toolkit spaa

8/3/2019 Toolkit SPAA

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Purpose

This Place-making Toolkit has been produced within theEuropean Union Sustainable Promotion of Atlantic Area(SPAA) project.

The SPAA pr oject’s core aim is “ to st rengthen andpromot e At lant ic ident ity by t est ing the impact of anintegrat ed place market ing approach” that will offer“ polycent ric solut ions to t he disadvantages of beingon the Atlantic fringe” , thereby “ contr ibutingtowards sust ainable regional development” .

Within this context, the Toolkit’s purpose is to help EuropeanAtlantic cities wishing to attract people to live, work, visit,study and invest in their cities. In fulfilling this purpose it aimsto:

• Serve as a useful reference document andt ransferable market ing tool for European Atlanticcities and sub-regions, which explains the benefits ofplace-making and gives guidance on how to undertakeplace-making. (Part 1, pages 5-18)

• Record SPAA partners’ place-making“ demonst rat ion projects” and insights gained(Partners: Valimar in Portugal, Ourense in Spain,Limerick in Ireland, and Chester in England). (Part 2,pages 19-49)

• Identify internat ional examples of good place-making practice and highlight key insights from each.(Part 3, pages 50-65)

• Provide partners with a mechanism for measuringeconomic impact , which they can apply to theirown places.

Context

The SPAA project exists under Interreg IIIB Atlantic Area

Priority D: Strengthening and Promoting the Atlantic Identity ina Context of Globalisation.

This project has developed out of a desire between partnersto address some of the economic disadvantages they face assub-regional hubs on the periphery of not only their region,but also their national hub and the EU as a whole. These sub-regions are vulnerable because of their scale, weakinfrastructure, positioning and peripherality. In comparison tovibrant economic centres within the Atlantic area they areoften marginalised and thus pose a risk to balancedharmonious development of the Atlantic Area. But theeconomic vibrancy of these sub-regions is essential to theperformance of the Atlantic are as a whole. These small citiesare characterised by their cultural distinctiveness and are at ascale that makes them attractive to residents and visitors alike.This project offers an opportunity for these sub-regions to

address these imbalances and develop robust integratedapproaches to economic development at a number of levels(local, regional, inter-regional) to secure their future.Dissemination of project results to other cities is undertakenby the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities (CAAC) 1

Process

The process expected of SPAA partners was to:

• Establish effective ways of developing cross-sector alpartnerships within a sub-region to address place-making. This should ideally encompass a genuinelyholistic approach to engaging all relevant sectors (e.g.retail, accommodation, leisure, finance, manufacturing,property development, professional services, small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the publicsector).

• Develop integrated place marketing str ategiesfor each sub-region to maximise the impact ofmarketing activity. Partners were expected to identifyshared characteristics that would help them and othercities make the most of their Atlantic-facing identity andincorporate this understanding in their marketingstrategies. It was hoped that this would lead to anunderstanding of how their region’s particulardistinctiveness could be used to market the totality ofservices available in each region.

• Undertake “ demonst rat ion projects” that wouldengage visitors, local populations and communitiesthrough the development of new initiatives andsustainable promotion of sub-regional areas. Thesepilot projects were expected to explore:- The robustness of a cross-sectoral approach- How distinctive features could be used to

create city/sub-regional branding- The impact of marketing sub-regional cities in

spreading economic benefit across a wider area

Themes

The SPAA project’s four key themes are:

• Place-making partnerships• Place-making strategies• Distinctive qualities of place as a tool for place-making -

- “Demonstration Projects”• Economic impact of place-making

1Created in 2000, the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities (CAAC) nowincludes about 40 members - cities and urban networks - from the 5States which comprise the European Atlantic seafront (Ireland, UnitedKingdom, France, Spain, Portugal). One of CAAC’s main objectives isto encourage synergies and partnerships between member cities inorder to contribute to the emergence of an area of solidarity and the

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Introduction - Purpose and Content



development of projects of cooperation. CAAC also intends topromote Atlantic cities' interests and cities in general at a Europeanlevel, in order to favour a balanced and polycentric organisation ofthe European territory.The role of CAAC within the SPAA project is primarily to providedissemination and publicity for the partnership through its networkthrough:

- CAAC newsletter: The newsletter has a circulationof 200 people, among members (councillors,

mayors, technical and administrative services)CAAC partners within and outside the Atlantic area(economic and social councils, chambers ofcommerce, etc.) and members of EU institutions(MEPs, EU Commission, Committee of theRegions, etc.).

- Promotion of the project among CAAC members:the SPAA project has been presented to membersat several occasions: General Assembly, Executivebureau and in Urban Development working groupsmeetings

- SPAA website:http://www.arcat.org/SPAA/Index.htm

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Yellow Railroad Thumbnail: Outline of Services & TomBuncle’s Experience(For CAAC Conference, Chester, June 2007)

Yellow Railroad is an international destination consultancy,run by Managing Director Tom Buncle. Yellow Railroadhelps put places on the map: Yellow Railroad specialises inplace branding, place shaping, destination marketingstrategy, eco- and ethno-tourism strategy, tourism policy,and crisis management for tourism destinations.

Tom Buncle has over 25 years experience in tourismdevelopment and place marketing on four continents(UK/Europe, N America, Asia, Africa). Prior to establishingYellow Railroad Tom spent 4 years as Chief Executive ofthe Scottish Tourist Board (STB - now Visit Scotland).Before that, he was International Marketing Director atSTB and ran British Tourist Authority (now Visit Britain)operations in Southeast Asia, Norway and California.

Tom was a founder board member of Scotland the Brand – a pioneering national place-branding organisation. Hehas served on several boards as a non-executive director,including the Edinburgh International Festival Council, theCairngorm Partnership (Scotland’s second national park).He was an adviser to the UK Department of Culture,Media & Sport (DCMS) on the European Capital ofCulture 2008 award.

He has undertaken consultancy work for destinations inthe UK, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. His focus is ondestination and place branding (Namibia, England),business planning and place marketing strategy (Gabon,England, N. Ireland, Commonwealth Games), nationaltourism policy development (Namibia), crisis recovery(Britain after 9/11, England after Foot & Mouth Disease,)and organisational restructuring (National DevelopmentCorporation of Dominica).



