If looking for an example of how an attempt at branding a city can devolve into a meaningless exercise, look no further than the experience of Peoria, Arizona.

Peoria retained the services of a so-called “branding” firm that seemingly approaches the process of branding as the development of a tagline or a logo.

As readers of these pages know, a logo or slogan is not a brand.

As reported in The Arizona Republic, the Peoria “branding process” has devolved into this:

Peoria’s new branding slogan is catching flak from members of the public and the City Council.

Peoria has so far spent more than $100,000 in developing a logo and the catchphrase “Naturally Connected” to better market itself… Peoria’s priorities include attracting a major corporation, medical center and college.

A graphics firm was hired for $30,000 to develop the graphics standards such as colors and style for the logo’s use. Another $81,000 was paid to a consulting firm to develop the tagline and logo. “I do have a real concern with the tagline ‘Naturally Connected,’ ” said Councilman Ron Aames… “I think this is off-mark. I think this is a strikeout.”

Aames said at Tuesday’s study session that North Star Destinations Strategies “missed the point” when it created a tagline that is confusing because it can mean so many different things - that Peoria is naturally connected to Lake Pleasant, its rivers and trails, employment opportunities and amenities.

Instead, Aames said, a tagline should be immediately recognizable, such as Budweiser’s “The King of Beers,” Coca Cola’s “It’s The Real Thing” and Home Depot’s “You Can Do It, We Can help.”

Aames recommended more community input on the city’s branding.

Councilman Aames is correct that Peoria’s new tagline, Naturally Connected, is off the mark. But respectfully, he is wrong in suggesting the solution is “more community input.”

However, beyond the reactions of the many airing opinions in the Arizona Republic - the City Manager, members of the City Council, the Economic Development Director, and city residents - the cautionary tale that is now Peoria’s is an example of how often well intentioned city and place branding efforts go awry.

The Peoria experience reveals how the intelligence of an community becomes negatively focused when a consultant offers a brand solution without a tested process discipline, permitting otherwise smart people operating in a redundant fashion to take potshots at each other, without the individual responsibility for a successful outcome. It is of course, a reflection of the leadership of the organization, or upon the leadership of the consultant with presumed expertise, or both.

In the case of Peoria, evidence points to the consultant as the cause of this train wreck.

Why?

When a “branding firm” plagiarizes - unintentionally or no - work found elsewhere, such as how Peoria’s Naturally Connected is also the tagline for a community in Nova Scotia, it opens a window into how a firm works to develop solutions for its clients.

When the CEO of the same brand consultancy is credited with thinking such as this - “[H]e would be hard-pressed to find a negative to two communities having similar slogans” - while the same CEO’s website claims - “…each North Star client faces a unique challenge that requires a unique solution” - the problem comes into sharp relief.

Perhaps the dilemma is best summed up by this tongue-in-cheek press release from a marketing communications agency broadcasting their eagerness to make obscene amounts of money for mediocre creativity:

“From our perspective, there must be something in the water that’s making them overpay for all levels of mediocrity. We sense a real opportunity to make the most of this.”

For Peoria the result is a Charlie Foxtrot and, unfortunately, a waste.

[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Brand Positioning | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about City Branding | More posts about Peoria, Arizona Brand Reputation | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Peoria, Arizona | More blogs about City Branding]

Too often businesses and governmental organizations believe branding is all about creating a new logo.

For example, an otherwise respected international accounting firm has tried this approach. As has a so-called branding agency. A U.S. business consultancy. And, a Middle Eastern company specializing in food products.

Even an organization in which one might speculate is overpopulated with certified smart people in their leadership - The Olympic Games - has fallen prey to this illogic.

In the latest example of “executive leadership acting as if a logo creates a brand,” the United Kingdom’s Office of Government Commerce introduced a new logo with this dithering explanation:

The logo…was intended to signify a bold commitment to the body’s aim of “improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement”.

However, when rotated 90 degrees from a horizontal to vertical view, the new logo creates an unintended — ah, we presume — visual. According to the Telegraph:

A spokesman for OGC said: “It is true that it caused a few titters among some staff when viewed on its side, but on consideration we concluded that the effect was generic to the particular combination of the letters OGC - and it is not inappropriate to an organisation that’s looking to have a firm grip on Government spend.”

As this episode would suggest, Her Majesty’s Treasury is in good hands.

