Destination branding. A comparative analysis of London s and Liverpool s visitors guides for Author: Lars Rungø. Supervisor: Mariette Ulbæk

Transcription

1 Destination branding A comparative analysis of London s and Liverpool s visitors guides for 2011 Author: Lars Rungø Supervisor: Mariette Ulbæk Aarhus University Business and Social Sciences November 2011 Master thesis: Cand. ling. merc. English

2 Abstract Today, the rapid advance of globalisation has led to an increasingly competitive market where destinations from all over the world can compete with each other. Consequently, it is more important than ever for destinations to stand out and appear unique. In order to differentiate destinations, destination branding has emerged and is now an activity which is undertaken by many destination marketing organisations (DMOs). London and Liverpool are two different destination brands with unique attributes. London is known throughout the world as the capital of the United Kingdom whereas Liverpool is not as well-known. In the thesis, the visitors guides of the aforementioned cities constitute the empirical data. These guides are named Only in London Official City Guide 2011 and Liverpool Visitor Guide for the City Region 2011/2012, respectively. The visitors guides were selected as empirical data due to the fact that the brochures are professionally produced by the DMOs. Thus, it was assumed that the communication in the guides was carefully planned since they represent official opinion about the cities. Furthermore, as the cities differ e.g. according to the level of awareness, a hypothesis was formulated. The hypothesis assumed that brand position and social context would have an impact on how the DMOs communicated in the above visitors guides. In order to answer this hypothesis, the following problem statement was established: The purpose of the thesis is to carry out a comparative analysis of the 2011 visitors guides from London and Liverpool to examine how they communicate. In order to evaluate the communication, the analysis will be based on relevant aspects from textual analysis and persuasion. After the analysis, it will be discussed if the hypothesis can either be confirmed or rejected. In order to provide a framework for the analysis, the theory part contained chapters about destination branding, textual analysis and persuasion. The destination branding chapter provided important definitions within the field and outlined some strategies that could be likely to appear in the city guides. The textual analysis and persuasion chapters mainly described which elements would be a part of the verbal analysis. The above analysis, social context chapters for both cities and a discussion chapter aimed at uncovering the differences and similarities between the city guides in terms of how the DMOs had communicated. Furthermore, these results formed the basis for either confirming or rejecting the hypothesis of the thesis. Text excerpts containing overall themes which could be found in both

3 brochures were selected in the analysis, in order to ensure that the comparative analysis was based on elements that were present in London s and Liverpool s brochures. The analysis revealed that the visitors guides were very similar in terms of the overall communication strategies and the execution of these. As an example, the brochures were highly expressive, the level of formality was rather informal and many persuasive elements were included in the brochures. Naturally, the content was different on a word-to-world level as London and Liverpool are different cities with unique attractions and venues. The biggest difference between the brochures was that Liverpool s city guide went into greater detail when describing the city and its inhabitants than London s did. However, this difference could be due to the fact that it is easier for Liverpool s DMO to stage the city since London is a much bigger and more complex entity than Liverpool. Destination branding theory supported that destinations could be placed at different life stages which again suggested that DMOs should tailor their communication according to brand position. Additionally, the thesis argued that the London and Liverpool brands are at different life stages. Moreover, the situational context sections explained that the cities have different challenges and purposes depending on what they want to communicate to the readers. However, due to the high extent of similarity, the hypothesis was rejected. The thesis could not provide a concise answer as to why the city guides turned out to be so similar. However, it is assumed that genre conventions and/or a certain move structure can have influenced the communication strategies. Both city guides have employed the same communication strategies and contain many of the same themes. Nevertheless, it was beyond the scope of the thesis to examine this assumption. This could perhaps make up the focal point for future projects within the field of destination branding. Finally, since the city guides more or less contain the same communication strategies, it is presumed that many of these could be identified when examining other destination branding marketing texts from around the world. The abstract contains characters without blanks. This corresponds to 1.87 normal pages.

