Small City Branding Around the World

Shaoxing, China’s Place Branding Pioneer

One of the great bonuses I am receiving while updating my book, Destination Branding for Small Cities, is seeing some of the fascinating brand strategies being developed for cities around the world. One that particularly caught my eye was the pioneering work by Alastair Morrison, CEO at Belle International Consulting in Beijing. Place branding is a relatively new practice for China and Alastair’s brand strategy was developed for the city of Shaoxing.

Shaoxing is an ancient water city with a rich 6,000 year history. Its brand positioning is based on it being a one-of-a-kind place because of its associations with the nation’s ancient and historical times, and its contributions toward various forms of artistic expression, including calligraphy, novels, and Yue opera. It is also famous for its distinctive yellow rice wine. The positioning is captured in the tagline, 'Vintage China'

What particularly attracted my attention was the range of fascinating brand experiences designed especially for the Shanghai expat market. Belle Tourism International Consulting designed and implemented an event titled, 25@100% Vintage Shaoxing Experiences. The experiences inside of this event were designed to immerse participants in the Shaoxing culture and the daily lifestyles of local people. The encounters included the opportunity to be an opera apprentice, cook at a popular restaurant, dream in an imaginary world at the former home of great writer Lu Xun, discover the secrets of tea therapy and glide along the centuries-old canals on a Chinese gondola.

The city has an amazing 6,000 year old cultural tapestry to work with and it will be fascinating to watch how the Shaoxing brand develops in coming years.

All That Glitters Isn’t Always Olympic Gold

One of the first things that I learned in researching tourism strategies in conjunction with the Sydney 2000 Olympics is that the world’s biggest sporting event is not necessarily a boon for all tourism operators or nearby destinations. In fact, it can be an extremely quiet period for them.

Firstly, the “Olympic family” fills many hotels before and during the Games, thus dislocating the normal flow of visitors to the host city, sometimes for months in advance. This includes both leisure and business travelers who will find rooms hard to come by. In turn this can mean that local attractions, restaurants and nearby destinations experience a downturn in visitation. Then during the Games, most of the accommodation is taken by people involved with the event as officials, athlete families, sponsors, media and event attendees. Again, their attention is on the Olympic events, possibly from early morning to late at night. And residents may be inclined to watch the event on television or in public venues rather than visit domestic destinations and local attractions.

In the meantime, many tour operators and domestic tourism destinations find that there’s no gold in it for them. The Daily Telegraph reports that a survey by the European Tour Operators Association of 38 different travel companies - responsible for bringing a total of two million overseas tourists to London each year - revealed that bookings for travel during the 2012 Olympics were down 95 per cent year-on-year, while bookings for travel during the rest of the 2012 have fallen by a fifth. The Olympics do however provide an outstanding opportunity for countries and host cities to take advantage of the unprecedented media coverage to add new dimensions to its brand identity. Something that Visit Britain is working hard to achieve.

So Which Place is the Real Center of America?

Often during our brand workshops for a community someone will say, “this is the best place to live, work and play” or “we’re the center of everything”. Some would even like that line to be the city tagline. I find it a really confusing line because every place can be called the center of something – it just depends on your perspective and the relevance of the things that surround the place. 

‘The Los Angeles Times’ reports that the Center for Land Use Interpretation has an exhibit at its Culver City CA headquarters titled, “Centers of the USA”. The display focuses on all the places in the United States, nine in all, that claim to occupy the center of the country. I guess these are the places that truly are “the center of everything” – in the American context …. or are they?

The exhibit shows that there’s the geographical center (near Belle Fourche, SD) the population center (Plato, MO.) and the “geodetic” center (a few miles outside Osborne, KS.), pinpointed using a method that corrects for the curvature of the earth.  Now there’s even a Google center: the point you reach if you call up a map of the U.S. on the search engine and zoom straight in as far as you can go. Depending on your browser, that’ll take you to one of two other towns in Kansas. And then of course there are other places that simply claim the honor.

I can just imagine fight this must be creating amongst T-shirt vendors. Although, “Osborne Kansas The Geodetic Center of America” does have a ring to it!

Image Credit: Center for Land Use Interpretation

What About Main Street, Mr. President?

