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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Uniquely Singapore evolves into YourSingapore
March 19, 2010
(Forimmediaterelease.net) The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has launched an evolution of Singapore’s destination brand – from “Uniquely Singapore” to “YourSingapore” – which underpins Singapore’s strengths as a destination, that is, an experience which can be easily personalised thanks to the concentration of sights, sounds, tastes, culture and attractions coupled with unparalleled user-centricity.
As a brand, YourSingapore articulates Singapore’s uniqueness and captures what travellers seek – a personal travel experience. Such a personalised travel experience offers an emotional reward of empowerment and liberation that allows visitors to travel on their own terms, according to their individual needs, preference and interests.
YourSingapore differentiates Singapore’s value proposition from that of competitors; ensuring Singapore remains relevant and compelling to today’s travellers, as brand equity and brand recall have an impact on visitor arrivals and tourism receipts. It delivers on Singapore’s promise to provide a concentration of multi-faceted and user-centric travel experiences as well as positions the destination as one that is future-facing and inspiring; one where visitors are invited to make their virtual experience of Singapore a reality.
At the heart of the campaign is a holistic digital approach that includes a new website, significant investment into search engine marketing, blogger engagement, mobile, social media and travel e-commerce. These platforms will engage visitors’ pre, during and post arrival and will be aggressively promoted.
www.yoursingapore.com is an innovative and interactive platform that allows travellers to conceptualise and plan their individual Singapore travel itinerary in a user-friendly manner. The campaign website facilitates sharing of experiences among travellers and local residents alike, and will be powered by up-to-date multimedia content about all things Singapore. The website www.yoursingapore.com will deliver a new virtual experience that no other destination website currently offers.
In the past few years, the way that people plan and book travel has fundamentally shifted from passive content consumption to the active engagement of empowered individuals, primarily due to the dominance of digital and social media. Video on demand, online news, blogs and websites that enable social interaction have changed the way that travellers seek and obtain information. YourSingapore is a response to the pervasive influence of digital media and the rise of virtual communities, as well as consumer demands for personalised travel plans.
A NATURAL EVOLUTION OF THE UNIQUELY SINGAPORE BRAND
Recognising the successful branding efforts of the Uniquely Singapore campaign over the last five years, it was clear that the next chapter in the brand story would necessarily be an evolution, a natural transition, and not an overhaul.
Launched in 2004, Uniquely Singapore sought to build on Singapore’s position as a must-visit destination globally – one with an exciting range of vibrant, trendy and memorable experiences for discerning leisure or business travellers; delivering a unique, personal experience, which is beyond what words alone can convey. Uniquely Singapore built the foundation for key concepts that are crystallized in YourSingapore, namely its concentration of offerings which are easily accessible and user-centric, empowering travellers to easily personalise their own unique Singapore experience.
Ken Low, Assistant Chief Executive of the STB’s Marketing Group says, “The strategy in developing YourSingapore was three-pronged: to leverage the equity of the Uniquely Singapore brand by single-mindedly qualifying Singapore’s uniqueness and attributes as a destination; build upon the emotional connection that visitors experience in Singapore and at the same time connect with potential visitors in the digital media space. YourSingapore taps into the motivational factors which drive their decision-making while differentiating Singapore in the destination brand marketplace.”
Mr Low added, “We firmly believe that to differentiate Singapore in what is becoming a crowded market for destination marketing, STB has to embrace global trends and the shift in media consumption, to the extent that we have put digital at the heart of our marketing communications, in order to transform the way we reach out to our potential visitors. We will continue to use traditional media in our communications but it will play a more specific role to emotionally engage our audience and drive potential visitors to our digital platforms where they can experience and have a glimpse into what Singapore has to offer”
The problem I think lies in the fact that no amount of marketing is going to mask a real problem if there is one, and rarely is there "smoke without fire". So, int he Israeli case I would agree that the solution lies in them addressing the relationship they have with other parts of the world - easier said than done!
As noted in earlier conversations, one way to address a problem is to address it directly. The current reference being Colombia, which is said to have done precisely that in it´s campaigns. Here in Brazil it will be interesting to see how the issue of violence is addressed in the run up to the World Cup and Olympics.
I am pretty much in favor of the idea of dealing with issues upfront, but to do that the right policies need to be in place first. Masking the problem is a foolish strategy that will cause only more damage when it is seen for what it is - a lesson that politicians seem never to learn.
Paul, Max, thanks for highlighting the 'Re-branding of Israel' issue.
Here's a scenario for when a country brand is in trouble. You could either hunker down in your bunker, or you could bring out your sub-brands - regions, cities and resorts - that are not strongly associated with the country brand - not on the world map - but in the mind map of your target audience.
