Bangladesh Brand Positioning

All rights reserved by © khaledhasan@gmail.com
Bangladesh Brand Positioning
For
Tourism Marketing

There are too many places to go out there
here are tens of thousands of destinations (from cities to museums to
attractions to resorts), all fighting to get the consumer’s attention. What
separates the wheat from the chaff in this crowded category is a strong
and clearly articulated brand position.
Now, we all know that the words “brand” and “branding” have been completely
overused in these times of measurement and metrics. So before your eyes glaze
over during yet another mindless effusion, let us cut straight to why those two
words are still important to travel marketers:
"Without a position, it is almost impossible to achieve
a meaningful and sustainable point of differentiation."
It’s easy to overlook the power of positioning when there are competitive
pressures, market forces or deadlines to deal with:
• brochures must be distributed on time, or else
• direct mail campaigns must drop when scheduled
• banner ads, web content, and deal driven links need to get out there
Any diversion from the plan could impact revenue. Unfortunately, when these
tactical efforts don’t follow a carefully crafted position, the destination can end
up either looking schizophrenic to the customer, or worse: indistinguishable
from competitors. Cover up the logos and it could be marketing from any place.
A unique, ownable position gives a destination gravitas
It has pull. It makes people want to get up off the couch, pack their bags, and
go. With their friends, family, even solo. Whether it’s across town, the country,
or the ocean, a destination has to make people lust after it. This requires an
T

inspirational promise that holds true to the experience (and value) it can
reliably deliver.
Creating this higher level of differentiation means taking the time to learn the
truth behind what makes it unique, and what it has to offer that is relevant
and compelling to the travelers wanted as repeat, high value customers. All
great positions are rooted in a nugget of truth, or a kernel of insight that helps
you stake out an ownable space in the mind of the consumer that is unique,
and that no other brand can co-opt, or invade.
Once that truth has been uncovered and clearly articulated, every decision that
has to be made gets a lot easier moving forward.
Tourism Without Branding
In a competitive landscape, lack of differentiation equals commodity.
There isn’t a commodity out there that gets to charge a premium--not one red
cent more--unless there are no competitors. Commodities are complete
substitutes. No one cares if you swap out one for another, because they’re all
the same. There is little differentiation. A beach here is basically the same as a
beach there. A lift and lodging deal here is the same as a deal over there.
Let’s say you’re in the lobby of a hotel, or at a rest stop,
or even surfing the web.
You happen upon a brochure (or website) for a ski resort. You flip through it.
How much of it was truly unique? How much differentiation was created in
your mind as you viewed it? Aside from a few facts about physical attributes,
what popped off the page as truly unique? I’d bet you saw one or two money
shots showing off the snow, a few more generic skiing and riding action shots,
some lifestyle photographs and maybe a cute kid with a helmet and goggles,
right?

Let’s use another example.
You pick up a travel magazine at your local newsstand, and page through it
casually as you wait for a phone call, or sip coffee. It’s an issue about beach
getaways. How many different ads will feature a photo of a woman, on a lounge
chair, with a palm tree? It might surprise a lot of destination marketers to learn
that a common response to ads like these is “Great. A Beach. So what?”
To make matters worse, online travel agencies, aggregators, and directory
websites seem to have trained the consuming public to look for low price as the
only driver of choice. The websites that people like to go to see how much it
would cost to fly to Denver, or Miami aren’t in the business of helping create
differentiation, or build a strong brand, or introduce a destination to a new
audience. For them, it’s all about transaction volume.
The result? Lots of great deals for the consumer, but travel brands become
uninteresting in a hurry if they’re not the cheapest deal.
Features and attributes are not meaningful points of differentiation
For those on the inside of the business, it’s especially important to see things
from the consumers perspective. Many marketers take stock of the features or
attributes they have to sell or promote, and attempt to create a brand position
around them. The problem is that many of those attributes (a ski lift, a beach,
a restaurant, activities for kids) aren’t all that unique. Lots of places have
beaches, don’t they?
This is why creating differentiation within a particular sub-category is so vital
to a strong competitive position, and can really drive preference, market share,
and bottom line growth.
Key Steps To Defining A Unique Position For Your Destination

Our experience shows us that there are four steps integral to uncovering truths
and determining which contribute to a believable, differentiating, relevant,
memorable and deliverable promise of value for any destination:
• Peeling back the onion
• Analyzing the competitive idea space
• Identifying the true relationship drivers
• Getting intimate with the consumer
Peeling back the onion
Take a good hard look at your place in the world, from an outsider’s
perspective. Where did it originate? What does it offer of value? How has it been
represented in the past? What is its current positioning in the mind of the
consumer, and what is its current market position? How about the people
behind it? What are they thinking and saying? How do they act? What do they
really believe? What do they really think of the travelers that find their way
here? Tell the truth and nothing but the truth.
Analyzing the competitive idea space
Take a look at all of your competitors. Reverse-engineer their advertising and
marketing communications to see where they are focusing, how they are
positioning their destinations. What are they saying? How is it different, and
how is it the same? Is it the truth? After you’ve completed this, you should
have a good idea where there is saturation and where there is opportunity in
the world of ideas.
Identifying the true relationship drivers
Identify all of the attributes in the category and do a gap analysis to determine
which of these are the relationship drivers for the category, and for your
destination. Are the drivers tangible or intangible? Which attributes do you
need to do well just to be considered? Which offer the highest return on

investment and which aren’t worth spending time or money on? Don’t be afraid
to invest in consumer research (qualitative or quantitative) at this stage. Good
fieldwork and analysis will deliver decision support tools for a decade or more.
Getting intimate with the consumer
Among travellers who seek out destinations in your competitive space, what are
their current perceptions of the category as a whole, your brand and those you
compete with? What keeps them up at night? What interests them, makes
them happy, and can improve their quality of life. Focusing on the relationship-
building drivers, ladder up the list of attributes to get to the place that
resonates with consumers emotionally. What are they willing to believe about
your place that is somehow different and more desirable than the competition?
The bottom line
It may not be so plainly evident, but uncovering the truth is the key to finding
a position that will be meaningful, different, and ownable over the long term.
In A Position To Achieve A Greater ROI
The Foundation for Successful Marketing
Sometimes it’s hard for travel marketers to think of the value of a position in
concrete ways. Similarly, it’s VERY hard for the C-Suite to justify staff
resources and out of pocket expenses for positioning work if they can’t find
immediate ways to demonstrate some semblance of an ROI. But if you look at a
position as the foundation, just about every marketing initiative gets a bump in
ROI.
You are measuring ROI, aren’t you?
When you dig down deep and get to the truth about your position, you’re really
getting in touch with the soul of your business. If you’ve spent the time to learn
about the soul of your company, and use it to position your brand, then lots of
other things fall into place. Just think of front line staff. With an ethos to
follow, they can really live the position, and create great consumer experiences.

That may sound like an ethereal idea, but it’s very real, and it’s measurable.
Brands that understand this consistently score better than the competitive set
for customer satisfaction, advocacy (or willingness to recommend), and loyalty.
Net promoter scores invariably rise. The correlation between these marketing
metrics and good old dollars is strong. But, with no soul, it’s very hard to
create a battle cry that the internal team can live by, and consumers will
respond to.
There are other good examples of how a strong position can make other
marketing initiatives easier, and return more value.
Consider internet marketing
This is a real-world, stone-cold example that EVERYONE has probably dealt
with by now. If you haven’t, we expect that you will very shortly. In a down
market, with media budgets on the chopping block, this is the one sector in the
advertising industry that will see 15% growth in 2009. Without a solid brand
position, the absolute basic web marketing 101 tasks like SEO and SEM are
painful, and likely, aimless. Sure, it’s trackable, but without a position,
creating effective paid and organic keyword campaigns that translate into
conversions is difficult. With a unique position, creating long term strategies
that improve organic rankings, deliver more relevant visitors, and convert at
higher rates, is within reach.
And remember the message
Perhaps the most compelling example of how much simpler marketing can
become if a valid, meaningful position is established is in good old advertising
and marketing communications. Consistently good creative is the love child of
great positioning and creative talent. Agencies whose clients have established
their competitive line in the sand, grounded in truthful insight, can deliver
great work over and over. It also makes it easy to stay on track over time. How
many times have we seen marketing campaigns lose the mojo after a few great
executions, and then completely unravel after a few quarters?