4.

ECON IMPACT



This section outlines some of the critical success factors andrisks, and offers practical suggestions, for developing a place-making strategy

What is Place-Making?• “ Place-making is about developing a vision for a

place’s future and making it happen.

• It is about creating a competitive edge: finding out what makes a place dist inctive and att ractive to key target markets and using those appeals that transcend individual economic sectors and t ime to att ract people to live, work, study, invest in, buy from, and visit, the place.

• This includes identifying what developments are needed to enhance the image of the place and putting them in motion.

• It is also about encouraging all who talk about the place to do so positively and consistently.

• And it is about ensuring these appeals are evident and visible, both through residents’ behaviour and in the look and feel of the place, when outsiders arrive.

• It requires clear leadership and strong partnerships to make it happen.

• Ultimately place-making depends on partnership,pragmatism and people.”

(Tom Buncle, Yellow Railroad)

Globalisation has made the world smaller and morecompetitive. Business, and therefore the jobs associated withit, has become more mobile. People are travelling in everincreasing numbers on holiday, on business and to study. All ofthese mobile markets offer substantial opportunities for places

to earn both revenue and prestige. So competition for them isincreasing dramatically. Places all over the world are vying toattract people to live, work, study, invest in and visit theirdestination.

Attracting these people to a particular place involves three keyelements:

• Ensuring the right rational factors are in place tosatisfy the potential customer’s basic needs. These varybetween different sectors and segments within eachsector. (e.g. appropriately skilled labour force,satisfactory productivity, good access to markets,affordable housing etc. for potential inward investors;appropriate courses with a reputation for academicexcellence for potential students; plenty to see and do,with good restaurants and decent places to stay for

potential tourists; adequate services, affordable housingand access to employment for potentialresidents/relocators).

Once these “hard rational” factors have been satisfied,“softer” elements come into play in persuading peopleto consider the place. The softer elements oftenprovide the most compelling argument for choosing aplace. When all rational factors are equal, the softerelements play a significant part in giving a place acompetitive edge.

• Quality of life becomes a critical differentiating factorfor potential residents. This “softer” element coverseverything that contributes to making the place anattractive place in which to live: from the architecture,public realm and general environment to the cultural,entertainment and retail offer, public transport andparking to the general “buzz” of the place that imbuesit with character.

• An appealing dest ination for visitors often goeshand in hand with quality of life as a defining factor in aplace’s competitive edge. If a place is appealing to visit,it is usually attractive to live in. And if it is attractive tolive in, that can significantly enhance its chances ofattracting inward investors and students, as long astheir rational needs are met.

Place marketing, which is becoming increasingly known as

“place-making” or “place-shaping”, is therefore critical in givingthe place a competitive edge when it tries to attract people tolive, work, study, invest in and visit. It means putting thenecessary developments in place and communicating theplace’s unique identity to prospective customers.

Sense of Place - Dist inct iveness

London is cosmopolitan, Paris glamorous and New Yorkvibrant. Of course they have many other definingcharacteristics too, but their great strength, is that each has its

own special character in the eyes of the world. Each isperceived to have different strengths, which make each citydistinctive and underpin its image. The image of a city, or acountry, is critical to its ability to attract people to come andlive and work there, as well as to visit.

At the core of what gives a place its distinctive character andmakes it feel different from all other places is a “sense ofplace”. And, while a sense of place is most evident in the faceit presents to tourists and in the quality of life experienced byits residents, the feel of the place communicates itself topotential customers in other sectors too. It is thereforeimportant that all stakeholders who have an interest inattracting people to visit, work, live, study, invest in or buygoods from the place understand the core brand values of theplace. Stakeholders must apply these brand valuesappropriately in their own marketing communications, inorder to reinforce the place’s distinctiveness and ensure that

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Place-Making - A Practical Guide



the place delivers its promise when people arrive. This notonly gives each sector a competitive edge in their ownmarketing activities, derived from positive associations with theplace, but it should also help create a cumulative impact overtime in establishing a positive image and growing awareness ofthe place.

A sense of place is determined primarily by a place’s physicalenvironment, cultural history, character of the people andproducts the place makes. These are the critical elements, or“DNA” of a place.

Products can contribute towards a sense of place whetherthey are “owned” (e.g. Scotland – whisky) or “claimed” by theplace (e.g. California – computer software design). As theworld becomes more homogenous through globalisation andlabour mobility, and places struggle to find their points ofdifferentiation, physical heritage and natural products are likely

to increase in importance as differentiators.

External Customers and InternalSt akeholders – Squaring the Circle

A strong sense of place needs to be communicated whenpromoting the place. This lies at the core of the place’s brandessence and should ooze consistently from all marketingcommunications about the place.

Consumer research will reveal how potential customersperceive a place. But, if the place does not live up to itspromise and convey the expected sense of place to customerswhen they arrive, then it will lose competitive advantage.

Equally, it is essential that residents and stakeholders of theplace are comfortable with the sense of place that is beingcommunicated to external prospective customers. Otherwise,if local people do not perceive the place in the way thatoutsiders do, then there will be a disconnect betweenexternal customers’ prior perceptions and their actual

experience. Residents’ dissatisfaction with the image of theplace being promoted can lead to dissent and disunity. Thiscan erode local pride and ultimately risk undermining a senseof place.

Place-makers should therefore spend time researchingcustomer perceptions, and consulting with residents andstakeholders, in order to achieve synergy between these twogroups, before embarking on place development or going livewith place-making campaigns.

“ Place” vs “ Dest inat ion”“Place” is different from “destination” in that “place” refers tothe image of the place across all sectors, whereas “destination”usually refers to the place only from a tourism perspective.“Place” describes somewhere to work, live, invest in, studyand visit; “destination” is just somewhere to visit. The image ofa place influences potential customers in all sectors.Significantly, however, peoples’ perceptions of a place areusually influenced more by its appeal as a visitor destinationand by the quality of life for residents than by any other factor.

Word-of-mouth plays a major part in creating an image of aplace, for good or ill. However the most visible promotion forany place is usually that which is undertaken by the tourismauthorities. Tourism authorities tend to be the highestspenders on place promotion. It is therefore critical thattourism promotional campaigns reflect the true values of theplace and do not send out conflicting messages that mightencourage tourism but discourage inward investors orpotential new residents. Equally, economic developmentagencies should be careful to avoid sending out messages thatundermine the place’s appeal as a visitor destination.

