Topic 2 Destination branding
Go back to the last picture: where do you think it was taken? If it reminds you of Provence, this is because lavender is part of the destination branding of the French region.
According to Tom Buncle, long-time marketing chief of destination Scotland and managing director of Yellow Railroad consulting :
“Destination branding is about identifying the destination’s strongest and most competitively appealing assets in the eyes of its prospective visitors, building a story from these that makes the destination stand out above its competitors, and running this narrative consistently through all marketing communications.”
Postcards, souvenirs, and online/offline photos referring to this place have always had lavender as their main symbol, but now the question could be:
How can I create destination branding?
It can not be created, but it has to be identified: it reflects feelings, values, cultural elements, and tangible and intangible assets of the place we want to make known. In short, there is nothing to invent, but we must think about what our area can make known to succeed in conveying the best image of it that is actually real and authentic.
For the same reason, we cannot imagine rural realities as big cities because of the massive difference between the two.
For example, this is a video shared on TikTok in which we can see an architectural element typical of Apulia (a region in southern Italy). Spoiler: it is not the Colosseum.
These typical housings are called Trulli and are part of the destination –
Branding of Apulia.
Gastronomic products, landscapes, folk traditions, and festive traditions can also help
to be part of destination branding.
What could be some elements of the destination branding of the area you want to promote?
