Why did you decide to merge with Bloom Consulting?
Philippe:
My almost three decades of professional commitment at the service of national and regional tourist offices from five continents has enabled me to fully realize the key role of tourism in building the other levers of territorial attractiveness in terms of investment, export, soft power etc.
In this context, the methodology and the various brand competitiveness indexes developed by Bloom Consulting have inspired me and helped to better serve Attract’s clients. I’ve therefore been very interested in the innovations and skills of Bloom Consulting. I also feel a great affinity with the team after the pleasure of working with them on joint projects in recent years. As a specialist in destinations, Attract shares with Bloom Consulting a common culture of high standards in strategy advice and creativity at the service of territorial attractiveness around the world. This merger therefore comes very naturally after years of common interests and shared projects.
Why was it important to open the Bloom Consulting office in Paris?
Jose:
Bloom Consulting is a global company operating in the four corners of the world. It’s important to us to have local offices in key continents and cities. This is a strategic move as it will provide access to specialized talent and allow us to enter the French market. This office will be a key part of our global operations and will support our core services, which include Nation and Place Branding, Place Analytics, Placemaking and now Tourism Development. We see that the French market needs our services.
We’ll be focusing on working with metropolitan and overseas regions, departments and cities of France, as we believe that they’ll be more successful if they start paying attention to and working on their brands more professionally. With this approach, we believe that the regions will be able to compete more effectively.
Philippe:
France is a country of immense diversity with an exceptional mosaic of iconic territories. As the world’s leading tourist destination, an exporting power and a privileged land for international investment, France is constantly challenged by fierce competition. French territories, both metropolitan and overseas, must therefore constantly question their identity, their elements of differentiation, their competitiveness, and this — with the most efficient analytical tools. It’s therefore important that these French territories can now benefit from the tools and methodology developed by Bloom Consulting.
French territorial marketing decision makers have always been very open to innovation in this area. The original methodology and cutting-edge tools developed by Bloom Consulting will come in handy to help them further improve their professional practice.
What services will the new office offer?
Jose:
Bloom Consulting Paris will offer the same services as any other Bloom Consulting office. The company is structured not to have unique offices or offers exclusive to specific offices, but rather a shared portfolio of services that each office may apply. However, offices can have specializations that can be used on a global scale.
Paris will specialize in Tourism Development, and we’ll use this to provide our clients around the globe with the best possible service and expertise in this field. The office will be fully integrated into the global Bloom Consulting network and will work closely with other offices to provide a seamless service to clients around the world.
Philippe:
Jose summed everything up nicely. But let me add that our Paris team will provide support in French for the territories and decision makers who prefer this language. More broadly speaking, the Parisian office aims to contribute to sharing Bloom Consulting’s expertise with French-speaking territories in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Canada and the Pacific.
How will the merger benefit Bloom Consulting clients in terms of the services and solutions offered?
Jose:
On the local level, as we enter the French market, local offices will benefit from all the global expertise, solutions, services and know-how that Bloom Consulting has on a global level. Our clients now have access to even more information and specialization in the field of Tourism Development.
The Paris office, led by Managing Partner and Global Director for Tourism Development, Philippe Mugnier-Été, will become a global hub for Tourism Development. Our clients around the world will benefit from this know-how as well.
We’ve already seen success in our projects around the world. This new direction will not affect our specialization in Place Branding as they are different verticals in the company’s structure. Some of our clients have specific needs, and we will continue to provide them with the best possible service expertise in all areas.
In addition to our specialization in Nation and Place Branding and Placemaking, we’ve recognized the need for expertise in implementing tourism strategies as a post-phase to Nation Brand projects, as well as other types of services such as Investment and Talent Attraction.
We believe that tackling the tourism industry was the first step and, in some cases, our clients will benefit from this specialization in conjunction with our other services. However, in other situations, countries or cities may require only Tourism Development strategies and, in those cases, they will benefit from our expertise in these areas. This allows us to provide tailored solutions to our clients around the world, whether they require a comprehensive approach or a specific specialization in Tourism Development.