Positioning can help avoid this, and help ensure that good decisions are made
over time.
Travel Brand Positioning - Twelve Questions To Ask
As you examine where your brand is now, and where you want to be in the
future, consider the position you’re in.
Ask yourself these twelve questions:
1. Do we follow what our competitors are doing and saying?
2. Do we talk with our customers to find out what they think?
3. Do we talk with non-customers to find out why they aren't customers?
4. Does the look, flavor or tone of our marketing campaigns change
frequently?
5. Do we have a “mood board” and brand statement for our company?
6. Has everyone that comes into contact with our customers seen it?
7. Do we have a litmus test to determine if each element of our
communications program is “on position?
8. Do we have a brand standards or graphics standards manual?
9. Are they followed religiously?
10. Do we have a designated brand steward to pay close attention to
creative, and other applications of the brand?
11. Do we track ROI for marketing initiatives?
12. How are our conversion rates?
It's a crowded world we live in, and despite recessions, layoffs, and tumbling
revenue projections, people will still make time for getting away. A strong
position will help you create emotional, evocative connections with the
consumer. Those connections are built on insights grounded in the truth, and
will help you find meaningful differentiation in your category.
The process is simple, and makes everything else more effective down the road.

More and more countries have decided, rightly, to pay attention to their
national identity.
You may call it your brand or the identity of your people or your national
reputation.
Each of these names denotes something a little different. But the issue is the
same: the idea of your country evokes a reaction in the mind of every foreigner
(citizen, corporation and Government).
And indeed, no less importantly, at home. National pride is as live an issue as
external reputation.
You recognise that if you do nothing, the image of your country will continue
being made, and changed, daily by many factors over which you have little or
no control.
But you can coordinate a number of the messages being put out by your
Government: your promotion of exports, inward investment and tourism, for
example. Indeed, your advertising and promotion budget is the most obvious
and direct tool under your control.
We do not advocate an advertising message as the only route to a positive
country image where previously a negative one existed. That would be
propaganda and not advertising and would not work. On the contrary, we
believe that effective campaigns are always rooted in reality. We believe that we
can work with you to find which positive aspects of your country we can use to
build a credible international positioning. And image. Branding, in other words!

We will also advise you how to use tourist visits and appropriate products for
those tourists, to accelerate better appreciations of the real strengths of your
country.
Country rebranding: why choose Bangladesh Foundation for Tourism
Development?
To re-brand, or to brand, or to intensify the branding of a country requires a
particular mix of skills if it is to be done effectively. Firstly, your agency has to
understand that a purely cosmetic operation will not work. Bangladesh
Foundation for Tourism Development knows how to work with you so that you
can – objectively - find the elements in your country on
which effective and relevant branding can be built. Real elements: real
strengths, real things, real people, real holiday products.
We can work on real policy initiatives that give concrete meaning to your ideals.
How does all that feed back into branding? Well, we will have a clear idea of
how you want the public to react to your country. We focus on the actions that
build tourism, of course, AND lead to increasing absorption into their attitudes
of what you are trying to say to them. We can do this, because we understand
Brands.
All branding work today in this field requires:
• Experience of how consumers react to communications
• Experience of how brands are built and how brands are refreshed
• An understanding of when market research is essential and what kind of
market research gives useable information
• A knowledge of how tourism can be used to accelerate the process of re-
appreciating the country
• A knowledge of the new groups of tourists and their habits.
• understanding of how online media , used to communicate tourism
messages can be also used as the prime public vehicle for a re-
assessment of your country

• Experience of how politicians’ minds work and how political journalists
react
Tourism - the acceptable public face of your national brand
We have already implied that you may well retain different campaigns for your
country. These might include, for example, exports, inward investment, trade
fairs, etc. All of these can produce variations on a single theme but they must
all be contributing strategically to the establishment of a clear identity for your
nation that advances the interests of your people in every dimension.
This is a difficult task. But it has to be done. You cannot afford to attract
tourists to a country of quaint medieval charms if your prime economic goal is
to attract dynamic, high technology industries.
It is your tourism promotion - in whatever form (advertising, PR, websites, etc)
- that will have the biggest impact on attitudes to your nation. It is the easiest
option open to you to counter prejudice and to build warm and positive feelings
to your nation.
We are talking politics - and public opinion
Your diplomats are doubtless highly skilled. Your own relationships with
Ministers of other countries may be excellent. But their ability to treat with you
as you would wish is affected by the attitudes of their own electorates. It is
conditioned by the headlines in their domestic press.
You can only alter public opinion, in the countries whose goodwill you need, if
you talk to them. And as we have said, your tourist promotion is the best and
perhaps the only effective medium under your control.
We have said elsewhere that merely to create slick advertising campaigns with
a punchy slogan is not enough. The best kind of Press Relations will be

required, and you will have to make sure that the messages about your country
are underpinned by the reality of policy initiatives and facts on the ground.
But the sad truth is that many countries do the right things at home, butstill
fail to get the credit abroad. Bangladesh Foundation for Tourism Development
believes that success requires
• astute and appropriate communication with relevant journalists,
politicians and civil servants. THF will work with you to set up such a
programme and to develop initiatives that will interest these three groups
and get coverage in the countries of your choice.
• The second aspect is to create public goodwill towards your country and
your people. THF will advise you how to do this, incorporating your
tourist promotion to be your public face abroad. We will discuss with you
what you need to do domestically first and then how to structure a
tourism strategy that takes the above objective into account.
• We will advise you on the role to be played by different media in changing
public attitudes - and, crucially, in actually bringing more tourists, the
kind that you actively want, to your country. (THF believes that an active
policy in which you choose the type of tourists and the type of tourism
appropriate to your national resources, is preferable by far to passive
tourism whereby you adapt to the opportunism e.g. low cost airlines,
self-interested tour operators, and the accidents of the web to bring to
you. The active policy we recommend elsewhere on our website not only
creates popular goodwill to tourism in your country and spreads the
economic benefits of tourism widely through the population but is
sustainable in the long run).
All of this is entirely consistent with the use of every element of your tourism
budget to actively promote a favorable and informed view of your country.
Destination Branding:

Bangladesh Foundation for Tourism Development specializes in tourism, and
the promotion of destinations. Because of the strong strategic input, what we
do has come to be known as Destination Branding.
A destination can be anything from a nation to a region, a resort to a city, an
attraction to an event - or even the tour operators that help them to sell.
Branding, in turn, defines a unique set of beliefs about a destination and the
sort of holidays or breaks it offers - beliefs that are equally emotional and
rational, make it stand out from the competition and make it feel just right for
each of its many target audiences. Many factors will go into the creation of
these beliefs.
Getting it right requires clear strategic thinking - weighing up what you can
offer against what your competitors are doing, what your potential visitors are
looking for, and most importantly how to adapt to change.
By the word branding we do not mean your “look” – your logo, colours, design,
etc. – but something far deeper. Your “look” is the quick reminder of what your
destination stands for in people’s minds. The two must coincide and evolve
together, but they are not the same.
Dynamic Branding
But at Bangladesh Foundation for Tourism Development we go a step further.
We make sure your destination - i.e. your "brand" - keeps up with today's
attitudes and behaviors. We call this Dynamic Branding.
Dynamic Branding ® – Kill the brand life-cycle!
Owners of consumer brands have traditionally had a choice in changing
times. They could review the effectiveness of their brand every few years and
then, if necessary, relaunch it or replace it with a new one – allowing the
outdated brand to slowly die (completing its 'life-cycle'). Simply put, this is how
brands have survived through time.
Countries and destinations didn’t have that luxury. The internet has now
changed that.
In world tourism, new media, cheap transport, increased choice, increased
prosperity, evolving expectations, interests and concerns add up to a
revolution. As a result, attitudes to countries, and tourists’ expectations of

destinations, change on a continuous basis now. Fickle tourists adopt new
fashions or note new destinations, and perceptions of you change every day.
Nations concerned about their reputation find that popular and media opinion
is increasingly volatile and quickly influenced. Views and perceptions, justified
or ignorant, are disseminated with equal speed by blog, SMS or email.
But that speed of change need not be a threat.
Get on top of it, surf the wave with panache and it will give you new
opportunities every day – and the means to exploit them.
So to keep moving forward you may well be obliged to continuously adaptnot
just your product but also your image and positioning. And if you do not, you
will surely lose out - to other destinations more alert to new opportunities and
new emotional buttons waiting to be pressed.
That’s why we call what we do Dynamic Branding®.
Dynamic Branding® in action means, first of all, continuous revolution. It’s a
readiness to keep up to date by steady adjustments to positioning and brand
image.
Stay ahead of change. That’s Dynamic Branding®.
Dynamic Branding® in action means, first of all, continuous revolution.It’s
a readiness to keep up to date by steady adjustments to positioning and brand
image.
(Not that Leon Trotsky, who came up with the idea of continuous revolution, was
in reality over-concerned about adapting his brand; indeed that was perhaps one
of his problems, poor man.)
Second, it means actively anticipating change, not reacting to it passively.
Easier to get it right using hindsight, of course, but by then a competitor might
already be occupying the position that might have been yours – and reaping
the attention that goes with it.
Our mission is to ensure that your destination’s salient attributes are up to
date and relevant. Continuously.