I just read that President Obama will be visiting Disney World in Florida today to announce an important tourism strategy. For me, this is good and not so good news. Firstly, I think that it is terrific that he is recognizing tourism and seems to be giving it more than just lip service. On the other hand, I just wish that he wasn’t doing it at Disney World.  Don’t get me wrong. I think that Disney World is great. I was there with my family over the Christmas break and we had a great time.

If we look at tourism using the principles of the “Occupy Movement” (in a nice way), then Disney World is definitely in the 1%.  One of the perennial problems that the tourism industry must combat is a fundamental lack of understanding of what it’s about. For the residents of so many small cities, their first thought when you mention “tourism” is of a Disney theme park and not the potential benefits to their own community.

The reality is that tourism is increasingly important to small communities across the country as an efficient generator of income and jobs.  So from my selfish perspective, I would have liked the President to have made the announcement in one of America’s fabulous Main Streets to bring attention to tourism's contribution to small communities. But I guess that wouldn’t generate the attention (or controversy) of a visit to a Disney theme park! And Main Street in the Magic Kingdom doesn't count!

What’s the Difference Between Branding and Marketing?

We receive many emails from city leaders, practitioners and students around the world. I have decided to start sharing some of the responses with readers of this blog. 

My first is an email from Sharon at a chamber of commerce on the East Coast of the USA, “Some members of our Board are confused about the difference between branding and marketing a city. I am finding it hard to explain. Can you help me?”

Sharon, your Board members are not alone in their confusion because I often hear dicussions where the terms “branding” and “marketing” are mistakenly used interchangeably. They shouldn’t be. There are distinct differences.

City branding provides a framework for organizing, differentiating and focusing around the city's competitive and distinctive identity to ensure that its messages and experiences are as distinct, compelling, and rewarding as possible. Most importantly, it is a promise that must be grounded in truth and reality.

Marketing comprises the processes and actions for communications, product development, pricing, and promotions directed toward facilitating transactions with end customers. It involves conveying the brand strategy elements such as positioning, personality, core experiences and tone of voice.

On one hand, branding is long-term and strategic. Marketing is supposed to be strategic (or at least should be), but it is usually short-term and mainly tactical.  Brands are distinctive, where marketing isn’t.

Marketing is a part of branding. Not the other way around. And marketing alone can’t build your city’s brand. Branding requires that you orchestrate the on-brand actions by a wide variety of stakeholders and partners to ensure that you deliver the promise that has been made.  In essence, marketing is what enables you to communicate your brand messages or promise to customers, while branding relates to your competitive identity and how you keep the promise.

Scotland Launches Year of Culture Advertising Campaign

VisitScotland has launched a new television ad to mark the start of a year-long celebration of the nation’s culture and creativity. The video, voiced by television historian Neil Oliver, is part of VisitScotland’s Surprise Yourself campaign which the organization said generated additional tourism income of £90 million for the Scottish economy last year.

The ad features everything from fireworks at the Edinburgh International Festival to a Northern Lights display, a performance of Macbeth and a Robert Burns storytelling session. And not a set of bagpipes or kilt in sight!

Frank Gehry Weaves More Architectural Magic for City Brands

Bilbao (Spain) is a Basque port city that has a long history stretching from medieval times. But it was  Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum that enabled the city to gain international acclaim. This was the result of city leaders wanting to reposition the place as a second-tier world city - a bold objective for a city that was regarded as a rust belt city. The engagement of Gehry, a stunning new museum and $110 million later, Bilbao has enjoyed a Cinderella-like transformation.

Atlantic Cities magazine has an interesting interview with Gehry and his views on the urban impact of his architecture and how architects can play a stronger role in creating better cities. Gehry says, “The professionals that know my work consider me a contextualist because I spend a lot of time thinking about the environment that I’m working in. I try to respect the neighboring buildings, and not to overpower them or talk down to them. You might not like the building that’s next to you, but it’s there. You don’t criticize the building, but in your actions make a continuum. So I try to do that”.

Gehry's next iconic building will be the stunning Guggenheim designed for Abu Dhabi due to open in 2015. This will be after the Louve’s opening in Abu Dhabi in 2013. No doubt the Gehry magic will work for the repositioning of Abu Dhabi as well.

Is Tourism’s Huge Impact Going Unnoticed?