[More posts about Branding | More posts about Government Agency Branding | More posts about Brand Identity | More posts about Logos | More blogs about Government Agency Branding]

If in New York City today, you might want to head over to Columbus Circle at 5:00 PM for your free gift:

Staying safe in New York City just got even sexier. The Health Department today unveiled a brand new look for the NYC Condom and launched a cutting-edge media campaign to encourage New Yorkers to “get some.” …street teams will meet commuters at busy crossroads around the city – including Union Square in Manhattan, the Atlantic Avenue station in Brooklyn, and 149th Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx – to hand out the new NYC Condom for Valentine’s Day.

New York City’s branded condom just got a package redesign, and a series of new public service announcements.

Read more and get some here.

[More posts about Pop Culture | More posts about Public Service Brand Strategy | More posts about Government Brand Strategy | More posts about Valentine’s Day | More posts about Health Products Branding | More posts about Consumer Goods Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More blogs about Public Service Branding]

The story behind effort of the Republic of Malta to find their brand continues to devolve, offering a cautionary tale to nation branders everywhere.

The story began over two years ago, with updates since.

In the latest twist, the MaltaStar.com reports:

[T]he man in charge of Malta’s Media Consulta account leading the team which had the task of creating audio-visual material to brand Malta as a tourist destination was removed from the Malta project after the Malta Tourism Authority told the PR and Media company it could not work with him.

At issue is more than a simple personality clash, again according to MaltaStar.com:

[O]nce the Berlin-based media and PR company started presenting their audio-visual material, the Tourism Authority started having second thoughts about whether MC would be worth the money. In fact, MC presented three different sets of visuals before MTA accepted what it considers as average visuals, these are already being used to sell Malta in the United Kingdom.

Media Consulta, the agency hired on behalf of the Malta Tourism Authority, describes itself as a “leading independent PR and advertising agency in Europe.”

Finding the brand of a country has nothing to do with public relations or advertising. Which begs the question, why would Malta hire a PR and advertising agency for such a mission-critical task?

While not privy to the details of the Malta project or the Media Consulta hiring decision, anyone may use the Media Consulta site search function and see that a search of the firm’s core competencies, skill sets, or focus uncovers no mention of brand strategy, brand narrative, brand expression or, more simply, brand.

Malta is not alone in experiencing such difficulty. In the United States, for example, the former Olympics host city of Atlanta painfully has yet to find its brand.

Finding the brand of a country or place is always infinitely harder than people imagine. Too often those in charge of branding exercises think of the outcome only in relation to sales—more tourists, more hotel bookings, more conventions, more tourism/conventioneer spending—when the focus should equally be placed upon how is value best created for the owners. The owners of a nation brand such as Malta are, of course, its citizens.

PR and advertising agencies are ill-equipped for such important work, as their world view is is to chase the audiences Malta seeks to engage, rather than attract them, a principle illustrated at this link.

By looking for advertising and PR solutions, Malta’s decision makers demonstrate their inability to understand this law of branding:

Good branding works even when the brand is not advertising or conducting a PR campaign.

Perhaps next time, Malta’s leaders will look for effective assistance from a consultancy that knows what they are doing.

[More posts about Malta Tourism | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about Branding Malta | More posts about Malta Brand Image | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Tourism Branding | More blogs about Destination Branding]

Cities from Washington to Wichita, nations from Malta to Mexico, each compete to attract tourism dollars and business investment.

Too often the leadership of city, state, or national tourism, convention and economic development offices rely upon “The List” in communicating the story of their place.

The result is predictable. The very audiences mayors and governors seek to attract will tune out, as they have heard it all before.

What is The List?

The List is a formulaic approach to developing the narrative of a destination brand as expressed in words and imagery. Similar to a shopping list, The List is a checkoff approach to branding. But it is not branding.

By use of the “formula” offered by The List, government leaders preclude for their brands the benefits of effective brand strategy, including the opportunity to become unforgettable.

This List is a recital of common “attractions” promoted by a city, province or nation, including claims such as:

1. a young, lively city with a
2. vibrant nightlife, a
3. glimpse of an ancient civilisation, a
4. cultural feast, a
5. musical odyssey,
6. stunning scenery, a
7. spectacular coastline,
8. museums,
9. shopping,
10. dining,
11. hospitality,
12. lifestyle benefits, also described as
13. quality of life,
14. relaxation,
15. energy, vibrancy,
16. theatre,
17. sporting events,
18. festivals,
19. outdoor attractions,
20. golf,
21. our people,
22. and more!, and
23. __________ (add any common attribute, such as “great hotels!”).