Everyone who has a stake in promoting the place should

recognise the potential synergy that can be derived fromreinforcing the values that underpin its appeal as a place inwhich to spend time. And they should reflect these in theirown marketing communications. Marketing partnershipsbetween those who promote the place as a tourism

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Tourism and residents’ quality of life have adispropor t ionate impact on how people perceive a place

Place DNA - the 3 ‘Ps’

Many factor s contribute to a place’s dist inctiveness



destination and other sectors can enhance the place’s overallimage, as well as benefit individual sectors. For these reasons,many places rely on, or at least lead with, destinationpromotion to establish their image in the outside world.

The Future

Although destination marketing remains a highly visible form ofpromotion, more and more cities, regions and countries arewidening their focus to adopt a place-making - or “place-making” - approach. Developing a place’s competitiveadvantage is best served by integrating place-making withdestination marketing. Place-making transcends all sectors,while still retaining a flexibility that enables individual sectors topursue the necessary targeted approaches to their ownmarkets. This requires a mature approach to partnershipworking, based on mutual respect between partners, a keeneye for potential synergy, and strong leadership from a “placechampion”.

When everyone reinforces a place’s distinctiveness everyonebenefits. Fame, as long as it is deserved, can only enhance aplace’s reputation.

Developing a Place-MakingStrategy

The Importance of Stakeholders

Place-making involves the same principles as any form ofmarketing: defining the product, understanding the market,developing the product to suit current and anticipated futuredemand, identifying the best prospects who might wish to buythe product and promoting it cost-effectively to them,measuring success, and learning lessons from currentcustomers and non-customers that will inform future productdevelopment and marketing.

The main difference between marketing a place and any otherproduct is the number of different stakeholders involved. Thispresents one of the greatest challenges in place-making. Theplace is not owned by any one organisation. It takes manydifferent organisations and people in both the public andprivate sectors to make the place what it is, and to drive itsfuture forward.

Involving stakeholders from the outset and obtaining their buy-in at key points in the development of the place-makingstrategy is therefore essential. This is even more importantwhen it comes to implementing the strategy, as each keystakeholder in every segment in every sector will have to playtheir part in delivering what they agreed.

Process

At its simplest, the development of a place-making strategy

involves answering 3 key questions:• Where are we now (situation analysis) ? • Where do we want to be (vision) ? • How do we get there (strategy) ?

Where Are We Now (Situation Analysis)?

• Product Audit / “ Healt h Check” 2

Develop a clear understanding of what the place currently offers, its strengths and weaknesses. This willcover areas such as:- Attractiveness: What does the place offer?(e.g.

leisure, entertainment, culture, tourism facilities;business and employment; retail; service centre;quality of life; housing)

- Accessibility: How easy is it to get into, out ofand around the place?(e.g. roads, parking, publictransport-rail, bus, air; cycling and pedestrianroutes; freight transport; signage, information and

welcome; disabled access)- Amenity: What quality of experience does theplace provide?(e.g. safety and security, cleanliness,planting and greening; physical fabric – publicrealm, buildings, public art; lighting; public toilets)

• Trend A nalysisIdentify current and anticipated global, national and local trends that might impact on the place’s future competitiveness (e.g. climate change, manufacturingdecline, increasing retail competition, changing fashionsin tourism). What are tomorrow’s customers going towant and how will the place have to change toaccommodate them?

• Market AnalysisIdentify the place’s best prospects. Who are the place’scurrent customers?Which sectors are most important(e.g. tourism/visitor economy best prospects, inwardinvestment, education, sport) ?Which segments withineach sector offer the best opportunity (e.g. inwardinvestment: biotech, light engineering, creativeindustries; tourism: regional day visitors, US empty-nesters, German hikers etc.)?

• Consumer ResearchEstablish a clear understanding of the place throughcustomers’ eyes. What do current customers, as wellas those who are not currently customers but couldbe, think of the place?How do they perceive itsstrengths and weaknesses as a place to visit, invest,study, work or live in?What do they feel about it?How do they perceive its “sense of place”?This willfeed into the development of the place brand. (See“Place Brand” below)

• Stakeholder Consultation

Begin the process of obtaining stakeholder buy-in to the place’s future by obtaining their views . How dostakeholders perceive the place?What are its strengths

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2 Per UK Association of Town Centre Managers (ATCM)



and weaknesses as a place in which to work, live, dobusiness, invest in?

This is where one of the greatest risks lies. Localresidents’ buy-in to the way forward and the marketingof the place is critical. If local stakeholders do not viewtheir place in the same way that potential customersdo, then there will be a disconnect between potential

visitors’/customers’ expectation and their experiencewhen they arrive. Local stakeholders must feel prideboth in their place and in the way in which it ispromoted. Squaring this circle – achieving consensusbetween stakeholders’ views and potential customers’perceptions of the place - is very important. If thiscannot be achieved, then the place will always underperform and not reach its potential.

In order to achieve widespread community buy-in, thisconsultation should involve a wider range ofstakeholders than those identified under “Identify CoreStakeholders” below. This will also feed into thedevelopment of the place brand. (See “Place Brand”below)

Where do we want to be (vision)?

• VisionDevelop a vision behind which stakeholders (residents,businesses, public authorities) can unite . This is aboutwhat sort of place it wants to become in 5-10 years’time. Articulating what it might look like as if the futurewas already here, taking everyone’s aspirations intoaccount, can be a helpful way of doing this.

The vision should be developed with corestakeholders in both the public and private sectors. Ifcore stakeholders are not involved from the start, thenthe risk of failure will be magnified as time progresses.

How Do We Get There (Strategy)?

• LeadershipIdentify the place leader . The place-making strategy hasto be “owned” and driven by one organisation, whichis accountable for initiating its development andengaging stakeholders to ensure its implementation.

Usually this will be the democratically elected authority(e.g. city council, municipal authority). This is soimportant to the place’s future that it should be led, orat least championed, from the very top (e.g. councilleader, mayor, chief executive). Otherwise it will notbe perceived to be particularly important and officialscharged with implementation will find it harder toachieve credibility.

