Branding destinations ‘tough work’

By Mia A. Aznar

Sunday, August 12, 2012
OUT of all the brands that need to be developed, destination branding is the most challenging, a branding expert said.
Jonathan Bernstein, executive director for brand strategy of Interbrand Singapore, said many people confuse a brand for a logo, a tagline or an advertising campaign.

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For Bernstein, a brand is a reputation. “Everything you do will build or take away from your reputation.”
And after working in branding and marketing for over 15 years, Bernstein said that branding a place is much harder than developing a brand for a product.
With products, Bernstein said companies only need to show the economic value for the consumer. But with places, he said things are much more complex.
He explained so many things influence a destination, such as food, heritage, history and the people while there are many things beyond the control of the brand developers.
Bernstein said those who want to develop a destination brand have to get to the heart and spirit of a place.
He cited the case of Finland, which took about two years to find out what made themselves different. They decided that Fins liked to face a problem head-on and came up with the idea that Finland will be the problem solvers of the world by 2030. He said this works because this was the truth about Fins.
He noted that it is not enough to attract tourists, but determine the kind of tourists it wants based on the infrastructure and policies it sets.
He said that all stakeholders have to have a shared vision, which is the tricky part because they often have competing agendas.
In Melbourne, they let all stakeholders participate and they placed an M monogram that they designed on their own.
Bernstein said a brand helps to hold everything together and will serve as a guide for the long-term, medium-term and short-term direction a place wants to take.
Because many cities compete for the same things, Bernstein said it is important to highlight what is different. “You need to know the difference between a Philippine beach and a Thai beach.”
For him, a destination brand improves civic pride and encourages the locals to participate. It also creates opportunity for investment and tourism promotions.
He said it takes time to come up with an effective destination brand but coming up with a brand logo is e first step and it usually takes six months.
He also said that he never brands something based on first impressions.
Bernstein was one of the speakers at the recently concluded One Cebu Business and Sustainability Summit.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 13, 2012.