That’s why we have developed the concept of dynamic branding®.
We are talking of a unique way of approaching the tourism revolution.
This goes beyond responding to change. It goes beyond understanding
the emotional aspects of your destination brand, crucial though it is to
understand what they are and how they need to evolve. It’s about concrete
matters too.
This way we can keep you abreast of trends and changing opportunities and
threats as they happen. By understanding how brands work we can help you
to anticipate and innovate so as to be ahead of the game, not behind it.
Remember: a potent brand never just relies on a USP (Unique Selling Point) or
just one proposition. It has, or perhaps it is, a distinctive character. Like all
characters it exists in the round, and is composed of many attributes. Thanks
to the Internet and electronic media, one can continuously tweak product and
message in a way that was impossible in the past.
Thus what began as the problem ends up as the solution.
Sustainable tourism… Responsible tourism… Ethical tourism…
Community-based tourism…
These are concepts that overlap and inter-connect. They are all increasingly
vital to you, whether to target travellers or to satisfy media concern.
However, they can mean different things to different people.
Here’s what we think. You’ll shortly be able to post your own views here – we’d
be delighted to host a debate.
Ethical tourism and fair trade: it does matter
More and more tourists and journalists want to know whether travellers’
money goes to ethical ends. That means to reduce poverty, not exploit it. To

sustain and restore natural resources, wildlife, historic monuments, and not
damage or exhaust them. It means that tourist revenues should empower local
people to retain their way of life or embrace change - or whatever mixture of
preservation and development suits them.
Actively managed, tourism can spread prosperity widely among the people,
redress some of the adverse impact of tourism ‘ghettos’ and help cushion the
effect of local price rises. Community-based tourism is only one way of doing
this.
Enlightened self-interest - and profit can go together
Profit and exploitation or ethics and responsible tourism? That’s a false
dilemma. The Hat Factory does not believe that self-interest and ethics
are automatically opposed. The choice is between short-term and long-term
vision. Sustainable tourism by definition means protecting the assets that you
will depend on for your long-term interests and profits. Those are the
landscapes, wildlife, buildings, culture and traditions – and the goodwill of
local people.
We can help you develop profitable products that are sustainable, long-term, in
every sense. Our experience in other sectors allows us to talk to you about how
tourism can be used to spread prosperity into many sectors of your economy, if
you wish.
We believe that tourism can and should sustain employment and the wider
economy - farming, crafts, exports, shops, inward investment, and lots more.
Tourism can assist self-sufficiency, the development of small-scale enterprise
and a culture of enterprise. The Hat factory would love to explore your ideas on
this subject with you.
There is not even necessarily a choice between mass tourism and eco-tourism,
because often both can co-exist. Indeed they can complement each other. For
example, a good solution for the forest might be to reserve and preserve its
fragile sites for a handful of carefully targeted and appropriate visitors while a

different marketing approach draws the crowds away to more robust areas.
Some beach resorts are equally vulnerable, and marketing can protect them;
others can be designed to accept mass tourism but in an entirely sustainable
way.
Your image as a destination and a country
As interest rightly grows in these matters, your image as a destination and a
country is at risk, unless your website shows that you are addressing these
issues convincingly and effectively. As we say elsewhere (Destination Branding)
image and reality are connected. The Hat Factory will communicate your
concern for responsibility in tourism, but only if based on reality. Hence our
enthusiasm for working alongside your team as they adapt and create your
products, as well as publicising them and developing your reputation.
The Hat Factory and eco-tourism
The Hat Factory is interested in this subject and aware of what the concerned
tourist expects. We can assist you in:
• Redefining target markets
• Choosing the products that will attract the concerned tourists you want –
in other words, working with you to review your natural assets in the
light of this demanding market
• Working with you to design or refine these products. Examples could be
special guided trails, cultural appreciation holidays, and community-
based tourism. They can take many forms, sometimes will be even
unique, but the effect should be the preservation of your assets and
higher living standards. Enhanced, educated contact with tourists has
beneficial cross-cultural and political effects, too.
• Drawing public attention to what you are doing –
includingjournalists and politicians
• Linking to the relevant, specialist tour operators
• Search: Obtaining a high profile in search engines for your efforts and
your products, so as to attract the independent traveller

• Audits: analysing what you promote to tourists, and how - whether from
the point of view of the foreign tourist or journalist or the political lobby.
Our recommendations would cover your products and how you are
communicating them to the ethically-concerned tourist.
#2 TOURISM BRANDING: USING YOUR VOICE
Without a doubt it has happened to us all at some point in time. There you are
quietly sitting in your hotel room or lounge at home, your mind busy with
something other than watching the television, and without your really even
noticing, the room is suddenly filled with the a series of distinctive chords of
music. Before you know it you find yourself quietly humming to yourself:
“Malaysia, Truly Asia”, maybe even picturing in your mind’s eye images of still,
sparkling turquoise waters being broken by a diving silhouette, baby turtles
wiggling back into the sea, wooden toys magically dancing in the light of golden
candles, and bronzed smiling travellers sharing a moment of play with local
elders. Technically speaking you have not even seen the television screen. All
you have heard are the first bars of music. And you are transposed to another
place, a place which reminds you of how badly you need a holiday and offers a
very enticing suggestion of a destination.
That is the power of DESTINATION BRANDING.
DESTINATION BRANDING has become one of the most exciting, entertaining
and expressly competitive aspects of today’s Tourism industry. Across the
world and across the airwaves, television and computer screens are busy
carrying musicwrapped images of sand, sea and sunshine, snowwhite ski
slopes and statuesque monuments, sprawling green landscapes, stunning
sunsets, perfect starlit nights and warm smiling faces, all tempting hopeful
travellers with the promise of a perfect, personal escape.
Each of these different destination promises comes neatly, sensually packaged
in the destination BRAND. Or at least they try to.
For any destination, central to tourism sector growth and development is the
establishment of a creative, compelling, competitive identity which accurately
reflects the experience promise, and delivery capability, of the destination..

Governments around the globe are confidently and proudly investing billions of
national revenues each year into establishing destination BRAND exposure and
appeal. With such widespread competition, destination BRAND advertising on
local, regional and international networks has in many ways evolved tourism
communication to destination pageantry.
Still, for all of the excitement and expectation generated by destination
BRANDS, it is vital to not lose focus on the fundamental role and purpose of
the BRAND.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SYMBOL
A destination BRAND, while appearing as a singular logo creatively stating the
name of the destination, is in fact an important symbol for the destination. One
seemingly simple design is, in fact, a vital reflection and source of identification
of a destination’s character and strategy. The fonts selected, colours used,
textures employed, creative devices introduced to support the destination
name, even musical arrangement, they all work together to reflect specific key
elements of the spirit and character of the destination.
A clear set of practical, meaningful Tourism objectives and aspirations lie
behind a BRAND’s unique features.
Through its presence the BRAND showcases the destination to the world,
making the desired connection with target audiences.
Ultimately the destination BRAND seeks to speak to two priority Audiences:
1.
The TRAVELLER
2.
The PEOPLE OF THE DESTINATION

