BRANDING

BRANDING a DESTINATION
DEFINITION
Branding is the business process involved in creating a unique name
and image for a product in the customer’s mind.

It is often described as “changing the wrapping of a product”.

 BRANDING a DESTINATION
CHALLENGES
1) A destination is made up of a range of products and services
offered by a large number of different travel and tourism
organizations.
2) These might already have their own distinct brand image, but they
all have to be unified or used under the general destination brand.
3) Many destinations are quite similar, hence the difficulty of building
a UNIQUE brand with a specific position.
 BRANDING a DESTINATION
WHY?

In general, branding enhances the competitiveness in the marketplace.

However, branding works to overcome the issue of intangibility, as

branding establishes a tangible product in a “tangible” space in
people’s minds.
 BRANDING a DESTINATION
WHY?
1) Changing the perception of unfavorable stereotypes

Certain destinations have evolved over time and established

well-known reputations, which can affect a destination’s ability to
attract a broader target market.
Re-branding the destination can help overcome any negative
stereotypes, increasing the appeal to a different or wider range of
target markets.
 BRANDING a DESTINATION
WHY?
2) Create a common visions for the future of the community and establish
it as a tourist destination

It is important for the whole host population to understand and accept the
brand. Local people, as well as travel and tourism providers and
representatives, must identity with the brand identity and understand the
likely costs, benefits and drawbacks associated with the development of a
destination brand.
Host populations play an important role in conveying and upholding the
brand message; constant communication helps them play their role.
 BRANDING a DESTINATION
WHY?
3) Provide consistent representation of the destination

Consistency in representation is important, as there are many providers. It would be

confusing for visitors and potential visitors if the travel and tourism providers
communicated lots of different brand messages.

-Consistency is key for a destination wanting to attract repeat customers

-Consistency is key to new visitors, when they use the brand communicated
messages to make the decision to visit.
- Consistency is key to new visitors, as they form expectations based on the
marketing materials, which have to reflect the state of things (otherwise
disappointment will be the ultimate effect).
 BRANDING a DESTINATION
WHY?
4) Enhance local, regional, national and/or global awareness

In an intensely competitive market, raising awareness of the destination among as many people as
possible is key. The destination has to consider as many different target audiences as possible and
establish name and reputation across all of these markets.

These target markets have to be carefully selected:

-considering the development stage of the destination
-the marketing budget
-timing
-existing awareness
-the scale of the marketing campaigns
 BRANDING a DESTINATION
WHY?
5) Make the destination more appealing

This ties with all the other reasons for branding a destination.
Ultimately, branding is the process of trying to change people’s
(customers, local people, T&T providers, etc) perception of a
destination. A new brand identity has ultimately the objective of
making it seem more appealing.
 ESTABLISHING IDENTITY
CHALLENGES

2) Many destinations are quite similar, hence the difficulty of building a

UNIQUE brand with a specific position.

For this reason, establishing a specific identity is fundamental to this process.

To establish an identity some considerations have to be made:
-what do we want the destination to be known for?
-how can we make it appear unique to compete in the market?
-what images people already associate with the destination’s name?
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-memorable
-attractive
-matched to destination attributes
-consistent with destination’s positioning
-easily understood by customers
-integrated into promotional activities at a local, national, and global level
-Sustained over a significant period of time
-reflective of customer’s actual experiences
-targets both existing and prospective visitors
-accepted by stakeholders
-credible
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-memorable: the brand sticks in the mind and is easy to recall. Memorability is created through
uniqueness, quirkiness, or something significant in the brand so that it stands out among all
others.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-attractive: the logo, slogan and associated brand identity must be visually appealing and evoke
positive feelings. Attractiveness in a logo relates to the font used, to the words, the colours, the
images evoked, the adjectives used.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-matched to the destination attributes: the brand must reflect the experience offered. The
authorities should use the destination most noticeable features to create the brand to ensure
that even in customers minds, the brand is matched to the attributes.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-easily understood by customers: limit creativity if it gets in the way of understanding

 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-integrated into promotional activities at a local, national, and global level: a brand must be used
in ALL communications about the destination. To endure the consistent integration of the
destination brand at all levels, tourism authorities at the national level might want to issue
standard brand guideline about the use of logos, colors, etc.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-Sustained over a significant period of time: a brand takes time to establish itself, especially on
the global level. Prolonged exposure ensures success.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-reflective of customers’ actual experiences: a brand needs to be matched with a destination’s

positioning, with the destination attributes, but also with the actual experiences of visitors. It is
essential for a destination reputation that there is no gap between the destination promise and
reality.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-targeted at both existing and prospective visitors CHALLENGING!

To entice existing and prospective visitors with one brand is a challenge.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-accepted by stakeholders:
STAKEHOLDER: a person, group or organization that has interest or concern in a business, or (in
this case) in a destination.
The great variety of stakeholders (providers) makes this difficult. The brand identity chosen must
communicate a message that rings positively with a broad range of subjects active in the
destination. Creating a brand acceptable to all these might prove complicated.
 AN EFFECTIVE BRAND
What makes a destination brand successful?

-credible: in order for a tourism brand to be credible, it needs to be realistic, based on what the
destination is known for, related to what customers have already experienced in the past or could
experience n the future, it needs a consistent message accepted by everyone.
 BRAND IDENTITY
• There are a number of tools (components) used to design or establish a brand identity. These are used by the
organization to reflect the value that it is trying to bring to the market and to appeal to its customers.
• Do not overuse key words, as they lose their effectiveness.
• Best to avoid cliches “have it all” “best-kept secret” “hidden gem”

• Brand name
• Slogan/tagline
• Logo
• USP
• Price
• Colour
• Distinctive package
• Corporate identity
 BRAND IDENTITY
SLOGAN/TAGLINES:
TAGLINES have to reflect the spirit of the destination, or its promise to
customers. It has to sum up the essence of the destination, may include
puns, a short description or invination.
• SHORT: no more than 5 words
• Integrated in the logo

“There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s
MasterCard.”
“Just do it.”
 BRAND IDENTITY
SLOGAN/TAGLINES:

SLOGANS are part of an advertising campaign and can therefore have a

shorter lifespan than a tagline.
Simple and catchy
If used for a long time it can become a tagline.
 BRAND IDENTITY
LOGO

-visual representation
-instant brand association with no language barriers
-not enough to be catchy or communicate meaning
-alone does not create identity
-simplicity and user-friendly on many devices
-represents major themes
 BRAND IDENTITY
USP

Many destinations attempt to create a USP as part of their brand

identity.
Effectively communicate the mix of aspects, not just communicating
one set of characteristics.
 BRAND IDENTITY
COLOUR

Colours communicate:
-ties with the flag of the country
-emotions
-attractions (natural/man-made)
 BRAND IDENTITY
PRICE in association with image

There is a clear link between the image of a destination and the prices
it charges, as it contributes to a destination’s overall brand identity.
 BRAND IDENTITY
DISTINCTIVE PACKAGING

In the T&T industry it does not involve physical packaging but is the
process of putting together core tourist products and additional
services.
When a destination brands itself, it often offers a complete package via
inbound tour operators but dynamic packaging through the brand
website. This allows the tourist to combine several travel components
in real time and purchase from different sources (dynamic sourcing).
 BRAND IDENTITY
CORPORATE IDENTITY

Some destinations, especially resort destination, benefit from the

ability to create corporate identity. Some resort destinations are
purpose built while others (island destinations) might be dominated by
one private tourism provider.