Title:
POSITIONING, DIFFERENTIATION, AND BRAND COMPONENT IN THE BRANDING SUCCESS OF TAKENGON MEDIATED BY COFFEE TOURIST DESTINATION

Authors:
Miga Rizqan, Muhammad Adam and Mukhlis Yunus

Abstract:
This study aims to examine the effect of Positioning, Differentiation, and Brand Component on the Branding Success of Takengon Mediated by Coffee Tourism Destination. This research was conducted on all tourists who have visited tourist destinations in Takengon City, Indonesia. The number of respondents was 250 tourists. The method used in analyzing the data was Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results reveal that positioning affects tourist destination, differentiation does not affect tourist destination, brand component affects tourist destination, positioning affects branding success, differentiation does not affect branding success, brand component affects branding success, tourist destination affects branding success, tourist destination mediates the positioning effect on branding success, tourist destination does not mediate the differentiation effect on branding success, and tourist destination mediates the brand component effect on branding success. The tourist destination is proven in the model as a partial mediator for the positioning and brand component effects on branding success. These findings prove that the model for increasing the branding success of Takegon is a function of strengthening positioning, completeness of brand components, and strengthening the brand as a coffee tourist destination