Firstly, the Traveller.
For Tourists the Destination BRAND acts as a source of identification of not
only the destination name, it is a reflection of the destination’s character and
PROMISE of the traveler experience – the beauty and intrigue of places to be
seen, the cultural pageantry of people to be met, the range of local activity to
become a
part of, the spirit of the destination to be felt. The destination BRAND acts as
both
an invitation to the destination, and an encapsulation of the unique
experiences
which the tourism can come ‘touch’ for themselves.
Secondly and as importantly, the People of the Destination.
For these people the destination BRAND represents a symbol of the
destination’s
DNA. The Destination BRAND acts as a unifying force, aligning all of the people
of
the destination behind all that it has to celebrate in its:
o Culture
o Spirit

o Personality
o Future aspirations The destination BRAND must therefore work to unite and
inspire the people of the destination to proudly serve in their own way as hosts
of visitors to their destination,
be they formally a part of the tourism industry or simply because they call the
destination ‘home’.
Ultimately the BRAND acts as the VOICE of the nation a vital source of
destination identity and messaging for the destination.
With the global Tourism industry becoming more and more competitive,
crowded
and creative, destination BRANDS must achieve clear, confident, meaningful
differentiation.
This requires thoughtful, responsible commitment to destination BRAND
development.
As a framework for BRAND development (and examination), it is important to
stay
focused on the fact that a truly powerful destination BRAND focuses on the
fundamentals of its VOICE:

•
V – Vision : a powerful destination BRAND reflects the spirit and aspirations of
the people of the destination. It expresses the energy and personality of the
destination, proactively shaping its social, cultural, natural and economic
destiny. Destinations defining themselves purely by growth should naturally
project an energy which confidently expresses the destination’s goals and sense
of belief in their dreams becoming a proud reality. Destinations rich in history,
culture and tradition can effectively showcase and celebrate these features as
pillars of the BRAND’s positioning and personality which inspire the future of
the destination. Ultimately the destination BRAND should project a clarity of
selfunderstanding of where the destination has come from and where it is
going, acting as a source of traveler excitement and motivation to visit.
•
OOriginality: The destination BRAND must clearly, confidently and
competitively tell a unique, authentic, compelling story about the destination.
Creativity is critical. But beware creativity for creativity sake. The creative
expression of the BRAND acts as a mirror of the creative spirit of the
destination itself.
Importantly, having established the BRAND’s positioning, core messages and
look & feel, it is critical to ensure consistency of messaging. A BRAND is s
symbol of identification, understanding and trust. While creative expression of
the BRAND may and should change over time, it is important to ensure that
BRAND governance is applied towards the Destination Brand’s DNA – ie. its
iconography, look and feel, strategic pillars, payoff. Constant change of, or to,
the BRAND’s DNA can result in target audience confusion, distrust of the
promise being put forward in communication, and abandonment of interest in
the destination.
•

I – Icons: each and every destination has leveraging and creating highly
memorable, ownable and inspiring symbols uniquely associated with the
destination. These may be, inter alia,:
o Natural environments
o Structures
o People
o Wildlife
o Sport
o Elements of Arts and culture
Destinations icons reflect the energy, possibility and pride of the nation.
Anchoring the destination BRAND in icons enables the destination to ‘own’
truly unique elements of interest and attraction. Focus, however, should be few

icons. Destination branding is not a form of cataloguing the full range of
experiences open to the traveler.
Ultimately the BRAND should seek to extend an invitation to not just see what
travellers are wishing to experience for themselves, but also to discover beyond
their expectations of experiences.
• C – Competitiveness: Importantly, a destination BRAND must be able to
creatively, powerfully, positively and quickly grab and hold the attention and
interest of travelers. Competitiveness of BRAND identity is critical to overall
destination competitiveness on the global tourism map.
To truly stand out and achieve recognition, differentiation and interest, creative
thought is required not just in the expression of the BRAND’s identity and core
messaging, but also in the media mix which is used to achieve desired BRAND
exposure. Strategic thought is required to ensure that the right messages are
being sent out to the right people in the right mediums at the right time…and
importantly, with the desired ROI.
Destination advertising clutter is a reality of the tourism sector, globally, with
little chance that it will subside. Creativity in media execution is as important
as creativity in BRAND expression to ensure that the destination BRAND’s
voice is heard as powerfully, meaningfully and purely as possible.
• E – Experiential: Travel today is no longer simply about seeing and doing,
it has become about feeling. Destinations which simply showcase static
features of destination – places, sights, structures – risk failing to reach out
and make an emotional connection with the traveler.
A destination BRAND which authentically and meaningfully showcases the rich
opportunities for engagement of travelers with the destination – its people, its
culture, its places, its nature seeds the development of a relationship between
the destination and the traveler. By bringing the destination BRAND to life
through emphasis of a select scope of desirable experiences reflecting the
pillars of the BRAND strategy, the destination unlocks a rich, powerful
opportunity for pre, during and posttraveler connection. In addition to
enhancing the traveler experience to the destination, the destination secures a
strong competitive edge vis a vis other destinations,

The power of a destination BRAND is clearly within its VOICE.
Destination BRANDS communicating with a clear, confident, consistent VOICE
open themselves up to a world of possibility in growth, development,
appreciation, competitive edge and, importantly, pride.
Self-identification in culture and heritage can be a great theme to pride
ourselves on as Bangladeshis. For eras, we have been honoured for inheriting
more than two thousand-year old civilization. The glorious background we
belong to can easily put the whole nation into an image. The tourism is also not
a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. So great were the attractions of Bangladesh
that to quote a French traveller François Bernier 'it has a hundred gates open
for entrance but not one for departure.' The mystic melody of our natural
beauties lies in this single expression.
Since tourism captures the entire image of culture, heritage, history and
natural beauty, it can rise up through a country's identification process.
Branding is a consequence of this process. Conversely, destination branding is
a very basic part of the whole marketing strategy of tourism business.
Branding a destination is an element of promoting tourism image which can be
defined as just a set of associations that are linked to a particular country.
Branding through tourism signifies the values of a country. It tells about the
quality of the services and beauties that are offered by the country to its
consumers. It tells how a country differs from other countries as its
competitors. Hence building a good country brand image means achieving
success in the tourism business.
A "brand image" is important for every tourist destination. If developed with
awareness the brand serves to distinguish a destination from competing
destinations. However some destinations do not have a brand strategy, and are
supported by inconsistent advertising campaigns, creating a confused image to
prospective customers. Image must be controlled by a clear projection of brand
identity. Bangladesh needs this clear projection of self-identification right away.

When consumers decide on a destination for a holiday or a business
conference, several "brands" compete for their attention. A strong brand is
differentiated from others, has several strong advantages when compared to
others, and has an attractive appeal to consumers. In tourism, while factors
such as cost of travel, convenience, and quality of facilities are important, the
strongest motivator is "image". Image puts a destination on the consumer's
"shopping list" and creates an emotional appeal, which enhances that
destination's chances of being chosen over others.
Recently a survey commissioned by the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board
reports: Singapore is seen, by a broad selection of travellers and tourist agents
from the US, Japan, India, Germany, Australia, UK and Sweden as "clean,
modern and safe". China's dominant image and attraction is "culture".
Malaysia is seen as "multicultural with many beaches". Thailand has a brand
image of "exotic, fun, and friendly people".
So, what's about Bangladesh? It will be really possible to heighten our image
through collective contributions from our own national duties and
responsibilities. Of course, image projection needs a continuous process. It will
not take birth overnight; rather a vigilant gradual grooming of Bangladesh will
be correlating to create a brand destination. Formal advertising and promotion
of a country as a tourist destination in other nations may also have a great
effect. If that image is unfocused or not clear, the destination will have
difficulty competing with images created by competing countries. Advertising,
PR and promotion must complement informal information obtained through
word of mouth and personal recommendations, by either building upon the
latter or correcting negative perceptions that may be incorrect.
Developing a strong image for Bangladesh as destination requires a carefully
planned brand strategy based on:

· A well defined and unique brand personality
· Selection of the correct positioning strategies
· 'Themed' product development
· Consistent and appropriate advertising and promotion
· Careful brand guardianship
All the above must be built on a thorough understanding of consumer needs.
Above all, the success of brand image development will depend on how the
perceptions of consumers can be encouraged to believe that one destination is
different and better than its competitors. This encourages consumer
acquisition and retention, including extending the length of stay.
Normally all the branding campaigns will be decided by the advertising and
management departments with a bit of top level management involvement. We
should use the budget that has to be allocated to the branding campaigns in a
very intelligent manner.
It will not be wise to start with a huge budget campaigns unless the country
image is already a big brand. We have to spend amount sparingly in all the
available advertising mediums and analyze the results from all the different
mediums carefully. We need a deep marketing mix analysis. This will show us
what advertising mediums are giving us a better brand image. Then we have to
try to spend more amount on those mediums and try to analyze the possible
steps we can take to better the brand visibility from the weaker mediums.

