Introduction

We have seen in previous chapters that whether it is long-haul holidays, business travel, short breaks or food and drink, there is a growing global social phenomenon where the common theme and demand is for all aspects of heritage. The heritage industry has not only grown to unprecedented levels, but has come to develop sectors (such as heritage tourism) and create demand that was not necessarily predicted. In this fascinating scenario we have another emerging trend, that of business organizations attempting to capture their corporate heritage and to use this for marketing, especially to create a point of differentiation for competitive purposes; this applies equally to small, medium and large (even multi-national ) organizations. In a world of increasing over-choice and globalisation, or Americanisation, consumers are seeking out brands (and companies) with genuine history and authenticity (Stewart-Allen, 2002).

This chapter is therefore about the relationships that customers are now seeking with organizations. One way for organizations to respond is by incorporating aspects of their heritage in different types of marketing communications as, at the very least, this usually has the effect of reassuring customers and therefore makes commercial sense. The deeper perspective is that by emphasizing certain values, the organization can build reputation and trust, which has the positive effect on consumers of an increased perceived quality of the firm and its products, brands or services and creates a goodwill bank that leads consumers to become more positively disposed towards it, creating an evoked mind-set that would take some...