Destination Positioning and Branding: Still on the Slow Boat to China Alastair Morrison

Transcription

1 Destination Positioning and Branding: Still on the Slow Boat to China Alastair Morrison Abstract There has been an explosion of interest in destination branding among tourism scholars and tourism marketing practitioners in Western countries since around This article provides a practical view of destination branding by explaining the characteristics of a good destination brand, identifying some highly successful destination brands, and describing the major challenges to effective destination branding. A professional destination branding research and development process model is covered in detail. Unfortunately sloganeering and logoneering rather than a professional destination brand development process are found among the destination management organizations (DMOs) in Mainland China. The changes that have occurred in destination branding in Western countries have yet to reach the shores of China. Chinese DMOs are guilty of squandering millions of Yuan on meaningless slogans and logos. Tourism scholars have an obligation to advocate more professional and research-based approaches to destination branding in the future. Keywords: China; brand development process; destination branding; positioning.

2 Introduction Destination branding has been one of the hottest topics among destination marketers and tourism academic scholars in the past 15 years. In 1998, the Travel & Tourism Research Association (TTRA) held its Annual Conference under the theme of Branding the Travel Market and J.R. Brent Ritchie and Robin Ritchie were also advocating a more rigorous and well-planned approach to the branding of tourism destinations. Two great national tourism brands were launched in 1999; 100% Pure New Zealand and Malaysia Truly Asia. However, it was thanks to pioneering work by Morgan, Pritchard, and Pride and their 2002 book, that the destination branding concept finally attained a high professional status in tourism and became better understood and appreciated. Of course, there was a sort of branding for destinations that existed before these pioneers made their contributions, but this was mainly within the world of advertising agencies and thus its main focus was on slogans, logos, and commercials. Not much thought was given to destination image research or to a consensus-based approach involving tourism stakeholders to building destination brands. Moreover, the destination brand was something that existed only in advertising; it was not a concept that was to be experienced in the destination. Destination branding is surely not an exact science yet, but it has progressed in its understanding and applications by leaps and bounds over the past fifteen to twenty years. The destination branding topic now is often considered within the concepts of place branding and even country branding and these broader perspectives are helping to further deepen the understanding of destination branding. Characteristics of a Good Destination Brand Based upon the successful experiences around the world, effective destination brands have the following characteristics: 1. Attractive: While a destination brand is not only visual, it is important that its visual elements are attractive and appealing to people in the target markets. For example, the destination brand logo for Spain s tourism is beautiful in its design and color scheme, and was created by a famous Spanish painter. 2. Communicate destination quality and experiences: As an experience good, an effective destination brand puts across the types of experiences that tourists will have as well as promising a certain level of quality. The Canada Keep Exploring destination branding approach by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is excellent at communicating the experiences that tourists will have in this vast country. 3. Consistent with positioning: The destination brand must convey the desired image that has been selected. For example, an eco-oriented tourism destination like Costa Rica is welladvised to use a good deal of green in its communications supporting the destination branding. 4. Express the destination s personality: The tone projected by the destination brand fits well with the character of the place. 5. Is supported by marketing activities: A good destination brand is the foundation for and

3 supported by effective integrated marketing communications (IMC) campaigns. 6. Memorable: A good destination brand is not easily forgotten. For example, how many of us can forget, I Love New York? Many people think this is the brand of New York City, but it was actually introduced by the state DMO on Valentine s Day in This memorable brand has been a huge benefit to tourism in the state of New York and New York City. 7. Simple: It is better than a destination brand is not too complex as consumers may not be able to interpret what is meant by the brand. Many of the truly successful destination brands of the past decades, including I Love New York and 100% Pure New Zealand, are the essence of simplicity. In contrast, the failed brands include many that were too hard to interpret and understand. 8. Market-tested: A good destination brand has been market-tested in a preliminary form with a representative group of people in the intended target markets. It also has been given the stamp of approval by tourism sector stakeholders. 9. Transportable to the Web as a domain name: It is a real bonus if the destination branding can yield some text or an expression that can be transported to the Web as a domain name. For example, Travel Alberta created a new consumer website in 2011, that reflects its new destination branding program under the same name. 10. Unique: Being different is one of the keys to the success of destination branding and this means standing out among competitors. The Tourism Ireland destination brand is very unique and not just in the shamrock-shaped logo. The uniqueness of the Tourism Ireland branding is how it blends together four factors; physical experience of holidaymaking in Ireland, the personality for communications, the experiences, and the benefits that holidaymakers receive. 11. Well-accepted by all stakeholders: The destination brand must have acceptance of the stakeholders within the destination, and especially the tourism sector stakeholders. If stakeholders oppose the destination brand or are not particularly impressed by it, it has a low probability of succeeding. Successful Case Studies in Destination Branding Figure 1 shows ten successful case studies in destination branding stretching from 1969 to Some of these are well known in China and especially the ones for India, Malaysia, New York, and New Zealand. Figure 1. Ten Successful Cases in Destination Branding Year Destination Brand 1969 Virginia, USA (state) Virginia is for Lovers

