For anyone in or interested in the tourism industry to explore issues associated with branding a country, region, destination, attraction, hotel, tour etc
7 of the Top Destination Brands of 2023
Visit Maldives Over the past decades, destinations in Europe, North America, and the Caribbean have been the stars in both destination branding and popularity among travelers. And while all the above certainly remain among the world´s most powerful performers in tourism, the World Travel Awards (dubbed “the Oscars of travel”) in 2023 have underscored strong showings outside these traditional areas, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. Here´s a quick rundown of this year´s winners:…
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Thanks Paul for your comments
Interesting to note that two of the most successful tactical campaigns in recent history were all about the World's Language:
1. England Rocks featuring the words & music of English rock stars and their venues and
2. Comedy England featuring the verbal humour of English comics and the comedy clubs.
Cool Britannia was, and remains, one fo the best examples of a country branding campaign in my opinion. It intelligently promoted many aspects of British culture, raising interest in the culture itself and industries related to it - fashion, music etc. And, of course it stimulated interest in visits too.
Of course it had it´s faults, the biggest of which was to be associated with New labour, which meant inherent un-sustainability. It was also very London focused. Still, despite the faults, I think it was a good case study and good lessons could be learnt from it by the UK and other nations.
As for England, as opposed to the UK or Britain, I think it is a sub-brand within a quite confusing relationship of brands.
This week, the English celebrate St George's Day - 23rd April - so hence this video - Brand England: Seven ways to know if you're really English... Enjoy!
Tripatinos, please feel free to add any other 'funny' comments about Brand England. Thanks.
Should tourism brand managers co-brand with local events and campaigns in their key markets?
Witness Horsham Town, England's Easter event: Italia in Piazza. Should the Italian State Tourism Board (or their regional bodies) have co-branded with Horsham - located in one of Italy's key markets?
I read your post and LS Sya´s article on Brand Channel. And I would agree with his comments "A brand, whether it is a product or a nation is a collection of perceptions" and "A clarion call should go out to all Malaysians, from musicians, artists and corporations, to emulate the brand ambassadors and venture out. Every individual success will add value to Brand Malaysia and will, eventually, help make Malaysia a significant global economic force." In saying that I am assuming that he means sellingt the brand Malaysia, not the campaign strapline Malaysia, Truely Asia (Cringe again!).
The issue is will Malaysians hear the clarion call if it is a brand marketing campaign imposed on them? Or would they do better to adopt an Australia like approach so the engagement is real and no clarion calls are required.
He also makes reference to the decisions of policy makers and their impact on the brand. Getting this right would be a better focus than comming up with more campaign slogans I would argue.
The FI Grand Prix this weekend has put the world's spotlight on Malaysia.
You might wish to eavesdrop on a creative and controversial conversation with LS Sya - the originator of Project Brand Malaysia
Tripatinos - any comments and viewpoints would be most welcome.
On these ideas I cannot agree. "London isn't England and New York isn't America" you say, but in both cases they would probably be the first cities that anyone would name in relation to those countries, and the same is true of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil for example.
I see this as a place and country branding campaign. It enriches our understanding of both and the associations we make with both. And, the country brand is the sum of all the associations and perceptions we have of the place.
This campaign is all the more powerful in that if gives a voice to the people we might trust, the people that live there, that will be our hosts. The audience will definately find this more credible and authentic than a regular ad campaign, and I suspect the result may be less cliché riddled too.
Jose, thanks for the heads-up on Tourism Australia's latest international campaign: 'There's nothing like Australia'.
My take: This is not a country brand campaign, more a country sub-brand campaign - Oz's resorts, towns and cities - a focus on local not national.
But the last thing a sophisticated city like Sydney needs, is to be associated with Brand Australia's outback, rough, tough, macho image - in other words - its cultural source code: Crocodile Dundee.
Clearly, Sydney is positioned within Australia on the world map, but it is in the influential mind-map where they are in very different places. The same principle applies to other aspiring world-class cities: London isn't England and New York isn't America. Ambitious cities need to follow the strategies of independent city-states such as Singapore.
So, while Paul correctly points to the campaign's local benefits, it is at an international level where 'There's nothing like Australia' is destined to join its predecessors 'Australia in a different light' and 'So where the bloody hell are ya?' campaigns in the dustbin of destination branding history.
Here's what's interesting: "The campaign starts with a competition from next month calling on Australians to upload photos to a new website, and complete the line: 'there's nothing like ...'"
While the tagline itself may not be particularly evocative, using it to encourage locals to become involved in promoting their towns and regions in a social network context is certainly a creative twist.
What do you all think about this strategy?
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