Destination branding process is a continuous work. It should go on until the
country image takes a lasting shape in the industry. Otherwise there is a great
chance of another country taking over the market share. If we follow these
basic steps, it is definite that the brand image of Bangladesh will be quite
healthy and in turn it would bring in the required Gross Democratic Product
(GDP) growth.
Bangladeshi tourism has so much potential – if the right actions are taken:
Views On Tourism
The presence of tourism in any destination always brings with it environmental
and socio-cultural as well as economic impacts. This is why tourism
internationally is often praised as an effective development tool, especially in
rural areas and the developing world. A sustainable tourism development
would no doubt have a major positive impact in Bangladesh.
Since the 1990s tourism has been a small but rapidly growing sector of the
national economy. Nevertheless, Bangladesh is still one of the countries in the
South Asian region with the least arrivals and the lowest revenue earned from
the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism initiatives exist and demand is
increasing, but sustainable tourism management is not widespread in the
sector.
In 2008 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), an international business
leader forum, predicted that the Bangladeshi contribution from national Travel
& Tourism to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will stay at 4% from 2009 to
2019. I 2009 these 4 percentage is expected to account for 244,8 billion Taka,
which by 2019 will increase to 711,3 billion Taka. The Real GDP growth for the
Bangladeshi Travel & Tourism Economy is hereby expected to be 3.5% in 2009
and increase to average 6.0% per annum over the next 10 years.
The low national travel and tourism investment is one obvious development
obstacles. According the same WTTC report the Bangladeshi travel and tourism
capital investment out of total investment 2009-2019 will drop from 4,1% to
3,9%. In 2009 this same period average South Asian investment is 7,7%, with
no ten year forecast data available. Average figures for world travel and tourism
investment capital out of total investment is 9,4% in 2009 and 9,3% in 2019.

Despite poor forecasts and multiple sector obstacles, several international
players have highlighted Bangladesh as a desired tourism destination during
the last couple of years. In terms of positive national tourism branding this
kind of publicity is not even possible to buy for money.
1: Lonely Planet, which is in the world’s absolute leader in publishing travel
guides and guidebooks, recommended Bangladesh in 2008 as one of the top
ten interesting travel destination in 2009.
‘Let’s get this straight from the start. Bangladesh is not the country of
disappointment as portrayed in ‘Brick Lane’ or by the international media, nor
is it merely the poorly endowed cousin of India. Instead Bangladesh is a
revelation that actually leaves India looking a little worse for a wear. Any visitor
who ventures here will return home with stories so improbable that claiming
you have a pet unicorn is likely to be met with fewer disbelieving shakes of the
head.’
Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2009, p 6.
2: The publication of two Bangladeshi travel guides from successful
international publishers.
The first Bradt travel guide on Bangladesh was published October 2009. This
UK publisher is known as a pioneer in tackling ‘unusual’ destinations, for
championing the causes of sustainable travel and for the high quality of
writing. The back cover text states:
“Bangladesh has a reputation for being poor and beset by flooding, but this
‘republic of rivers’ rewards those willing to look beyond the headlines. […]
Leave luxuries behind and embark on the richest of travel experiences among
some of the sub-continent’s friendliest people”.
Lonely Planet published their 5th edition of their Bangladeshi travel guide in
2008, with the following introduction
“For all of its forests, temples, mosques, islands and beaches, the highlight of
Bangladesh is Bangladesh” (p. 3).
3: The online worldwide New7Wonders of Nature campaign started in 2007
with more than 440 candidate locations from 220 countries. Represented
Bangladeshi locations were Sundarbans, a mangrove forest already nominated

a UNESCO heritage site, and Cox’s Bazar beach. By global voting and expert
selection the candidates have been narrowed down two times in July 2009 to
77 and 28 candidates. Sundarbans is still in the competition and voting will
continue throughout 2010 and into 2011 to narrow down the candidates to 7.
The winner of New7Wonders of Nature will be found during 2011.
Let there be no doubt, national as well as international; the Bangladesh
tourism sector has indeed potential and a sustainable tourism development in
Bangladesh is possible if will, knowledge, action and investment are joined.
These are profound convictions of Majbritt Thomsen, a Danish expatriate with
a MA in tourism, two years of living and traveling in Bangladesh, a study done
on the potential of the Bangladeshi tourism sector for the Royal Danish
Embassy, Dhaka, and contact with a variety of people related to the national
tourism sector. This experience has showed her over and over again that there
are many professional, motivated and visionary people, who can play an
important role in a sustainable tourism development in Bangladesh.
The biggest barrier to a positive development of the Bangladeshi tourism
sector, according to Majbritt Thomsen, is the lack of a consistent tourism
vision based on cooperation, knowledge and sustainability. Late 2008 she
launched the voluntary Views On Tourism Project, with an objective to facilitate
Bangladeshi access to tourism knowledge and networking. A online knowledge
base now consist of national, regional and international tourism knowledge,
through more than 200 articles, 70 resource links and an overview of the
national tourism players. A LinkedIn network group furthermore unites
professional people, who are interested or related to the Bangladeshi tourism
sector.
The long-term vision for the Views On Tourism Project is to create an active
and innovating sustainable tourism movement. Activities, cooperation and
services should aim at building tourism sector capacity as well as providing
benefits not only for people who travel, but also for people in the communities
they visit, and for their respective natural, social and cultural environments.
Destinations in Bangladesh
The Chittagong Hill Tracts have steep jungle hills, Buddhist tribal peoples and
relatively low-density population. The tracts are about 60 km (37mi) east of

Chittagong, and are an idyllic place to tour. The region comprises a mass of
hills, ravines and cliffs covered with dense jungle, bamboo, creepers and
shrubs, and has four main valleys formed by the Karnapuli, Feni, Shangu and
Matamuhur rivers, making it one of the most scenic tourist destinations in
Bangladesh.
Cox’s Bazar is the top tourist sites of Bangladesh. It is the most attractive
travel sites of Bangldesh and one of the best in all over the world. Cox’s Bazar
Sea Beach of Bay of Bengal is the longest unbroken natural sea beach in the
world. Cox Bazar is the best tourism place of Bangladesh for its plenty of
tourist facilities. There are many hotels and lodge of different level waiting for
the tourists. Our websites work as a tourist books for the enthusiastic tourists.
As a top travel sites of Bangladesh, you can find a lot of things to do in Cox’s
Bazar. Sand at the beach, shore and ocean of Cox’s Bazar blowing around you.
When you to Cox Bazar, surrounding atmosphere of Cox Bazar compel you to
feel that “ I am the king of Steeplechase”. All the elements of Cox Bazar seem
sing the “Song of Ecstasy”. Cox’s Bazar is such kind of magical place. A trip to
Cox’s Bazar will be your best kind of day. Cox’s Bazar Beach is sunny, warm
and quiet. It is a calm and wonderful place to think vacation. Beach at sunset
is a wonderful place to see off. You can move around the longest sea beach in
the world frequently. You can walk through the world longest beach of Cox’s
Bazar, take a sunbathe, get pleasure from the eye-catching scenery of sun set
in Cox Bazar Sea Beach, enjoy surfing, boating, and hearing “Roar-
Shwish…Shwish…” sound of the sea wave.
Rangamati is a lush and verdant rural area belonging to the Chakma tribe
open to visitors, as is Kaptai Lake. The lake, ringed by thick tropical and semi-
evergreen forests with the thatched fishing villages located on the lakeshore are
what make a visit special, on tours to Bangladesh.
Puthia has the largest number of historically important Hindu structures in
Bangladesh. The most amazing of the village's monuments that you can tour is
the Govinda Temple, erected between 1823 and 1895 by one of the maharanis
of the Puthia estate. It's a large square structure crowned by a set of miniature
ornamental towers. It's covered by incredibly intricate designs in terracotta
depicting scenes from Hindu epics, giving the appearance of been draped by a
huge red oriental carpet. The ornate Shiva Temple is an imposing and excellent
example of the five-spire Hindu style of temple architecture common in