4 1977 New York, USA (state) I Love New York 1982 Spain (country) Joan Mirópainting 1995 Australia (country) Kangaroo symbol 1995 Switzerland (country) Swiss Army cross symbol 1999 New Zealand (country) 100% Pure New Zealand 1999 Malaysia (country) Malaysia Truly Asia 2002 India (country) Incredible India 2008 Shaoxing (city) Shaoxing Vintage China 2011 Alberta, Canada (province) (remember to breathe) Challenges of Destination Branding Destination branding is very challenging and in practical terms and branding is difficult to accomplish and maintain over long time periods. Yet the world s best destination brands have been around for decades. The following are some of the added complexities of branding tourism destinations: 1. Destinations are a mix of different products and services: Unlike physical products that have finite and known characteristics, tourism destinations are complex and variable. They are not single products but rather an amalgam of products and services under different ownerships. 2. DMOs do not have total control over the destination mix that is being branded: DMOs do not own or manage the products and services that are covered under the destination branding. In reality, other companies and organizations are responsible for delivering the destination brand. A diverse range of tourism sector and other stakeholders are involved; their quality standards may vary quite widely. 3. Needs a team effort: A DMO should not do destination branding on its own; in fact, it requires a team effort. The team should include tourism sector stakeholders and others in the community that can make useful contributions. Past and potential tourists should also be recruited for the team, and provide their valuable inputs. There will be others on the destination branding team including a tourism destination branding consulting company and a creative design company. 4. Requires a long-term commitment: The Slovenia Times (2010) likened destination branding to a relay race, in which the baton is passed from person to person until the finish line is reached. What a great metaphor that is, since destination branding needs a long-term commitment and may not produce immediate results. Also the players may change at the DMO and within the destination, but destination branding must continue on its course. The challenges are to be patient and to ensure that the continuity of destination branding is maintained. 5. Tourism is an experience good: Tourism is not bought and consumed like physical products; tourism and destinations are experience goods. The quality of destinations cannot truly be observed and assessed in advance; destinations must be experienced to determine their real quality. So tourism destinations cannot be tried on or tried out before booking them to

5 see if they fit the tourist s needs and wants. This level of uncertainty about the destination experience makes branding more challenging. There is a need through destination branding to promise and deliver the experiences that tourists most desire in destinations. 6. Lack of sufficient funding to support destination branding efforts: The biggest DMOs around the world can afford to do destination branding as their marketing budgets are large enough. However many medium- and small-size DMOs find it difficult to come up with the funds to hire branding consultant specialists and to pay for the approaches and materials that the consultants recommend. 7. Political influences may be felt: Destinations are places and places have governments with political leaders. Politicians are very sensitive about the images of the places within their jurisdiction. If a powerful politician does not personally like a suggested destination branding approach, it might not get the approval of government. 1. Brands and destination advertising are subject to public discussion and criticism: Everybody is a tourism expert. Because almost everybody travels and becomes a tourist themselves, they all have opinions about how to put across the images of the places where they live. Reporters and editors in the media also like to talk and write about local tourism branding and advertising approaches. Therefore, destination brands often become the topic of widespread debate in the local media. This can be a difficult process for a DMO manage, since some opinions may be misinformed, but still influential. Destination Brand Development Process The first part of a professional destination branding process (Figure 2) is the situation analysis consisting of destination analysis, competitive analysis, market analysis, destination image analysis, resident analysis, and analysis of past marketing programs (Morrison, 2012b). The destination image analysis determines the existing perceptions of the destination among past and potential tourists. Input should be gathered from tourism sector stakeholders on their suggestions about the image and positioning of the destination. In particular, stakeholders should be asked to express what they see as being the most unique features of the destination. Stakeholders opinions cannot and should not be taken a substitute for those of tourists; however, there is no point in having a destination branding with which they do not support. Additionally, it is essential that tourism sector stakeholders adopt the destination brand and use it in their own marketing and promotional programs. The destination s unique selling propositions (USPs) are one of the most critical inputs to destination branding, as these articulate what is truly different in the place when compared to competitors. For example, in the Shaoxing example discussed above, six USPs were identified; 1) Shaoxing yellow rice wine; 2) ancient canal city; 3) celebrities; 4) nature; 5) artistic impression; and 6) beauty and love.