My colleague Peggy Bendel sent me an interesting article by Rob Gialloreto, president and CEO of Tourism Victoria, in which he makes the case for more action and investment in tourism. While he makes the case in Canada, the same could be argued in many other countries. He states, “Recent research shows the 2010 travel and tourism impact in Greater Victoria at $1.89 billion – in a weak tourism year. But reports like this, while valuable, don't tell the whole story”.

“In today's tough political climate, many different sectors in B.C. continue to put forward remarkable economic impact numbers which, if ever combined, would likely triple our provincial gross domestic product - on paper, at least” Gialloreto adds.

The positive impact of tourism on the economy during these tough economic times has also been highlighted in reports by the U.S. Travel Association.  But as Gialloreto says, “Public funding for tourism continues to plummet even though the return on investment includes things like job creation, support for small business, and stimulation of foreign spending. Tourism continues to be what it has been for years - a vital economic driver that needs support, understanding and, most importantly, action”.

Image: Chemainus B.C. Canada

A Mixed Bag of 2011 City Taglines

The Atlantic Cities has an interesting take on some of the city taglines and slogans that were announced during 2011. Some make sense and seem to be an important element in a comprehensive brand strategy, while others are real head scratchers that seem to be a clever line in search of strategy.  Some are aimed at a addressing a specific problem, e.g. Downtown Las Vegas’ effort to establish its own identity in the shadow of The Strip. Others could apply to just about any other city. While others might cause us as outsiders to exclaim, “So what. What’s in it for me?”  I sense that a number of them are feel good lines for locals and are not part of a brand strategy aimed at projecting the competitive identity of the place for external audiences.

Apocalypse Tourism. Really?

Happy New Year!

In recent years there has been a drumbeat of fear, even on The History Channel, about the coming “apocalypse” caused by the ending of the Mayan Calendar on December 21, 2012.  No doubt that drumbeat will only accelerate in coming months as people see ways to capitalize on the fear generated by the approach of December.

The enterprising national tourism offices of Central America have announced that they are not letting the chance go by without inviting visitors to experience the Mayan sites throughout the region.

In recent weeks I was on a Caribbean cruise with my family and one of our excursions was to the Mayan ruins at Tulum (Mexico). We had an excellent guide who fielded all kinds of questions, including plenty about the ending of the Mayan Calendar.  He repeatedly told us that the Mayans believe that life never ends as it’s a cycle of renewal. He also said that the Mayan Calendar is never-ending and that the ending of the calendar in December also marks the start of a new calendar. What a relief! 

So that’s one less thing we have to worry about in 2012. Now we have to concentrate on the economy. And seeing that it won’t all end in December, I had better get back to writing my book.

So rest easy my friends, and have a great doomsday-free 2012!

Is it Really The Greatest Place to Live, Work and Play?

We rarely conduct a brand workshop or focus group for a community when someone doesn’t say, “this is the best place to live, work and play”. Further, many advocate that it should be the city tagline.  Unfortunately, for many communities that do not use objective outsiders to assist their brand planning, they too often pat themselves on the back and agree that they’ve found the holy grail of place branding for their city - and “a great place to live, work and play” it is.

I am currently researching and writing an updated edition of “Destination Branding for Small Cities” and decided to Google the term, “a great place to live, work and play” and found over 4 million results. There are also over one hundred videos on YouTube with various spokespersons for communities using the term.

Scrolling through Google, I lost count of the number of communities that actually use the term as a tagline. So if you are considering joining the masses in building a brand based on being “a great place to live, work and play”, you have simply identified a threshold credential to play the game. There are tens of thousands of places in the USA and even more around the world that can match the claim. This is where you have to dig deeper to uncover the true essence of the place that will be valued and meaningful to target audiences. And why use the line to communicate with residents? They already live there and know it!

It’s amazing how many places pat themselves on the back and settle for this self-adulation and waste their time, on a line that is probably the most commonly used by citizens to describe the place where they live. Why bother! Even worse, they call it their brand.       

Know Any Interesting Place Branding Examples?

I am currently sourcing place branding examples for an updated and revised edition of my book, Destination Branding for Small Cities, which will be published in early 2012.

I am particularly interested in identifying small cities and regions that have handled an element of their brand planning and development process in an interesting way.  For instance, in cases where a place may have conducted its stakeholder consultation, research, strategy development, positioning, outreach, experience delivery or other actions in a noteworthy manner. Alternatively, there may be places that have approached difficult challenges in their rebranding.  I am looking for both successful and unsuccessful stories which could provide interesting lessons for other places.