4 1 Contents 1. Introduction Problem statement Empirical data Theory and method Theory evaluation and criticism Delimitation Structure of the thesis Destination branding Destination branding: background and definitions Branding Difference between destination brand and destination image Destination brand as product or corporate brand? The destination brand fashion curve Can destination branding alone change the image of a destination? Effective destination branding strategies Co-operation Creating a sense of uniqueness Creating authenticity Portraying a personality Portraying people of a place in a certain way Textual analysis Context Language functions The informative language function The expressive language function The directive language function Level of formality Personal pronouns Lexical choices Active and passive sentences Tropes Persuasion Appeal forms Logos Ethos Pathos Credibility Empirical foundation Situational context - London Situational context - Liverpool Only in London - Official City Guide Liverpool Visitor Guide for the City Region 2011/ Delimitation of the city guides Analysis of Only in London and Liverpool Visitor Guide for the City Region 2011/ Language functions Overall level Informative language function Expressive language function Directive language function... 47

5 6.1.5 Part-conclusion Level of formality Personal pronouns Lexical choices Active vs. passive sentences Tropes Part-conclusion Persuasion Appeal forms Ethos Pathos Credibility Part-conclusion Discussion Comparison of the brochures Evaluating the hypothesis Conclusion Bibliography List of appendices The appendices are enclosed separately. The thesis contains characters without blanks. This corresponds to normal pages.

6 3 1. Introduction Today, there is a general consensus that the rapid advance of globalisation has given rise to a more competitive market where e.g. products and services face competition from all over the world. This reality is also apparent within the market of tourist destinations according to e.g. Langer (2002:59) and Moilanen and Rainisto (2009:25). This view is also supported by Anholt who argues that every country, every city, every region must compete with every other for its share of the world s consumers(..) (Anholt 2007:1). Thus, globalisation and the advance of the Internet can enable all sorts of destinations to bring their message across to every corner of the world. A consequence of an even greater global market is that the need of differentiation is essential (Allan 2011:83). In this sense, destinations must promote their unique features in order to stand out from the other competitors who are trying to attract e.g. tourists, companies, investments etc. In order to compete, destination marketers can engage in destination branding which focuses on building unique associations with a brand by e.g. the use of symbols, legally protected names and terms. Moreover, a brand can help to create differences between one s own and other brands in the heart and minds of current and potential customers (Gertner & Kotler 2011:35). London and Liverpool are engaged in destination branding at various levels. One example is through the visitors guides which are available on the destination marketing organisations (DMOs) websites London is a well-established destination brand in the minds of tourists all over the world and is by far the most visited city in the United Kingdom according to a report from In comparison, Liverpool is the 6 th most visited city in the United Kingdom, but is still relatively unknown as a tourist destination. Nevertheless, since the city was European Capital of Culture in 2008, it has become increasingly more known. However, it should still be assumed that there are differences in how the cities communicate in their destination material because London and Liverpool are two different brands with unique attributes. Moreover, the massive difference in visitors numbers as well as levels of awareness related to both cities could also be a factor that could influence the communication of the DMOs responsible for managing each brand. Thus, the hypothesis of the thesis is that since London and Liverpool are two In this thesis, DMOs are understood ad Destination Marketing Organisations p Enclosed as Appendix A

7 different brands with different motives this fact should influence the communication of the visitors guides Problem statement On the basis of the above assumptions and the hypothesis, the purpose of the thesis is to carry out a comparative analysis of the 2011 visitors guides from London and Liverpool to examine how they communicate. In order to evaluate the communication, the analysis will be based on relevant aspects from textual analysis and persuasion. After the analysis, it will be discussed if the hypothesis can either be confirmed or rejected. 1.2 Empirical data As mentioned above, London s and Liverpool s brochures will constitute the empirical data for the thesis. London s city guide has the title Only in London and the sub-headline is called the Official City Guide Thus, it must be assumed that the brochure is relatively new and probably contains many of the events that will take place in the city during Liverpool s visitors guide is called Liverpool Visitor Guide for the City Region 2011/12 and does not, contrary to London s, cover entire 2011 but the last half of this year and some of the events from The reason why the two city guides have been chosen as the only source of communication is that they are widely accessible as they can be downloaded and ordered in printed versions. The brochures are professionally produced by DMOs (cf. 5.3 and 5.4) and it must thus be assumed that the communication present in the guides is carefully planned and will therefore represent official opinion about the destinations. Moreover, since the hypothesis is that the brands are at different stages and have different purposes, it is also assumed that the verbal strategies will differ in the city guides. The Only in London brochure can be found on Visit London s website under Guides 5 where a number of other guides are also available. For example, it is possible to download a monthly London Planner which is quite comprehensive. The reason why the City Guide for 2011 has been selected in this thesis is that the purpose of this brochure is to represent London on a greater scale than on a monthly basis. Moreover, it also needs to correspond to Liverpool s city guide which is not launched on a monthly basis. 5