Similar to overused claims such as innovative or high quality for technology products, basing the narrative of a destination brand upon messages of dining, shopping, museums and friendly people paints a place as banal. The reason is easy to see when stepping into the shoes of a tourist or business developer.

Tourists and developers assume dining, shopping, museums and friendly people are available at any place. When confronted with these messages, similar to the narrative of any number of competing destinations, it becomes part of the white noise of contemporary culture, and thus unworthy of the investment of time to listen further.

But yet, government decision makers return to The List time and again.

It is an addiction.

An addiction offering a short term high through lavish self praise, which for a government leader is easy to explain to a constituency as the message is so darn POSITIVE. But the citizenry is already convinced—they previously decided to “pay” by living or working there—while the tourist or business developer has not.

Instead, the tourist or developer has to pay, literally, when they pay attention—they pay with their time and mental effort, neither of which they are likely to invest when a city or nation shouts in self-flattery.

The List does not speak to the soul of a place, or to the soul of the tourist or investor. It speaks functionally rather than emotionally, and does not differentiate one place from another, nor answer the seminal question of any destination brand; Why do we matter?

Instead of touting dining or shopping, or other claims from The List, a destination must offer the attraction one cannot find closer to home, often an emotional truth a place may uniquely define and own. Identifying that unique something, offering the breakthrough needed in search of the brand of a place, is always infinitely harder than people imagine.

But, as any addict will tell you, seeking help for the compulsion is the first step to recovery.

[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about City Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Government Strategy | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about State Branding | More posts about Tourism Branding | More blogs about Destination Branding]

A press release appearing in the online Daily News announces the government has approved the Brand Botswana strategy and plan, to be launched later this month:

The national branding strategy is seen as one of the key tools for the economic development of the country as well as to create a coordinated approach to the promotion of investments, tourism and trade.

A government spokeswoman indicates:

[A] national brand could demonstrate how the country provides high quality products and services, is an attractive tourist destination, a place with investment potential as well as a rewarding place to live and work.

This project was discussed when it began some 18 months ago, for example here and here.

We await the results of the Botswana branding project, and will report on the rollout when the new Botswana brand is made public.

Stay tuned.

[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Brand Positioning | More posts about Brand Promise | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about Botswana Brand Image | More posts about Botswana Tourism | More posts about Republic of Botswana | More posts about Brand Opportunity | More blogs about Destination Branding]

Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s economic development agency, offers this:

“In the highly competitive world of food retailing, strong branding is one of the most powerful and valuable tools a business can have to both win new customers but also secure the loyalty of existing ones.”

True.

A brand is the most valuable asset of any organization, in part as the only corporate asset that can appreciate is your brand.

True in food retailing, or any business category.

[More posts about Brand Management | More posts about Food Product Branding | More posts about Retail Branding | More posts about Brand Equity | More posts about Brand Strategy | More blogs about Brand Equity]

The Czech Republic brand opportunity was previously discussed here.

So when tipped to a column addressing the same topic we read it with interest. The author makes this point about destination brand efforts and why they so often fail:

Sadly, last year’s attempt at designing a logo and strapline based on speech bubbles to reflect the many facets of Czech life, is typical of many misplaced place branding efforts - trying to satisfy all stakeholders but failing to capture and dominate a single market segment.

We agree. If a brand attempts to satisfy everyone, it stands for nothing.

The same column further suggests a unique characteristic of Czech life that could be mined to competitively separate the Czech Republic from other nation brands:

The other area of promise can also be found throughout the country, but it is in the capital city - Prague - where the cultural contradiction is most visible… Prague’s skyline - dominated by some 200 Church spires - yet at ground level, over half its population claim to be Atheists.

As reprinted in The Age, in 2003 the Los Angeles Times looked at the state of religion in the Czech Republic, finding:

Recalcitrant and suspicious, Czechs are not entirely godless. They just don’t care for organised religion…

There’s a hostility toward what religion did to them in the past… The Czechs say they’re the most atheist country in Europe, and they say it with some pride. This is how Western civilization may look in 50 years, because people here believe they live a full life without any religion.