In recognition of the international interest in the first book, I am seeking examples
from places around the world. If you have suggestions, I’d be delighted to receive them.  If you have any questions or ideas, please send them to me at billb@  destinationbranding.com.

Are Many British Cities Copying Their Distinctiveness?

Many of Britain’s cities are aiming to be distinctive, but too many are trying to do so by copying each other. Patrick Butler asks in The Guardian, “beyond the boutiques and public art, is there any fresh thinking?”

Cities from Newcastle to Birmingham seem to have been able to develop new retail, sporting, cultural and architectural wonders through an off-the-shelf makeover, as Butler calls it. He argues that retail, leisure and consumption have been the driving force of these ambitious visions and have resulted in streetscapes and communities that are basically replicas of each other and lack distinctiveness.

Butler also points to the New Economics Foundation’s (NEF) 2004 report, Clone Town Britain, which identified that too many English towns have "lost their sense of place and the distinctive facades of their high streets under the glass, steel and concrete blandness of chain stores that have been built for the demands of ... a string of big, clone town retailers."

Butler quotes from the NEF report, “How do you reinvent, capture and maintain distinctiveness? Not simply through eye-catching new buildings. Redevelopments must be owned (in the cultural rather than legal sense) by local people, developments must be authentic and rooted in history and communal memory. The texture of a place is as important

I first came across similar observations about the USA in The Geography of Nowhere when it was published in 1994. In it, Kunstler traces America's evolution from a nation of unique Main Streets and communities to a country where every place is like no place in particular.

Maybe the end of cheap credit (for a while) and increased consciousness regarding energy consumption and the environment will lead toward a new age in architecture and communities that are more distinctive because they are a reflection of the visions of the people living there and not of corporations and developers who only see the place from a balance sheet perspective.

BP Ads Increase Awareness of the Gulf Coast with New Audiences

 

The response of the many DMOs and Cities along the Gulf Coast to the oil spill last year and their collaboration with BP will possibly be studied in future tourism and marketing courses as a case study in crisis communications excellence. We were able to see some of the preparations and response first hand while working in Gulf Shores AL a few months ago. 

This week KATC3 reported that BP has announced a new television spot, titled "Best Season." The spot highlights 2011 as the best tourism season in years - despite a sluggish national economy - and will be part of an integrated television, online and social media campaign. The campaign will bring the Gulf Coast to the attention of many potential new visitors around the country who might not normally have considered the region – or have even been aware of its appeal.

This integrated campaign has been able to weave together the interests of several major beach destinations across three states that are usually competitors and has them focused on increasing the brand awareness and desirability of the Gulf Coast as a destination brand. Combined with the introduction of several major tourism developments, the end result may well be that the Gulf Coast becomes established in many new markets around the country.

What Role Do City Centers Play in Local Economic Growth?

Working in small cities across the USA, we frequently find ourselves referring to downtowns and city centers as being the heart and soul of the community, and the need to constantly invest in their vitality and relevance. Here’s an interesting article in The Guardian that considers the benefits for high value businesses being located in the city centers of several mid-sized cities in England, Sunderland and Preston. Paul Swinney, the author argues that despite rapid growth in industrial estates on the outskirts of these towns, city centers have still prospered.  

Swinney advocates that changes should be made to city centers to make them more profitable places for businesses to locate. Lack of parking space is a common gripe, but public transport, road access and quality of office space are all factors that must be improved to make city centers a popular choice in many cities in England. I dare say that some of these factors are also at play in many American cities as well.

Politics Makes Pretoria’s Name Change Messy

The political controversy surrounding the proposed name change for South Africa’s national capital from Pretoria to Tshwane continues to rage.  South Africa’s opposition parties have expressed outrage at Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa’s announcement that the city’s name will be changed from Pretoria to Tshwane by next year.

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) is a huge municipality that forms the local government area of northern Gauteng Province, and includes the nation’s capital city of Pretoria. It sounds confusing because Pretoria is a city within a city.

