In 2004, the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau took a swing at developing a brand for their wonderful city.

They struck out.

Wichita’s We Got The Goods lives on. But now, Wichita may have a bit of unanticipated competition. Seems at least one organization believes a country may wish to lay claim to Wichita’s “brand”:

“Finally a slogan that sums up the advantage of an emerging superpower! You can wear this shirt with false American pride or as a semi-ironic quip about America’s future as China’s retail shop!”

Whether from China, or Wichita, you may order your We Got The Goods t-shirt here. In red or lime green.

[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 Wichita Brand Image | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Wichita Advertising | More posts about Wichita | More blogs about Destination Branding]

In August 2007, William B. Hanbury, chief executive of Destination DC, Washington DC’s convention and tourism organization, announced development of a brand campaign for the city featuring a “slogan, which…will be “as powerful as Vegas. That’s the goal.”

As reported at the time:

That’s a tall order. Las Vegas’ five-year-old “What happens here, stays here” slogan is considered the gold standard in destination marketing.

Mr. Hanbury says his organization’s new brand campaign for Washington DC meets those standards.

Earlier this week, Mr. Hanbury and others introduced the Create Your Own Power Trip brand campaign “to break down perceptions of the District as impenetrable and unapproachable and cast it as a city with cultural flair.” Each Create Your Own Power Trip television spot and print ad may be previewed at this link.

Mr. Hanbury offered this in the Washington Post:

“In research, people told us that although D.C. has all kinds of powerful things like the Supreme Court, Congress, embassies and black-tie galas, they didn’t know how to access them. We’re going to focus on helping people personalize the power that is Washington.”

Destination DC’s CEO is hopeful the new campaign is designed to create a foundation for years of future advertising:

“This has legs. What we’ve done here with the re-branding effort isn’t a one-trick pony. This is an effort that will allow us to sustain and grow the brand over a long period of time.”

Which prompts the following questions:

Does the new Washington DC “brand” have legs?

Or is it a one-trick pony?

Will Create Your Own Power Trip become as successful as What Happens Here, Stays Here for Las Vegas?

Is it effective branding, or public relations?

Is it branding, or a campaign?

Here’s one opinion.

Tell us yours.

.
You can find more of the backstory to Destination DC’s Create Your Own Power Trip campaign here.

[More posts about Washington DC Tourism | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about City Branding | More posts about Branding Washington DC | More posts about Washington DC Brand Image | More posts about Brand Research | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Branding vs Advertising | More posts about Branding vs PR | More posts about Tourism Branding | More blogs about Destination Branding]

This column now appears at this link.

According to a published report, an American city — Raleigh, North Carolina — will rely upon opinion research to develop a brand campaign.

This “branding” effort is doomed before it begins.

Raleigh’s leaders have been sold a “branding process” that will lead to a less than satisfactory outcome.

Due to a flawed reliance in the process upon opinion research, Raleigh will be unable to successfully define Why Raleigh exists, so that the city becomes the only logical choice for What they offer.

Rather than survey opinions or focus group studies that encourage a group-think, Raleigh should instead explore the attitudes and actual behaviors of those it seeks to influence.

The Raleigh story:

“The Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a new Web site that gives residents the ability to sound off on the city as part of a new branding campaign.

ShareYourRaleigh.com asks visitors to take a survey about the area…

The site is part of CVB’s branding campaign, which it’s conducting with research company Longwoods International and branding agency Cundari, both based out of Toronto. The firms…ran a similar Web project for Washington, D.C., earlier this year…

Data from the site, as well as information culled from various focus groups, will be put together…after which Cundari and Longwoods will offer a series of suggestions for Raleigh’s brand.

A CVB task force will select one of the options…”

The Raleigh branding process is described here:

“Objective
The objective of this project is to build a distinctive and long-lasting brand foundation to consistently guide marketing and promotional efforts for Greater Raleigh. …[W]e expect to drive awareness, interest and investment in the county from this country and around the world.

Process
• An online survey is being conducted with 300 consumers in our regional advertising market…
• We are conducting interviews with approximately 10 key Greater Raleigh stakeholders representing government, hospitality, business, cultural and media entities.
• We are conducting approximately seven focus groups/workshops with arts, hospitality and community residents and leaders.
• We developed this website in order to engage our local residents in the process on a wider scale through an online survey.”