8 5 The Liverpool Visitor Guide for the City Region 2010/11 can be accessed from Visit Liverpool s website 6, but can also be found by following a direct link 7. The website also offers the reader an event guide that is published on a quarterly basis. However, the purpose of the thesis is not to evaluate event guides as the focuses of these are very narrow. Instead, it is deemed more relevant to compare the organisations destination branding communication through official city guides as these presumably share the same purpose of representing the cities according to the images that the DMOs wish to convey to potential readers. Both guides can be downloaded in PDF formats from the above links, but it is also possible to order a free print version of the brochures by filling out an application form on the website. The reason why I have chosen London and Liverpool needs also to be explained. I was in London in 1999 and found the city very interesting. Moreover, it is also a city that is known by people all over the world, and many unique events take place in the city. In relation to this, I found it interesting to examine how the DMO of London chose to address potential visitors in their communication material. I have chosen Liverpool as I have been a fan of the Liverpool Football Club for many years and for that reason, I began to learn about the city as I hope to visit the city within a near future. With the European Capital of Culture hosting in 2008, Liverpool obtained a high and positive publicity in the national media (cf. 5.2) and therefore, it will be interesting to examine how the DMO of the city communicates. I have selected two cities from the same country as I am then able to compare the communication more precisely since I do not have to take the cultural aspect into account. Instead, the aim is to analyse how the communication is based on selected parameters that will gradually be introduced during the thesis. 1.3 Theory and method The theory part will consist of three different chapters. The first chapter (2) will contain destination branding theory whereas the second chapter (3) will contain various elements of textual analysis. Finally, the last chapter (4) will consist of theory concerning persuasion in order for the analysis to be carried out. The destination branding chapter has several purposes. It will introduce a definition of destination branding, elaborate on what branding is and how it is employed within the field of destinations, discuss the importance of the field for destination marketers and finally, it will help provide an

9 6 understanding of elements of good destination branding communication, which can also help explain some of the strategic choices that could be present in the city guides. To offer a diverse overview of destination branding, I have included a wide array of theorists within the field. The second part of the theory chapter holds aspects of textual analysis and persuasion which will be employed to enable a comprehensive analysis of the two city guides and to enable the answering of the problem statement. The reason why textual analysis has been chosen is that it can help provide a useful framework for the uncovering of the communication which is used in the city guides. To illustrate this, text functions will be applied with the purpose of establishing the communicative purpose. In addition, formality will be part of the theory to analyse how the sender of the guides tries to interact with the reader. The context will also play a vital role together with destination branding as this should have a great influence on how the DMOs communicate in the city guides. Persuasion constitutes the last chapter of the theory section. The reason why persuasion will be introduced is that the brochures are a part of a marketing plan from the DMOs, and therefore it would be natural to assume that the marketers are trying to convince the readers that the cities are unique and worth visiting. To analyse how the marketers undoubtedly try to persuade and appeal to the readers that the claims of the brochures are true, the two rhetorical aspects of appeal forms and credibility have been included. The following paragraph will outline how the thesis will seek to answer the problem statement. Above, it was described which theory the thesis will contain. This theory has been selected as it is relevant and appropriate in relation to carry out an in-depth analysis. The purpose of the thesis is to uncover how the DMOs communicate in London s and Liverpool s city and to evaluate if the hypothesis will be rejected or confirmed. These evaluations will be based on the findings of the analysis (cf. chapter 6) and the discussion chapter (7). In order to provide more clarity on the method, section 1.5 will explain the structure of the thesis. Furthermore, the first section of the analysis (6) will explain how the analysis is carried out Theory evaluation and criticism The purpose of this section is to provide a criticism and evaluation of some of the theoretical aspects which have been applied in this thesis. As stated in 1.3, the field of destination branding is still relatively new. While there are not many