The name change was actually approved in 2005 by the Geographical Names Council but it has not yet been officially approved by the Minister of Arts and Culture. The Tshwane Metro Council has added to the controversy by advertising Tshwane as "Africa's leading capital city" even before the name has been officially approved. Following a complaint lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority it was ruled that such advertisements are deliberately misleading and should be withdrawn from all media. Not the type of launch or start that you want for a new city brand.

Countering the move for a new name for the city, Elmarie Linde (a spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance) said, “Pretoria will always be Pretoria. It is part of our country and our city heritage.”

The name of a city is possibly the most important element of its brand identity.  Renaming a city can be a minefield if it is not conducted in a transparent manner with the endorsement of citizens. If the name of Pretoria is changed to Tshwane, it might take decades for all residents to strongly connect with it's new name.

Despite the Economy Travel Passion is Unquenchable

Another survey, this time by Cheapflights.com shows how important holiday travel is to US travelers despite the current state of the economy. The survey revealed that travel is an unquenchable passion for Americans, as an overwhelming 80 percent of the 8,092 respondents say they have cut back their expenses in other areas to protect their travel budget.

“Our research clearly shows that Americans are still eager for a vacation getaway and will make room in their budgets, even if it means cutting down on other expenses to fit in their travel plans,” said Lauren Sullivan at Cheapflights.com.

This is reinforced by recent visitor statistics for Florida and Las Vegas where both have enjoyed increased visitor numbers. Visit Florida reports that tourism was up five percent in the third quarter. They also reported that the leisure-and-hospitality sector added more than 50,000 jobs in the third quarter compared to a year ago. 

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority claims nineteen straight months of increased visitor counts. The LVCVA reports that just as the tourism industry recovered first in past recessions, they're counting on tourism to lead southern Nevada out of the current economic slump.

U.S. Travel Association shows that travel and tourism bucked the national trend in October and added 11,000 jobs for the month, accounting for more than 1 in 8 of the total jobs created last month and was the biggest increase since June.

Tourism jobs are frequently face-to-face jobs and cannot be easily outsourced to other places. Tourism spending is also a great boost to small businesses and Main Streets.

While we are seeing tourism gaining recognition in many communities for its economic contribution, other places are slipping even further behind. Many of those that are being hurt and losing market share are those that felt slashing their tourism budget and their tourism organization was the best response to the recession. This is a time when investment is needed, otherwise they will continue to lose market share at a time when Americans are demonstrating that taking vacations and getaways are essential to them and international arrivals are on the rise.

Arts Grants to Accelerate Economic Development and Placemaking

Last month, eleven national foundations plus the National Endowment for the Arts announced the founding of ArtPlace America, a nationwide initiative to drive revitalization in cities and towns with a new investment model that puts the arts at the center of economic development. The launch of Artplace, based in Chicago, coincided with the awarding of $11.5 million in grants to 34 community-oriented arts organizations nationwide.

The grants reinforce the widely held belief that in a down economy, the arts – and the foundations that support them – can play a critical role in stimulating urban revitalization. The aim of the grants is not only to support individual organizations but also to promote economic development and revitalization of areas where the organizations are located. Artplace operates on the principal that the arts can contribute just as much to a local economy as can conventional businesses and industries.

“We are acting very deliberately to affect places and we believe vibrancy is the best proxy for quality of place, and quality of place is essential to attracting and retaining talent,” said Carol Coletta, executive director of ArtPlace.”

This is a truly visionary initiative which will provide benefits way beyond the cultural communities of these cities and towns. It is timely consideration of culture and the arts as serious engines of economic growth and urban renewal and I hope that future grants find their way into many more small communities around the country. 

Iceland President’s Very Personal Invitation

One of the essentials for successful place branding is to gain the endorsement and support of the highest level political and business leaders. Iceland has gone one step further than gaining endorsement and is directly engaging the President and other national leaders in the nation’s latest tourism marketing program.

Last week Iceland's president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson invited tourists into his own home for traditional Icelandic pancakes with whipped cream and rhubarb jam as his contribution to the tourism promotion, "Accept Iceland's Invitation". The program calls for Icelanders to welcome visitors into their homes to enjoy unique experiences only Iceland can offer.

Participating in the campaign, Visit Iceland added, are several other high profile Icelanders including the Mayor of Reykjavik who is inviting guests to dine on sushi made from fresh Icelandic seafood.