• Core Stakeholder GroupIdentify and pull together key stakeholders in all major sectors , who will form the core driving force behindthe development and implementation of a place-

making strategy. They must be encouraged to share asense of “ownership” of the place-making vision. Thesepeople must be prepared to be “champions” of theplace’s vision and act as “critical friends” and adviserson developing the place. This will include key people inlocal authorities, tourism boards and in the commercialand community sectors. They will comprise thesteering group to drive the place’s vision forward and

monitor progress.

• Place Br andDevelop a unique, distinctive brand for the place . Thislies at the core of place-making. What are the place’sdistinctive characteristics?How does it differ from itscompetitors?What are the rational and emotionalbenefits that people perceive in the place?What is itspersonality?What are the brand essence and corevalues of the place?These will be established throughconsumer research and stakeholder consultation (Seeunder “Where are we Now (Situation Analysis)”above). How can these be applied in their ownmarketing by different sectors?How can stakeholdersbe persuaded to adopt them?And…..is it trulydistinctive?!!

• Place-making Strategy and Action PlanDevelop a Place-making Strategy and Action Plan .Identify, through consultation and research wherenecessary, the actions that need to be undertaken ineach sector in order to achieve the place vision.Ensure each action has an “owner” who is accountablefor delivering it.

• Sustainable DevelopmentEnsure all development is sustainable . All product andinfrastructure developments should pass a sustainabilitytest. They must be economically, socially andenvironmentally sustainable. Technical mechanisms maybe used to assess their sustainability, such asenvironmental impact assessment, models projectingeconomic growth etc. What this means in essence isthat any development should provide long-termrevenue and employment, enhance local peoples’quality of life, contribute towards environmental

improvement and certainly not cause environmentaldegradation. Otherwise there is a risk of sowing theseeds of long-term community and economic decline.

• Targeted MarketingPlace-making must be focussed on the best prospects for the place . This requires a clear understanding ofcurrent and potential customers by all sectors. Whoare they?Where are they?What motivates them totravel, invest, move jobs, relocate businesses, andselect one place over another for study?It also meansthat each sector and business must focus on their ownbest prospects, using the most convincing messagesand effective media channels to reach their particularcustomers. However, they should all presentconsistent messages about the place in their ownmarketing, based on the place’s core brand values, andnever send out conflicting messages about the place.

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• SMART TargetsDevelop SMART targets (SMART = specific,measurable, achievable, realistic, timed) These need tobe agreed and allocated to appropriate organisationsand people, who will be responsible for deliveringthem.

• Partnership

Identify and develop a good working relationship with appropriate partners . It is important to identify areas for

joint planning and action. It is equally important to havea realistic approach to partnership – where it isappropriate and where it is not. This is aboutidentifying areas of mutual interest and being explicitabout each other’s objectives.

For instance, all sectors should be agreeable to usingthe place’s brand values in their own marketingcommunications; but different messages andcommunications channels will be used to attract visitorsto come for a short break, potential investors to set upa call centre, postgraduates to study or creativeprofessionals to relocate to the area. Understandingwhere and when to work together, and when topursue one’s own objectives will be critical to a goodworking relationship between partners in the place.

• CommunicationDevelop a mechanism for ongoing communication with stakeholders to inform them of place-makingdevelopments, particularly milestones reached andsuccesses. This should cover both core stakeholders(e.g. through meetings, workshops, electronic andprinted updates) and the wider stakeholder groupincluding local residents (e.g. through consumer medianews releases, interviews etc.).Effective communication to a wider group of localresidents is particularly important where majorinfrastructure developments, which may cause themconsiderable inconvenience, is under way. If they cansee what the future will look like, rather than merelyfeel the inconvenience to their daily lives, thenresidents are much more likely to buy into the wayforward with pride.

It is also important to explain the “ripple effect” of theplace-making strategy to regional stakeholders. Thismeans identifying how areas further afield, which havean economic or social link to the place, will benefitfrom the “slipstream” of a more successful place.

• Measuring ProgressIdentify how success will be measured . How do weknow when the place is successful?Success indicatorsmight include measures such as new jobs created,companies retained/attracted, VAT registrations, officespace availability, retail rental rate, number of visitors,visitor spend, student growth, demand for housing, toresidents’ satisfaction surveys and competitorbenchmarking etc.

Measures will vary from place to place and sector tosector. But, without robust measures in place, it will be

impossible to know whether the place is improving itscompetitive position, or to adjust the place-makingstrategy to deal with change.

Crit ical Success Fact ors

Critical success factors are inherent in the “How Do We GetThere?(Strategy)” section above. However it is worthhighlighting a few that are often overlooked or under-appreciated:

• Leadership and VisionStrong leadership is essential to maintain focus, drivethe vision forward and maintain involvement by allcore stakeholders. If no one is seen by stakeholders to“own” and “champion” the place-making vision, then itis likely to fragment into a series of uncoordinatedprojects that will fail to reinforce a sense of place. Theoverall leader and place-making champion (usually the

head of the local authority) needs continually toenthuse stakeholders and partners and retain theircommitment to the vision for the place’s future.

• Strategic focusPlace-making takes time. An unwavering, strategicfocus must be maintained over several years. Thisbecomes increasingly important as projects fail tomaterialise or investors pull out. There will always besetbacks. What is important is that clear commitment ismaintained to reinforcing a sense of place throughoutthe difficult times. Reminding waverers that this isabout the long-term goal of improving the place’scompetitiveness may help retain focus.

• Stakeholder Underst anding and Buy-inStakeholder understanding of, and buy-in to, theplace’s vision of its future will be critical to reaching thatfuture. Each must understand the direction in whichthe place is headed and play their part, according totheir own expertise, in propelling the place towardsthat future. This relies on regular and effectivecommunication.

• Partnership

A spirit of mutual understanding, trust and respectshould underpin all partnerships. Identifying mutualopportunities, understanding when to work togetherand when to pursue one’s own objectives areimportant

• Distinct ivenessIt is axiomatic that the place has to establish itsdistinctiveness from its main competitors. Everydevelopment, whether a new building, infrastructureimprovement or marketing campaign, should aim toreflect the place’s distinctiveness and ensure that all

stakeholders understand and appreciate what this is.• Sustainability

Any vision for a place’s future is about making it abetter place to be. This has to be economically, socially

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and environmentally sustainable – and seen to be soby stakeholders.