10 7 major disagreements in terms of the central elements between the theorists, there is a tendency towards confusing some of the central elements of destination branding. For instance, the concepts of brand identity and brand image are not clearly defined although several theorists employ these terms. Kozak and Taschi (2006) have written a useful article which has addressed this issue. Their arguments will be accounted for in order to ensure clarity. In relation to destination branding, I have strived to employ the newest theory as the field is relatively new and still under development. Additionally, I have also employed Buhalis s article that is considered fundamental within this field. By doing so, I have been able to evaluate the development within destination branding since the official beginning. Textual analysis and persuasion are old disciplines, and therefore I have not found it necessary to look into the newest developments since the verbal analysis of the visitors guides is concerned with one-way communication models where the receiver has no possibility to interact directly with the sender. In the thesis, I have included the destination brand fashion curve model (Morgan & Pritchard 2007:67) primarily in relation to substantiating the claim that brands do appear at different stages, and thus have different needs and motives. For the purpose of confirming this claim, the model is adequate. But in the theory (2.2.3) it is described that destination marketers should plan their communication according to the status of their brand. However, the model has no implications or suggestions as to how marketers should communicate depending on the status which is a limitation that should be rectified in order to improve the usability of the model. 1.4 Delimitation The thesis will not include a target audience analysis as the target group is likely to constitute a very broad group which cannot be defined. Instead, the focus is on identifying how the DMOs communicate to potential readers, try to include them and persuade them to visit London and Liverpool, respectively. For this reason, it is more important to think of the potential readers as a part of the communication and not what type of persons they are. A visual analysis will not be applied as the focus is on the verbal content of the city guides. Undoubtedly, the visual elements are a vital factor of the visitors guides as the DMOs use the landmarks to substantiate claims of being unique. This fact will be included in the theory section (cf. chapter 2) concerning destination branding so that the visual elements will be accounted for in the thesis. However, a visual analysis is not considered relevant in relation to analysing the

11 8 communication of the city guides. Both the visitors guides contain many pages with diverse elements. For this reason, not all the verbal elements present in the brochure will be analysed. For example, there are many pages that list hotels from both areas and very briefly describe these. These elements are not considered as being important in order to extract the essence of the communication. In addition, the guides contain many advertisements for attractions, companies etc. which will not be analysed since they are not a part of the communication sent out from the DMO. The thesis only focuses on London s and Liverpool s destination marketing communication on the basis of the visitors guides for London and Liverpool as described in the empirical data section (1.2). As the brochures are composed by DMOs and are examples of one-way communication, it is my assumption that it is possible to derive the most important images and values that the marketers want to convey. Therefore, no other forms of communication have been included in the comparative analysis. 1.5 Structure of the thesis Chapter 2-4 will constitute the theory part of the thesis. In these chapters, the chosen aspects of destination branding (2), textual analysis (3) and persuasion (4) will be introduced in order to explain according to which parameters the city guides will be analysed. Chapter 5 will constitute and account for the empirical data in the form of the two city guides. Moreover, this chapter will briefly explain which elements will be a part of the analysis. Chapter 6 comprises the analysis that will evaluate how the city guides differ and compare in relation to the aspects from the theory section. The main purpose of chapter 7 is to clarify if there are indeed the assumed differences and similarities that were outlined in the problem statement. Moreover, this chapter will also outline if the hypothesis can be confirmed or rejected. Finally, chapter 8 holds the conclusion which will sum up the findings of the thesis.

12 9 2. Destination branding The purpose of this chapter is first of all to give the reader an overview of what destination branding is. It will become evident that there are contrasting opinions about what destination branding is and how practitioners can apply it. Moreover, some of the authors within this field do not agree on the extent to which destination branding can change a destination s reputation. The chapter will also seek to explain why it is becoming increasingly important for nations, cities, regions etc. to engage in branding their destination in order to differentiate from other competitors. 2.1 Destination branding: background and definitions Destination branding or the branding of places is a field that has gained increasing attention over the last decades. At least, a much cited article by Buhalis in 1999 stated that the inadequacy of destination marketing literature probably illustrates the interest of researchers in the impacts of tourism on destinations (Buhalis 1999:98). Today, an increasing number of authors have begun highlighting the possibilities of applying branding for destinations, and many locations have also started applying the techniques of branding. This is a result of the increasing globalisation that has triggered fierce competition for the share of the world s consumers and additionally creates the need for destinations to differentiate from one another in order to appear unique and attract customers (Morgan et. al. 2011:3), (Allan 2011:83), (Anholt 2007:1). Before venturing further into destination branding, it seems appropriate to introduce a definition of destination. According to Moilanen and Rainisto, the concept of destination is very broad. They argue that a destination can be everything that people visit for a one day trip, a shorter stay or a longer holiday. In addition, destinations can be owned, at one end of the scale, by a single company whereas destinations, at the other end of that scale, are constituted by countries or regions (Moilanen & Rainisto 2009:112). In 2002, the World Travel Organisation defined a destination as a physical space in which a visitor spends at least one overnight. It includes tourism products such as support services and attractions, and tourism resources within one day's return travel time. It has physical and administrative boundaries defining its management, and images and perceptions defining its market competitiveness. Local destinations incorporate various stakeholders often including a host community, and can nest and network to form larger destinations (ibid). Thus, it seems that a destination at least is clearly defined as being within certain boundaries.