If a country were looking to change the conversation about itself to that of an unforgettable place, few would engender more emotion than to stand as the place of no religion. Such a brand position would tap into a ready made global market of approximately 15% of the world’s population, or some one billion people of secular/nonreligious belief.

As with any effective brand position, you must give up something to gain market share. Its part of an own the conversation® strategy. By acknowledging, for example, that John 3:16 believers are not a target market, a brand promise based on a core idea such as “where spirituality lives without religion,” would offer competitive separation and a unique entry point for engagement of a sizable slice of the global tourism market.

Such a promise is a provocation. To qualify as a provocation, a brand promise must contain what most would refer to as negative messages for the goods and services the brand represents.

Fortunately, consumers process these negative messages positively. As long as the message authentically maps to one of the positioning points of your brand, consumers rarely take the meaning literally, and the negative aspects of the message give it greater depth, creating a greater opportunity for audience attraction, engagement and ultimately conversion.

For the Czech Republic, such a promise would change the conversation to a basis the Czech Republic could easily claim, own and extend on a global basis. For example, use of such a brand strategy could ensure massive free media coverage, if managed properly on an evergreen basis. And, it would further elevate tourism as an economic driver in the Czech Republic.

While not a strategy the evangelical or fundamentalist believer would embrace, for those charged with the success of Czech Republic tourism, such a brand demonstration would be the answer to a prayer.

[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Brand Positioning | More posts about Brand Promise | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about Czech Republic Brand Image | More posts about Prague | More posts about Czech Republic Tourism | More posts about Czech Republic | More posts about Brand Opportunity | More posts about Emotional Branding | More posts about Own The Conversation® Strategy | More blogs about Destination Branding]

A research report takes an in-depth look at a recent effort to brand the State of Kansas, as well as efforts on behalf of states from Alaska to Utah. The report, issued by Kansas Inc, offers a good synopsis of many recent U.S.-based destination / place branding efforts. Among a variety of topics, the report addresses the difference between branding and advertising.

What is otherwise a good 44 page compilation and analysis goes awry with this conclusion:

Kansas has tremendous opportunities in regards to economic development. The image of Kansas plays an important role in these opportunities, and we must do what we can to make our image as appealing as possible to both ourselves and others. While traditional stereotypes and clichés may never change, we must find a way to embrace who and what we are, and use that to our advantage. We must realize that we can change certain parts of our image, and certain parts we cannot – we are what we are. If we can project who and what we are, we can make our image work to our advantage. We must focus on our strengths and downplay any potential negatives. Kansas is both similar and different from other states and regions, and we can use our differences as an asset. [Emphasis ours.]

To become unforgettable—a brand ingrained in popular culture—any state, city, nation brand must own the conversation within its competitive context. To do this first requires taking ownership of the conversation about itself. Those behind the Kansas Inc. report make an all too common mistake, suggesting Kansas should essentially ignore it’s real and imagined deficiencies in sharing the story of the state. It is a mistake they make at their peril.

Readers of these pages know we have offered commentary on the Kansas brand effort more than once. The current Kansas message, As Big As You Think, is a cheerleading claim, one that quickly fades from memory unless supported by a Fortune 500 ad spend. Unfortunately, few states, cities, even nations, offer the advertising budgets of a Fortune 500. Which is why a cost effective brand strategy, rather than an expensive advertising strategy, is so important to place brands everywhere.

Unless people are given a compelling reason to shuffle the brand deck, they’ll stand with what they know rather than look again. Without a brand message to shuffle the deck, people feel they have all the information about Kansas they need and thus tune out.

Kansas cannot control how their state brand is perceived unless they begin to control how the state is presented. Changing the message about the state to one never heard before, one that snaps existing stereotypes yet remains authentic, is the only way to change the conversation about the state. Any great brand acknowledges the negatives about itself, for in so doing audiences gain trust and will stop to listen to what you have to say. For example, What Happens Here, Stays Here as the Las Vegas message offers both a negative and positive connotation, mapping authentically into the stereotypes of the city as a tourist destination.

Kansas is no Las Vegas. Nor should it be. But it can offer the world a stereotype snapping message reframing how it is presented, and ultimately how it is perceived. It is hard work, and too few place brands succeed in creating such a message, as they often settle for that which is safe, and of appeal to leaders sitting at the table as brand message decisions are made, rather than appealing to the tourists or business investors who must be convinced.