With so many political leaders around the world just giving “lip service” to tourism, it’s good to see the level of engagement that Visit Iceland has been able to encourage among many of its politicians, as well as business leaders and celebrities. Although, I'm sure there are plenty of places that would like to keep their elected officials a long way from extending hospitality to their visitors!

Why Should Museums be Stuck in Cities?

Holly Finn asks this provocative question in her article in the New York Times. Her inspiration for the question is the $1.2 billion Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opening this week in Bentonville, Arkansas. Funded by the Walton Family Foundation and stocked by Alice Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart's founder. The place is heaving with works by artists from John Singer Sargent to John Baldessari.

No doubt the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will be a great boost for Bentonville tourism. There are many examples around the world of outstanding museums being built in rural areas.  There are however, not so many examples of $1.2 billion museums being built in these locations. The legacy of projects like this can be game-changers for small cities when it comes to their identity and economic diversity and well-being.

Hello Kitty-Painted Aircraft a Sign of The Times?

There was a time when national carriers were very important to the diplomacy and promotion of their home countries. They carried the national flags and the mail to far flung corners of the planet.  The sight of Pan Am, Lufthansa, Qantas and KLM aircraft were important statements about their host nations and their influence in the world. The nation of origin of carriers was an important point of difference in generating sales in foreign markets.  But things have changed.

Concierge.com reports that Taiwan’s EVA Air will celebrate its 20th Anniversary by introducing three Hello Kitty-painted A330 aircraft. Hello Kitty is a Japanese-owned trademark which generates over $1 billion annually in international sales. This is another interesting example of the power of consumer brands, globalization and the diminished role of airlines in projecting national identity - and their comoditization. It’s interesting that a Taiwanese carrier and not a Japanese airline is using japan's Hello Kitty.  

With national identity being of less importance and co-branding on the rise, it might be fun to see an airline embrace The Family Guy, The Simpsons or South Park. That is so long as the characters don’t inspire the service standards!

New Mexico Discovers It’s Image Problem

“Snooze. Close to Arizona. Arid and barren. Dull. Artsy. Dreamcatchers. Not a lot of activity”.  Those were among responses from focus group members in Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles who were asked what comes to mind when New Mexico is mentioned according to State Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson.  Speaking to The New Mexican, she said that the research highlights that New Mexico suffers from an image problem and that potential visitors don't know much about what the state offers.

Jacobson said the department is working to come up with a "magnetic" brand for the state as a tourist destination, something she said would be more than a logo. She talked about trying to brand the state with such themes as "adventure steeped in rich culture" and "the destination that feeds the soul." The department has issued a request for proposals for an ad agency and will issue one for a public relations firm.

Much of the campaign will focus on adventure, she said, but not necessarily thrill-seeking. The state needs to emphasize the adventures in its art, its Native American and Spanish cultures, its outdoor activities and its unique food, she added.

I hope that before they jump to the advertising and public relations agencies, they take the time to develop a true brand strategy that will define the brand platform and develop the blueprint to generate support for product development and stakeholder implementation.

Alberta Launches Stunning Brand Advertising Campaign

 Differentiated and compelling experiences and emotional connections are the hallmarks of strong destination brands. The brand advertising campaign recently launched by Travel Alberta displays these hot buttons in excellent fashion. Travel Alberta unveiled several visually stunning and emotive television spots that are full of the usual icons - mountains, horses, cowboys and skiers –but they were filmed and paced to allow viewers to share in the emotion of the experience. Some stunning work and the tagline, "remember to breathe" is so appropriate.

Alberta’s new tourism brand is the result of an 18-month process which included consultation with industry stakeholders representing all regions of the province as well as opinion research with frequent travelers in Alberta’s target tourism markets in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

Though Travel Alberta has had logos, slogans and brand promises before, this is its first overall tourism brand, said CEO Bruce Okabe. “And not having a brand in this competitive market is like going into a street fight with one arm tied behind your back.” I couldn’t agree more. However, it’s one thing to have a brand strategy; it’s another thing altogether to execute it brilliantly! Mind you, it does help when you have a place as stunning as Alberta.

Opportunities for Rwanda and Uganda to Turn the Page on Negatives

The New Times reports that the Rwandan tourism industry is looking toward the release of the country’s first brand strategy in 2012. It is anticipated that the brand will be the very much centered on the opportunities to observe gorillas in the wild.