The new “brand” will be introduced in June of 2008.

For destination brands everywhere, never before has so much attention been focused on the importance of understanding audiences a city or nation seeks to attract. The quest for truly distinctive brand innovation raises the same nagging question: What do these audiences really want?

Organizational leaders know the answer to this question is their Holy Grail. But with regularity, these same leaders suffer an uncomfortable disconnect between market research and actual market performance. It comes down to one troubling behavior — People tend to say one thing during research and then do something entirely different in real life.

This disconnect is largely due to the reliance on traditional opinion research tools such as focus groups, online surveys and telephone interviews. These methods have always had a particular drawback. They do not effectively address contradictions in people’s responses.

These contradictions—when they reveal a clear separation, a gap, between opinion and action—are the most interesting data. They point to paradoxes that are fundamental to each individual’s reality—a consequence of how every human being lives partly in a world of conscious rational thought, and partly in a world of subconscious emotional response to the experience of life.

Without a clear identification of these contradictions, and understanding how they lead to a purchase decision, everything that follows in an attempt to attract desired audiences for a city or place—whether through advertising, public relations, new media, trade shows or design—is largely a waste.

Moving away from opinion research and permitting the examination of contradictions surfaced by reliable research methodologies is necessary to transform a city into a unique and unforgettable place.

These contradictions work to surface good old-fashioned meaning, story, history, cultural poetry, imagery, and shared knowledge when considering the brand narrative for a city, state or nation.

A deep understanding of these contradictions, these response gaps, leads to the decisive moment when we see the most transformative of events—the birth of a brand.

In four months will the world see the birth of a new, authentic and engaging brand for the City of Raleigh?

Unfortunately, no.

One need only look to the experience of the City of Baltimore to see where the Raleigh effort will end.

Much like Baltimore, and cities such as San Diego and Atlanta, Raleigh will miss a golden opportunity to competitively separate themselves from ANY other city.

Tune in this June to watch.

[More posts about Raleigh Tourism | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about City Branding | More posts about Branding Raleigh | More posts about Raleigh Brand Image | More posts about Brand Research | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Tourism Branding | More blogs about Destination Branding]

In the latest example of brand hyperbole, a Dubai company announces the “world’s first fashion island.”

Only one problem. There already is a Fashion Island.

Dubai’s version will include:

[A] fashion resort, themed residential villas, haute couture boutiques and luxury hospitality facilities in a drive to establish Dubai as a global fashion hub. World renowned fashion designers from each continent will be instrumental in designing each element of the development.

Read more at this link.

[More posts about Brand Hyperbole | More posts about Real Estate Branding | More posts about Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More blogs about Dubai]

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]

Welcome to the Whisper Destination Brands Film Festival.

A destination is a place to which one is going or is directed. The leaders of destinations, whether tourism agencies, and convention and visitor bureaus, economic development or other government agencies often engage in marketing efforts in hopes of attracting tourists and business developers to their particular place.

We examine those efforts here.

The idea of the Festival is to help destinations — cities, provinces, emirates, states, nations, places — understand what works and what does not in efforts to create an engaging and unforgettable brand of a place.

This month we showcase the provincial government’s brand efforts for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The provincial government’s Premier introduced the new campaign with these comments:

“When people see this brand, we want them to instantly see Newfoundland and Labrador, and to associate that with our best qualities. We want them to think about a people and place that is resourceful, innovative and energized.”

A launch video was also part of the introduction:

Since then, the following video spots have been produced by Newfoundland Labrador Tourism. Later this month we will offer our analysis of this showcased campaign. Until then, take a look and share your opinions of why the Newfoundland and Labrador brand strategy works to attract tourism, or why it does not.

In no particular order, the first spot:

The second:

Third:

Fourth:

Fifth:

Whisper is an international brand consultancy based in the United States, Europe and Asia. Contact us to learn more of how to own the conversation® among tourism and business development audiences you seek to attract and influence.