As the Kansas Inc. report also concludes, “we must find a way to embrace who and what we are, and use that to our advantage.” Indeed.

[More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Kansas Slogan | More posts about Kansas | More posts about Own The Conversation® Strategy | More posts about Branding v Advertising | More posts about Brand Image | More posts about Brand Cheerleading | More posts about Kansas Tourism | More posts about Kansas Advertising | More posts about Adulatory Claims | More posts about Government Strategies | More blogs about Destination Branding]

A public service campaign in Australia flips the reckless driving conversation on its head to emotionally hit young men where it hurts most. The campaign demonstrates the effectiveness of engaging an audience emotionally, whether advocating a purchase or a change in behavior. From Newsweek:

When you first read the slogan, SPEEDING: NO ONE THINKS BIG OF YOU, you might think it was a reminder that people think poorly of those who break the law. Think again. This new road-safety campaign…is aimed a bit more below the belt—by suggesting those men who speed have small penises. In…advertisements, young “hoons”—Aussie-speak for speeding or reckless drivers—are mocked by unimpressed women who wave their little fingers at the drivers in a parody of their manhood.

The wagging finger is a commonly used insult in Australia, often leveled at drivers of monster SUVs or expensive sports cars to suggest their vehicles are compensating for a deficiency elsewhere…

[More posts about Australia | More posts about Public Service Branding | More posts about Emotional Branding | More posts about Pop Culture | More blogs about Emotional Branding]

It has been nearly a month since the London 2012 Olympic Games Organizing Committee was hit with an avalanche of negative public opinion. On June 4 the Committee announced the new London 2012 logo, a new visual identity seemingly no one liked except the “branding” firm responsible for creating it.

Reaction to the new logo was swift, such as this BBC News report:

BBC blog posters saw the 2012 logo as an attempt to connect with young people in a “dad at the disco” kind of way:

“It’s boring and looks like it took a second for a 3 year old to do,” one wrote. “It certainly doesn’t appeal to children, I mean I’m 16 and dislike it, my brother is 10 and thinks it’s plain.”

[Another offered] “…It looks like a logo designed for young people by old people who don’t understand young people.”

One respected strategist compared the new logo to “ugly shards.”

Curiously, the firm behind the logo went into hiding. Emerging later from nearly two weeks of silence, the firm’s stance was reported in the Sunday Telegraph:

Brian Boylan, 61, the chairman of Wolff Olins, the…consultancy responsible for the £400,000 logo, insisted: “Let’s be clear: we won’t change the design at all. We are proud of it. It will go down in history. We have created something original in a world where it is increasingly difficult to make something different.”

[Patrick] Cox, 41, who led the design team that created the logo, said: “It wasn’t created to be warm and fuzzy.

“Its design is intentionally raw, which means it doesn’t immediately sit there and ask to be liked very much. It was meant to be something that did provoke a response, like the little thorn in the chair that gets you to breathe in, sit up and take notice.”

Thorny indeed.

How did the process of creating this logo lead to an overwhelmingly negative public firestorm? We begin by looking at the firm itself. As the logo creators describe themselves:

Wolff Olins started in the mid 60s as a design company. We focused on looks. But looks that worked, because they were always founded on an idea… By the mid 90s…[t]he brand idea became central to our philosophy. The brand idea is the core purpose which drives an organisation. It involves both the value of its position and the way it’s expressed – what it looks like and how it communicates itself.

Fine and good, but the Wolff Olins philosophy prompts this question: What is the brand idea the 2012 logo is founded upon? As any good brand consultancy knows, a great identity should grow out of a brand promise pointing to a unique competitive difference, one creating a “must have” response. This unique difference should work to shift the market conversation to the advantage of the brand.

We looked for the answer. One capable of understanding within seconds.

The Organizing Committee offers an eyes glazed over 454 word explanation here. No help.

A variety of press reports offered this explanation:

The design brief was for an emblem that represented the four key ‘brand pillars’ of access, participation, stimulation and inspiration, culminating in the brand vision of ‘Everyone’s Games’.

“London 2012 will be Everyone’s Games, everyone’s 2012. This is the vision at the very heart of our brand…”

And this from the press release:

London 2012 will be a Games for a connected world making the most of exciting new technology to get people closer to the action they want to see, when, where and how they want to experience it.

The new emblem is dynamic, modern and flexible reflecting a brand savvy world where people, especially young people, no longer relate to static logos but respond to a dynamic brand that works with new technology and across traditional and new media networks.

