Comments

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  Max Pesling August 6, 2010 at 7:42pm

  Been traveling, missed this conversation!
  
  Great points you bring up, Alan. As for your question re: how best the tourism market could be targetted by the Innovation Isle big brand idea... well, that's a great question. The average tourist is not going to UK for innovation, unless, as Paul points out, they're going for specific events such as Fashion Week... but there are, of course, a great minority. What is cutting-edge about the industry in the UK? Well, the Eurostar comes to mind, but at this point that seems like old news. Any high-speed trains of more recent vintage? Any truly far-out hotels? I can think of the 10-story (I think!) living wall of greenery on the outside of London's Athenaeum hotel as one example of something that's pretty cool, but apart from that one would have to analyze how UK tourism fits into that "innovation" idea.
  
  Personally, I think it's important to be REALLY sure it's wise to shake, stir and dilute the very valid cultural code most people have for the UK -- tradition -- as that already brings many people to your shores. If we send a diametrically opposed message (innovation rather than tradition) are we just going to leave people confused, somewhere in the middle? And dilute a very valid brand?
  
  I'm not an expert -- you guys are -- but the topic is fascinating to me. And it really does seem to me that if a brand is working -- bringing in tourists, in this case -- why dilute it?
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  Alan 'Brand' Williamson August 2, 2010 at 9:56pm

  Hello Max & Fellow Triptatinos
  
  Brand Britain
  Thanks for the constructive debate and interesting insights. Here are a few more:
  
  1. Video Background Music: You're right, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (MoonSon) wasn't appropriate from a Brit viewpoint. It was just simply free of copyright while most of Britpop such as The Beatles is not. Also MoonSon is great for calming the conscious mind allowing access to the unconscious mind where alot of innovation takes place.
  
  2. Tradition: Depending on one's definition of 'Tradition' there is also a great heritage of British inventive tradition from Charles Darwin to Issac Newton to Michael Faraday right through to modern-day Brits:
  - Tim Berners-Lee: Inventor of the World Wide Web
  - Jonathon Ive: Apple's principal designer of the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad
  - Tim Brown: CEO of California-based IDEO product design co.
  - Geoff Kirk: Design engineer for Rolls Royce aero engines for the Airbus A380 and the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner
  - James Dyson: Inventor of the Dyson bagless vacumm cleaner
  
  3. Greenwich Meridian: There is a great advantage for Brits to be able to communicate across much of the world during their normal waking hours.
  
  4. Innovation Isle: This is more about a future-focus rather than an existing perception. Going forwards, BrandBritain needs a new big brand idea to not only compete with the world's most valuable country brand - USA - with arguably the most powerful, single-focused big brand idea: Home of the American Dream, but Britain must also compete with Brand Asia and its sub-brands such as China: The Factory of the World.
  
  The Innovation Isle drives all three elements of the Three Vees: Visibility for Exporters (Visibles and Invisibles), Viability for Investors (Commercial & Residential) and Visitability for Visitors (Business & Leisure).
  I would be most interested in getting your views as to how best the tourism market could be targetted by the Innovation Isle big brand idea?
  
  4. Food: Sadly, despite massive improvement in its food offering, BrandBritain still suffers from a bad food image. This is where its sub-brands need to be brought into play - from London the capital to small town Ludlow: Britain's First Slow Food Town, not forgetting Bray, home to two Michelin-star establishments including Heston Bluementhal's Fat Duck, vying with Spain's El Bulli, for the title of the world's best restaurant.
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  Paul Barnett August 2, 2010 at 7:49pm

  Using sex to brand a destination 'works' if all you are interested in is the quantity rather than quality of tourists. In another forum I am having a discussion about the recent Financial Times expose on the apparent explosion in sex tourism in Brazil. To be honest sex tourism has always been big there, and with it are many problems. Cheap charter flights from Europe is the cause. It clearly does not fit with sustainability agendas and is a cause for real concern. Brazil's image as a sex tourism destination is the results of decades of the government acting the pimp, and will take decades to overcome.
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  José Balido August 2, 2010 at 7:32pm

  Just found a great resource, courtesy of Manolis Psarros on LinkedIn: http://aboutourism.vodspot.tv. Some very interesting destination branding videos on there. In particular, the video on the controversy over the Israeli gov't using semi-naked females to change the country's image from bombs to babes was quite interesting:
  
  
  Seems to me using sex appeal to sell a destination is about as obvious and basic as you can get. Any destination could put its most nubile nymphets on screen, but what is unique about these ones? What do you all think? Is using sex to brand a destination lame, or does it work?
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  José Balido July 31, 2010 at 10:33pm

  Good points, Paul/Monique/Max. I personally like the video, though I agree about the music being off-message. I do think one could get away with promoting GB as the innovation isle, but we need to see current innovation at work to believe it. The industrial revolution and colonial plunder won't cut the mustard!
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  Paul Barnett July 31, 2010 at 10:13pm

  Invention and innovation are part of the DNA if Brits for sure. It fueled the Industrial Revolution as we know. The empire, the commonwealth and so on also mean we have a heritage of worldliness, and a huge number of people in the world speak our language - as much to do with the fact Americans speak English as the fact that we do. But this is all heritage and culture focused. It's the history, and not the current reality really. They are features of what Max refers, "Tradition". For many people it is this Tradition that is top of the list of reasons why it is there favourite destination.
  