13 10 This view is also supported by Buhalis who argues that destinations are considered to be a defined geographical region which is understood by its visitors as a unique entity, with a political and legislative framework for tourism marketing and planning. This definition enables Destination Management Organisations to be accountable for the planning and marketing of the region and to have the power and resources to undertake action towards achieving its strategic objectives (Buhalis 1999:98). Since Buhalis s definition takes into account that DMOs are responsible for the planning and marketing of the destination, and it also is implied that destinations are defined geographical areas, which supports the idea that e.g. nations need to differentiate themselves from other competitors, this will be the working definition of the thesis. In this sense, it allows London and Liverpool to be characterised as destinations. Having established how a destination can be understood, this section will now provide the reader with an understanding of how a brand can be understood. An often used definition in destination branding literature is that of the American Marketing Association which defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them for those of competition (Fan 2005:8), (Kozak & Taschi 2006:300), (Gertner & Kotler 2002:249). From the above definition, it becomes obvious that branding is about applying different tools from the field of marketing and using these in order to differentiate one s brand from others. Moilanen and Rainisto establish that a brand is an impression perceived in a client's mind of a product or a service. It is the sum of all tangible and intangible elements, which makes the selection unique. A brand is not only a symbol that separates one product from others, but it is all the attributes that come to the consumer's mind when he or she thinks about the brand (Moilanen & Rainisto 2009:6). Thus, they elaborate on the definition and include the people who experience and have perceptions of the brand. However, since brands and their attributes to some extent exist in the minds of consumers, it is implied that there may be several different perceptions of brands. 2.2 Branding Branding is mentioned several times in 2.1 as it is an integral part of promoting destinations. Therefore, this chapter will primarily establish how branding can be understood and how it can be applied by the marketers of the DMOs in relation to destinations.

14 11 The activity of promoting has been termed as destination branding, place promotion, tourism destination branding, destination marketing etc. Nigel and Pritchard argue that place promotion can be defined as the conscious use of publicity and marketing to communicate selective images of specific geographic localities or areas to a target audience (Morgan & Pritchard 2007:59). This view correlates well with Buhalis s above thoughts that a destination must be clearly defined in order for it to be promoted. Fan argues that "place branding is a component of tourism marketing. It is also called destination marketing and promotes a place not just for visits and tourism but also for inward investment, job creation and settlement" (Fan 2005:7). Anholt determines that branding is the process of designing, planning and communicating (Anholt 2007:4). When marketers are branding a destination, they design symbols, names, slogans etc. to communicate their brand to potential receivers. To underline the importance of branding, Morgan and Pritchard argue that branding is one of the most powerful marketing weapons when promoting destinations. They also note that most locations claim a unique culture in this highly competitive global market situation and therefore, it is more vital than ever to try to create a unique identity in order to attract people and persuade them of visiting a given destination (Morgan & Pritchard 2007:60). They also attribute a great importance to using branding together with communication as brand advantage is secured through communication that highlights the specific benefits of a product, culminating in an overall impression of a superior brand (Ibid). The above views are supported by Fan who argues that that nation branding concerns applying branding and marketing communications techniques to promote a nation's image (Fan 2005:7). From the above discussion, it becomes obvious that the authors argue that destination branding is an activity which must be carried out primarily through different forms of communication. This substantiates the argument that it is highly relevant to analyse London s and Liverpool s city guides in order to examine if there are similarities and differences in how the cities are promoted at a verbal level as it appears that marketers within DMOs can apply various marketing techniques to communicate about their destination. The reason why primarily nation branding is mentioned in this thesis, is that most theorists apply this term. Within the area, the theorists agree that the objectives and techniques related to branding a region, nation or city are usually the same. The biggest difference between branding these cities is usually that e.g. a nation is greater and more complex to define than a city (Anholt 2007:59). In this thesis, the activity of branding a destination is considering nations and cities, but I have just used the common notion of nation branding.

