Where is San Francisco? No New York? C’mon, leaving Las Vegas out—what were you thinking? We’ve heard from a lot of fans who can’t believe the committee would leave out a few of these iconic cities. And while we agree, they
are iconic, there is one simple explanation for why they didn’t make the cut: The Identity Index.
The Identity Index is a complex algorithm that measures destination resonation and association. It explores what makes a destination unique combined with Customer feedback; how do Customers frequently identify with a destination? Why are they visiting? In the case of the aforementioned cities, they performed neutral. The committee held them out because Identity Index declared them to be parallel and not distinctive in any specific category. They are super cities that excel in each category, and therefore cannot belong in a single one. Not to take away from the existing cities, of course, but this is about specialty destinations—not “the best overall city.”
The Identity Index is a component of the RRPI (Rapid Rewards Performance Index) was created by a group of ivy league anaylsts, and is currently going through the patent process.*
*disclaimer – this is all parody around a certain basketball tournament, but the destinations are real, and you can book now at
southwest.com.
