DISCLAIMER : Please do not read if your upstair department has only limited capacity.
What do we mean by place branding/nation branding? Is it tourism marketing?
I don't want to nag, but let me stress that Place Branding is not a marketing or communications discipline. It's not about how places or countries promote or 'sell' themselves. It's not about slogans, stupid logos, PR campaigns or other forms of advertising. It's not tourism promotion. It's not government spin or propaganda.
Place Branding simply recognizes that, in the modern world, the reputations of places are incredibly important to their prosperity and progress. Places with powerful and positive reputations find that all their transactions (including inbound tourism) with other places are relatively easy and productive, while places with weak or negative reputations find that everything is relatively difficult.
In other words, places, just like companies, have brand images, and those brand images are crucial to their performance. This is where the term 'place brand' comes from.
What proper place branding doesn't claim and never has is that countries can improve or enhance their reputations in the same way that companies can. You can sell a product or a service with advertising campaigns, but places aren't products.
Most places have, over many years, acquired a certain image because of the things they have done, the things they have made, the way they have made or done these things, or perhaps because of the things they haven't done or made. This gradually creates a very stable, very deeply rooted set of beliefs or prejudices about the kind of country it is.
And you simply can't change that fixed belief by buying advertising space and arguing with people about your image, or contradicting what they already believe. People know what that is: it's called cheap propaganda, and it doesn't work any more.
A reputation cannot be constructed. It can only be earned.
That said; let us now analyze the stupidity of some of our Administrators and Admen. Shall we?
So place branding is a strategic, policy-making approach, designed to help places build on the strengths that will earn them a better reputation. It takes time, commitment, imagination, leadership and energy. It takes close coordination between government, companies and civil society: because all three are co-owners and co-managers of their nation's reputation.
Each country in the world has its own unique characteristics. For instance America means good life and prosperity, China stands for inspiration and change, Whilst Somalia may well be associated with poverty, we the islanders just can’t get rid of our obsession with Stupidity so much so some of us are known as Silly Lankans and quite rightly so.
There is much hype about this Small Miracle. WTF?
What exactly is this small miracle or small pickle supposed to do?
Small is essentially beautiful. Is that it? Small means niche. Is that it? If Srilanka were a small miracle, then ideally you would be pitching it against up-market celebrity tourists who have other choices like Caribbean for instance.
We are essentially targeting the traditional back packer German Pedophiles and snobbish Brit Papas living on social security. In other words, we are a mass market “Laabai Laabai menna badu” taking advantage of off-season promotional tickets by airlines, group discounts and last minute cheap deals. Isn’t that our reality?
The term “SMALL” is essentially associated with up-market goods & services. Rolls Royce cannot be marketed as mass-market car nor can Maruti become a status symbol.
You are either Class or Mass. There is no such thing as Classy Mass, essentially the positioning our (In) capable Admen are trying to arrive at. To give an example, you are either male or female. Mix the two; the resultant hybrid variety will look like our Literati wannabe resident Milley Cyrus specimen in a Barefoot sarong and Odel bikini. So electrifying is the hybrid portrait appeal that you wanna puke all at once. Sigh.. (Pun intended).
Small Miracle with an average night spend of 35 dollars? You wanna call your stupidity value for money offer? Oh..Please.. I don’t think you are fooling anyone here. Hope I have made it clear. There is a fundamental contradiction with Small Miracle positioning. Its like Rolls Royce going cheap at “Whatever I can get” price coz I am desperate to fill my rooms and achieve a decent occupancy rate.
If you thought this blunder stops there, NO… “I am determined to screw everything” is the attitude of our policy makers and their Advertising counterparts.
To begin with, there is no such thing as Tourism Marketing. Nowhere in the sophisticated world would you hear that anymore. Developed countries have moved on having done away with this concept. It’s rather archaic to focus on tourism alone anymore. I would argue for an INTEGRATED Country Marketing, where tourism could be a small or major part in it.
