1. Tourism Destination Management
Holistic Brand Communications

2. The Importance of National Image
It’s the brand image of a country.
It has strong influence on target audiences
tourists
Investors
Students
Donors
Trading partners
The media
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3. Elements of Image Positive Elements Negative Elements Being poor
Uncultured
Backward
Dangerous
Corrupt
Prejudice
Unfriendly
Positive Elements
Prosperous
Civilized and cultured
Progressive
Safe and secure
Transparent
Open to diversity
Welcoming spirit
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4. Where does national image come from
Fair, prosperous, well run, and successful country
Integrated marketing communications as tools to build image and reputation
Competitive identity
Experiences
Place of origin of famous products
Government policies
Good place for investment
Cultural exchanges
People of the country
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5. The Hexagon of Competitive Identity
Tourist
Experiences
Famous
Brands
People
Competitive identity
Policies
Culture
Investment
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6. Key Concepts of Destination Branding
A place for a pleasant holiday
Good narratives of the place
Worth to become viral
True representation of the place
Observe the principles of sustainability
Dealing with negative reputation
The triads of reputation: environment and safety, technology and infrastructure, cultural self improvement and personal advancement
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7. Elements of National Branding
Competitive Identity
Core Essence and Endure Characteristics
DNA that runs through IMC and behaviors
Dynamic interaction between expected and perceived experiences
Emotional value attached to tourism assets of the place: landscape, heritage, culture, products, and services
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8. Brand Development Process
Branding for everyone involved
Brand values disseminated through IMC
Definite target segments
Discovering targets’ perception of the destination
Internal branding among all stakeholders
Balancing between the core campaign and other different campaigns for different markets
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9. Brand Development Process
Choosing a right theme for destination branding
Upholding a brand architecture—sub national brand must reflect some elements of national brand
Flexibility for creativity of sub-national brand campaigns
National brand campaign should include sub- national brand stories
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10. Brand Development Process
Selecting the right narratives for each market segments
Continually refreshing the brand when the brand become comfortably familiar
Core stories: main thing at the place, profile of the place, things to provoke emotions, description of the place, things that make the place different
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11. Destination Branding Implementation
Brand essence and values run through all marketing activities
Creative execution for marketing communication
Top management being brand steering group
Applying brand management system
Being brand champions as employee KPI
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12. Destination Branding Implementation
Internal branding strategy to gain brand advocates among stakeholders
Cultivating brand ambassador concepts among employees
Reward systems motivating brand champions and brand advocates
National Tourism Organization (NTO) members being trained to understand brand DNA
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13. Destination Branding Implementation
NTO members living the brand
Producing brand tool kit for all internal stakeholders
Residents of the place being integrated and co-operative
Brand impacts being regularly monitored
Brand being dynamically refreshed
Brand maintaining being relevant
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14. Critical Success Factors
Core market insights
Qualitative consumer research
Leadership of NTO
Strong brand management system
Internal branding
Consistent communication among participants
Monitor brand impact
Applying brand values to IMC
Long-term vision
Branding mindset among NTO staff
Stakeholders buy in
Brand adoptions among commercial parties
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15. Travel Motivation: Key Points
Cultural immersion
Understanding of human and physical environments
Personal fulfillment of holiday experiences
Adventures
Freedom from any limits of everyday world
Self realization and indulgence
Learning new skills
Participating in activities
Searching for personal space in natural surroundings
Emotional connection with one’s own soul
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16. Travel Motivation: Key Points
Social gathering
Family reunion
Emotional recharge
Exploration
Religious pilgrim
Escapism
Hedonistic experiences
Materialistic and shopping
Visiting iconic cities
Collecting destinations
Recreational
Spiritual refreshment
Physical pleasure
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17. Significant Trends Technological changes: internet and digital
Long haul travel
More holidays
Ecotourism and sustainability
Tourists are content-driven
Single visa market for many regions
The bond between tourism development and national economy
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18. Competitive Elements Nature Culture Heritage Accommodations
Accessibility
Activities
Attractions
Amenities
Infrastructure
Friendly host
Safety and security
Adventures
Public services
Commercial activities
Gastronomical
Image and reputation
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19. Elements of Destination Brand
Competitive identity
Enduring essence and promises
Positioning and perceptual image
Fundamental blocks for marketing communication (Content Marketing)
Relationship between residents and tourists
Attributes, features, benefits, and values
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20. Brands in Tourism Business
Product brand
Service brand
Place brand
Attraction brand
Destination brand
Thematic
Geographic
Events
Attractions
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21. Place Brand A good place to… Feel of the place Live Work Do business
Invest
Visit
Buy form
Residents
Immigration
Diplomacy
Investment
Tourism
Exports
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22. Key Factors to Determine the Health of a City
Vibrancy of culture
Standard of living
Attractiveness for a short- break holiday
Suitability of climate
Positive word-of-mouth
Strong economy
Distinctive history
Green credentials
Quality of open space
Transportation and logistics
Image and reputation
Residents’ attitudes and behaviors
Good sense of place
Tourism policy
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23. Trio Factors of Sense of Place
Place (Physical, history, culture, nature) Produce People (products, events, (citizens, residents, Activities, service) attitudes, behaviors)
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24. Thematic Branding Uniqueness Essence (core value) Positioning
Personality
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Attributes
Features
Promise
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25. Geographic Branding Physical beauty Natural beauty Climate Distance
Accessibility
Activity
Sensual pleasure
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26. Event Branding Activities Attractiveness Uniqueness Occasion
Celebration
Cultural or symbolic meaning
Commomeration
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27. Destination Branding Objectives
Create awareness and recognition
Disseminating information to create knowledge
Projecting differentiation
Projecting positioning
Giving strong and compelling identity
Creating image and reputation
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28. Destination Branding Process
Destination audit
Segment analysis
SWOT analysis
Stakeholder engagement
Consumer perception research
Competitor analysis
Scope and scale
Branding objectives
TOWS matrix
SO—offensive
ST—preventive
WO—corrective
WT—reactive
Strategic plan of branding
Integrating branding into marketing plan
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29. Stakeholders Engagement
Include key stakeholders from the beginning
Develop a core group of stakeholders
Explain the purpose and the value of branding
Consult with key stakeholders
Keep core stakeholders engaged and informed
Provide stakeholders with brand toolkits
Communicate with stakeholders with an ongoing basis
Internal branding is essential
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30. Questions for Competitive Analysis
What destinations are your competitors?