6 Figure 2. Destination Branding Research and Development Process Model 2012 Alastair M. Morrison The remaining six steps in the destination brand development process are as follows: 1. Branding strategy development: This represents the approaches used to develop the destination brand including the branding objectives, brand positioning, and the relationship to the destination s market segmentation approaches. 2. Brand identity development: This is the creative stage of destination brand development. Here the brief or summary document is interpreted into a creative strategy that can encompass a new logo, color scheme and other visual image (VI) guidelines, slogan (or strapline), musical score, and other elements. 3. Brand launch and introduction: The brand launch is when a new destination brand is revealed to the public for the first time. Normally this is done with some pomp and ceremony and is a major public relations event in the destination. 4. Brand implementation: Instead of saying brand implementation, this could have been titled living the brand. Knapp and Sherwin (2005) call this process brand culturalization or the road-map for how the destination will deliver the brand promise. Once the destination brand is launched and introduced, it must be embedded within the destination and appear in every communication and interaction with tourists and potential tourists. Embedded in the destination means that the brand must be practiced; it is not just a vague concept that just appears on paper or in a video. 5. Brand monitoring and maintenance: It is very important that the performance of the brand be monitored and maintained. Monitoring implies tracking the implementation of destination branding and assessing the progress toward the achievement of objectives.

7 6. Brand evaluation: The true test of the effectiveness of a destination brand is if it achieved its objectives. Here again, solid research is needed to conclusively determine if the destination branding impacted the target market as intended. Destination Branding in Mainland China There are very few outstanding examples of destination branding among Mainland China s DMOs. After a 10-year review of destination marketing in China, Morrison (2012a) concluded that destination positioning and branding quality must be improved in all ways in Mainland China. Sloganeering is the rule in China today where leaders try to come up with clever phrases for their destinations without any research of markets and customer needs. Additionally, there is logoneering where seemingly inordinate amounts of time are spent on designing logos without much thought as to how these graphic elements relate to destination branding and marketing. If this was not bad enough, there is also the constant butchering of the English language when Chinese slogans are translated into curious and awkward English. Moreover, there is little recognition that, due to cultural differences, what works in Chinese does not work in English and vice versa. The slogan and logo for Shandong Province are often held up as the best example of destination branding in China. The logo is colorful, bright and lively; and the Friendly Shandong slogan is cheerful. There is no doubt that this approach in Shandong is far ahead of what many other Chinese DMOs are doing, but does it have all of the characteristics of a good destination brand that were reviewed earlier and was a professional brand research and development process used for its creation? We believe that the answers to both these questions is probably no. Friendly Shandong is not unique and friendly has been used by countless other destinations worldwide. Notably the state tourism office in Kentucky, USA used to have the slogan, It s that Friendly, but gave up on it. Wisconsin formerly used, You re among friends, but also changed it later. The Canadian province of Manitoba used Friendly Manitoba for many years, but like Kentucky and Wisconsin traded that in for another slogan. Additionally, how is this brand of Friendly Shandong being delivered on the ground, that is what is the province s tourism bureau doing to ensure that everyone in Shandong is friendly to tourists? How has the brand been implemented in Shandong; for example, were new training programs introduced to make people in the province more friendly and hospitable? The answer, it is suspected, is that Friendly Shandong is purely a slogan and not a true destination brand as described in detail in this article. Conclusions Destination branding is in an early infancy stage in Mainland China and resembles the situation in Western countries prior to the mid- to late-1990s; hence the title, Destination branding: Still on the slow boat to China. To say that the current destination branding in Mainland China is wasteful of resources is an understatement, but without adequate accountability this situation will continue to be tolerated. Unlike in Western countries where in the past fifteen years scholars have had an influence on tourism practitioners with respect to destination branding and marketing, there appears to be a huge intellectual chasm between the two groups in China. Moreover, there are few Chinese scholars that can claim to be experts in destination branding and marketing. Nevertheless, in

8 future tourism scholars have much to offer to DMOs and especially in advocating more of a research-based rather than a guessing approach to destination positioning and branding. The road forward for destination branding has been well illuminated for Chinese DMOs thanks to the creative and professional works of marketing practitioners and tourism scholars abroad. It is bewildering and rather perplexing to try to determine why these practices have not permeated Mainland China, especially with the great example of Hong Kong right on the doorstep. Tourism scholars have an obligation to advocate more professional and research-based approaches to destination branding in the future. References Knapp, D., and Sherwin, G Destination BrandScience. Washington, DC: Destination Marketing Association International. Morgan, N., Pritchard, A., and Pride, R Destination Brands: Managing Place Reputation, 3 rd ed. Abingdon, England: Butterworth-Heinemann Elsevier. Morrison, A. M Hospitality and Travel Marketing, 4 th ed. Clifton Park, New York: Cengage. Morrison, A. M. 2012a. Global Marketing of China Tourism. Beijing: China Architectural and Building Press. Morrison, A.M. 2012b. Marketing and Managing Tourism Destinations. London: Routledge. Ritchie, J. R. B., and Ritchie, R. J. B The branding of tourism destinations. Past achievements & future challenges. The 1998 Annual Congress of the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism, Marrakech, Morocco. Slovenia Times The relay race of destination branding. November 5. Travel Alberta