Having a positive image can make a world of difference to a country, just as it does for companies and their products. Places can’t construct or manipulate their images with advertising or PR, slogans or logos such as this.
If you thought the logo was a small miracle that happened, well some hot shot big shot creative genie found a bright idea. He/ She/ It stole an already available logo, worked around the fonts and typography to arrive at that ORIGINAL classic master piece of a logo. You can see His/ Her/ It's source of inspiration below.
Pussy !! But I'm sure they will justify it saying "We needed consistency. So we stole"
But Hey its not a big sin Yeah. All is fair in Advertising. Steal & Modify. That's creativity, the Phoenix style.
Whilst videos such as this are a treat to watch, they don't make miracles happen. And although some governments spend large amounts of money trying to do just that, there is absolutely no proof that it works.
Places can only change their images by changing the way they behave.
The only sure way places can change their images is by changing the way they behave: they need to focus on the things they make and do, not the things they say. It calls for an integrated approach where all four elements come together.
1- Foreign policies
2- Tourism
3- Foreign investment
4- Exports & International trade
This could be through carefully chosen
International cultural, sporting and political events,
Improved cultural and academic relations with other countries,
Strategic commitment to international development and poverty reduction,
Productive engagement with multilateral institutions,
Regional organizations and with NGOs at home and abroad,
Effective coordination between government, industry and civil society,
Enhanced public and private diplomacy overseas,
A visionary long-term approach to innovation, investment and education. And many more related activities.
American success can be attributed to Abraham Lincoln and many of its legendary brands like Coke or Levis. They all contributed to making Brand America what it is today.
An average backpacker sex tourist to Thambapani island arrives onboard Sri Lankan airlines, drinks Ceylon tea, reads Serendib magazine, changes currency at Seylan bank, dances to the calypso of Tabrobane band and thank God he is not exposed to Eeelam though he might be exposed to Peoples Republic of Mihin sometime soon…
Can you see our confusion here? So many names for an island so small? Nowhere have I seen a country being called by this many names. We got all our basics screwed from names, to positioning to our offer and appeal.
Country marketing also depends on country leadership. So which candidate will be better for ‘Brand Sri Lanka’? Nothing very scientific here, I'm afraid: but in my opinion it's Brand Mahinda, without a doubt. This has relatively little to do with whether someone won the war or lost, green or blue, little to do with our politics, and quite a bit to do with how masculine or feminine each is. Mahinda has, I hope he will excuse me saying so, some interestingly feminine qualities (he gives the impression of being caring, culturally sensitive, gentle and considerate) despite the odd scary scary moustache, he also appears driven, forceful and pretty aggressive. It’s a good blend though he is no personal favorite of mine.
If I were to handle this, I would first define a country marketing plan involving BOI, Immigration department, Tourism board, EDB, Foreign ministry, our diplomatic missions abroad, Ports authority, Airports etc… Current stand alone small miracle operating in silos will only prove costly and detrimental to long term strategic growth.
But then numbers do matter to Srilankans. We want 2.5 Million tourist arrivals be they first class, third class that’s still class coz they are all white skinned. How stupid?
What we ideally need is a Country-marketing agency than a tourism-marketing agency. We are so obsessed with micro managing and big volumes, that we forget our priorities. Its quality Vs quantity end of the day.
If you are saying we have moved away from traditional markets of Germany and the UK and have now added India and China, you might wanna know immigration department recently estimated a 20,000 Indians overstaying in the country working in hotels and factories competing with Srilankans adding to unemployment. Many Chinese come here to operate brothels. All these so-called tourists came as tourists to SL. Such is the irony of tourism in SL.
So gullible are we?
As for Small Miracle, what can I say? Well done Irvin & the clan, you got your pockets filled. You indeed needed that big miracle in your small wonder agency.
Trying to revamp, rejuvenate tourism with small miracles?
Dream on, as they say in fools’ paradise that is Sri Lanka !