Nowhere do these explanations point to a demonstration of the one unique difference separating London 2012 from any other Olympics host city, or any other major sports event. Change out the name and the “brand idea” offered up by London 2012 could as easily apply to Beijing as to London, or the World Cup as to the Olympic Games.

Or, the London 2012 brand idea could just as easily support a youth oriented mobile service. And, as we found, it does.

The Wolff Olins claim to “have created something original in a world where it is increasingly difficult to make something different” rings hollow when their work is viewed within the context of other designs developed/directed by the firm. We located this press release describing another Wolff Olins design attempt to reach out to the youth market, describing a “brand idea” eerily similar to that of London 2012, and a likewise similar logo:

“djuice is now the world’s second largest mobile offering for young people…

At the same time, djuice has…introduc[ed]…a new logo. The design profile has been developed in cooperation with Wolff Olins…

“Our new image is playful, colourful and flexible, and the diversity reflects the many different aspects of djuice and the diversity of our customers’ interests…This is how we envisage djuice, as the centre, from where good things emerge, the only place young people need to visit to get the latest and best…experience.”

The reality is precious few location brands create human engagement by effectively tapping into their brand context with a compelling promise. Often such brands tend to veer off track and “settle” for brand stories and messages that are acceptable to those on the inside making decisions, but are wholly inadequate to engage those the brand seeks to reach and convert. These often self-congratulatory messages become irrelevant as soon as they are uttered. Perhaps part of the reason for this is the nature of governmental and quasi-governmental units involved in a branding project to want to seek a near unanimity among various stakeholders as decisions are made. However, this form of consensus if not worked through properly is the enemy of the breakthrough and can result in the banal. It puts a premium on the decision of whom is trusted with the process of uncovering the engaging and unforgettable story of your place and, in this case, your sports event.

Wolff Olins did not create a banal 2012 logo, nor did they create a breakthrough. Rather they created a logo begging for an explanation, and not a brand.

What London 2012 needs instead is a visual demonstration supporting the unique promise of these Olympic Games, one creating excitement rather than acting as a barrier to public enthusiasm. How do they get there?

To create a breakthrough brand, to offer a compelling story engaging the audiences London 2012 seeks, the brand must offer a difference, a unique “something unheard of elsewhere.” True, there is far more to the story of London 2012 than one unique difference. However, to create the opportunity to tell the broader story of the Games, to own the conversation, London 2012 must first stand for a single uniqueness, a door opener, prompting an audience to care long enough to stop, and to stop long enough to be influenced.

What is it about London 2012 that separates the experience from all other alternatives?

How will this experience fulfill a passion not satisfied elsewhere?

Why should anyone care?

If an audience can answer these questions for themselves within seconds, then we see a brand that matters. One that appreciates in value and creates economic opportunity. One capable of being remembered above all others.

For the decision-makers responsible for creating such a brand that’s when the fun begins; when they receive credit for being oh-so-smart.

[More posts about London 2012 Olympics | More posts about Beijing 2008 Olympics | More posts about London 2012 Logo | More posts about London 2012 Branding | More posts about Olympics | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Sports Branding | More posts about Event Branding | More posts about Brand Identity | More posts about Brand Image | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Pop Culture | More posts about djuice | More blogs about Sports Branding]

We talk.

Our CEO will address the Arabian Travel Market hosted May 1-4, 2007. The conference, described by the organizers as “dedicated to unlocking the business potential within the Middle East and Pan Arab region” will address a variety of topics including nation and place branding.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood on May 2, drop in.

[More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about Tourism Branding | More posts about Dubai | More posts about Middle East Tourism | More posts about Mediterranean Tourism | More blogs about Destination Branding]

Ecuador announced a new brand in an attempt to grow international export markets for its products:

“Ecuador quality of origin” is the new brand that is going together with the Ecuadorian exports. The country-brand campaign is addressed to the main markets in Japan, the EU and the US.

FreshPlaza.com, a news source for companies operating in the global fruit and vegetable sector, also published this explanation of the new brand:

Ecuadorean exporters rely on their export brand to differentiate their production at the international markets. The international consulting group Chias Marketing proposes “the recognition of Ecuador as a country with a privileged geographic and natural position which produces and exports several products with differentiated characteristics for importers and consumers around the world”.

