The destination branding rewards are high in terms of investment, jobs, development, tourism, exports, domestic and even international influence. But building destination brands is harder today than ever before. There are over 1,000 national and regional economic development agencies in South East Asia alone and the ongoing global economic crisis, political interference and a fragmented, … Continue reading »
Tagged with destination …
The Maldives is ‘rebranding’. Why?
I read here that the Maldives is starting a major rebranding initiative. The republic of the Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean and consists of about 26 atolls with about 1,200 islands spread over approximately 90,000 square kilometers. Of those islands, about 200 are inhabited. Its area and population of 300,000 make … Continue reading »
Top tips for successful city branding
I know I’ve said this before and I am probably beginning to sound like a broken record but advertising agencies do advertising. And advertising is a tactical initiative driven, on the whole by creativity. Using advertising across one or more channels is a series of tactical initiatives known as a campaign. It is not a … Continue reading »
Australia Unlimited. Genius or Garbage?
Someone sent me this link about the plans for the Australian government to use a new tagline to sell Australia Inc to the world. I’m sure you guys have lots to say and I welcome your thoughts on the article. To get the ball rolling here are a couple of thought starters. 1) Australia Unlimited … Continue reading »
Nation Branding and Social Media
A key element of a successful nation branding initiative depends on how well your audience absorbs, understands, adopts and redistributes the message based on their requirements for value. Back in the day this was done at a coffee shop, sundry store, mosque, church, football club or where ever else consumers congregated. Today those same people … Continue reading »
Branding states requires integrated strategic initiatives
I believe that traditional brand communications driven by traditional processes such as creativity, placement, repetition, positioning are being dragged, kicking and screaming, to the branding graveyard. Brand communications, as a numbers game of releases distributed, ads run, awards won and so on, that focussed on outputs, not outcomes, are finished. But this doesn’t mean that … Continue reading »
Destination Branding: Branding Regions, States & Cities
It’s estimated that there are more than 100,000 locations in Asia actively seeking to attract business, industry and tourists. As a result, it is increasingly important that locations seeking development, investment and visitors must have a structured, long-term approach for attracting visibility, investment and arrivals. This conference brings together experts in the field of destination … Continue reading »
Should destinations brace themselves for a brutal summer?
Grant Thornton has published a report that forecasts 373,000 visitors to the Football World Cup in South Africa in June. That’s a drop of 110,000 from original forecasts. The big question is, are fans waiting to the last minute to book tickets or is this a sign of the recession? Certainly political tensions in the … Continue reading »
Malaysia getting ready to be major player in world’s largest service sector industry
One of the most interesting elements of the New Economic model (NEM) announced by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was related to tourism. I quote directly from his speech, “…the tourism sector has not been exploited to its potential. More can be done to attract new markets from Europe and the Americas … Continue reading »
Case study: Use research to form the foundations of a tourism brand strategy
A powerful country brand developed from a meticulously planned strategy that has at its heart the concept of providing specific value to specific identified segments and meticulously executed and measured can yield massive benefits for investment, domestic industries and culture. And for most South East Asian countries, tourism will have a prominent role to play … Continue reading »