• AlignmentStructures, policies and strategies need to be aligned tosupport the vision and to ensure all sectors of thecommunity will benefit. This is about both effectivenessand sustainability. This means ensuring that duplication

is avoided and that all partner organisations, whetherpublic or private at community, city or regional level,communicate effectively and apply their respective skillstowards a common goal.

• Measuring progressIdentifying success indicators and measurementmethods is one thing. Ensuring that stakeholdersprovide the relevant data on a regular basis is another.Sometimes this will involve stakeholders providingcommercially confidential information (e.g. sales figures,business performance etc.) to an “honest broker”, whocollates all input and issues a trend report. This willneed to be agreed with appropriate stakeholders inadvance so that a baseline can be established and thenecessary information obtained to monitor progress.

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Limerick, Ireland

Challenge

Limerick is Ireland’s third city, located in the southwest ofIreland with a proud heritage, thriving university and only a

short distance from Shannon international airport. The last fiveyears have seen unprecedented development and change inLimerick. Nevertheless, Limerick suffers from an imageproblem in the rest of Ireland, which appears to have had anegative impact on its self-image and local self-confidence. TheLimerick Coordination Office (SPAA partner for Limerick)recognised that the city was not yet at the stage where itcould credibly promote the city externally without addressingcertain development needs.

A report was commissioned from the Association of TownCentre Management (ATCM) within the SPAA project toaddress the place-marketing of Limerick. This highlighted thescale of the challenge that Limerick needed to address:

• “Despite the current noticeable level of investment inLimerick city centre, it offers a poor experiencecompared with other significant European cities.

• Limerick city centre is under serious threat froma combination of out-of-town retailing, the growingreputation of Galway as a shopping destination, andcheap flights offering easy access to far better shoppingand entertainment locations.

• The loss of local and regional spend will not bereplaced by visitor spending without a substantial

upgrade to t he experience the city centr eoffers .• The poor image of Limerick remains a serious issue for

potential visitors and investors .• Although a “real” city centre offering a diverse range of

activities (civic functions, personal, professional andbusiness services; business and employment centre;housing; and transport interchange), without a strongretail and leisure/entertainment base in thecentre , Limerick risks becoming more like a US citythan a European one, with potentially the manyinherent security, environmental and investor valueproblems that brings.

• Despite existing partnerships and a willingness by manyparties to “do something” to regenerate the citycentre, there appears to be a lack of focus and no clearvision for the future. This means there is nocomprehensive shared strategy and no prioritisedaction plan.

• The raw materials of a historic city, the riversidelocation, airport proximity a city council committed tooverhauling the public realm, existing private sectorinvestors, and regional prominence (together with awell-respected university and rugby club) suggest thatLimerick can be changed if a concerted andsustained effort is made now .

• Strategic city centre management, with buy-infrom the key public and private sectorstakeholders, a clear widely-adopted visionand shared str ategy and a st rong delivery

focus , could (based on evidence from other Europeancities) be the focus and driving force that Limerick citycentre needs.”

The challenge therefore was to develop a shared vision of thefuture amongst city stakeholders and communities. It was alsoto begin developing Limerick’s leisure/recreation offer thatwould enhance residents’ enjoyment - and therefore

perceptions of, and hopefully pride in - their own city as wellas, eventually, provide reasons to visit Limerick, and topromote this new face of Limerick within Ireland.

Approach

SPAA ProjectsLimerick undertook 5 SPAA demonstration projects:

• Speciality markets• Street ambassadors

• Events and festival office• Public relations• Loyalty card

City Centre VisionPlans are being developed, as a result of the ATCM report, toaddress the development of a shared vision, strategy andaction plan for Limerick’s city centre. This will begin with adetailed “health check” assessing what the city centre has tooffer (attractions), how to get into, out of and around the citycentre (accessibility), quality of experience in the city centre(amenity), and what needs to be done to enhance the citycentre and promote it (action).

The aim of this city centre vision, strategy and action plan willbe to:

• Build consensus and a positive direction• Build upon the city’s uniqueness• Build partnership, trust and civic pride• Encourage people to return to the city centre• Encourage investment and maintain vitality and diversity

Strategic leadership will be required to develop this vision,implement and monitor it. Uniting the providers of public

services with the drivers of growth in the commercial sectorwill be critical. At the moment some elements of this role arebeing carried out by the Limerick Coordination Office, someby the local authority and some by the regional developmentorganisation (Shannon Development). However, the need toformalise this role and ensure accountability has beenidentified as a critical step in propelling Limerick forward.

ActivitiesLimerick has not put its development on hold while waiting forthis vision, strategy and action plan to be agreed anddeveloped. It undertook the following activities within the

SPAA project, aimed at beginning this process of turning boththe reality and image of Limerick around:

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recent years. It proved a hit with local people and internationalvisitors alike and represented an important step en route toLimerick’s re-positioning. Key success indicators were:

- 400% increase in pr ivate funding- expanded fest ival programme for the city- increased posit ive media coverage for the city- seeds of a recovery in the city’s self-confidence and

civic pride- clear insights were learnt from research amongst

Riverfest participants about how to enhance the eventand market it in a more focussed way for 2007

• Public Relat ions

Considerable media coverage was achieved in targeted medialocally and throughout Ireland. Media coverage of festivals andevents, such as Riverfest helped boost attendance. But, moreimportantly, they began to redress the negative perceptions of

Limerick held throughout Ireland. And, hopefully, they willhave contributed towards the rebirth of civic pride amongstlocal people, whose self-image had been affected by theconstant negative media coverage of their city.

Insights

• The power of st reet markets to help refresh a city’sproduct, attract back “lapsed” shoppers andreinvigorate a city’s image

• The value of street ambassadors to- make visitors and local shoppers feel welcome- provide information to visitors- to act as the eyes and ears of the city authorities in

identifying the need for public realmimprovements, thereby feeding into the city’sproduct and infrastructure development plans

- gain an insight into visitors perceptions of the city(both likes and dislikes) and where they came from,thereby feeding into the city’s future marketing plan

• The need to promote the st reet ambassador r oleat key visitor arrival points (e.g. airport, train, busstations) so that visitors are aware of them at an early

stage in their visit and can make the most of their visit

• The value of festivals to the city’s tourism product• The value of festivals in restoring community

confidence and civic pride• The value of festivals in improving the city’s image• The positive economic impact of festivals for local

traders and on the city as a whole.

