffs and
the customers associated with the significance and need for protecting the natural habitats and
biodiversity. The internal staffs need to be adequately trained to communicate with the masses
based on the use of electronic mailing and other digital platforms thereby introducing them with
the different attractions and amenities spread around ‘InNature’. Similarly, workshops and
seminars need to be designed where the staffs involved with ‘InNature’ can work in the
designing of presentations that would help in educating and spreading awareness amongst the
global masses about ecotourism practices at Brennia (Lumsdon, 2016).
Process
Brennia’s management can focus on the designing of ropeways and cable cars for helping the
tourists visiting the resort gain a physical tour of ‘InNature’. The carrying out of the physical
tour would help in generating increased acquaintance of the masses with the ecotourism activity
planned by Brennia. Mailers can be sent to the loyal customer groups visiting Brennia both
physically and also along the electronic mailing platforms thereby inviting them to the attractions
at a discounted rate. The above activity would help in attracting considerable amount of
audiences to ‘InNature’. An effective website can also be built for the ‘InNature’ attraction such
that which would help in generating greater exposure to the natural attraction. Testimonials
rendered by customers can also be put along the website and the social media platforms for

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generating greater trust and clarity amongst the masses regarding the natural attractions
(Lumsdon, 2016).
Physical Evidence
Production of virtual reality enabled videos with video conferencing facilities can be arranged by
the management of Brennia for helping potential customers gain an effective feel of the
‘InNature’ Natural Park and ecotourism facility. Further, Brennia can also focus on including
other amenities like jungle safari and lodging facilities inside ‘InNature’ such that the same
would help in generating considerable attachment and connection of the facility with the masses
(Lumsdon, 2016).
The Unique Selling Proposition or USP behind selling the ‘InNature’ concept is ‘Being One with
Nature’. The ‘InNature’ encourages tourists to earn an exquisite feeling of oneness with Nature
in its Totality.
Implementation and Control
Key Milestone Plan
The key milestone plan relates to the development of a Gantt Chart that would reflect the
timeline for carrying out the different activities associated with the Marketing Plan. The same is
rendered as follows.

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Activities Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Company
Analysis
External Audit
Market Analysis
Competition
Analysis
Internal Audit
Brand Positioning
SWOT Analysis
KSFs and Critical
Issues
Customer
Segmentation
Identification of
Target Markets
Product and
Brand Positioning
Designing of
Marketing Mix
Implementation
and Monitoring
The Gantt Chart reflects that the completion of the entire set of activities associated with the
marketing plan for designing ‘InNature’ in Brennia would take an years time to complete.

29
Indicative Budget
An indicative budget associated with the implementing of the ideas associated with the
development of the 7Ps for the generation of ‘InNature’ theme park in Brennia for promoting
ecotourism in Maldives is presented as follows.
Parameter
s Cost ($)
Designing
of the
Product
Mix
$8,00,00
0
Designing
of the Price
Mix $1000
Designing
of Place
Mix $5000
Designing
of
Promotion
Mix $10,000
Designing
of People
Mix $6,000
Designing
of Process
Mix $7,000
Designing
of Physical
Evidence
Mix $80,000
Total Cost
$8,00,00
0
The maximum cost is apportioned for designing of the product mix such that it focuses on the
designing of potential infrastructures associated with cable cars and other indoor and outdoor
natural attractions. Only approximate estimations are made for implementation of the different
parts of the 7Ps Marketing Mix proposal.

30
Measurement and Control
Measurement of the success of the marketing plan can be carried out based on estimating the
growth of the flow of tourists in Brennia and also the number of likes and subscriptions gained
based on the posts and videos respectively made viral along social networking platforms like
Facebook and YouTube. Further, the number of customer conversions associated with the degree
of conversion of the number of visitors to the website and the social media sites of Brennia
would also act as an effective measure.
Reviewing of the success needs to be carried out based on the carrying out of surveys of external
customers such that the same would reflect on the satisfaction levels of the customers and also
help the management in earning potential feedbacks. Again, a 360 degree performance appraisal
program needs to be put in place for understanding and evaluating the potential of the staffs
involved in customer servicing and hospitality operations. Right quality of feedbacks need to be
generated to the staffs for developing the quality of services and in closing the gaps between
service rendered and consumer expectations (Gursoy, 2017).
Key Recommendations
-Designing both online and offline survey programs for gaining of consumer feedbacks and
perceptions regarding the services rendered at ‘InNature’ Ecotourism Park. The cost would be of
a negligible amount of around $10-15 but the same would help in understanding of consumer
expectations and needs and thereby in customising the marketing programs for aptly meeting
them.
-Development of a loyalty scheme through the generation of Brennia Gold and Green Cards for
the loyal members or tourists that visit the resort and the ecotourism attraction. The loyalty

31
scheme would cost Brennia around $200 but it would help the resort firm in attracting tourists
based on sending of mailers and discount coupons at time of their anniversaries, birthdays or any
other special occasions. It would thus help in attracting and retaining customers.
-Installation of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) connection in and around the resort and the
ecotourism theme park such that the same would help in tracking of movements of tourists
around the resort and the theme park. It would help in enhancing the level of internal security
and thus would safeguard the tourists from unwanted events while also assist in protecting the
resort property and infrastructure from potential harm. The same would however cost around
$800.

32
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Brennia
(Brennia, 2019)

37
Appendix 2: The Nautilus
(The Nautilus, 2019)

38
Appendix 3: The Kandima
(Kandima Maldives , 2019)