7 Key Ingredients - Cooking Up Commissions Selling The Cook Islands
By Steve CrowhurstSelling islands. What a nice ring to it that has. Selling islands…south sea islands that is, with coves, beaches, palm trees and ancient cultures surrounded by turquoise-coloured water. They’re just lazing around out there waiting to be matched to a customer’s need for a taste of island life – and what better group to satisfy that tasteful need but the Cook Islands. Yum! I can see your slogan now: “South Sea Islands for Sale!” Wouldn’t that cause a stir among your real estate pals?
The Art of Woo
To attract those eyes and minds you’ll need to study the Art of Woo which in the context implied here means “to court solicitously” and “to invite with importunity”. You can woo your customers through the written word such as these found on the Cook Islands website. The heading is this: Cook Islands Connection to the Environment. The woo words are these: “The beat of our planet transmitted through the rhythm of wings, the arc of the waves, the gentle undulation of the land folded over her heart….”
Cooking With 7 Ingredients
The Cook Islands have a brand strategy in place that, in a nutshell, pretty much delivers everything you’ll want and need to use in your marketing plan. It is handed to you on a palm leaf, aka plate. No need to go sifting and sorting for more information it’s right here at www.cook-islands.com/trade/. Go there and you’ll access the complete details behind the strategy.
1. Romance: Wedding-based tours, packages and overall “get hitched” tourism is alive and well in the Cook Islands. How about we get a little creative and combine the beauty of these islands with the romance of a young couple about to share their lives together as they are married standing on the oldest island in the Pacific. Doesn’t that just send a thrill through your romantic side? I am sure the Cook Island Tourism team will help you put this together. At the very least you could arrange for the wedding photos to be taken on Mangaia. The Cook Islands is a haven for romantics young and old
2. My Family: Check your white pages. How many people listed under the surname Cook? Okay. You’re with me. Send an invitation right now and invite them to their island namesake. Tell them there’s a party cooking down there. I just checked the Cooks listed in little ole Nanaimo here on Vancouver Island. Sixty names listed.
3. Secluded Escape: Mentioned in the brand strategy was “Refined Pacific Authenticity” which is high brow for, “we’ve got the original right here!” In other words you can market the Cook Islands to those seeking a beach and a good book as an Authentic South Seas Island Experience.
4. Mystery & Legend: So much to choose from. What would you like to focus on? Try looking to the sea. For the last few years, sea-going adventures and television documentaries such as Sea Hunters hosted by Vancouver’s own James Delgado and books written by Canadian author, Anthony Dalton about Wayard Sailors such as Tristian Jones and ghost ships like the Baychimo have served up an appetite for more. Even if you focused purely on the 18th-century explorers you’d have enough mystery and legend for years to come. Mix that with well-researched stories about the islands and now you have a program to pull writers, photographers, researchers, divers and hikers.
5. Gentle Immersion: Let me quote directly from the website – “To be welcomed into a culture where gentleness and tradition are entwined into each day. Where laughter and simple pleasures are eagerly shared by all…” Well not too much work needed here! Gentle Immersion is your headline/banner/slogan – nice and large. The “To be welcomed…” sentence follows. Your sign off is “Call us now and escape to the real Pacific”.
6. Adventure: The adventure customer is the segmented group that has visited the Cook Islands the most. It’s the number one category. What’s the adventure waiting for your clients? Ocean going, hiking, trekking, island hopping, diving…it’s all here. Lets go with a slogan “Refined Pacific Adventures.”
7. Connect to the Environment: These islands are a green goldmine for your eco/geo groups. Let’s try geologists. Try universities and associations and any group where you access names of those associated with geology. One reason would be that island of Mangaia – remember? It’s the most southerly island and the second largest of the group and has the distinction of being the oldest island in the Pacific. Talk about “places to see before you die” – this must be a geologist’s dream.
