Small City Branding Around the World

New Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities – Second Edition, Now Released

I am pleased to announce that my second book, Destination Branding for Small Cities - Second Edition has now been released. This expanded and revised edition has updated our 7A Destination Branding Process and includes new place branding elements, advice, checklists and techniques. Some of the changes include:

• Explanations of the different forms of place branding, branding in tough times, selecting place branding expertise and the important role of product development, placemaking and wayfinding in place branding.  
• Actions to introduce a stronger strategic focus to enhance city competitiveness.
• Interesting insights from some of the world’s leading place branding consultants, academics and practitioners.
• Worldwide examples from the USA, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Australia, moving beyond the USA focus of the first.

While the title is Destination Branding for Small Cities, the underlying principles and processes can just as readily be applied to regions, counties, Downtowns, Main Streets, resorts, and even states and countries.

I hope that you enjoy this edition as much as the first. Worldwide sales are available through Amazon.com.

Why Quality of Place Matters to City Competitiveness and Sustainability

DMOs and other tourism organizations often become so consumed by their sales function that they don’t exert any influence on their community’s quality of place.  There are many places where the DMO and tourism folk don’t even have a seat at the table to discuss matters relating to the city’s quality of place and its impact on visitors – and dare I say its image and identity.

An Urban Times article by Saffron Woodcraft suggests that a city’s quality of place involves both the built and social environments.

Woodcraft argues, “Debates about urban sustainability tend to focus on improving the built environment - making it greener, more efficient, less energy intensive. However, as both urban populations and the challenges of making livable cities grow, a radical shift is needed.  Much more emphasis needs to be placed on understanding the social life of cities - how government, public agencies and urban planners can design spaces, but more importantly, services to help neighborhoods flourish socially.”

I would suggest that there is also another layer that involves visitors to the community and whether the attractors, amenities and services designed for them provide a net benefit to residents.

My friend Reyn Bowman touched on this in an interesting blog post last week where he traced the links between billboards, beautification movements and the emergence of tourism marketing organizations. Reyn said, “It is puzzling to me why so many community-destination marketing execs today seem so detached from their role as guardians and curators of sense of place.”

We hear a lot about the role of DMOs being redefined. I feel that when that clarity comes, many DMOs will have a more active role in the development and management of the city’s quality of place. After all, isn’t that an integral part of the essence of many places? It’s in the public domain, isn’t owned by any one company and it’s essential for competitiveness. When a city has a strong quality of place, it brings greater efficiencies to the DMO’s marketing functions and increased satisfaction for visitors – and residents. 

Indigenous Tourism Brings the Challenge to Do the Right Thing

I recently came across an article by Anita Mendiratta in eTurbo News in which she outlined the importance and influence of indigenous people in tourism development. Importantly, Anita provided great advice for tourism organizations wanting to integrate indigenous people into their destination development. She highlighted how they are the truest guardians of the history, folklore, traditions, arts, culture, natural environments, ideology, spirituality and sensibilities.

Anita said, “Worldwide, indigenous peoples are 370 million strong – almost 5% of the world’s population. Living in over 70 countries across the globe, they cover over 20% of the surface of the Earth. They reach across over 5000 different groups of peoples, and speak approximately 4000 different languages. This global community, which embraces peoples from the Aboriginals to the Zulu, the Masai, the Mayan, the Mohican, and the Maori, the Bedouin, the Bushmen, and thousands of other communities – are the heartbeat of a nation. And for the global tourism community committed to the growth and development of nations, they are invaluable. In so many ways, it is the indigenous community that has become the litmus test of the industry’s ability to ‘keep it real’.”

Around the world there are both positive and negative examples of indigenous people in tourism. The article identifies critical issues and suggests approaches to ensure that participants are treated with dignity and the experiences that showcase traditional art, dance, music, cuisine, language, storytelling, and other features of the lives of indigenous people are grounded in authenticity, with objectives for the long term sustainability of the culture. Sadly, these are not always at play.

Night Economies: What’s The World’s #1 24-Hour City?

I always thought that because Frank Sinatra sang, “I want to wake up in a city that doesn’t sleep”, it inferred that New York City was the #1 place for night owls. Well it seems that New York is well down the list in a study of the world’s 24-hour cities by Marion Roberts, a professor of urban design at London’s University of Westminster and author of Planning the Night-time City. 

The BBC reports that Cairo was ranked the “most 24-hour” city of all. Next came Montevideo, Beirut, six Spanish cities (Malaga, Zaragoza, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville) and Buenos Aires. London was ranked 17th, Paris 18th and New York 32nd.