15 Difference between destination brand and destination image Section pointed out that in general the concepts of destination brand and destination image are often confused. For this reason, it is important to make a clear distinction between brand and image as these notions are often used interchangeably in destination branding theory and are hard to separate. First of all, image can be defined as the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a destination (Kozak & Taschi 2006:304). Gertner and Kotler argue that a the image of a country derives from factors such as geography, history, culture, famous people and other factors that may or may not be influence the perceptions of the country (Gertner & Kotler 2011:37). When venturing further into the distinction between image and brand it becomes obvious that the two concepts are co-dependent. This is substantiated by Kozak and Taschi who argue that a brand can be put together as a concrete identity for a destination through marketing, including components of a name along with a simplified yet strong and favourable image, a logo and a catchphrase. This identity is communicated by the destination through marketing programs, and it provides consumers a sense of value, stability, consistency, trust, and uniqueness, thus inducing consumer loyalty in the end (Kozak & Taschi 2006:307). As it appears, they establish that a destination image can be used as part of a brand. Both Anholt and Moilanen and Rainisto argue that there is a clear distinction between brand identity and brand image. Brand identity should be understood as being defined by the sender (in this case the DMO) whereas brand image primarily exists in the mind of the consumer. Therefore, the brand identity is primarily concerned with the messages around e.g. identity and core characteristics that the DMO is conveying. This is different from brand image which deals with individual perceptions from potential receivers (Moilanen & Rainisto 2009:7), (Anholt 2007:5). Ideally, brand identity is how the DMO wants the brand to be experienced whereas brand image is concerned with how the brand is being understood in reality Destination brand as product or corporate brand? Since it is possible for DMOs to use destination branding, it is sometimes questioned if a nation, region or city should be treated as a product in terms of promoting these. This discussion will briefly be touched upon in this section in order to establish which perspective will be applied

16 13 throughout the thesis. Even though it would be relevant to consider it as possible to treat the branding of a nation as product branding, there are several limitations to this approach. Fan brings a comparison in which he e.g. argues that a nation is much more complex to define than a product and also that a product often has one legitimate owner whereas nations have multiple stakeholders. In addition, it is also more difficult to describe which characteristics a nation has in comparison with a product brand approach (Fan 2005:7). This view is also supported by Allan who simply states that nation brands are much more complex than product brands (2011:83). Anholt also refutes the notion of country as product brand and instead proposes the idea of country as a corporate brand (Anholt 2003:130). Thus, he suggests that the nation is a kind of holding company which is responsible for managing a group of related sub-brands. Moilanen and Rainisto are in support of Anholt s claim and argue that the focus of product branding is on one particular product whereas labelling more than one product with the same brand name 8 can be applied to branding nations (Moilanen & Rainisto 2009:114). The chosen approach of this thesis is the country as a corporate brand concept as nations are complex entities in comparison to products. Undoubtedly, it would be much simpler to apply the nation as a product brand way of thinking, but it is insufficient in relation to the delimitations that have just been discussed above The destination brand fashion curve A central point in the thesis is the hypothesis that there should be differences in London s and Liverpool s destination branding communication material because they are two different cities which each have their own unique brand. Morgan and Pritchard argue that brand managers should consider a brand as having a position in the S-curve, which outlines a brand s life and development through stages such as birth, growth, maturity, decay and death (Morgan & Pritchard 2007:67)). This S-curve proposed by the above authors is called the destination brand fashion curve 9. Morgan and Pritchard put forward that brand managers should not perceive of this model as to tracking e.g. sales volume over time. Instead, DMOs should consider it as a series of stages in the brand s relationship with its consumers, revealing useful insights into a brand s communications requirements (Morgan & Pritchard 2007:68). Thus, the main implication of the destination brand fashion curve is that managers of the destination brands should carefully consider how they communicate depending on the status of their brand. The model contains four different stages; 8 According to Moilanen and Rainisto, labelling more than one product with the same name can be understood as umbrella branding. 9 The destination brand fashion curve is enclosed as appendix B