The strategy is going to be important to engage small communities throughout the country and will provide opportunities for them to expand the services and quality of experiences offered by local tour operators and hotels. Kabera Callixte the Rector of Rwanda Tourism University College, said that institutions have embarked on training professional and skilled personnel to address the issues of poor customer care and inadequate service delivery. He added, “there is the need to train more people to handle customers, especially providing basic skills to supervisors and customer care staff,” he said.

Rwanda’s tourism officials would be well advised to learn from the experience of Uganda where the country’s image is still shaped by Idi Amin, the devastation of HIV Aids, war, and corruption rather than it being the land of the Nile or the land of the Mountain Gorillas, or as the Pearl of Africa as Winston Churchill referred to it. Despite having many very positive tourism credentials, Uganda has not adopted an approach to overcome its negatives. As a result the country has underperformed in international tourism and the benefits it can bring to local communities.

I hope that Rwanda and Uganda can both develop brand strategies, then systematically and consistently implement them.  Otherwise, the images of both of these beautiful countries will continue to be dominated by perceptions of the negative aspects of their past.

Minneapolis Launches “City by Nature” Brand

Meet Minneapolis, the organization contracted by the City of Minneapolis to market the city has unveiled its new strategy for positioning the city as an attractive convention and visitor destination.  The tagline is “City by Nature” and seeks to capitalize on Minneapolis’ natural environment.

KARE 11 Television reports that the State tourism organization, Explore Minnesota is also conducting research for a statewide re-branding. "We hope to have a state brand and a narrative soon," says John Edman, the Director of Explore Minnesota Tourism. "People around the country only know about our weather, we need to change that. People look back to that TIME magazine with (former governor) Wendell Anderson on the cover, holding up that fish and talking about the good life," says Edman. "We need to get back to that."

Destination brand positioning based on nature is a fairly crowded field. The new positioning for Minneapolis immediately reminded me of Seattle’s MetroNatural, but without the edginess. I am also not sure if it goes very far enough toward addressing the overwhelming negative perception that they are trying to combat of being regarding as having a very cold climate.  It will be interesting to see approach taken by Explore Minnesota on behalf of the state.

Downtown Las Vegas - The Other Vegas with Soul

An important element of most successful city and destination brands is their ability to resonate with local residents, as well as external audiences. A challenge for Las Vegas is that the it’s iconic brand strategy with its famous, "What happens here. Stays here." tagline probably doesn’t work with the community in ways that generate self-pride and project it as a place to live. While I am sure that residents respect the success of the tourism brand, it really is aimed 100% at external audiences – and does a darned good job! However, the Las Vegas identity that it supports is mainly focused on The Strip and not on the city’s central business district in Downtown Las Vegas.  

Downtown Las Vegas is a few miles south of The Strip and is the city’s original gambling district. This area in recent years has played second fiddle to the larger and more famous Strip. However, the City has been working on revitalization efforts to entice more visitors and residents to downtown. This has involved the redevelopment of Downtown and the surrounding older commercial districts to create jobs and eliminate urban blight.  With an unemployment rate hovering around 14% and one of the worst real estate markets in the country, it is important for the economic vitality of the city to extend way beyond The Strip. Revitalization efforts have joined property and business owners for a $5.5 million streetscape improvement program over a three-block area that includes pedestrian-friendly street redesign, landscaping and retro-looking neon signage.

A new slogan was unveiled Wednesday for Downtown Las Vegas. The winning line, "Every City Has a Soul", captured 35 percent of more than 1,200 votes in an online contest between four finalists. While we are not fans of community competitions for slogans, on this occasion it was important because this time residents would be a priority target audience.  While it will not rise to the stellar heights of the famous tourism slogan, it does have an important role in addressing what has been an economic development void for the city.   

Welcome Signs Mark Many Places That Are Out of Touch

Welcome signs can play an important role in the marketing and branding of cities. They not only provide a sense of arrival, but also communicate a welcome to travelers and can signal that the place is ready for them. They can also serve to convey the distinctive identity of the place and why it may be of interest to prospective visitors and new residents. One of the most famous of course is the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign which was erected on what was then the outskirts of The Strip in 1959.  