Roberts identifies many of the benefits and challenges of managing the night economy of cities. She says, “In the UK, Europe and Australia, a lot of their ‘24-hourness’ has been about extending entertainment and this has disadvantages for city center dwellers unless carefully managed. However, it does generate more jobs, activities and social solidarities.” This is a subject that cities worldwide will increasingly have to address.

Cairo might be the #1 night-time city, and it’s a great place, but I can’t imagine Frank Sinatra belting out, “Cairo – the city that never sleeps!”

Repositioning of Britain’s Industrial Cities Pays Off

It wasn’t so long ago that many of Britain’s industrial cities initiated aggressive tourism strategies and commenced city-wide efforts to reposition themselves as cultural and sporting centers. It seems that these investments have been paying off with the largest of the industrial cities establishing themselves as the UK’s most popular tourist destinations in the 2011 international visitors survey by Visit Britain.

BTN reports that while London and Edinburgh continue to maintain their traditional supremacy as the two most popular urban destinations in the UK, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and now Bristol are emerging as rival attractions.

But Manchester, with its two competing global football teams, its ultra-modern new landmark buildings such as the Lowry Centre, a new state of the art BBC media center (open to tourists) and world-class shopping is firmly in third place with 936,000 visits (up 15 per cent on 2010). Birmingham sits neatly in the fourth spot with 732,000 visitors attracted by its outstanding arts, exhibitions and one of the largest shopping centers in the UK, the Bullring, host to the best designer labels as well as accommodating 25 restaurants.

This success did not happen overnight. It has taken unwavering commitment to their visions, strong strategic foundations, sustained investments by successive governments, partnerships with private investors, and a belief by everyone that they could successfully turn the page on their industrial past.

Walkability is Vital to Small City Tourism Success

In the tourism readiness reports for small cities we develop, one of the critical success factors that we look for is their walkability. I just came across an article by Dan Burdon, “The Roads Scholar” in which he provides an excellent checklist for cities.  In the AARP article, Dan provides his checklist of the five things that make small towns walkable.  

Dan says that his rationale for the focus on walking is because, “people worldwide want to live in a town or city that is walkable. Places that seek to become more walkable and livable - everyplace from Maui to Abu Dhabi, where the prince has declared that he wants his city to become one of the five most livable in the world - must invest in the features that make it happen.”

While his checklist is really designed for the comfort of residents, it is directly applicable to the needs of tourists as well.  

Will the Hobbits be the Biggest Boost Yet For New Zealand’s Brand Awareness?

The Sydney Herald reports that Tourism New Zealand has announced the national tourism organization is very close to signing a deal with the makers of The Hobbit movies to promote the country as a tourism destination.

Released between 2001 and 2003, the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings was credited with boosting tourism to its New Zealand locations, where visitor numbers rose by 40 per cent. Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said, "I think The Hobbit is going to be that and more. We learned a lot of lessons from Lord of the Rings and we are doing everything we did back then plus some more."

The two movies by Sir Peter Jackson are expected to be a bigger boost for the country’s tourism than the three Lord of the Rings films. The first of the Hobbit movies is due for release in December.

The Lord of the Rings gave New Zealand an incredible boost and is a hard act to follow. It’s hard to believe that the Hobbit movies will top that. But then I haven’t seen the movie!

You can watch the trailer here.

Pure Michigan Campaign Changing Michigan’s Image

 

One of the more successful state rebranding efforts in recent years has been Michigan’s Pure Michigan campaign which was launched in 2006. Paul Brown, vice president of capital services for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, provided an update recently during the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on tourism and travel in Grand Rapids.

Brown said, “That (Pure Michigan) campaign alone created a 180-degree change in people’s outlook on Michigan. That made a difference on large national banks’ willingness to lend here as well as large corporations around the country considering either moving here or using some of our resources to their advantage.”

“We were really suffering from an image problem on the business side,” said Brown. ”We were getting redlined not only from banks, but also businesses not interested in locating here or looking here as a potential market.”

“It was the commercials,” he said. "They changed everyone's perception."

When a campaign reaches the point where it is positively impacting banker’s attitudes, then it is making progress way beyond tourism. I believe that the impact to Michigan from this campaign will be long term benefits because the State wisely chose to invest in the campaign throughout the recession while competitors were cutting back. This will probably also lead to long-term increases in market share for many business sectors. A great case study for many others to follow.

Is it Possible to Successfully Rebrand or Reposition Nigeria?

Several prominent Nigerians are fueling a debate regarding the need for Nigeria to address its negative international image which is negatively impacting all regions of the country and every aspect of the economy.  They spoke at a recent event for the launch of a book by Chief Austin Nonyelim Izagbo, “Re-branding Nigeria: Leadership and the National Image Project”.

Interestingly, they suggested tackling graft, providing social amenities, increasing security, poor management of resources and improving the standard of living of citizens.