northern India. The ornate temple has three tapering tiers topped by four
spires. It is decorated with stone carvings and sculptural works. The village's
16-century Jagannath Temple another beautiful monument to tour. It is one of
the finest examples of a hut-shaped temple: measuring only 5m (16ft) on each
side; it features a single tapering tower that rises to a height of 10m (33ft). Its
western facade is adorned with terracotta panels of geometric designs. It is one
of the most fascinating tourist destinations in Bangladesh.
Saint Martin Island is a small coral island about 10 km (6mi) southwest of the
southern tip of the mainland with beaches fringed with coconut palms and
bountiful marine life. There is nothing more strenuous to do here than soak up
the rays, but it is a clean and peaceful place. It is possible to walk around the
island in a day because it measures only 8 sq km (3 sq mi), shrinking to about
5 sq km (2 sq mi) during high tide. Most of island's 5,500 inhabitants live
primarily from fishing, and between October and April fisher people from
neighboring areas bring their catch to the island's temporary wholesale market,
a picturesque sight, which you can see on tours to Bangladesh.
The northern most district of the country, offers a number of attractions to the
visitors. The Ramsagar (great sea) lake with rest houses is a good picnic spot
that you can tour. The spot has facilities for fishing and rowing in a serene and
quiet green countryside atmosphere. Kantanagar temple, the most ornate
among the late medieval temples of Bangladesh is situated near Dinajpur town.
Maharaja Pran Nath built it in 1752 A.D. The Maharja's palace with relics of
the past centuries and local museum are worth a visit on tours to Bangladesh.
A pleasant and picturesque drive of 64 km. from Chittagong brings you to a
huge expanse of emerald and blue water ringed with tropical forest. It is the
famous man-made Kaptai Lake (680 sq. km) formed by damming the
Karnaphuli river.Only 3 km. from Kaptai along Chittagong Road, lies the
ancient Chit Morong Buddhist temple having beautiful Buddhist Statues.
Other places of interest that you can tour in the Hill Tract districts include
Chandraghona, Khagrachari and Bandarban all in picturesque surroundings.

Kuakata, locally known as Sagar Kannya (Daughter of the Sea) is a rare scenic
beauty spot on the southernmost tip of Bangladesh. It is 70 km from
Patuakhali district headquarters and 320 km from Dhaka. Kuakata offers
excellent combination of the picturesque natural beauty, sandy beach, blue
sky, huge expanse of water of the Bay and evergreen forest. Gateway to the
Sundarbans abode of the Royal Bengal Tigers Khulna is an industrial town and
Divisional Headquarter.Some of the biggest Jute mills in the country are
located here. Khulna is connected with Dhaka by road and boat and by air via
Jessore. Accommodation and eating facilities are available for tourists on tours
to Bangladesh.
Enjoy the unspoiled nature with all its charm and majesty at Mongla. Spending
some time inside the forest can be a rare treat for the lovers of nature on their
tour of Mongla.
Rajshahi has seen the most glorious period of Bengal's Paul dynasty.
Connected with Dhaka by road, rail, river and air, Rajshahi is located on the
bank of the Padma River and is an exciting place to tour. It is famous for pure
silk, mango and lichi. Attractive silk products are cheaper. A visit to Varendra
Research Museum at the heart of the city for rich archaeological finds would be
most rewarding. There are also a number of ancient mosques, shrines and
temples in and around Rajshahi, which make it a favorite among tourist
destinations in Bangladesh.
About 40 km. from Rajshahi by roads is Natore, an old seat of Maharajas with
a beautiful palace now serving as the Uttara Ganabhaban (President's Official
residence of the northern region). It was residence of the Dighapatiya Raj. It is
situated amid well-kept grounds, surrounded by a fine moat. The buildings are
modern. They include a well-equipped guesthouse, an imposing gateway and a
fine garden decorated with statues of white marble.

Greater Mymensingh lies from the foot of the Garo Hills in the north down to
the plains of Dhaka in the south. Along the northern frontier of the district
there are many aboriginal tribes such as Garos, Hajongs and Kochis who are
ethnically quite distinct from the people around them. Mymensingh has earned
a notable position in Bengali literature as the birth place of rich folklores and
folk songs.Visit the national park and game sanctuary at Madhupur about 160
km. from Dhaka. There are a number of reserve forests in the area with rest
houses and picnic spots. World famous painter Zainul Abedin's Art Gallery at
Mymensingh carries the boyhood memories of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Nestled in the picturesque Surma Valley amidst scenic tea plantations and
lush green tropical forests, greater Sylhet is a prime attraction for all tourists
visiting Bangladesh. Laying between the Khasia and the Jaintia hills on the
north, and the Tripura hills on the south, Sylhet breaks the monotony of the
flatness of this land by a multitude of terraced tea gardens, rolling countryside
and the exotic flora and fauna. Here the thick tropical forests abound with
many species of wildlife, spread their aroma around the typical hearth and
homes of the Mainpuri Tribal maidens famous for their dance. A beautiful,
winding pair of rivers Surma and the Kushiara fed by innumerable hill streams
from the north and the south forms the Sylhet valley. The valley has good
number of haors that are big natural depressions. During winter these haors
are vast stretches of green land, but in the rainy season they turn into
turbulent seas. These haors provide a sanctuary to the millions of migratory
birds who fly from Siberia across the Himalayas to avoid the severe cold there.
About 80 km. from Sylhet town connected by road and rail, Srimangal, is
known as the tea capital of Bangladesh. For miles and miles around, the visitor
can see, the tea gardens spread like a green carpet over the plain land or on
the sloping hills. A tour of the tea plantation in Sylhet is a memorable
experience on tours to Bangladesh.
Why National Image Matters –
When we started writing about an idea we called ‘nation brand’ nearly fifteen
years ago, I made a simple observation: that the reputations of countries are

very much like the brand images of companies and products. We suggested
that a country’s image is just as important to its progress and prosperity as a
company’s brand is to its success in the marketplace, because it exerts so
much influence over the behaviours and attitudes of that country’s ‘target
audiences’: foreign investors, tourists, consumers, students, entrepreneurs,
trading partners, the media, other governments, donors, multilateral agencies,
or any number of other constituencies.
Today, every country, city and region on earth must compete with every other
for its share of the world’s commercial, political, social and cultural
transactions in what is virtually a single market. As in any busy marketplace,
brand image becomes critical: almost nobody has the time, the patience or the
expertise to understand the real differences between the offerings of one
country and another, and so people fall back on their fundamental beliefs and
prejudices about those countries to help them make their decisions. Just as in
the commercial marketplace that ‘brand image’ provides a short cut to an
informed buying decision.
Countries with a reputation for being poor, uncultured, backward, dangerous
or corrupt will find that everything they or their citizens try to achieve outside
their own neighborhood is harder, while countries that are lucky or virtuous
enough to have acquired a positive reputation find everything easier. Their
brand goes before them like a calling card that opens doors, creates trust and
respect, and raises the expectation of quality, competence and integrity. In this
way, the reputation of a country has a direct and measurable impact on just
about every aspect of its engagement with other countries, and plays a critical
role in its economic, social, political and cultural progress.
For the travel and tourism industry, national image is fundamentally
important. The tourist board needs to ‘sell the country’ to a vast international
audience of ordinary consumers as well as a highly informed professional cadre
of tour operators and other influencers, and the background reputation of the
country ultimately determines whether that ‘selling’ process is easy or difficult,
expensive or cheap, simple or complex – and whether it gets gradually easier

and more efficient over time, or whether it remains forever a struggle. A
country’s reputation determines whether its messages are welcomed, and
whether they are believed.
This is the reason why the concept of destination branding has become so
important. The idea of ‘brand equity’ sums up the idea that if a place, product
or service acquires a positive, powerful and solid reputation, this becomes an
asset of enormous value – probably more valuable, in fact, than all its tangible
assets, because it represents the ability of the place or organisation to
continue to trade at a healthy margin for as long as its brand image stays
intact. Brand equity also represents the ‘permission’ given by a loyal
consumer base for the company or country to continue producing and
developing its product range, innovating, communicating and selling to them.
Put simply, a destination with a powerful and positive image needs to do less
work and spend less money on promoting itself to the marketplace, because
the marketplace already believes what it is telling them. It merely has to help
buyers find and purchase the product.
But destinations with powerful brands have a different task, one that
destinations with weak brands do not have. Just like any respected
corporation, a highly regarded place has a big responsibility to ensure that the
reality always lives up to its reputation. Indeed, in order to protect itself
against competitors, such a place must exceed expectations through constant
innovation. This task can of course be just as costly and just as challenging as
building a reputation in the first place, but having a good reputation does at
least provide a steady flow of revenue to fund this work on the ‘product’ itself;
so at one level, brand equity is as much about cash flow as anything else.
The idea of destination branding is important because it takes into account
these important questions relating to the deliberate capture and
accumulation of reputational value. Ordinary tourism promotion, when it is
carried out with no particular long-term national strategy in mind apart from