Then look for your country's big brand idea in the very cultural conflict that's at the source of your tarnished reputation - in Israel's case: Israeli vs Arabs - because chances are that's where your future-focused big brand idea lies hidden.
As it's St Patrick's Day this week, consider 'The Troubles' of Northern Ireland and see if you can find its big brand idea within the Republican vs Unionist cultural conflict? Check this short video out Brand Ireland - the clue is in one of the first frames.
Re the language, it is not that there are technical problems in the language, more the style of the way the language is used. This is a usual problem with copy such as this, just technical translation is not really sufficient. It is better than a lot I have seen, which can frequently be full of technical errors too. But, it seems to me that the spend on such a campaign would be very little more to get it absolutely right.
Re-branding Israel? If only I could...
By Ron Friedman 2 Feb. 2010
"In today’s media environment, we don’t have the time to make a good argument," laments the diplomat who is battling to change the int’l perception of militaristic Israel.
With most of the talks at the annual Israel Tourism Conference in Tel Aviv focusing on innovation and creativity, there was a feeling of optimism in the air, especially with the recent announcement of record numbers of incoming tourists in the beginning of 2010. Then Ido Aharoni took to the podium and put everything into proportion.
Aharoni is the head of the Foreign Ministry’s brand management team and his message to the tourism professionals on Wednesday was straightforward: the world’s perception of Israel is completely dominated by the Arab-Israeli conflict, and even if people back Israel ideologically, it doesn’t translate into a positive image.
For now, the brand called Israel is still associated with war and occupation.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Aharoni has had the Herculean task of re-branding Israel. His goal: to change outsiders’ perception of Israel as a militaristic and conservative country into something closer to how Israelis see themselves – “largely sababa (cool).”
Aharoni showed a short video that illustrated perfectly what he was talking about. In the clip, a survey group of adult Americans chosen at random were asked to perform a free association exercise. The group was asked to describe what houses representing different countries would look and feel like. While the Italian house drew comments like “warm,” “welcoming” and “festive,” when asked to describe the Israeli house, the responses were far different.
“Big gates and bars on the windows,” said one man. “Mostly cement, no lawn, no garden,” said another. One woman said that she thought she wouldn’t be welcomed in the Israeli house. “It’s very Orthodox with a strict vibe about it,” she said. An African-American man said he thought he wouldn’t be accepted there because of his skin color.
“They weren’t describing a house, they were describing a fortified bunker,” said Aharoni.
He said that for 60 years Israel has been presenting itself through hasbara (public diplomacy), trying to convince decision-makers and the public that Israel is in the right and backing it up with historic, legal and moral facts. That’s well and good and it might make them favor Israel in polls or on election day, said Aharoni, but what it also does is cement in people’s minds the notion of Israel as a country in conflict. These people are potential tourists, but they tire of the debate before they ever get here and see firsthand that what they hear in the news is not reflective of reality.
“Tourism is a cardinal element of building relations between a consumer and a place, because it provides firsthand experience,” said Aharoni. “I was recently in Amsterdam for the first time and I now have a personal relationship with Holland. And it has nothing to do with the Dutch government’s policies. We [in Israel] never bothered to make those connections.”
Israel’s brand troubles grew from the gap between the high quality product that it offers and the low image it has, he said. “That gap not only carries an economic burden, but also weighs Israel down in its marketing efforts and in the effectiveness of its foreign policy.”
Putting up a photo of an Israeli tank confronting a Palestinian youth throwing a stone, Aharoni said that hasbara’s job is to convince people that the tank is the victim.
“Given enough time I can make a good argument that that is actually the case, but in today’s media environment, we don’t have the time. We have about three seconds to grasp a viewer’s attention and that, unfortunately, doesn’t allow enough time for presenting the facts. When we continue to try, it inevitably fails and that’s bad because it leaves the picture of the tank and the child in sight and harms the Israeli brand.”
Aharoni said that even if hasbara is successful at changing people’s minds about the conflict, it doesn’t help with tourism. “Political support doesn’t translate into consumer affinity. There is a disconnect between the emotional and the rational. In the modern age it is no less important to be attractive than it is to be in the right.”
I've not time enough to double check this but I think the "A Country to Share" campaign is a Social Media action.
And yes, "we need you"... and many like you :)
Paul,
Obviously, I'm not a native English speaker but I'll be glad to know those details you mentioned. I missed them :(.
Is there a relationship between the 'I Need Spain' campaign and 'Spain: A Country to Share' ?
Here's an extract of what I said on my Twitter blog: 'I Need Spain'. Translation: 'Spain Needs Me'
A Country to Share http://www.spainacountrytoshare.com/
I like it!
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