Insights (cont.)

• The critical success factors in implementing a loyaltycard scheme would be:

From a customer perspective:- Preference for accumulating points, leading to a

cash discount, rather than an instant discount*- *Older people were happier with accumulating

points for later redemption; younger people werekeener on an instant discount

- No membership/management fee- 10-15% discount minimum on all goods, not just a

selected range- Success depends on involvement of key “anchor”

stores, as well as a sufficient critical mass of stores- Discounts on non-retail items, such as parking and

public transport were not appealing- The card must be simple to use- The concept of exclusivity was highly attractive (e.g.

pre-sale viewing and chance to purchase at certaintimes of year)

- N.B. Most people already had at least one loyaltycard (store-specific)

- People preferred the idea of obtaining a loyaltycard through a store, rather than a mass marketingcampaign

From a retailer’s perspective:- The card must be simple to use- Multiple/chain stores generally require head office

approval- Ability to capture details on a per product, per

transaction basis- Card must be EPOS (electronic point of sale)

compatible- Customer purchase profile needs to be captured

electronically- Potential to reduce marketing costs

• Important factors in residents’ usage of the city:

- Shopping in Limerick was seen as a socialexperience, not just a functional activity – it was“more of a day out”

- The city centre was seen as more relaxing - openand not claustrophobic - than a shopping mall

- While older people preferred the ambience of thecity centre, younger people preferred the vibrancy,coupled with entertainment opportunities (e.g.cinema, restaurants), of a shopping mall

- On-street car parking was important to peoplevisiting the city centre

- Main disincentives to shopping in the city centre

15

Limerick press cutting



were: car parking, weather, less choice andearlier closing than the mall, and pedestrian-vehicle conflict, lack of pedestrianisation, busy traffic

• The importance of public relations incommunicating how a city is changing, informingpotential visitors of events and redressing the negativeimpact of one-sided media reports

See more• www.limerick.ie• www.limerickcityfestivals.com

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Chester, England

Challenge

Chester is a historically unique city whose success to date has

depended largely on its position as a natural focus within arelatively wealthy region comprising West Cheshire, SouthWirral plus North Wales. Chester’s key economic drivershave been high quality retail, tourism and, more recently,financial services.

However warning signs were already emerging that Chester’scompetitive position was weakening. These were particularlyevident in the following areas: fewer specialist andindependent shops; Cheshire’s slippage down the UK GrossValue Added (GVA) league which measures economic output;limited investment in new tourism product developmentcompared to its main competitors, and an ageing – andtherefore less economically active - population.

A vision, behind which all stakeholders could unite, to stemChester’s competitive decline was called for. This was aboutdefining the type of place Chester wanted to become. It wasalso about clarifying Chester’s role within the economic sub-region, which was changing rapidly – both in terms ofpopulation and business growth, but also in terms of increasingcompetition (particularly retail) for the services that Chesterused to provide to regional residents. And it was aboutcommunicating Chester’s strengths, and where it was going,to key potential customers.

Approach

SPAA Projects

Chester undertook three SPAA demonstration projects aimedat addressing this challenge:

• Development of a place-making strategy• Extension of a loyalty card scheme (Charisma)• Tactical direct marketing campaign

• Place-making St r at egy

Chester set out a vision that would influence perceptions of itssense of place across five key sectors:

- Chester mini city region - a great place to work,invest and do business

- Tourism/visitor economy - a great place to visit- Retail - a great place to shop- Education - a great place to study- Chester as home - a great place to live

The vision for Chester in 2015 was for Chester to become aboutique city that would be:

- a "must-see" European destination;- an "energy cent re" for the economic sub-region;- a beacon of retail quality, range and

distinctiveness;- recognised as a leader in applying wor ld-class

solutions to the development of smallhistoric cities.This was based on a positioning statement that articulatedhow Chester would want to be seen in 2015: Chester’sunique historic environment, compact size and range of qualityshops and markets offer an accessible and enjoyableexperience - somewhere people will want to live, work andvisit because it is an intriguing, romantic, culturally vibrant andstylish city.

Chester’s future was seen as lying in the development of itsvisitor economy, retail, business and professional services andknowledge industries and, critically, on its role within theeconomic sub-region, and doing so in a way that would give ita sustainable competitive edge.

The place-making strategy (PMS) identified the need forChester to differentiate itself from other historic cities inEurope by claiming the title of Britain’s (and probably theworld’s) first “ historic bout ique city” 4 This would providea guide to future development and the type of investmentChester wanted to attract. It meant building on Chester’sexisting assets, developing under-utilised assets such as theriver, canal and old port, and attracting the type of retail, andleisure businesses that reinforce this “sense of place”, such as

“signature” restaurants and boutique hotels in particular. It alsomeant improving the range and quality of its cultural andentertainment offer.

Physical space limitations constrain the potential for businessexpansion and new housing within Chester. Chester’s futureprosperity will therefore depend on the economic success ofits wider sub-region, particularly North East Wales, Liverpooland Cheshire, with whom Chester must work to stimulateeconomic growth. The PMS therefore recommended thatChester, as a “mini city-region”, should also focus on its role as

17

4 The term “boutique” evokes an appealing combination of heritage,design-driven quality and cotemory facilities in an environment that iscompact, accessible and manageable from the perspective of bothvisiors and residents.

Chester a “ must see” Boutique City



an “energy centre” and service hub for the sub-region ,whereby regional residents look to Chester to service many oftheir shopping, cultural and entertainment needs.

Chester’s future was also seen to depend on maintaining areputation for high quality r etail and a range of choicein a unique historic environment , to differentiate it fromother regional shopping centres. Maintaining a competitive

edge in terms of the retail offer alone will become increasinglyharder, as market trends and commercial realities threatensmaller independent and specialist shops and increasinglyfavour the multiple retail store model, which is tending toincrease city centre homogeneity and reduce retaildistinctiveness.

