V.com's John Lovell & Christine James, with Stephen McGillivray, Travel Leaders Group
Kicking off with the 1st event of the year, Vacation.com held a press conference last week to announce the launch of their new brand in the Canadian market. “The old suitcase that you’ve probably seen for V.com for 10 years is retired,” joked Stephen McGillivray, Travel Leaders Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, as the new logo was unveiled.
So other than the outdated suitcase, what prompted the rebranding? According to John Lovell, President of Vacation.com, the company has changed since its inception 16 years ago.
“We’re much more than we were back in 1998. If you look at the evolution of Vacation.com, the benefits that we bring to our members has evolved. With that evolution came this realization that we needed to evolve with the way we were communicating,” he said. “We were very focused on presenting just our features – ‘this is what our competitors do, this is what we do.’ I think we’re an organization that evokes so much more than our value proposition.”
According to the Vacation.com team, “Belong. Inspire. Grow.” is more than just a tagline. It also reflects the company’s philosophy which puts the focus back on its members. “The prime constituency and the important piece of this puzzle called V.com is the members,” said McGillivray. “It’s about championing the members. It’s about member profitability – it’s really about putting the members first.”
As part of its rebranding, Vacation.com updated their trade website and launched Vacation.com Young Professionals (VYP), a program that assists members under the age of 40 with their professional and personal development. The inaugural VYP event will take place this summer during Vacation.com’s 16th International Conference & Tradeshow at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