And how does the consulting group hired by Ecuador differentiate Ecuadorean products? They don’t.

…[Q]uality is the most important recognized determinant of Ecuadorean products; if one talks about quality perception at the national and international level, there is a reinforcement of the idea of quality as the determinant to exploit in the promotion campaign.

The consultancy further labors to explain what their efforts created for Ecuador at this link.

Because it is overused, Quality is not a unique differentiator. [Just ask the Republic of Turkey.] Framing a brand story around quality is the equivalent of claiming a unique difference because we are unique. And, according to this in Business Week, the word Quality is the most overused word in advertising, as “every product worth buying is a quality product,” so much so that a claim of quality is hollow and meaningless.

The result? For the good people of Ecuador, their new “brand” is instantly forgettable.

How might Ecuador create an unforgettable brand?

To create a breakthrough brand, to offer a compelling story engaging the audience it seeks, any nation brand must offer a difference, a unique something unheard of elsewhere. True, there is far more to the story of Ecuador exports than one unique difference. However, to create the opportunity to tell the broader story of it’s products, to own the conversation, Ecuador must first stand for a single uniqueness not heard of elsewhere, prompting the audience to care long enough to stop, and to stop long enough to be influenced.

As a first step, Ecuador’s decision-makers may wish to consider these questions:

What is it about Ecuador’s exports that uniquely separate them from other alternatives?

How do these products fulfill a need, a passion, an affiliation not satisfied elsewhere?

Why should anyone care?

If the audiences Ecuador seeks to influence can answer these questions for themselves within seconds, only then does Ecuador offer a brand that matters. One that appreciates in value and creates economic opportunity. One capable of being remembered above all other competing nation export brands.

For Ecuador’s decision-makers responsible for creating such a brand that’s when the fun begins, for that’s when they receive credit for being very smart, rather than falling into this trap.

[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Tourism Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Government Strategy | More posts about Ecuador Brand | More posts about Ecuador | More posts about South America Brands | More posts about Overused Words | More blogs about Nation Branding]

A thoughtful Op-Ed from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel brings clarity to the struggles faced by the Milwaukee 7 in their efforts to brand the seven counties of Southeastern Wisconsin.

Among the insights offered by the Journal Sentinel editorial are these:

…Milwaukee is a brand.

If we look only at how we might resemble other cities, we’re missing the point. To be one more city with financial services, restaurants and coffee shops does not let us compete.

All cities have that.

And this:

[W]e can’t be ashamed of how we’re perceived. We have to be ourselves, celebrate ourselves, and invite others to the party.

And this, reinforcing how an effective brand strategy must tap into the authenticity of a place:

It’s easier to ride a horse in the direction it’s going. When Las Vegas stopped pretending to be a family destination and returned to its roots (”What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”), it took off like a rocket.

Read more here.

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How often do those responsible for brand development decisions copy the strategies of others? In the case of governmental agencies responsible for their place/destination brands, the answer is more often than one might think.

For example, city and nation brand decision makers for New York City, Hungary, Dubai, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Denmark each rely upon the heart as a brand icon in visual identity:

Poland also takes up the icon, as The Heart of Europe:

And then there is the !; the exclamation mark serving as cheerleader.

As shown here, the ! is found in Me!bourne:

And in Johannesburg:

And !ndia, ¡Madrid! and Dublin!

We before addressed the tendency of some government agencies to replicate the brand strategies of others, as with the visual identities of Greece, Malta and Cyprus.

To create a breakthrough brand, to offer a compelling story engaging the audience it seeks, any destination brand must offer a difference, a unique something unheard of elsewhere. True, there is far more to the story of Greece or India or Dubai or Melbourne than one unique difference. However, to create the opportunity to tell the broader story of the place, to own the conversation, each of these cities and countries must first stand for a single uniqueness, a door opener, prompting an audience to care long enough to stop, and to stop long enough to be influenced.

However, a caution. Simply claiming to be unique does not create an effective brand.

Instead, consider these questions:

What is it about a city that separates the experience from other alternatives?

How does a nation fulfill a passion not satisfied elsewhere?

Why should anyone care?

If an audience can answer these questions for themselves within seconds, as often supported by a unique visual identity, then we see a brand that matters. One that appreciates in value and creates economic opportunity. One capable of being remembered above all others. For those government decision-makers responsible for creating such a brand that’s when the fun begins; when they receive credit for being smarter than their competition.

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