Comments

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  Paul Barnett February 3, 2010 at 3:21am

  Alan, I think Englan´d Vineyards will do well with domestic tourists as many are serious wine consumers and are increasingly staying at home, perhaps a short-term trend due to the recession, perhaps not. I think marketed as a short-break option it will work.
  
  Vikas, I think the possible negative impacts of destination branding done badly are many. Selling a false image can do long-term damage if visitors are dissapointed and spread the bad news, hungry to prove successful politicians are often interested in the number of tourists rather than the quality of them, and with this comes sex tourism, environmental problems etc. Bad destination branding also focuses only on external image, and is not used to focus positive policy making for sustainable development in tourism, and is often not explained or implemented well to all local stakeholders so they do not feel they have any ´ownership´ of what is being imposed on them. I think these cover some of the key problems, but for sure not all of them.
  
  On the other hand Destination Marketing done well can, I am sure, be a very positive catalyst for regional development in many places. The problem is it is rarely well done from what I can see. If not problems, for sure opportunities are not maximised as a result.
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  Vikas Tembhare February 2, 2010 at 9:13pm

  Paul.. I am completely agree with you.. I was following the discussion.
  
  I can see all the positive aspects of the Destination branding of any nation or destination.. I would be keen to know your views on the negative impact of the same (If any).
  
  I would appreciate your views on this....
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  Rafa Luque February 2, 2010 at 3:06pm

  Alan,
  Very interesting & challenging project about England's Vineyards. Check James Clarke's article about Charles Hamilton & Painshill Park (The World of Fine Wine, Issue 21 2008, pg. 80-85).
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  Paul Barnett January 31, 2010 at 4:14pm

  The attached document, Why Nation Branding Dissapoints, includes many clues to the reasons why tourism destination branding also frequently dissapoints. But are there other reasons? Why Nation Branding Dissapoints.docx

  https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9012222461?profile=original
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  Paul Barnett January 28, 2010 at 2:39pm

  Alan, The England´s Vineyards project sounds great. I am very interested to see how the project develops and what the issues are as it does, compared to trying to develop similar projects with the public sector driving it. I imagine you have a pretty good idea of the pros and cons already, but I guess also time will tell regarding results.
  
  Here in Brazil I am publishing guide books, but for them I am also developing the kind of tourism I want to promote by establishing branded tourist routes. The first ones will be privately funded. In future I hope to engage public sector support, but not financial dependency or control. Actually I am hoping that my case studies will lead to them outsourcing their miss-guided projects to me, as they are creating routes, but not as brands, and within boundaries that the brand stories extend beyond.
  
  Re-Wine Routes in Brazil, yes they are in the plans for future development, and I may well engage your help. First I must complete the projects I already started, focused on history and culture.
  
  My background is traditional brand strategy development, I ran a boutique agency in London. I see fundamental problems in the concept of country branding as it is currently practiced, due to the critical differences between product and nation / place branding.
  
  I am very interested on your thoughts on the single brand idea. At the moment I have a problem in seeing how that applies to Nation Branding, and the logic in trying to make it fit. If a brand is, as often quoted, the sum of our perceptions, knowledge and experiences of a nation or place, an individual mind made concept, does a one size fits all approach make sense, and should it?
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  Alan 'Brand' Williamson January 28, 2010 at 11:15am

  Private Sector-led Regional Branding
  Paul, here's an example from my own portfolio:
  Project England's Vineyard is a new regional destination brand scheduled to be launched in 2010 comprising the greatest concentration of vineyards in the SouthEast Counties of England: Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire/Isle of Wight & Berkshire.
  
  Led by the private-sector marketing arm of the English Wine Producers trade body and supported by the public sector Tourism South East, Project England's Vineyard is designed not only to generate tourism, but also inward investment and exports.
  
  The Talent and Terroir (the soil is similar to France's Champagne district) is resulting in the unthinkable: English sparklers are beating the French houses in international competitions - the current champ is Nyetimber from Sussex.
  
  Gary Vaynerchuk, the social media sommelier and online global celebrity is returning to the UK in early summer 2010 to help us position this new destination brand online using social media platforms.
  
  Paul, I hope the above has inspired you to get one of the up and coming wine regions of Brazil branded. We'll be happy to support you.
  
  Later, I'll aim to answer your question: Should a destination focus on a single big brand idea or multiple big brand ideas? Meanwhile please swat up via google on DNA Molecules and Anti-Parallels.

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  Paul Barnett January 28, 2010 at 2:54am

  Here is an eye opening article on destination branding in America from the Wall Street Journal. Some of the comments are great too! One comment had a link to an article "When is Destination Branding Really Destination Blanding?" in it he made one great point that is seems many states in the US just aren´t getting, "a tagline does not a destination brand make"
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  Paul Barnett January 27, 2010 at 5:48pm

  Alan, Do you knwo of particular examples where the private sector is taking the lead with the support of the public sector, and how those projects are working out. It would be interesting to hear of any case studies.
  
  Re-Brand Australia, the example incicates to me why it may not make sense to look for one "big idea" or a single "core essence" iwhen branding a nation, or even a nation´s tourism industry. In the days of mass and broadcast media such simplification may have been necessary, in the age of narrowcast new media rich and detailed messages can be delivered to various segments of the market: backpackers via some media channels and high-spending travellers via others.
  
  Granted, this is complexity that may be difficult to manage, but perhaps it should be the aim?
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  Alan 'Brand' Williamson January 27, 2010 at 1:41pm

  Rossitza & Paul
  
  Thanks for your insightful comments.
  
  I'm sensing a change, in some countries, where the private sector is taking the lead with support of the public sector in terms of destination branding and marketing - from country to region to city right down to street-level.
  
  Brand Australia
  Oz's public sector is trying to change their country's perception from 'backpacker's paradise' to 'sophisticated playground' - a marketing mission impossible when the cultural source code for Australia in many of its key markets - US, UK, Japan & NZ - is 'Crocodile Dundee'.
  
  They have failed to grasp, that the low-spending backpackers return as high-spending travellers and inward investors, provided Oz's sub-brands - its sophisticated wine regions and cities are powerfully positioned.
  
  You see, although Australia and its wine regions, states and cities are lumped together on the world map, in the influential mind map however, they are in very different places.
  
  Witness how the private sector-led wine brands clearly understand this, by co-branding product with place in the US market. Please see 30-sec video Wines of Oz.
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  Paul Barnett January 27, 2010 at 3:55am

  I think it is unfortunate that country branding is usually, if not always, government driven, and thereofore politically influenced if not motivated. This I believe to be the biggest threat to sustainability and a fundamentally important issue. In several countries now the central banks are independent of government for reasons that perhaps country branding programs should be run by an independent institution - for long-term stability, not short-term gain.