BRANDOPIA

The State of UK Destination Branding

A creative conversation between Des and Tina, Brandopia's mythical brand developers

DES: Both of us were saddened at how poor the quality of the destination branding was at last week's Best of British Travel Trade Forum at London's Excel.
TINA: It seems the larger the brand, the worse the branding got.

DES:From country brands such as England, Wales and Scotland to regional brands such as South West and South East England to county brands such as Somerset, Northumberland and East & West Sussex.
TINA: It seems they were all playing the 'come visit us because we've got everything for you branding game' - from heritage and history to landscapes and architecture.

DES: Even our favourite county brand - Kent - seems to be getting a tad bored with its big brand idea: The Garden of England.
TINA: While the state of UK destination branding is pretty desperate, we did however find a rare glimmer of hope.

DES: Yes, well done the county of Warwickshire, totally focused on its major asset: Shakespeare.
TINA: Its sub-brands - Warwick Castle, Rugby, Coventry and Leamington Spa - all taking a backseat to Shakespeare's birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon.

DES: Warwickshire has certainly bought into our brand mantra: Find a narrowly-focused big brand idea from your past but which also has a big future
TINA: So Shakespeare Country can't just rest on its quill pen, it now needs to future-focus Shakespeare's great works - from Hamlet to Twelfth Night - by not only making the plays and poems of the Great Bard relevant to contemporary society, but it must also script out a prosperous future.

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"First attract with a single branded proposition, then distract with multiple products and experiences ."

Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time

A creative conversation between Des and Tina, Brandopia's mythical brand developers

DES: Joel Comm's new book - Twitter Power - has finally persuaded us both to join the ranks of the Twitterati.
TINA: Arguably, one of the better tomes on how to leverage this incredible tool, Twitter Power is jam-packed with clever ways to start and dominate a marketplace.

DES: I was particularly interested in Chapter 8: Using Twitter to help build a brand.
TINA: From creating a story to actually writing the tweets.

DES: The examples of three well-known destinations: Starbucks, Whole Foods Market and The Home Depot, were very thought-provoking.
TINA: Starbucks, for example, appears to be using the site as an extension of its customer service.

DES: Tweets are mostly from a customer service representative answering questions in a laid-back style of baristas chatting with their customers in the coffee shop itself.
TINA: Whole Foods on the other hand, uses its site to convey the story of its brand, complete with green background and matching green images.

DES: While the Home Depot offers not only short seasonal tips but also suggests where followers can find solutions to their home improvement projects.
TINA: Finally, Starbucks has a second Twitter account that supports its My Starbucks Idea website by letting followers know what's happening to their ideas, and to thank them.

DES: Joining the Twitterati is going to be a whole-new experience and adventure for the two of us.
TINA: And with Twitter Power to guide us, I think we're in pretty good hands.

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"Twitter goes way beyond its simple question: What are you doing? ."

Channel Islands: Capital of Cultural Contradictions

A creative conversation between Des and Tina, Brandopia's mythical brand developers

DES: For inspired big brand ideas, the five islands comprising the Channel Islands are arguably some of the best destinations to study and immerse oneself - in terms of cultural contradictions and collisions.
TINA: Starting off with the fact that none of the islands are really in the English Channel at all but lie scattered along the Gulf of St Malo, their closest point to France being just eight miles from the Cherbourg peninsula.

DES: Also, they are neither sovereign states nor colonies. They're British, but don't belong to the United Kingdom.
TINA: And they are partly within the European Union but partly outside it.

DES: Now they do have their own language, but everyone speaks English.
TINA: However they do 'bow the knee' to Her Majesty's Government in the UK, but loyally toast the Queen of England as 'Our Duke of Normandy'.

DES: Financially, they have their own banknotes, but deal in Pounds and Pence.
TINA: But they do hold elections, however there are no party politics.

DES: They flourish in a democratic age, while preserving the world's last bastion of feudalism.
TINA: And they attract rich tax exiles who drive Porsches and Jaguars, yet nowhere does the speed limit exceed 40mph (64 kph).

DES: They formed the setting for Bergerac - a popular British TV detective series of the 1980's - yet they have one of the lowest crime rates in Europe.
TINA: And finally, they have a distinct Gallic flavour, yet have an embedded Anglo-Saxon culture.

DES: Welcome to the Capital of Cultural Contradictions, Collisions and Conflicts.

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"Find your big brand ideas at the intersection where cultures collide, clash, conflict and contradict."

"Crawley is a Dump!"

 

A creative conversation between Des and Tina, Brandopia's mythical brand developers

DES: At last week's glittering Gatwick Diamond Business Awards, celebrity guest speaker, Declan Curry, BBC presenter of the Working Lunch programme, was reported to have let slip his now infamous remark: "Crawley is a dump!"
TINA: Sadly, for this English town near Gatwick Airport, the internal reality is far removed from its external perception.

DES: A couple of years back I recall us having a creative conversation - Crawley: New Town New Culture - as to what Crawley's civic leadership needs to do about its negative image and reputation.
TINA: It seems our comments have fallen on deaf years.

DES: OK Tina, let's see if we can come up with a couple of specifics for the people of this deserving town.
TINA: Well, as it's all about the culture of the people of Crawley and its 'chav-central' identity, I would recommend kicking off with an annual civic event aimed specifically at the youth of the town - the 18 year olds - who are transiting into adulthood, by introducing them to not only their new rights as citizens but also to their new responsibilities.

DES: A powerful annual ritual to help the next-generation young adults through a difficult and impressionable phase in their lives.
TINA: Then, I would piggy-back on the town's major asset: Gatwick Airport, which has over the years built a positive reputation - worldwide!

DES: Welcome to Crawley-by-Gatwick.
TINA: Inspired by Henley-on-Thames, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon, to name just five places that have associated themselves with their major asset.

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"If changing your negative name proves too politically difficult, simply co-brand with your major asset and bask in its reflective glory.

Brand Bolivia: The Coca Campaign

A creative conversation between Des and Tina, Brandopia's mythical brand developers

DES: Evo Morales, the Bolivian leader, ate a coca leaf in front of delegates at a UN summit this week to underline his demand that the raw ingredient of the cocaine drug should be allowed for medicinal purposes.
TINA: A former coca farmer, President Morales brandished the leaf stating that the coca leaf was not cocaine and part and parcel of a culture.

DES: You may recall that a few months back in 2008, Red Bull, the energy drink company, launched its new cola drink touting its natural flavours were derived from the Coca leaf and the Kola nut.
TINA: A perfect opportunity to co-brand product with place - Red Bull Cola with Bolivia.

DES: Some of our place pioneering readers are probably wondering what all this has to do with Bolivia's country brand strategy?
TINA: Well, they simply need to re-visit our creative conversation: Bolivia - Coca Country or Cocaine Country?.

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"Co-branding a product with a place, is one of the most powerful brand building strategies available."