growth, is an endless cycle which may or may not lead to real progress in the
longer term.
Unlike brand management, it is mainly about selling. It can certainly be
effective at doing this, but unless the selling is directed and driven by an
underlying brand strategy, there is little chance that the country as a whole
will acquire any substantial brand equity, and so the promotional task never
gets any easier or cheaper, and there is little chance that a price premium will
ever be justified in the eyes of the consumer. The basic principle of destination
branding is that every act of promotion, exchange or representation needs to be
seen not as an end in itself but as an opportunity to build the country’s image
and reputation.
Today, nobody really doubts that understanding, measuring, and even
managing the ‘nation brand’ is one of the primary tasks of responsible
governments and businesses, or that this brand equity is the fundamental
currency of all tourism promotion. But the all-important question of what – if
anything – can actually be done to enhance or maintain a positive reputation,
is barely understood at all.
Where national image comes from
All countries, at some level, get the reputation they deserve, and the only
absolutely sure way to achieve a good ‘nation brand’ is to become a fair,
prosperous, well-run and successful country. The problem, however, is that
national reputation exerts enormous inertia, and generations can pass before
improvements in the reality of the country eventually result in an improved
image. It is because this process can take so long if left to ‘natural’ forces that
nation branding, believed to be a technique with the power to shorten this
problematic lag, creates so much interest.
We would be the first to admit that ‘nation branding’ is an unfortunate
expression, since it seems to imply that branding the nation is both a
desirable and a possible thing for countries or their governments to do. We

would argue that branding – the act of reducing something chaotic, complex
and contradictory to something simple, memorable and potent – is exactly the
wrong thing for most countries to attempt. Branding is more like a problem
than a solution, and it is in fact exactly what public opinion does to countries.
What countries and their governments need to do is fight against this tendency
of public opinion to brand the nation, not to assist in the process.
The ‘stickiness’ of national image is mainly due to the fact that most people do
not think very much or know very much about other countries: those simple,
widely-accepted narratives about other countries are so deeply rooted in the
culture of the populations which subscribe to them that they become virtually
impossible to shift. To imagine that such fundamental beliefs can be affected
by so weak an instrument as marketing communications is an extravagant
delusion.
The role of communications
Marketing communications can be an excellent tool for selling vacations and
other products and services, but not for manipulating fundamental cultural
precepts like national image.
The nation’s image was not built through communications, and it cannot be
changed through communications. Managing the nation’s image is not an
advertising, design or public relations exercise, although of course these
techniques are essential for promoting the things that the country makes and
does: its tourism and heritage attractions, its companies and their products
and services, its music and art and other cultural products, its sport, its
people, its investment and employment opportunities. The quality of the
marketing done by all of these stakeholders, and the consistency between the
different messages they send out about the place, are important factors in the
way the place builds up its reputation – and of course good advertising often
plays a major part in creating the positive tourism brands that many countries
enjoy today.
But a good destination brand is not at all the same thing as a positive,
famous, well-rounded national reputation, one that stimulates attention,
respect, good relations and good business in every aspect of the country’s

International engagements. The fact of the matter is that no single national
stakeholder – the tourist board, the investment promotion agency, the
corporate sector, civil society, exporters, central government and so forth – is in
control of all the factors that affect its business, so it is essential that they
work together.
This is especially true of smaller countries, which, thanks to the rapid advance
of globalization, find themselves competing every day against countries with far
greater resources. For a small country to stand any chance of making its voice
heard in this huge global marketplace, it is absolutely essential that it fires on
all cylinders, and that everything the country does, says and makes, somehow
reinforces the same basic story, the same values, the same personality, the
same tone of voice. It is only once a country really learns how to be itself that it
can start to exert some influence over its international reputation, and to start
to benefit properly from that asset.
About Competitive Identity
Once it is accepted that communication alone cannot alter a negative or
outdated national image, the critical question becomes whether it is indeed
possible to close up that gap by other means (assuming, of course, that the
country in question does actually deserve a better reputation than it has).
Hence the concept of Competitive Identity, a phrase I have coined in preference
to the misleading term ‘nation branding’ to describe what is essentially a plan
for mobilizing the strategies, activities, investments, innovations and
communications of as many national sectors as possible, both public and
private, into a concerted drive to prove to the world that the nation deserves a
different, broader and more positive image.
The theory of Competitive Identity takes its cue from the way in which country
images are naturally formed. By accident more often than by design, most
countries engage with the outside world, and so create their images, through
six basic areas of activity:
1. Their tourism promotion, as well as people’s first-hand experience of
visiting the country as tourists or business travellers.
2. Their exported products and services, which act as powerful ambassadors
for each country and region when their place of origin is explicit.

3. The policy decisions of the country’s government, whether it is foreign policy
which directly affects the ‘audience’, or domestic policy reported in the
international media.
4. To business audiences, the way the country solicits inward investment, and
recruitment of foreign entrepreneurs, workers, researchers and students.
5. Through cultural exchange, cultural exports and import.
6. The people of the country themselves: politicians, media and sports stars as
well as the population in general; how they behave when abroad and how they
treat visitors to their country.
The basic theory of Competitive Identity states that improved coordination
between the points of the hexagon, the joint development of a national strategy,
more sharing of resources and expertise, the encouragement of innovation and
the establishment of common standards and quality measures can achieve a
great deal. Even a modest amount of such ‘joining up’ tends to result in a more
effective management of national reputation than most countries currently
achieve, or ever have done.
Why tourism matters
The main business of a tourist board is selling vacations, however, and
vacations are products. Compared to the mysteries of national image,
destination marketing is a relatively straightforward business: as long as the
tourist board has enough marketing expertise, resources and patience, it can
be fairly sure of increasing tourism arrivals.
Tourism has a secondary impact, however, which is less well recognised, and
which makes it one of the few means by which the overall ‘brand image’ of a
country can in fact be enhanced.
A pleasant holiday experience self-evidently has the power to change the
‘brand image’ of that country, quickly and possibly forever, in the mind of the
holidaymaker. People often abandon their preconceptions about countries once
they visit them: for those individuals at least, the country stops being a brand
and becomes a real country. Indeed there is some evidence from the Nation
Brand Index to show that preference for a country and its people, politics,
culture and products tends to increase as a result of any personal experience
of that country, even when the holiday experience is not positive.

This factor is significant, because people talk to other people about their
holidays. If enough people visit the country, especially if they are an influential
Demographic, then over time this can create a measurable improvement in the
country’s overall international image. And of course it is a virtuous circle: the
better the image, the more people will want to visit the country.
So it follows that destination marketing, in addition to its primary purpose of
encouraging visits, can play an important secondary role in helping visitors to
form a compelling personal narrative about the country, which enhances their
power as ‘viral agents’ or informal advocates for the country’s brand once they
return home. The way in which the destination is marketed, the ‘brand story’
that it tells, is passed on by satisfied visitors to other prospects, and
eventually becomes a powerful agent for widespread social marketing effects.
It is worth remembering when one is creating marketing messages that one is
not simply engaging in a temporary monologue with a primary audience: one is
also building a story which, if it is good enough, can take on a life of its own
and circulate around the marketplace for a long time, building the brand and
making further sales.
The challenges of destination branding
For this and for many other reasons, the integration of tourism and tourism
promotion into the overall nation brand strategy is to be encouraged: but this
integration brings real challenges.
The main challenge is about balanced representation of the country. Tourism is
frequently the ‘loudest voice’ in communicating the country; the tourism sector
often has the biggest marketing budgets and the most experienced marketers
of any sector. This can, over many years, have the effect of drowning out the
economic, political, industrial and even cultural voices, and creates a skewed,
‘soft’, leisure-oriented nation brand which conflicts with the country’s
reputation as an exporter of quality products, a serious political player, a
technological power, or a suitable destination for investment.
One way of avoiding this trap is for tourist boards to ensure that they always
take care to properly represent the reality of the country’s population in their
marketing. Empty landscapes, in any case, tend to be less effective images for