Philippe:
I’d add that a Tourism Destination Brand is built and grown collectively thanks to a wide variety of partners from the private and institutional sectors. It’s important to clearly identify all the interactions that bind them so as not to forget any possible synergy, from the design and development of a destination project to its promotion on outbound markets. Also, the brand must be able to address and mobilize potential visitors of a very wide diversity, both geographically and culturally and in terms of lifestyles. The intimate knowledge of these different clienteles, of the outgoing markets and of all the players in the tourism sector can help increase the power of brands tenfold. Also, new and emerging destinations must also be able to draw inspiration from the fundamentals that explain the success stories of established destinations. Our expertise in the key success factors of Tourism Development will ensure that no lever is overlooked.
Finally, as soon as it’s defined, a brand policy must be deployed and translated through operational marketing actions on domestic and international markets. It’s therefore essential for destination marketing organizations (DMO) to structure themselves in the best possible way to obtain the highest return on investment from their marketing budgets.
Bloom Consulting now has the expertise to support them in setting up, managing and monitoring the performance of these strategies. Our support in Tourism Development begins at the dawning of a destination, continues with packaging services adapted to specific customers, and ends with the most operational aspects of deploying a Destination Brand strategy.
Philippe, can you tell us more about your specialization in Tourism Development?
Philippe:
Tourism has run in my veins since childhood. I come from a family of hoteliers and tourism policy makers from a ski resort in the French Alps. I grew up listening to the issues of finding customers, product innovation and international promotion. My career is thus explained by this very early anchoring in the reality of a destination and the taste for development and the understanding of its challenges.
After acquiring a Masters in Tourism Development, I’ve built my career these past three decades in supporting more than 50 destinations on five continents, as a head of international promotion and PR and then CEO of the leading European group specialized in destination marketing.
This position has allowed me to be at the heart of a wide variety of development issues for all types of destinations: local to national level, emerging and established, successful and in crisis, with modest or substantial means, from mainstream markets to high-end luxury, in the leisure and business segments etc.
Through these diverse experiences, I’ve developed a fine expertise in the different international markets and their clienteles, key players in the tourism sector, strategic and operational marketing techniques and finally DMO management.
Jose, how is it going to affect the current Bloom Consulting product/service portfolio?
Jose:
It’s important for our clients to understand that there’s a clear distinction between Nation and Place Branding, and Tourism Development. The addition of the new vertical of Tourism Development to Bloom Consulting will not affect our current services but will add value to them.
This new vertical will have a dedicated team focused 100% on this specialization, providing clients with the most comprehensive and up-to-date solutions in the field of Tourism Development. It will be an important asset to our company and to our clients as it will enable us to offer an even wider range of services. We’ll continue to offer Nation and Place Branding, Place Analytics and Placemaking services, which this new vertical will not effect. Tourism Development will complement our existing services and provide an additional layer of expertise to our clients.
What will be your first project working jointly?
Jose:
We’re currently working on a project in Saudi Arabia – Soudah development. This is a global project, and we are bringing Tourism Development into the mix.
Philippe, how do you feel about being involved in this project and being a part of this global team for the first time?
Philippe:
Excited, of course! Beginning our collaboration with a project of such importance and originality is a wonderful challenge. It allows us to deploy within our multicultural team the full extent of our skills and services, and it’s a great case study to show all the additional skills offered by Bloom Consulting in terms of Digital Analytics, Placemaking, Tourism Development, Branding, Academic training etc. Contributing to the emergence of a new destination is a great honor.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Jose:
It’s going to be fantastic. This year you’re going to hear more about this, and our Journal will be featuring updates and information about the Tourism Development aspects. Like I said before, it’s important for our clients to understand the clear distinction between Nation and Place Branding, and Tourism Development. While they may overlap in some cases, it’s important to understand that they can also be separate endeavours. Clients should understand the distinction as they may not be required to be thought of or assumed as two things together. This distinction is also crucial in the planning and execution of any project related to Tourism Development. Merci beaucoup, Phillipe, for joining the Bloom Consulting family!
Philippe:
I’m already amazed by the diversity of experiences, backgrounds and professional profiles of Bloom Consulting’s consultants. This mixture of approaches is very fruitful. It’s very exciting to be able to offer new analysis models and concepts to our clients. Bringing my contribution to the development of Bloom Consulting on new topics and regions of the world is exciting! A bientôt!