[More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Newfoundland Labrador Brand Image | More posts about The Whisper Destination Brands Film Festival | More posts about City Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about State Branding | More posts about Province Branding | More posts about Locale Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Location Branding | More posts about Territory Branding | More posts about Country Branding | More posts about Tourism Branding | More posts about Business Investment Branding | More posts about Economic Development Branding | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Brand Narrative | More posts about Own The Conversation® Strategy | More blogs about Destination Branding]

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]

For airline C-level executives and brand decision makers, finding your brand and building your reputation takes guts, as discussed here.

It takes courage, a fearlessness, when an airline leadership team seeks to engineer a market breakthrough and develop an unforgettable reputation.

If you are a leader in charge of your airline brand, what are you going to do about it?

[More posts about Airline Branding | More posts about Branding vs Advertising | More posts about Branding vs PR | More posts about How To Select A Branding Firm | More blogs about Airline Branding]

Dubl!n suffers an infection of exclamation points!

As previously chronicled here, an infection of exclamation points is an indication of cheerleading disease, a condition suffered by many among tourism and convention and visitor bureaus, and government agencies, involved in tourism and destination brand decisions. The disease manifests itself through symptoms we refer to as The List.

What is The List? The List is the often repeated litany of “attractions” commonly promoted by most any city or province attempting to lure tourist traffic, such as these offered by Dubl!n Tourism:

“Now you can get a taste of Dublin before you even arrive! Our Dublin DVD showcases a range of the sights to be enjoyed in and around the city of Dublin. If you’re looking for a [1] 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, and a [7] spectacular coastline - you’ve come to the right place! Dublin has all of this… [8] and more! Take a look for yourself!”

Dublin Tourism sets The List to music in this promotional DVD:

Rather than an effective tool for tourism purposes, the Dublin DVD is a music video backed by what many would argue is Dublin’s best export of the past two decades, the Irish rock band U2. The video is similar to others of the genre, such as those for the Isle of Man, the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the Canadian province of Manitoba.

As put to use by any number of cities and other destinations, The List also includes other commonly promoted features such as [9] museums, [10] shopping, [11] dining, [12] hospitality, [13] personal fulfillment, [14] theatre, [15] sporting events, [16] festivals, and often [17] outdoor attractions.

Cities, states, nations each make a mistake by a primary reliance upon The List to brand themselves. Why is this strategy a mistake? The List does not point to the uniqueness of a place. Dining, shopping, museums and other similar features are available at any number of other tourism destinations. Instead, to attract the tourism dollars coveted by many, the lure is the attraction one cannot find closer to home, often an emotional truth a city, state or nation may uniquely define and own.

Rather than being all things to all people, tourism brand decision makers must step outside the conference room and into the shoes of the tourist they seek to influence and attract. They must develop a unique and authentic answer to the question, Why do we matter?

Only then may those exposed to The List begin to succeed in eradicating cheerleading disease among destination brands everywhere.

Won’t you help?

[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 Dublin Tourism | More posts about Dublin Brand Image | More posts about Tourism Branding | 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]

The new CEO of Tourism Toronto believes an effort to brand the city resulted in little more than creation of a new slogan and logo.

More on this story from the Toronto Star:

In the summer of 2005, Tourism Toronto and its public sector partners (including the province, federal government and Toronto Summit Alliance) unveiled the results of a 13-month, $4 million search for a brand for the city. The result was “Toronto Unlimited” and a nifty water-droplet logo. The new look was launched with controversial ad campaigns that ran in The New York Times and other U.S. publications.

One set of ads promoted festivals and events that had already wrapped up, while another included an essay laden with inane thoughts and grammatically incorrect sentences. One example: “Toronto is nearly indefinable, nearly infinite in its possibilities for the traveller and nearly impossible to forget once you’ve been there. And perhaps what makes this place so original, so individual and somehow majestic is that it is a product of natural occurrences.”

The effort was immediately ridiculed by the media and was described by Mayor David Miller as an “embarrassment, indefensible.”

Rather than an engaging answer to the core question behind any great brand strategy - Why Do You Matter? - Toronto Unlimited reduces a great world city to the banality of just another e-commerce site such as Bags Unlimited, Furniture Unlimited, Shoes Unlimited and, yes, Crappie Unlimited.

New CEO, David Whitaker, most recently the chief marketing officer of the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, offers these opinions:

[H]e thinks it’s a mistake to get hung up on clever logos and catchy phrases. Having a brand, he says, is much more important. And it’s something he believes Toronto currently lacks. “I respectfully question whether Toronto Unlimited is a brand. It’s a tagline.”