It was refreshing to see the brutal honesty of some of the officials. According to Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, who said “Leaders are often misadvised and misdirected because 99 per cent of those who approach them are sycophants, who rarely tell them the truth.” Wow! One of the essentials for successful place brands is that they must be founded on truth and devoid of self-delusion. It is truth telling like this that must be followed, otherwise Nigeria will make zero progress in addressing its image problems.

It will be very interesting to see whether they will be able to introduce the changes to cultural behavior, resource allocations and political priorities necessary to truly rebrand Nigeria.

India’s Brand Awareness Increases Need for Rural Tourism Development

The Incredible India marketing campaign launched in 2002 has increased brand awareness for India as a global destination. Despite its outstanding cultural and natural tourism assets, its development in rural areas has been patchy because of shortfalls in infrastructure and service standards. Major steps are underway to address these situations

The 2022-12 Annual Report of the Indian Ministry of Tourism reports that the Ministry has approved 160 tourism projects worth approximately $160 million, mainly in rural areas. The Ministry has given special focus to the development of important destinations and circuit routes through approval of fifty-three mega projects. Mega projects are a mix of cultural, heritage, spiritual and eco-tourism attractions. Priority is also being given to projects involving construction and upkeep of wayside amenities along highways/roads leading to tourist destinations, cleanliness at tourism sites and development of tourism in rural areas.

A study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Yes Bank identifies the positive influence that the “Incredible India” marketing campaign has had on rural areas. It recommends that there should be increased focus on capacity building in regard to human resources in key rural areas. It suggests programs to address service-oriented needs, citing this as a major reason why Indian tourism falters in some regional areas. It also highlights the need to train entrepreneurs. "Rural entrepreneurs, in recent times, have proved to be the success story of the emerging Indian economy, and provided that a clear direction is given, they can very well champion the cause of sustainable tourism models." The study also recommends conserving tradition and values, besides ensuring infrastructure development.

Several decades ago, China was referred to as “the sleeping giant”. Considering the vast tourism appeal of India I think that in tourism terms, the title aptly applies to India, and particularly many of its rural areas.

French Ad Campaign Caught Using Beaches of Hawaii and South Africa

Two of the essentials for successful destination branding is delivering what you promise and being true to who you are because brands are built on trust.  France is one of the most popular destinations in the world and has accumulated considerable brand equity and trust. Unfortunately, a recent print advertising campaign inviting Brits to visit French beaches has caused considerable embarrassment for French tourism officials and has possibly diminished trust in the nation’s brand and its marketing.

It seems that many of the images that are central to the advertising campaign are actually stock images shot at beaches near Cape Town, (South Africa) and in Hawaii, which were then edited to make them look as though they were shot in France.

The Daily Mail reports that in one shot a bikini-clad woman emerging from what looks like the Mediterranean and captioned as 'backflip in Corsica’ is actually a stock photo of a Hawaiian scene with the background altered to feature an image of the Corsican coastline.

What were they thinking! Brits may be excused for wondering if the French beaches are really so unattractive that they can’t be used in an advertising campaign.  It will be interesting to see their response. The immediate priority for the tourism office should be to re-establish trust with their British audience. Without trust, brands have nothing!

Homer Finally Comes Home to the Right Springfield

Many cities lean on some of their famous sons and daughters to influence their brand identity and tourism marketing. For some it is very straight forward, Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico IL, Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg and William Shakespeare was from Stratford-upon-Avon.  But the home of an arguably even greater celebrity, Homer Simpsons, has been a mystery until now. Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons has finally confessed in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine what most of us in Oregon knew all along …… that Springfield, OR is the famous Springfield in the longest running series in U.S. television history.

There are 58 Springfields in the U.S.A. making it one of the most common city names in the country. Groening said he has long given fake answers when asked about the Simpsons' hometown, leaving open the possibility that his latest one is itself another fake.  

In 2010 we completed a Visitor Readiness Report for Springfield OR and one of the recommendations was to work with Groening on developing The Simpsons related experiences in the city. Dan Egan at the Springfield Chamber of Commerce tells me that since Groening’s announcement the phone calls and emails from around the world have been non-stop. Well Dan, you’d better get working on that new wing of the Springfield Museum to be dedicated to the city’s most famous “residents”.

In reaction to the announcement, Homer Simpson offered several Tweets, including, "Now that Bart knows we live in the Beaver State, all he says is dam dam dam!" and "Crap, we live in Oregon? I mean, Go Ducks!" (For non-Oregonians, the Ducks is a reference to the University of Oregon sports program.)