The PMS noted that Chester was fortunate in terms of boththe wealth of its hinterland and its unique historicinfrastructure. It therefore stressed the need to recognise itsheritage as the platform upon which to build its distinctiveness.This is where the seeds of Chester’s competitive edge havebeen sown. It was therefore critical for Chester to preserve,polish and promote its historical and architecturalassets in a way that would appeal to visitors and engenderpride amongst residents.

• Extension of Loyalty Card Scheme

Chester has operated a “smart card” programme for localresidents since 2004. This provides discounts in shops,restaurants and parking. It is generally considered successful byboth residents and businesses, with over 30,000 residentsregistered and 300 participating businesses.

Under the SPAA project the Charisma card was extended tovisitors to Chester, focussing primarily on regional day visitorsand weekend short-breakers. The aim was to encourageregional residents and visitors to shop in Chester, to add valueto visitors’ Chester experience and increase revenue forChester businesses. It was promoted and sold (@ £5.99 percard) through Chester’s two tourist information centres, e-mail and telephone.

The primary target market was day-trippers living within a twohour journey of Chester. They come to Chester regularly as

it is their favourite place to shop, eat out and seekentertainment. It is seen as a somewhat special day out. Thisgroup is characterised by Empty Nesters and WOOFs (WellOff Older Folk).

The secondary target market was people on weekend breaks – especially those who livein the North West or Wales and might come to Chester forrepeat short breaks.This group was characterised by Empty Nesters, WOOFs andDINKs (Dual Income no Kids)

In addition business visitors, who make repeat visits to the city,and people staying withfriends or family were targeted.

The idea of developing a discount/added value card that

would be valid in all four partner cities was also mooted.• Tact ical Direct Market ing Campaign

A tactical marketing campaign was developed to encourageregional residents to visit Chester to shop. Residents within1.5 hours drive were targeted, using regional radio, regionalpress, PR, billboards, mailshots and street animation in Nov-Dec 2005 and 2006. Street animation included a festive gift-wrapping service, Bavarian market, busking competitions inChester’s historic centre and a “Christmas fairy” who selecteda limited number of people at random and paid their shoppingbills. The theme reflected one of Chester’s place brand values,“indulgence”, promoting shopping in Chester as a relaxing,indulgent experience.

Impact

• Place-making St r at egy

Chester’s place-making strategy was developed as foundationfor the future. By identifying the type of place Chester wantedto become it aimed to unite key stakeholders behind its vision,guide the type of investment that Chester would seek toattract in keeping with the city’s sense of place, and define itsrelationship within the wider economic sub-region. 69 actionswere proposed that would move Chester forward towardsachieving this vision. These were categorised as primary,strategic management, and transformational actions.

The PMS was accepted by key stakeholders in the public andprivate sectors as a roadmap for Chester’s future. Theyadopted the aspiration to become Britain’s (if not the world’s)first “boutique city” and agreed the actions required to achievethis. Discussions are now underway regarding funding andphasing of these actions as well as accountability for deliveringthem. Strong leadership, from both the public and privatesectors, was identified as critical to the success of the place-making strategy.

• Extension of Loyalty Card Scheme

Firstly, it was rapidly concluded that there would be nosynergy between a card that offered discounts/added value inall four partner cities, which would also be administratively

18



complex.Secondly, the take-up of the extended Charisma card byregional, UK and overseas visitors to Chester was relativelylow: of 20,000 promotional e-mails sent to prospective usersand 8,000 leaflets printed, 700 cards were sold. Generallyrestaurants appeared to welcome the card more thanretailers, many of whom already had their own UK-wideloyalty cards.

Nevertheless the number of businesses participating in thescheme increased by 20%and they confirmed that the scheme had increased footfall andtransactions during off peak trading.

However, the card was not perceived as adding significantvalue for visitors, and certainly had little or no impact onvisitors’ decisions to choose Chester. The cost of marketingthe card to visitors before arrival was high. And theopportunities to market it to them after they arrived inChester were quite limited. It was therefore decided that themost cost-effective way of promoting the card to visitors wasthrough a tactical marketing campaign aimed at regionalresidents, which was already planned (another SPAA project – see below). This would focus primarily on local residents, whowould both derive the most benefit from the card and providethe greatest opportunity for local businesses.

Gross project cost: £85,000Income (sponsorship/card sales): £25,000Net project cost: £60,000

• Tact ical Direct Market ing Campaign

Over £ 11m additional expenditure was generated in Chesterby the tactical marketing campaign in 2005: people whoconsidered their visit to Chester to have been stronglyinfluenced by the Chester Christmas advertising spent£3,468,883 and people who considered their visit to havebeen somewhat influenced by the Chester Christmasadvertising spent a further £7,813,532.

80% of people interviewed in the city centre duringDecember 2005 were not Chester residents: 21% fromother parts of Cheshire, 19% from other parts of the

Northwest, 10% from other parts of England, 28% fromWales, and 2% from overseas

Insights

• Critical success factors in delivering a place-makingstrategy are:- A clear vision behind which all stakeholders can

unite- A clear understanding of the city’s vision by all

stakeholders

- Buy-in from key stakeholders in all sectors- Strong leadership: – by the public sector as achampion of the vision and in the development ofinfrastructure in keeping with the city’s sense ofplace; - by the private sector in delivering a visitor

experience in keeping with the city’s sense of place- A clear strategic focus- Strong partnerships between stakeholders,

particularly between the public and private sectorsand between different local authorities

- Good communications between all stakeholders- Alignment of all policies, strategies and structures

behind the vision

- SMART targets for each stakeholder (SMART =specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timed)

• Loyalty cards are most valuable to local residentsand local businesses. Their perceived value diminishesbeyond the city limits

• Loyalty cards play little, if any, role in attractingvisitors.

• The costs of marketing a loyalty card beyond theimmediate city region is not justified by the extrabusiness generated

• A loyalty card needs to be easily accessible throughpurchase points with indicators to remind peoplewhere and when to use it.

