Route 66 – Creating a Memorable Experience

Once a Day Marketing™ featured video blog: Route 66 Brand Mystique

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing™. Today is Smart Monday and we are highlighting the brand mystique of Route 66 and the importance of creating memorable experiences.

Certain brands have mystique such as the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Paris, and Disneyland. Route 66, the historic highway that spanned from Chicago to Santa Monica, is another iconic brand in America.

We had the opportunity to chat with Kevin Mueller, owner of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, a restored Route 66 motel that enables its visitors to step back in time and relive the memories of “The Mother Road.”

Kevin Mueller Excerpt: Route 66 was established as a national roadway in November of 1926. Because it traversed across the Southwest, all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles, it was a major route for people to travel whether for vacation or relocations. It became legendary in Steinbeck’s book “The Grapes of Wrath” as the mother road.

It’s all the legend around it that enables the brand to live on. The fact that so much of it still exists even though it’s not a national highway anymore. So many bits of it have been preserved. People can step back in time and experience that vacation that they took with their parents in the family station wagon back in the ‘40s and ‘50s and still stay in some of the same places that they stayed at with their mom and dad. People want to share that with their families. People want to experience those bits of their youth, something different from the normal (hotel) chains that they are used to seeing around their homes. It’s a chance to relive a bit of history. It’s still here and they can live it on their own Route 66 adventure.

Route 66, despite its mystique, must still offer memorable experiences today. Many of the communities located on the historic highway are working hard to create new activities designed to entertain and enlighten travelers. The big question to ask yourself: “Is your brand creating mystique and providing a rewarding experience?” Something to think about.

Once a Day Marketing™ positions brands to become #1 in the minds of target customers. Visit our website at www.onceadaymarketing.com. Contact James Glover at (505) 501-1330 or email glover@onceadaymarketing.com. Listen to Ask Those Branding Guys™ every Monday at noon (MDT) streaming live on SantaFe.com KVSF 101.5 FM.

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Filed in: 7Ps of Marketing • Day of the Week • Product • Smart Monday