Colorado Invites Audiences to “Come to Life”

 

Colorado Tourism Office is taking an interesting approach in its forthcoming television advertising campaign aimed at boosting summer visitation. Instead of focusing on its geographic and iconic features alone, the advertising features the transformative qualities of the state with an invitation to Come to Life. The focus is squarely on the prospective visitor and the emotional rewards of spending time in the outdoors away from their everyday hectic lives. Actually, Colorado is not identified until the end of the 57^th second of the ad.

The emotive film shows how viewers can come to life in lakes, cascading waterfalls and open fields, and prods them to rejuvenate by exploring spectacular mountains.

The campaign is supported by print advertising, a visitor guide and web and social media marketing programs providing critical links to towns and operators throughout the state. It will be interesting to review the results of the advertising and how it translates to increased Summer business for the state’s towns and tourism businesses.

Do Places With Funny Names Play With a Handicap?

Glancing at a map of just about any country, it’s easy to find places that are playing with a handicap. Names like Mousehole (Cornwall, England), Lick Skillet (VA) and Hairy Hill (Alberta, Canada) may bring a smile to your face. But others, such as Looneyville (TX and VA), Satan’s Kingdom (Vermont), and Ugley (Essex, England) are names that could be a drawback for the town.

When it comes to destination and place branding, the name of the city, town or county is the most powerful part of its identity. It has often been said that being introduced to a brand is like meeting a person. Their name is important - it’s how we remember them, make associations, and refer to them. It’s as if there is a filing cabinet in our brains where we keep everything relevant to that name. When we hear London, Paris or Saigon, we recall the many pieces of information, thoughts and feelings, large and small, that we have assembled about each over the years, even if we have never been there.

USA Today considers ten other town names that “will make you snicker like a middle schooler”. While some have been able to trade of their unfortunate names, e.g. Hell (Grand Cayman), I guess for some of the others it acts like a mediaeval city wall to protect the place from outsiders.  

Do you know of a place with a funny name that has used it to its advantage?

Angels Camp CA Follows a Methodical Brand Development Path

I was recently drawn to an article in CalaverasEnterprise.com showing that the very small community of Angels Camp CA was methodically implementing its brand strategy. I spoke to my friend, Mary Klugherz from Great Destination Strategies who developed the brand concept for Angel’s Camp and was part of the Destination Development International team that developed the city’s brand strategy to gain a better understanding of their plans.

Mary said that the success at Angels Camp boils down to three things:

1.  A supportive city government/staff

2.  A few true brand champions

3.  Consistency and patience

She said, “Angels Camp started with a Brand Advisory Committee created during the brand development phase.  That morphed into a Brand Leadership Team, led by a local resident, who is a tireless champion.  This group has formalized into Destination Angels Camp and the organization was approved at the recent Council meeting.  They took the plan I wrote and have just followed each step slowly and methodically.  They have had the plan since late 2008, so it has been just over 3 years.  This is a great example of how a very small community (pop. 3,800) has taken a plan and followed it, even with limited resources.  They have maintained transparency in all they do and are slowly making progress.”

Mary said that she believes the six key lessons learned in Angels Camp are:

1.  It takes a supportive city government and brand champions

2.  It takes time

3.  It is important to stay the course and follow the plan

4.  It takes time

5.  Continue to follow the plan

6.  It takes time

I’m not sure whether Mary pointed out that you have to religiously follow the plan and that it won’t happen overnight! While Angels Camp has a very distinctive logo, this hasn’t become their fixation and sidetracked them from the critical brand development issues that have to be addressed.  It’s great to see a very small community tackle its brand development in such a comprehensive and methodical manner. There are some lessons here for much larger places.

Residents Call For Panama City Beach FL to Address It’s Conflicted Brand Image

Balancing the visitor mix can be a challenge for many destinations. What attracts one group may just as easily be negatively impacted by the actions of another group.  This particular challenge is being debated in Panama City Beach FL, the self-proclaimed "Spring Break Capital of the World", which is also a popular family destination.

Local residents are becoming increasingly concerned about the annual invasion of some 250,000 college students. Many regard them as being more trouble than they’re worth, despite the Spring Breakers typically leaving over $100 million in local businesses during the month of March.

"We are having a big problem with the culture of our guests,including vulgarity and a lack of respect," County Commissioner Mike Thomas told the Panama City News Herald. "Every town is having these problems, but you ought to be able to have community standards. Our main business is the family business.”

"It used to be school kids having a good time," Vice Mayor Ken Nelson said. "Now it's thugs coming here for the biggest party in Florida. We need drastic action. When you throw a party you are responsible for who shows up.  We have to change our marketing," added Nelson, noting that similar beach cities with fewer Spring Break problems tell him that "we don't invite the same people that you do."

