Advertising’s role in better branding
Destination advertising is vital to national profiling and perception change – shifts in mindset critical to attracting travelers and investors and thereby creating a sustainable, equitable tourism industry, argues Anita Mendiratt, of CNN’s TASK Group.
“The role of advertising is critical to destination success at many levels. Media has a powerful influence on the destination’s brand and greater industry building efforts. Support of the media as an advertising partner is not, however, simply for when the destination is managing the business of tourism,” she says.
What is often overlooked is the important role which the media plays when crisis occurs and a destination’s tourism sector is brought to a standstill, she notes.
“When faced with disaster, be it acts of God or acts of man, travelers make assumptions about the state of the tourism industry – its ability to offer travelers a local experience both in terms of infrastructure and spirit. Safety and security, as well as experience satisfaction, become doubted,” she writes.
She uses the country of Croatia as an example how media can dispel image problems.
”Croatia, a nation devastated by war in the early 1990s, faced the immense challenge of rebuilding not only the essential infrastructure ripped apart by violent bombings and clashes, it also faced the challenge of rebuilding the core strength of the spirit of its people,” she writes.
The goal of marketing was to redefine the county’s image, position it as one of the Mediterranean’s finest travel destinations, and show the scope and development of the tourism industry.
Food, wine, and arts and culture were identified as the major areas of attraction.
For more information, try http://www.cnnmediainfo.com/task/download/TASK_Compass_7.pdf.
By David Wilkening
David
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