  We do still have some good innovation, but I think current innovation, except in a few areas, is hardly reason in itself to make people want to visit the UK. And, if they do, this tends to be very focused e.g. London Fashion Week and London Design Week. I can't imagine too many people seeing the UK as a destination because of the technology clusters like Cambridge Science Park, unless for business purposes.
  
  I think campaigns need to connect the past, present and future. They perhaps also need to address some issues head on. For example the UK still has a bad image for food, a reputation it did deserve, But these days the quality of British food is very good and often exceptionally good.
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  Max Pesling July 31, 2010 at 7:42pm

  Y'all see the beautiful video on Brand Britain? It highlights 7 great reasons why one of my favorite destinations will always remain... a great destination. What I'm not crazy about, to be honest, is the tagline "The Innovation Isle." I'm sorry, Cool Britannia and all notwithstanding, I don't think most people perceive Britain as the land of innovation: the cultural code embedded deep in our noggins is Tradition, not Innovation. Now of course with a sustained, well-orchestrated campaign, you can change public perceptions over time, but this one's going to be a long road to hoe. For one thing, you need proof to back it up. What's the innovation? Well, Britain has some cutting-edge artists and designers (remember Damien Hirst with his pickled animals?) and musicians, so why aren't they highlighted as living examples of the current British innovative spirit? I'm not sure how having the Greenwich Meridian makes you innovative. I'm not knocking the video, it's beautifully done, but what I like about this group is how we analyze things together. Your thoughts?
  
  Oh one last thing: I think a lot of current innovative British musicians might not be amused that the soundtrack of this video is by a foreigner... Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, which is both not innovative and not British.
  
  
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  Alan 'Brand' Williamson July 30, 2010 at 9:21am

  Paul
  
  1. I guess you'll never be a 'core' target market for Shakespeare Country. Fringe? Perhaps.
  
  2. Cork: They've obviously done an amazing marketing job on you. But there are hundreds of places around the world that have fantastic coastlines & scenery, authentic food & hospitality & cozy guesthouses. There's something else - perhaps buried deep within your sub-conscious - that attracts you to Cork - something very unique about the Brand Ireland in general and Cork in particular? Maybe it's The Craic (and I'm not talking about the white stuff).
  
  3. The Target is NOT the Market
  - Long answer: Coming soon...
  - Short answer: Think Wimbledon targetted at tennis fans but also full of visitors who have never touched a tennis racket in their lives. And Glastonbury targetted at the youth market but chocka with 50+ hippies re-living their second youth - but this time round with fatter wallets and waistlines to match in their posh marquees complete with chef at £6K per weekend. Rock-on Man!
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  Paul Barnett July 30, 2010 at 1:30am

  Alan, I don't get the point about, "The Target is NOT the Market". Could you explain explain the question? Re the sub-brands for Warks, thats all news to me. I guess I know of the castle, and Shakespeare. I can't say I recall having seen any campaigns for either the main brand or sub-brands. And, the Shakespeare connection alone would not make me want to visit, I am not much into Shakespeare. I am not sure what that actually says about the success or otherwise of their strategy. I can say that when I travel I visit places that will offer me several experiences and activities to choose from. I sually want to know there are interesting things to see and do, good places to stay and eat and so on. One thing only is not going to get me there. I am pretty sold on Cork in Ireland. They have told me stories of fantastic coastline scenery, great hospitality, amazing authentic food and cozy small guest houses etc. How is it I know so much about Cork and so little about Warwickshire?
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  Alan 'Brand' Williamson July 29, 2010 at 10:40pm

  Paul, thanks for the heads up on amazon.com which got me thinking about another related subject for debate and discussion in the future perhaps:
  
  The Target is NOT the Market
  Does a single, narrowly-focused target such as ShakespeareWallah's (A BritRaj term for people who 'love' all things Shakespearean) attract a wider audience ie. beyond its narrow scope?
  
  Meanwhile, here's how 'Shakespeare Country' uses its
  Sub-Brands to attract different market segments:
  
  - Rugby: Home of the Sport of Rugby
  - Royal Leamington Spa: A Royal Town Twin (Twinned with Royal Tunbridge Wells in the county of Kent: The Garden of England)
  - Nuneaton: Home to the Warks Carnival (Warks is shorthand for Warwickshire)
  - Warwick Castle: England's Most Haunted (Featuring the Ghost Tower)
  - Warwick University: Leaders in Industry Innovation