As we have seen with some European fun and sun destinations, weaning local businesses off these lucrative markets can be very difficult. Eventually, the question will be asked, “Who’s city is it – the visitor’s or resident’s?”

Panama City Beach could learn a lot from the very popular restaurant and event venue, The Hangout on the beach in nearby Gulf Shoes AL, where the tagline is “Be Nice or Go Home”.

Xiamen Slogan Competition to Create a Brand Without Research or Strategy

Xiamen also known as Amoy is a major city on the south east coast of the People’s Republic of China and is known for its scenic beauty and tree lined beaches.  

The Xiamen Tourism Bureau is calling for public suggestions for a new tourism slogan, logo and souvenir to represent the city.  The Bureau has established a web site for the competition which closes on April 30. The winners will be announced after public online voting and expert review, seemingly in that order.  Winners will receive approximately $US 3,200 each.

Unfortunately this is another example of a DMO attempting to take a shortcut to acquire some of the key elements for shaping their city’s brand identity.  Not only is it a mistake to run a competition to obtain logo and slogan suggestions, but to then turn it over to residents to make the choice further compounds the problems of this strategy-less and research-less approach. The Xiamen Tourism Bureau will be left to then shape their brand strategy around their new logo and tagline, rather than have those elements emerge from a well-researched strategy that is based on their most competitive positioning, personality and benefits.

Xiamen could be well advised to take a page from the research and strategically focused branding approach of nearby Shaoxing which I blogged about several weeks ago.

Newcastle, Australia Rebrands With Comprehensive Brand Strategy

Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Simon McArthur, the Tourism and Economic Development Manager for Newcastle City Council, Australia. I wanted to gain some insights into how their work for the Brand Newcastle project is coming along.

An aspect that caught my attention was their product development focus to ensure that the city delivers on its brand promise. Central to this is attracting and reinvigorating events (many associated with the beach and sports), the opening of the Newcastle Museum, the development of innovative harbor tours, and City Evolutions which will feature digital projections on buildings and lit moving sculptures that interpret some of the key stories that formed and rebuilt the city. The next phase is likely to feature a function center overlooking the beach, a coastal spa, regional convention and exhibition center, new hotels and expansions to Newcastle Airport. Another interesting feature is the plan to rebrand several of the city's key suburbs and visitor precincts such as Hamilton and Downtown Newcastle.

“This rebranding will enable us to consistently promote a more contemporary view of the city - a genuine, ever-changing, vibrant and energetic place that is home to hardworking people and world-class industries,” Simon McArthur said.

Newcastle is attempting to shed its long established ‘Steel City’ image with a comprehensive rebranding program.  This includes a new logo and tagline (See Change) as well as increased promotions through tourism websites, brochures and signage. The city has also installed sixteen visitor information kiosks throughout the city, in lieu of operating a traditional tourist information center.

Urban Branding: The Evolution of Kansas City’s Graphic Identity

We have all heard the line that we “stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.” Sharon Gochenour writing in ThisBigCity offers the perspective that the generations of graphic designs and signage on the streets and buildings of Kansas City combine to capture the authenticity and ethos of the place. They also have a strong influence on the city’s contemporary look.

She sees Kansas City as not only a modern, high tech city, but being the product of an industrial boom in manufacturing, warehousing, rail traffic, and stockyards in the early part of the 20th century. Accompanying these activities was the accumulation of generations of signage, billboard ads and graphic designs, many of which are still evident.  Gochenour explains that by walking through many of Kansas City’s streets and districts you can discover what the city has been and how the layers of graphic imagery accumulated over the past century differ from the modern marketing of the city seen in websites and brochures, but are evidence of what makes Kansas City, Kansas City.

Gochenour advocates, “A city’s image is not only formed by what it is but all the things it has been. Perhaps the next step in city branding is to generate virtual spaces through the accumulation of images from various sources on all levels of city development - planners, artists, officials, individual city dwellers. These images could be presented on a platform that allows visitors to arrange each of these layers of meaning, generating new designs and new understandings.” 

What’s The Difference Between Brand Image and Brand Identity?

We receive many questions and requests for advice from city leaders, practitioners and students around the world. I have decided to start sharing some of these requests and our responses with readers of this blog.  Here is an email from Marc a tourism marketing student in South Africa, “I see materials that use the terms ‘brand image’ and ‘brand identity’ as if they are the same thing. Can you please clarify their meanings, and if they are the same thing. Additionally, how does this relate to cities and tourism destinations?”

 Marc, the terms ‘image’ and ‘identity’ are often confused. Brand image relates to how the brand is perceived from the customer’s point of view, while brand identity is the unique set of visual, auditory and other stimuli that express the brand and shapes its image.  Each must be deeply rooted in the foundations of the brand.  Think of brand identity as being like the identity of a friend, comprised of his or her name, appearance, personality, speech, ethnicity, and personal style among many other elements.  Image, on the other hand, comes from the external view and in this context relates to what people may think of your friend. It is their perceptions and therefore their reality of who that person is and what they represent.