17 14 fashionable, famous, familiar and fatigued. These four phases determine the status of one s brand and also try to explain how the consumers will feel about a brand. For example, at the famous stage for a brand it is explained that the destination brand s visitors are loyal and fond, but it may happen that the brand s values become irrelevant to them which implies that a DMO must constantly refresh and develop the brand (Ibid). To provide an example that brands are different and appear at different stages, Anholt argues that a destination with a powerful and positive image needs to do less work and spend less money on promoting itself to the marketplace, because the marketplace already believes what it is telling them. It merely has to help buyers find and purchase the product 10. In addition, he mentions that mature and successful brands have a tendency to overcome events that can threaten the reputation simply because people tend to believe what they already know and are often reluctant to alter these beliefs (Anholt 2007:54). The scenario of a successful brand that is well-known in many corners of the world could very well be the case for London as it is by far the most visited city in the United Kingdom. The vital point of this chapter is that destination branding theory suggests that the communication of the visitors guides for London and Liverpool should differ since the cities have different communication needs. On the basis of the above discussion, it is evident that brands exist at different stages which should influence the need to carefully tailor communication. This fact should become evident when undertaking the analysis in chapter 6 and when evaluating the hypothesis in chapter Can destination branding alone change the image of a destination? In section 2.1, Morgan and Pritchard argued that branding is one of the most powerful tools available for DMO marketers today. The same section also emphasised that branding should be employed in order for a destination to differentiate itself from other competitors and appear unique. Without a doubt, branding through communication is a significant tool for marketers when promoting a destination. However, the effect of communication alone is often disputed and divides the practitioners of destination branding. Some authors argue that communication alone can alter a destination image, which is refuted by other theorists. Since the primary objective of this thesis is to uncover how London s and Liverpool s city guides communicate, the purpose of this chapter is to discuss the significance of communication within destination branding and decide what will be the 10 Introductory essay Appendix C

18 15 chosen approach in this thesis. Morgan and Pritchard mention that if destination branding is carried out successfully, as e.g. in the case of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, it can have a major impact on how the world perceives the destination, but it can also change the way the country sees itself (Morgan & Pritchard 2007:65). Thus, it is implied that destination branding communication alone can change the image of a destination. This point of view is refuted by e.g. Anholt. He argues that the nation s reputation wasn t built through communication and it can t be changed through communication (Anholt 2007:31). Instead, he is of the opinion that a country s image only change for two reasons: if the country itself changes or if it does something to people (Anholt 2007:47). He mentions that e.g. South Africa did not experience a change in their image due to a deliberate destination branding campaign, but mainly through its actions and behaviours that sparked vital societal changes. It is important to note that Anholt does not diminish the importance of communication in destination branding. Instead, he states that communications cannot substitute change, but they can help report it, help to consolidate it, and to some extent speed in on its way (Ibid). Thus, he still argues that the techniques of branding are of essential importance to the DMOs, but the marketers should be realistic about which messages they convey and be sure that they do not promise something that the destination cannot deliver. Gertner and Kotler support Anholt s views and argue that managers should be aware of the following; they should not try to fix the country s image without fixing the problems that gave rise to it. No advertising or public relations will make an unsafe place safer, for instance (Gertner & Kotler 2011:42). Finally, Fan supports the view that communication cannot alone constitute change. He mentions that the changes in Spain following the fall of Franco were due to fundamental changes in politics and the social system over a long range of years rather than a communication campaign that strived to alter the image of the country (Fan 2005:11). In this thesis, the claim that communication alone cannot constitute change in altering the perceptions of a place s image is chosen. Undoubtedly, a constant negative media campaign towards a destination could damage the image of a place. However, such a campaign would not take place unless there actually was something wrong. In the light of the above point of view, DMO marketers should be careful not to communicate something that is not true. Instead, they should design their communication to help accelerate social changes that are going on in order for people to be aware of these changes.

19 16 The last point of this section will be to discuss how a destination brand is influenced if something happens to the destination. Dinnie argues that even though the key stakeholders agree on a strategy for branding a destination, it is becoming increasingly difficult to exert total control over a brand due to the influence of media, social media and consumers. This influence can largely affect the image of a country (Dinnie 2011:70). Munro and Richards are in support of Dinnie s argument and state that branding (primarily online) has become more complex. According to the authorts, DMOs need to be aware that the reputation of a destination is increasingly being moulded and defined by conversations, networks and communities (Munro & Richards 2011:150). However, the authors still emphasise that the basics have not changed: Our starting point is a unique brand position, as set of brand values, a target audience, a well defined look and feel, a tone of voice, and now more importantly than ever in this new conversation culture, a unique 'point of view'. Brands should listen to what people say about them (Ibid). Undoubtedly, the influence from consumers and media is becoming increasingly important. However, the view of this thesis is still that of Anholt s which was introduced above, more explicitly that images of destinations only change because the country changes or because it does something to others. Anholt argues that the images are quite stable and seldom change. An example of a change is taken from his nation brand index where he discovered that Denmark received bad reviews following the cartoon-crisis which commenced in 2005 (Anholt 2007:49). More interestingly, Anholt s index has shown that destinations are surprisingly resistant when something happens to them as, for instance, terrorist attacks or natural disasters. He elaborates on this and shows that e.g. the terrorist attacks that took place in London and Madrid did not affect the cities in the rankings and that the cities are still positioned high upon the scale for safety (Ibid:54). 2.4 Effective destination branding strategies The above sections have established the importance of branding for marketers when promoting destinations. What they have not done is to include some of the cornerstones of destination branding that should be present in order for the communication to be effective. For this reason, the next section will elaborate on some important points that are widely agreed upon by many theorists within the area of destination branding. Moreover, the points that will be introduced in the following subsections could easily be strategies which have been employed by the DMOs in the city guides.