tourism promotion since the cultural aspects of tourism are so important to
travelers; and stereotyped representations of smiling natives in national dress
are seldom very convincing. Tourism promotion that gives some sense of the
real abilities and real activities of the population is likely to be more engaging,
more convincing, more agreeable to the population itself (which is, after all, the
‘product’ which is being ‘sold’ and therefore has a large stake in the process),
and is less likely to set up images of the country which will clash with its
economic, political or industrial reality.
The second challenge is objectivity. Of all the qualities needed by those who are
responsible for nurturing a country’s image, objectivity is one of the most
valuable, and one of the hardest to achieve. After all, Marketing Directors who
are responsible for marketing a product are generally salaried employees, are
seldom the inventor or manufacturer of the product, and so do not find it too
difficult to take a cool, objective view of the brand they are building: indeed,
good ones are valued precisely because of their ability to see the brand in the
same way as the consumer.
But when the product doesn’t come out of a factory, but is the homeland of the
people trying to market it – where they and their parents were born, raised,
schooled and trained – objectivity becomes an extremely elusive quality.
A lack of objectivity can be fatal to the image strategy of a country, no matter
how good the intentions at the start. Typically, I find communications
departments in ministries producing lists of their country’s achievements and
natural advantages: the nation’s most distinguished sons and daughters, the
role it has played in world events, its own major historical moments, gems of
architecture and natural beauty, regional cuisine, language and folklore, all
served up with pages of indigestible demographics and statistics about GDP
and income per capita.
From the point of view of a busy consumer halfway across the world, of course,
the historical achievements and natural advantages of most countries are of
little interest, and seldom add up to anything that could be described as a
coherent or powerful brand. Indeed, since Competitive Identity is most urgently
needed by the smaller, poorer and newer countries, it is all the more likely that
such facts will seem pretty unimpressive to the detached observer. On more
than one occasion, I have been faced with the tricky task of gently explaining to
a very proud and very patriotic minister that the world will not be enthralled by
the fact that the world’s first metal suspension bridge was invented by a man

whose grandfather came from his country, or that over sixty different species of
wild grass grow along his eastern coastline.
There is a real risk for smaller countries with limited achievements simply
confirming the world’s belief that they are a smaller country with limited
achievements, by telling people about the handful of world-class or nearly
world-class assets they have, and of which they are greatly and perhaps
justifiably proud. But the fact is that the potential tour operator or tourist is
already comparing them with countries that are in a completely different
league, and their expensive marketing will simply serve to emphasize the
differences, to their own disadvantage.
Rather than attempt to measure themselves up against much bigger, richer or
more successful countries, it is far better for countries to identify where their
real genius lies, their unique abilities or potential that really do put them in a
class of their own. This potential may well be the result of their small size,
small population or small economy, not something that they manage to
achieve despite it. All countries, if they look hard enough, will find something
that is uniquely theirs, and inherently competitive.
The ability to see one’s own country, its people, its achievements and its
landscape through the eyes of an indifferent consumer on the other side of the
world, through the complex lenses and filters of an entirely different
culture, is an indispensable skill for all those involved in promoting the nation.
Proper consumer research and communications testing is one facet of this, but
unless the research findings are fully ‘internalized’ by marketers and become
part of their own perspective, they are unlikely to create real objectivity.
Dealing with negative reputation
A problem often faced by countries in our security-obsessed age is knowing
how to deal with a negative national reputation. The problem is that stories
about war, terrorism, poverty, disease, corruption, crime and violence –
whether entirely justified or not – tend to spread very rapidly, to be instantly
believed, and to last for a very long time, playing havoc with a country’s
tourism promotion efforts.
If we want people to change from the story they currently believe about a
country, we have to give credit to their attachment to that story. As I have often
said, they are very warmly attached to it: it is simple, credible, and functional,

and it has helped them reduce the complexity of a global world, possibly for
decades. They believe it because it works, and because it is interesting.
Unfortunately, negative or shocking stories are very often more interesting than
good or positive or pleasant stories.
But there is simply no point in expecting people to trade down voluntarily from
this ‘bad’ narrative to a ‘good’ one that’s less interesting. The significant factor
to bear in mind when attempting to correct a negative reputation, therefore, is
not whether the story we are telling suits our purposes better, or even whether
it is more true than what people already believe: all that matters is whether it
is more interesting and more relevant than what they already believe.
Unless it is, they simply will not transfer their interest, and will continue to
believe what they have always believed.
Tourist boards can not and should not ignore negative national reputation. It is
essential that any areas of negative reputation are fully researched and fully
understood before they are allowed to influence a country’s marketing plans:
this may sound like an obvious point, but it is surprising how many countries
and their tourist boards will react to what they believe is a negative perception
without first establishing the nature, the extent and the causes of that
reputation in a rigorous and robust way.
Proper benchmarking, accountability, transparency and clear goals for
marketing are equally essential: all the parties involved need to agree on what
constitutes a successful outcome for any marketing or ‘branding’ plan, and to
agree on how this outcome will be measured. This is only proper, given that it
is usually taxpayer or donor funds that are spent on such initiatives.
Dealing with negative reputation is a matter of treading a careful line between
tacitly acknowledging the problems (which if overdone can raise the profile of
those problems to people who weren’t worried about them, or even introduce
them to people who didn’t know about them), and appearing to ignore or even
lie about them.
Obviously, marketing communications is not the right medium for addressing
issues such as security, foreign policy or human rights, and neither is the
tourist board the right body to comment on such things. This is simply another
example of how important it is for all sectors to work together when national
image is at stake: policy makers need to address the problems directly (tackling
the negative) while tourism shows that the country is still in business

and still a viable destination (emphasizing the positive). Support from the
culture and business sectors can be very helpful in establishing the positive
side to the national ‘story’.
Business travel
The question of non-leisure visits, or what is sometimes called the meetings
industry, is worth singling out for particular emphasis in this context.
As leisure and even cultural tourism tend to be seasonal in nature, and as the
natural or climatic attractions of many countries do not enable them to
compete at a truly global level, it is essential that the business side of tourism
is developed to the highest possible standard. Business visitors, as is well
known, tend to bring many more ‘knock-on benefits’ than leisure visitors: not
only do they spend more money than tourists on subsistence and
accommodation and transport, but they also bring influence and connections,
which can lead directly or indirectly to academic, financial, commercial,
sporting, cultural and political investment for the city.
However, the meetings industry is quite different in nature to leisure tourism,
and one should not make the mistake of conflating the two: apart from
anything else, the fact that one involves consumer marketing while the other is
strictly B2B means that they should be handled in quite different ways, by
different people, and with separate budgets.
The environment
A final, crucial point concerns the environment, a subject which increasingly
dominates the agenda of the tourism industry.
An interesting finding which has come out of the Nation Brands Index is how
consumer tastes and values appear to change somewhat faster than national
image and reputation. As I have often said, country images really do not
change very much; people need these comforting stereotypes that enable them
to put countries in convenient pigeon-holes, and only abandon them if they
really have no other choice.

People’s views of global issues, on the other hand, change much more
rapidly. National images move slowly because most people spend so little time
thinking about other countries: if a person in Canada or South Africa or India
spends a few moments each year thinking about Italy or Chile or Japan, it is
not surprising if their perception of those countries remains largely unchanged
for years on end. But on the other hand, people in Canada and South Africa
and India may spend several minutes every day thinking about big issues like
climate change, poverty, war and diseases, religion, the cost of living, oil prices
and whatever else is in the media, so public opinion on these topics changes
relatively fast and relatively frequently.
So it follows that a country’s image is more likely to be affected by a change in
the relevance of its image for its target audience – in other words, to go out of
fashion – than by an inherent loss of attraction in that image. Judging by the
profiles of the countries that most people now admire, three areas of
reputation have become critical in recent years:
1. A country’s perceived environmental credentials. This is rapidly becoming a
mandatory requirement for a country’s acceptance into the community of
nations, and a critical factor in the decision-making process of tourists,
consumers and others.
2. A country’s perceived competence and productivity in technology, which is a
proxy for modernity: people, on the whole, admire modern countries.
3. A country’s attractiveness as a place of learning and economic and
cultural self-improvement: a destination for personal advancement.
It is clear that the first of these areas is of particular concern to the tourist
industry. Basic levels of environmental awareness and protection are
increasingly seen by consumers as the ‘cost of entry’ into the marketplace, and
there is no longer anything very special about countries that offer ‘green’
vacations and talk loudly about their commitment to protecting their natural
environment.
As time passes, it becomes increasingly necessary for countries to show real
innovation, real action, real leadership and above all demonstrable results in
this area. ‘Green wash’ just will not wash, and as in every aspect of the
fascinating field of national image and reputation, actions will always speak
louder than words.

In fact, if destination marketers only remember one piece of advice, it had
better be this. Do not think about what to say next; think about what to do.

Bangladesh Brand Positioning

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Bangladesh Brand Positioning

More from Khaled Hasan

Bangladesh Brand Positioning