Strong brands are built on trust. There must be alignment between what the brand promises and the reality of the actual experience. If the two are out of sync the brand will not be sustainable unless there are plans - and resources - to bridge the gap. In the case of a city, if its performance is of a high standard and its image is bad or non-existent, then it has a deficient brand strategy and may need increased or more accurate communications.

A city has a real image challenge when people outside of it do not accurately know the reality of the place. The imbalance between the internal identity and the external image of many places limits their development. This often happens when the city is projecting itself as one thing, but the reality is much different. For example, the city promotes itself as a place for romantic beach getaways, but visitors find that restaurant service is a nightmare, hotels are substandard, and that after-hour beach walkways are hard to find or poorly lit. Strong, successful brands don’t display this kind of dissonance. Destination managers must constantly monitor customer satisfaction and “test drive” the services and experiences in their own city to ensure that they the images matches the reality and is aligned with the promises that they are making.

Thailand Brands Second-Tier Provinces

The Nation (Thailand) reports that Thailand has commenced a very interesting tourism development and place branding program. The Tourism Council of Thailand and the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion are collaborating to promote the country’s second-tier provinces by dividing them into clusters and creating brand identities for each regional group. Their objective is to strengthen provincial tourism, which is comprised mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The plan recommends forming nine clusters, covering 52 provinces. They are Central region, west coast, east coast, Andaman in the South region, Gulf of Thailand in the South region, upper North region, lower North region, upper Northeast region, and lower Northeast region.

The challenge for them is to ensure that these destination branding strategies are not predominantly top-down. Their long term sustainability is going to be determined by how each brand is understood, supported and used as the catalysts for tourism development at a grassroots level. For too many state and federally mandated brands around the world soon run out of steam if they are not developed in a consultative and collaborative way with locals.

An Epidemic of Anemic City Taglines

In recent weeks I have seen what must be an epidemic of anemic and insipid taglines that had me reaching for the quote that my colleague Tom Buncle at Yellow Railroad in Scotland gave me for my forthcoming book. Here it is…

“Taglines are brilliant when they are inspired, convey a destination’s benefits succinctly in a way that evokes the essence of the place, and could be nowhere else. It helps too if they say something new to you and say it in a way that grabs you, make you smile or think “yeah, that’s nicely put”  i.e. impactful, memorable and, usually containing one strong idea. But mostly they fail spectacularly. And how much money has been wasted with expensive agencies generating mediocre calls to action in insipid taglines?”

Buncle adds, “The risk is that a destination looks amateurish and hick if it tries too hard and fails to come up with a compelling tagline – in which case no tagline at all is better than an embarrassingly lame one that patronizes consumers – and residents. If you can’t come up with the Holy Grail of a killer tagline, use a descriptive one or one that anchors the place in a single powerful idea, e.g. Angus: Scotland’s Birthplace or Innsbruck: Capital of the Alps which at least paints a picture of your destination, or be brave and don’t have one. In other words trust your product, get your brand and marketing right, and treat consumers as potential visitors who want to be inspired and informed, but not patronized.” 

These are wise words that every place, committee, leader and firm should read before they start a place branding assignment.

Why Every Destination Needs a Crisis Communications Plan

The tornados that ripped through several American states and devastating several communities is another warning that really bad things can happen unexpectedly to good places. The lesson is that all places need to have a crisis communications plan that is tightly integrated into the city’s crisis management plan. How well this is done can influence how quickly the place can recover from the crisis and reinstate the economic momentum of the city.

A case in point is Branson MO which was struck by a tornado last week that damaged about four dozen commercial structures including six of the town's 50 theaters and 22 of the 200 hotels and motels. This happened right at the start of Branson’s busy tourist season. Fortunately, Branson CVB and the local tourism industry seem to be responding fast in an effort to minimize the tourism impacts of the tornado.

My colleague Peggy Bendel, author of the forthcoming book “It's a Crisis! NOW What?" observes, “At a time like this, having a crisis communications plan in place helps destination marketers move swiftly to gather accurate information, and get the word out to their various publics: visitors, staff, marketing partners and the media. Branson's doing a great job: their home page at ExploreBranson.com retains its brand imagery, and highlights special events, while featuring a half-page with links to current details about the February 29^th storm. Many destinations might be tempted to ignore the "bad news" and keep their site as is, but with a national story such as a damaging tornado, that simply makes you appear clueless and guarantees people will go elsewhere for credible information.”