20 Co-operation Increasingly, authors are arguing that the key stakeholders who have an interest in promoting a destination, must collaborate in order to create a strong, unified image. Buhalis argues that the most important challenge for destination marketing (..) is to bring all individual partners together to cooperate rather than compete and to pool resources towards developing an integrated marketing mix and delivery system (Buhalis 1999:10). This is further elaborated on by Fyall who states that it is important to bring together all parties to be best suited to manage the complexities and challenges that is connected to branding a destination (Fyall 2011:94). For this reason, it can prove worthwhile for parties who have an interest in promoting a destination to agree on an overall strategy. Addtionally, Dinnie mentions that there are several benefits in terms of conveying a unified image. For instance, a unified branding strategy can create a unifying focus for all public, private, and non-profit sector organisations that rely on the image of the place and its attractiveness (Dinnie 2011:70). When all parties work together and support an effective strategy, the destination brand should have a better chance of being sustainable and be attributed as attractive. Furthermore, a great advantage of a co-operation is that it can diminish the chance of sending out conflicting messages that could cause some misalignments in how e.g. a city would like to be perceived. Anholt supports the above point of view and argues that if many parties are sending out conflicting or contradicting messages, it can compromise the impression of a consistent image, and it can damage the reputation of the destination. Instead, far more can be achieved if the work of these stakeholders is coordinated, of consistently high quality, and harmonized to an overall national strategy that sets clear goals for the country's economy, its society and its political and cultural relations with other countries (Anholt 2007:3). As Anholt briefly mentions, consistency is important in branding. This is supported by Morgan and Pritchard who argue that any change of a strategy must take place within the consistency of a destination brand (Morgan & Pritchard 2007:74). According to the authors, it is possible to have alternative executions of a message, but the core values should largely remain consistent in order to send a strong and non-contradicting image. Eitel and Spiekermann are of the opinion that "the reputation of a corporation or a brand is based on a strategic brand management and a management process; it must be consistently represented to the public" p. 1 Appendix D

21 Creating a sense of uniqueness It can hardly come as any surprise that destinations need to create a sense of being unique in order for them to be able to stand out and attract customers on a global market that is becoming increasingly competitive. This section will introduce some of the strategies that DMOs can apply in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The focal point in this section is that the image of the destination can benefit greatly from unique events. Morgan et. al. argue that e.g. events, movies and celebrities can all enhance or damage the reputations of the places, they are associated with, as well as endorsing the destinations. Additionally, they claim that in many cases, the most significant impact on a destination's brand image is achieved if consumers recognise a 'fit' between the event's image and that of the place (Morgan et. al. 2007:209). Therefore, if destinations succeed in hosting unique events that gain great publicity, it can provide marketers with an important marketing advantage in contrast to its competitors. Moreover, it can also boost e.g. the amount of visitors during the period that the event takes place. Brown argues that the economic value of an event to the host city or region is often predicted on the media attention that the event obtains (Ibid). For this reason, hosting e.g. the Olympic Games or the World Cup will undoubtedly provide a destination with a massive possibility for economic value if the potential is exploited correctly. Morgan et. al. state that featuring event images alongside those of the destination's product mix that reinforce aspects of its brand positioning, significantly enhances the overall impact (Ibid:210) and therefore, it is important that destinations carefully consider which events that can be beneficiary for them to host. The same authors argue that New Zealand s destination image has been boosted significantly by hosting the filming of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and the America s Cup. This is due to the fact that New Zealand s DMO has been very successful in implementing the marketing value of these events in their destination marketing and has thus been able to brand the country as e.g. an adventurous place which additionally has led to a higher global awareness of the place. Hosting unique events can thus lead to a differentiation of a destination s image and products which can then emphasise and enhance the uniqueness of a place, which is a vital task for all DMOs (Buhalis 1999:109). Allan argues that many places and their leaders have also recognised that they also need to distinguish themselves through their culture and heritage; witness the intense