We agree. A slogan is not a brand.

[More posts about Toronto Unlimited | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Place Branding | More posts about Branding Toronto | More posts about Branding Miami | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Tourism Branding | More blogs about Destination 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]

The official Seychelles website announced a new visual identity:

The Seychelles islands have unveiled a new tourism brand to showcase the country’s spectacular beauty and diversity, in addition to what many consider to be the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The new brand features a new colourful logo – a composite of some of Seychelles’ famous icons…

According to The Seychelles Nation these icons include:

The logo is a composite of the entire spectrum of the Seychelles experience, from the blues and turquoises of the sea, to white sand beaches and lush green foliage, as well as the vibrancy of the Creole culture and the islands’ unique flora and fauna. The shape of the logo is also representative of important Seychelles icons, from palm trees and flowers to endemic birds like the Paradise Flycatcher and the Tropicbird.

The new slogan conveys the rarity and uniqueness of Seychelles as the only mid-ocean granitic islands in the world, with an array of endemic species found nowhere else on earth.

Easy to see.

The Seychelles unveiling recalls another visual identity introduction described just as nonsensically:

The Hong Kong visual identity has been designed to communicate Hong Kong’s link to an historical and cultural icon. The flowing lines of the Dragon also mirror Chinese calligraphy. This dual expression symbolises a fusion of East and West that characterises Hong Kong. The Dragon’s smooth, fluid shape imparts a sense of movement and speed, communicating that Hong Kong is forever changing. The visual identity’s dynamic and contemporary rendering captures Hong Kong’s passion to be daring and innovative, and a can-do approach towards bringing visionary ideas to life.

Perhaps those behind the Seychelles and Hong Kong visual identities drew inspiration from a trademark first registered in 1997, and supported by this identity:

[More posts about Brand Identity | More posts about Brand Strategy | More posts about Destination Branding | More posts about Nation Branding | More posts about Seychelles | More posts about Hong Kong | More blogs about Nation Branding]

The New York Times points to what could be an effective brand position for Czech tourism — the Ultimate Beer Run:

Going to the source is an emerging pastime for beer lovers. The wine trails of Napa, Bordeaux and Piedmont need no introduction. The same, however, cannot be said for the beer trails of Bohemia and Moravia. And yet, in recent years, amateur beer hunters have begun carving their own paths through these ancient Czech kingdoms, tapping into the same passion for local hops and barley that drives oenophiles to cross the globe for zinfandel and nebbiolo.

Wine snobs might call this overreaching, but great beer is inextricably tied to its environment in much the same way that a great Burgundy displays a characteristic terroir. Real Pilsner, for example, is made with the low-sulfite, low-carbonate water of the Czech city of Pilsen, its original home. Many have tried, but it’s nearly impossible to make a good Pilsner elsewhere without doctoring the water, and even then, it will never taste the same.

The Czech Republic could redefine and own the market conversation by focusing on a story as the birthplace of beer:

[T]he Czech lands are, in some ways, the birthplace of modern beer making, with a brewing history that dates back more than a millennium. Today there are some 450 Czech beers made by about 100 breweries, ranging from golden Pilsners to black, Baltic-style porters. It is also the beer-drinking capital: Czechs consume more beer than any other country in the world — more than 320 pints annually for every man, woman and child.

“…It is the fountainhead, if you like, of most beer in the world.”

It is a story to separate the Czech Republic from ALL other tourist destinations, and a story that instantly answers each of the following:

What is it about the Czech Republic that separates the Czech experience from other tourism alternatives?
How does a visit to the Czech Republic fulfill a passion not satisfied elsewhere?
Why should we care about the Czech Republic?

True, there is far more to the Czech Republic than the history of beer. However, to tell the broader story any brand must first stand for a single uniqueness, prompting any audience to care long enough to stop, and stop long enough to be influenced.

An authentic story of a brand that is engaging, not heard elsewhere, and that matters is by itself unique. And that is Czech tourism’s golden opportunity.

[More posts about Brand Differentiation | More posts about Brand Positioning | 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 Czech Beer | More posts about Czech Tourism | More posts about Czech Republic | More posts about Pilsen | More blogs about Destination Branding]