 

Simply because you have completed a brand strategy and marketing plan does not mean that you have secured the best possible future for your destination. You also need a constantly updated crisis communications strategy, because bad things do happen to good places!

An Irish Boost for a Visitor Information Center

At a time when destination management organizations (DMO) worldwide are evaluating the role of their visitor information centers (VIC), I was surprised to see in the Irish Examiner that a VIC in Ireland is looking to double its visitation. 

It seems that the The Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre in Tullamore is to be redeveloped with the aim of doubling its annual visitor numbers to 40,000. I then discovered that it was to be developed in a once bonded warehouse for Tullamore Dew whiskey. Tullamore Dew is currently the second largest Irish whiskey brand in the world, selling more than 8.5m bottles annually.

Visitor information centers work best when they are located in precincts that directly link them to the community’s key experiences. Could it be that their strategy to double visitor numbers is linked to free samples of Tullamore Dew?

New Destination Video Sings the Praises of Brand Vancouver

Tourism Vancouver’s new destination film takes an innovative approach in projecting the city’s brand messages using multiple platforms. Central to the film is the original music of local band Watasun and their song, “It’s You… Vancouver”.

Watasun is a Vancouver-based duo that fuses urban beats with traditional folk sounds. One-time buskers on Vancouver’s Granville Street, singer/songwriter Adam Bailie and percussionist Reid Hendry now record, produce and sell their own albums, taking inspiration from everyday experiences in the city.

Throughout the three-minute video, the duo perform their catchy tune while making appearances in, near or atop iconic Vancouver attractions. It’s nice to see a destination really trying to make all of its brand communications distinctive and authentic – and hopefully exposing a few locals to a larger audience.

Who’s a Desirable Loiterer in Your Placemaking Plans?

An article by Emily Badger in The Atlantic Cities appealed to both my sense of humor and my eye for placemaking in downtown precincts. Badger points out, “(When) residents moved out of cities and stopped using their public spaces and streets, the only people still walking them were deemed riffraff: the homeless, jobless and, officials feared, gang members and prostitutes.” These are the loiterers who caused local authorities and urban planners to form all types of rules to protect the citizenry and the park benches.

Many cities now recognize that people lingering in downtown precincts are not necessarily loiterers, and are actually good for their economic and social well-being. I totally agree with Badger who goes on to state, “Lingering, on the other hand, is both a means to an end and a desirable end in itself. People who linger create vibrant public places and welcoming streetscapes. They also increase the safety of an area, with more eyes on the street. And leisurely foot traffic can lead to more street commerce, more connected communities, and spontaneous exchanges.”

When I lived in New York City, Bryant Park was near our office and was certainly not the place you would want to venture, even in daylight. It is now one of the best examples of a rejuvenated public space in the USA where people hangout day and night, i.e. linger. The successful cities will increasingly be those that recognize and cater to the differences between loiterers and lingerers.

“Until we change the vocabulary,” Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute says, “then we’ll (not see change). (When I see) the last loitering sign in America, I want to photograph it and say ‘this is it.’ Maybe the new signs will say ‘please linger.’”

Image - Bryant Park NYC - Baker

A Great Case Study in Worst Practice Place Branding

It’s very hard to know where to start with this one. There is a fineline where edgy and funny can become crass and plain stupid. KJCT8 TV has shone a light on Fruita, CO where a bumper sticker has evolved into being proposed as the city’s tagline. The bumper sticker reads “WTF”, meaning “Welcome To Fruita”.

"We saw them and thought it was pretty funny and thought it might be a good idea," Fruita city manager Clint Kinney told KJCT8. "And so before we ran with the idea we wanted to get feedback from the community."

Mr. Kinney might like to also get the opinions from prospective visitors, potential new residents, or executives considering relocating a business to the city. Does the acronym hint at any benefit or reward for them? What message does it convey to them? Has The City of Fruita also considered that it really doesn’t come any more generic than “welcome to”? There’s zero distinctiveness about that.

This contains so many examples of what small communities shouldn’t do when they want to establish a verbal identity to project their competitiveness. If Fruita adopts this as their tagline, the reaction to it from outsiders might well be, “WTF!” Cities need to take their competitive identity way more serious than this. It has a direct impact on the income and well-being of the comunity as well as the tax receipts of the city council. It deserves much more serious and informed consideration than to base the city's identity on a joke from a bumper sticker.

Image: Fruita.org

England's North East Tourism Secures Its Brand Equity

Well-developed place brand strategies can falter for a wide variety of reasons.  Some of the most common pitfalls can relate to a lack of funds for consistent implementation or changes to the structure and emphasis of the lead organization.