Mark Burns, writing in The Atlantic Cities has assembled a slide show of some of his favorite welcome signs around the USA. I think that Mark must have quite a sense of humor. Some are funny, some interesting, but unfortunately many of them reflect small towns that are totally out of touch with the needs and interests of prospective visitors and new residents. At a time when places of all sizes are locked in competition for their economic well-being, I found myself looking at many of the signs and asking “who would care?”  The signs reminded me that cities of all sizes in the next decade will have to work much harder at marketing themselves and developing a competitive identity than they have done in the past. Their audiences are becoming more discerning and demanding and their competitors are increasing and becoming more sophisticated. There are so many other choices.

What are The World’s Leading Creative Class Countries?

The research and books of Richard Florida have caused many cities to reappraise their approach toward attracting creative workers. Creative class jobs are generally acknowledged as those in the fields of science, technology, and engineering; business, management and finance; design and architecture; arts, culture, entertainment, and media; law, healthcare, and education.

While most of his research has been devoted to cities in the USA, Florida in an article for The Atlantic ranks the top Creative Class countries.

At the top of the list is Singapore, followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Germany. Interestingly, the USA was in  27th spot, with Russia coming in higher at 20th, but China was at 75th.

Florida notes, “economists have long regarded human capital- basically the level of skill and education across a population - as a key factor, if not the key factor, driving economic prosperity and rising living standards. Many have noted that America’s declining educational performance and dependence on foreign talent pose substantial threats to its long run of economic competitiveness”. On this basis, I don’t think that we will be seeing China content to sit at 75^th for very long. On the other hand, the USA cannot afford to slip further down the rankings because this impacts every city in America trying to enhance its capacity as a place for innovation and creativity.

How the Past Five Years Really Have Changed Travel Marketing Forever

No doubt many of you can tell stories about when you started your career and there were no fax machines, personal computers or websites to aid your marketing. The travel and tourism industries have expanded massively over the past thirty years aided by technological innovations that have introduced new and more efficient communication channels at an amazing rate.

When we try to recall the changes that have taken place in travel and tourism marketing we might like to consider a span of ten or twenty years. An excellent article on the UK website, Travolution points out the dizzying changes that have occurred during just the past five years. It’s a very interesting recap of where we are today and provides a hint of where we may be heading.

There was a time when we spoke of the new digital frontier. Now there seems to be new frontiers within the frontiers! Exciting times!

Race-Based Names Dot the Landscape

The name of a place is fundamental to developing its brand identity and image. There are many places that are playing with a severe handicap in tourism and economic development marketing because of their name.

The New York Times states that a report by the United States Board on Geographic Names indicates that 757 official names of more than 2.5 million streams, mountains, civic buildings, and cities use the word Negro or a variation of it. Lou Yost, executive secretary of the Board said “Local residents, including some African-Americans, sometimes see no reason to change a name that has always been there. Others argue that changing race-based names is political correctness run amok."

To change a geographic name, the petitioner must first convince a state board and then the federal government that a new name is better, based on factors that include historical significance and local acceptance. I think that we're a long wau from hearing the last of these controversies.

Tourism Without Business is Merely Traffic

The provocative title of the recent American Indian Alaskan Native Tourism Association’s (AINTA) 13th annual conference caught my attention. Indian Country Media Network reports that speakers at the conference issued a call to action for Indian Nations to become an economic force in tourism. The title of the conference, “Tourism Without Business is Merely Traffic” could be a call to action for many places because many have a focus on mearly numbers of visitors and room nights, and not always on the added value that tourism can deliver.

Ed Hall, AIANTA founder and tourism specialist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, told conference delegates, “When you’re just starting out, you want to be competitive. But if you’re a true leader, it’s not good enough to just be competitive - you need to be out front, blaze the trail, raise the bar high and set the pace. We’re tired of being spoken to rather than spoken with, and sovereignty is the key.” He added, “Authenticity draws travelers to Indian Country and gives us an invitation to tell our story through tourism. That story defines you, protects your rights, reinforces your sovereignty, and brings you tourists and jobs.”

Central to the message was the need for Nations to be proactive and innovative in tourism and not simply leave their tourism destiny in the hands of others. For a very long time, I have believed that one of the most under-developed aspects of tourism in the USA is the opportunity to encounter authentic cultural experiences with Native Americans. Hopefully this conference marks an important step in activating their true potential as a compelling element of the American experience for international (and hopefully domestic) tourists.