What do the target segments looking for?
How much can your destination deliver?
How much can other destinations deliver?
What are main assets of your destination?
How competitive are they?
Where does your destination stand in relation to your competitors?
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31. The Five-stage Brand Pyramid
The destination’s
DNA:
“What is the essential
Nature and character
Of the destination?”
Brand essence
Summary of the destination’s
Strongest competitive features:
“What makes it stand out
From everywhere else?”
Positioning statement
Succinct summation of the destination’s
Main character traits:
“How would it like to be seen and
Described by its main audience?”
Competitor analysis
Brand personality
Emotional
Benefits
Visitors’ ‘emotional take-out’ from the destination:
“How do visitors feel about the place?”
Consumer research
Rational
Attributes
Visitors’ ‘emotional take-out’ from the destination:
“What do visitors like to see and do?”
SWOT analysis
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32. The Six-stage Brand Pyramid
“What is the essential
Nature and character
Of the destination?”
Brand essence
“What makes it stand out
From everywhere else?”
Brand values
“What key traits and characteristics of
The destination are communicated by
The brand-both head and heart?”
Brand personality
Competitor analysis
Emotional
benefits
“What psychological rewards or emotional benefits
Do tourists receive by visiting the destination?
How does the visitor feel”
Consumer research
Rational
benefits
“What benefits to visitors result
From the destination’s features?”
“What are the tangible, verifiable, objective, measurable
Characteristics of the destination ?”
Attributes
SWOT analysis
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33. Brand Wheel 33/43 Rational What the product Does for me
Facts and symbols
Describe the
product
Proposition
Essence
Brand personality
How the
Brand makes
me feel
How the brand
Makes me look
Values
Emotional
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34. Integrate the brand into Marketing Activities
integrating strategic messages of brand values into creative marketing execution
Strategic messages being projected through creative execution
Strategic messages of destination brand values being run through all marketing activities
Execution elements being imagery, tone, mood, and style
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35. Integrate the brand into Marketing Activities
Using unorthodox marketing techniques and unexpected media uses to project brand values
Organizing familiarization trip among travel writers, travel agents, and tour operators
Using various persuasive communication approaches coherently and synergistically
Observing the rules of media convergence
Using paid, earned, shared, and owned media
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36. Global Brand VS Target Segments
Global (umbrella) brand values should always be reflected in any segment campaign, never lose a link between the global and any segment campaigns
Be aware of the distinction between branding and marketing campaigns
Imagery and messages of segment campaign should be identifiable that they are emanating from the same destination
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37. Key Challenges Unplanned communications Coherence and consistency
Profound visitor insights
Stakeholder buy-in
Brand architecture
Spreading the brand among strategic partners
User-generated contents on social media
Unplanned communications
Coherence and consistency
Sufficient budget
Brand supports from all departments
Top management engagement and sponsorship
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38. Brand Architecture
National brand and sub-national brands share the same DNA
National brand values can be selected and dialed up or down by different sub-national brands
Sub-national brands must also be distinctive, but bear some resemblance to the national brand
Sub-national brands should get opportunities in national brand materials
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39. Supra-national Brands and Pan-regional Brands
Less impactful with some exceptions
The countries are similar in terms of culture and typography
They are small
They are unknown and undifferentiated
Umbrella identity is better known than individual component countries
They work in long-haul markets where individual destinations are relatively unknown
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40. Stretching the Brand through Partnership
Visibility increases when used by other organizations
Persuading other organizations to convey destination values in their marketing communications
Identifying key stakeholders who are appropriate partners, including non travel organizations
Distinctive logo different from NTO logo
Controlling the use of logo and brand messages
Partnership among NTO’s of many countries
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41. User-generated Brand Contents
Increase brand awareness
Enhance brand impact
Render credibility
Can no longer control brand messages
Posting by fans are overwhelming positive
Create trust
Radical change in mindset
Buzz feeding on social media
Persuasive pictures in instargram
Massive low cost extension of NTO messages
Earned and shared media
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42. Brand Coherence: Image without Cliché
Identify country’s essence
No national stereotype
Aware of the difference between icons and stereotypes
Historic icons work better in the markets where destinations are less well-known, but in more established markets, fresher marketing images are needed
Beware of “icon fatigue”
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43. Branding for All Branding is for everyone
Budget should not be a constraint
All stakeholders are brand ambassadors
All stakeholders are brand curators
Brand values run through all marketing communications and activities
Brand champions live the brand
Brand ambassadors manifest brand identity
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