An interesting situation has been resolved in North East England, where their successful destination branding strategy was under threat because the lead organization One North East is due to close in March due to government cuts. The Passionate People Passionate Places campaign was launched in 2005 by One North East. The region’s tourism industry was very loyal to the brand and recognized its value to business i.e. its brand equity. Importantly, they didn’t want to contemplate life without the brand.

BBC reports that the Passionate People Passionate Places intellectual property and brand elements have been purchased by NewcastleGateshead Initiative on behalf of their tourism partners across the North East for £2,500.  It’s good to see that the region can capitalize on its hard-earned brand equity and ensure that it continues to deliver for them.  This highlights our conistent point that a destination brand is not owned by the DMO but its stakeholders and residents.

Santa Monica’s Place Brand Ambassadors Take to the Streets

While visiting Los Angeles over the weekend, I took a walk through Downtown Santa Monica to see the latest additions to Third Street Promenade.  I used to live nearby and over the past twenty years I’ve enjoyed observing the evolution of this lively precinct.

What caught my eye this time were several very well-uniformed, enthusiastic people who were located strategically throughout the precinct as “Downtown Ambassadors”. They were proactively greeting visitors in a very friendly way, and seemed to be well trained and genuinely enjoying what they were doing. I discovered that there are approximately forty of the ambassadors, with eight usually rostered for weekends throughout Downtown.  I was also impressed to learn that they are paid and not volunteers.  Their uniforms were sharp, well suited to the beach environment (and the Santa Monica destination brand), and clearly identified them as being there to help visitors.  There was also a small visitor information kiosk located conspicuously in the center of this pedestrian street – staffed by a live person!

At a time when many DMOs and communities are wondering about the future role of their visitor information centers, Santa Monica is solving the problem where people need assistance – in the pedestrian precinct. I have no doubt that this is contributing toward extending Santa Monica’s lengths of stay and holding and dispersing people throughout the neighborhood, as well as contributing toward increased satisfaction and return visits – all the while reinforcing the Santa Monica brand – the essence of California lifestyle. A wise investment!

I realize that other communities conduct programs like this, but this is one of the best I have seen. I also appreciate that not all places can adopt this approach because they do not have the critical mass of visitors within a precinct.  Several things impressed me, but most of all it’s the commitment, consistency, professionalism and resources dedicated to this program. So big props to Bayside District Corporation and the team at Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau.  I’d really like to hear of similar programs in other cities or towns.

Branding a Fashion District for Durban, South Africa

Durban, South Africa is well known for its Indian culture and fabulous beaches, but it will soon have a dedicated fashion district.  Durban Daily News reports on an interesting economic development branding initiative where a specific city neighborhood will be nominated, and then boutiques, material suppliers, designers and pattern makers are invited to set up shop in the area. The long term objective is to develop a sub-brand for Durban as South Africa’s Fashion Capital, and then acceptance as a world class leader in fashion.

“We want it to house the entire fashion industry supply chain,” said Jasmine Sultan, the program director of the KZN Fashion Council. “After many years of talking, it is now time for action. The next step is for the city’s urban design department to see how to design and brand the fashion district. We want to position Durban as a fashion destination, and the district will eventually be marketed as a tourist route,” Sultan added.

South Africa has had great success in fostering collaborative partnerships to establish tourism and economic development initiatives. It’s going to be interesting to see whether they can successfully pull together all of the necessary stakeholders and achieve their lofty ambitions on the world’s fashion stage. I wish them well.

Image: Flights Australia

Collaboration is Essential to Boost Competitiveness of Some Cities

The competitiveness of cities and regions is becoming an increasingly important issue as they develop strategies to rebound from the recession. Adding to their dilemma is the emergence of global competitors which changes the playing field. Now small cities must decide whether to go it alone, or collaborate with regional partners to present a more relevant value proposition. A recent article in The New Statesman, considered these realities in regard to the competitiveness of cities and regions in England.

A report by Ernst & Young observes, “Cities are engaged in intense competition for resources in the form of the talented people and capital to drive innovation. And because people are increasingly mobile they will migrate to cities that are the most aligned in what they offer in terms of brand, strategy, investment, services and culture. Achieving this depends on city leaders ensuring that the four environments that co-exist within a city - urban, business, social and cultural - are supportive to attracting and retaining innovative companies, talented people and crucial foreign direct investment.”

"Competition among cities is like a bicycle; if you don't pedal you'll fall off," says the Urban Land Institute. The competitiveness of our cities on the global stage is crucial to the UK's recovery. But should all cities be competing all of the time? And at what point should cities collaborate rather than compete?”

Over the years, I have observed many cities that should put aside their long held animosity, petty politics and myopic views of neighboring cities and adopt a more regionalized approach to their branding and economic development. But then again, that might bust up some old “clubs”!