• Tactical marketing : Regional advertising is mosteffective within 1.5 hours drive time in attractingshoppers to Chester

See more:• www.chester.gov.uk• www.chester.gov.uk/main.asp?page= 281 (for Place-

Making Strategy)• www.visitchester.com

19



Ourense, Spain

Challenge

The province of Ourense is located in the autonomous regionof Galicia in the north of Spain. Though important in size (itcovers nearly 25% of the Galicia territory), it is landlockedand, in tourism terms, overshadowed by the coastal regionand the fame of Santiago de Compostela, a major pilgrimagesite on the UN World Heritage list. Santiago is just over100kms from Ourense.

In addition, and in parallel to other provinces throughoutGalicia and Spain, Ourense experienced considerableemigration throughout the last century, as the agriculturalsector declined.

Ourense’s place-making therefore addresses the need toprofile the region and to create an attractive image that canhelp to develop tourism, but also to invite Galician emigrantsback to the land of their forefathers and to attract inwardinvestment.

Approach

SPAA Projects

Ourense undertook 3 SPAA demonstration projects:

• Locally organised events• Sponsorship of sporting events• Tourism information distribution

Strategy

Inorde is an autonomous organisation created in 1987 by theDiputación Provincial de Ourense, the County Council ofOurense. As one of Spain’s UPD’s (Unidad de Promoción yDesarrollo) it is responsible for the economic development

within the province and offers support, advice and subventionfor business investors as well as assistance in promotingOurense businesses through presence at trade fairs and atmissions.

Inorde is also the official Destination ManagementOrganisation for Ourense.

Inorde’s strategy for Ourense’s place-making comprised 3elements:

• Organising sporting events with a broad appeal andsubstantial power to attract diverse audiences. As wellas promoting the province, these events were alsointended to energise the province’s residents.

• Promoting the name of Ourense locally and

nationally, through the sponsorship of high profilesporting events. Inorde aimed to reach the highestpossible audience numbers indirectly through differentmedia at a reasonable cost.

• Disseminating tourism specific information topotential travellers to the area (through public tourismfairs and a widely broadcast TV programme) and to

visitors in the area (through touch screens at strategiclocations).

Activities

Inorde’s place-making activities in both the locally organisedand sponsored events consistently covered the following:

• Strong Ourense branding of promotional supportmaterial

• Establishment of an exhibition stand on which it is

possible to obtain tourism material about the province• Promotion to appropriately targeted media .

To ensure maximum recognition of the name “Ourense”, alogo was designed for the purpose, composed of the name ofthe province and all available resources, identified by colours – blue (water), green (nature).

• Locally Organised Events

In 2005, Ourense became one of only 6 destinations for thehighly popular Rally de Tierra championship in Spain. Held forthe first time on 12-13 November in 2005, the event wasrepeated in May 2006, when its duration was doubled from 1to 2 days. 54 cars and 20 motorbikes took part, with topnational and international participants.

Sponsored by the Royal Automobil Club of Spain (RACE) anda host of important corporates such as Repsol, Movistar andMichelin, the event has high PR value.

Inorde’s specific promotional activities included the following:

- Organisation of a press conference at the beginningof the event, giving detailed information on theprovince to the assembled media, which underlinedOurense’s brand message

- Posters and flyers on Ourense, which weredistributed throughout the province and available to

visitors at key points- Tierra and Ourense websites- Enhanced PR efforts to achieve coverage in specialised

national sporting and car magazines, as well as in localmedia (newspapers and radio)

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- The promotional campaign for the event in media,through posters etc. began a month before the eventand the activities intensified in the final weeks.

Sponsors were also locally recruited: both the Caixa Galiciaand the Escuderia Ourense (the main provincial motor clubresponsible for the development of motor sport in Ourense)both offered in-kind support: trophies and administrative and

stewarding support. There was also considerable localstakeholder buy-in from hospitality and shopping outlets in thearea.

• Sponsorship of Sport ing Events

While Inorde was highly involved in the bidding for, andorganisation of, the Rally de Tierra, their place-making activityin 2005 and 2006 also included selecting high profile local andnational sporting events for financial sponsorship.

The Fir st Int ercelt ic Rugby Tournament was held inOurense from 30th March to1st April 2006 and broughttogether 4 teams from Ireland, the North of Portugal, Galiciaand Asturias.

Over and above the general brand marketing activitiesdescribed on the top of page 2, Inorde also organised a pressconference on 29th April, in which journalists receivedinformation on the SPAA project in general as well as on theevent itself. The province was further promoted through a tripon a catamaran on the Ribeira Sacra and wine tasting.

From 20th-30th April 2006, Inorde took a stand at theConde de Godo Spanish Tennis Open in Barcelona, the onlySpanish province to be present.

The “Trofeo Conde de Godó”, which celebrated 50 years in2002, is the most important event for Spanish tennis and oneof the most prestigious clay court tournaments in the world.Since 1968, the tournament is considered as the majorinternational championship in Spain.

Continuing its profiling in the motor sport arena, Inorde alsosponsors other prominent rallies throughout Spain, in order tomaintain visibility of its brand to this particular sporting

audience. In September/October 2006 sponsorship activitycovered the rallies of Ferrol, Llanes and Costa Brava .

• Dissemination of Tourism Information

Pre-visit

The TV programme “ Desde Galicia para el mundo”featured a special edition on Ourense that was broadcast on 1October 2005 on TV2. Inorde welcomed the initiative andassisted the broadcaster in their information gathering. Arepeat broadcast is likely on the international Radio TelevisiónEspañola channel.

Inorde developed a new Ourense branded exhibition standfor its calendar of public tourism fairs in Spain. The SPAAsupport budget also paid for their participation at the regionalExpolugo public t ourism fair from 5th to 19th October2005. Stand personnel distributed brochures and gaveinformation on the tourism products and services in Ourense.

Dur ing visit

Inorde installed 3 interactive touch screens , displayinginformation about the province’s vast tourism offer quickly andsimply. The aim is to allow visitors to take better advantage oftheir stay, to enjoy it and to wish to return. A web link to theSPAA site will be made available. New screens are planned for2007.

Touch screens were put in strategic locations: in areconstructed castle in Castro Caldelas, the town hall inNogueira de Ramuin (close to the historic Hotel Monumentode Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil) and in an interpretationcentre in Trives.

Impact

• Locally organised event s

Direct impact : The rallies in Ourense attracted a high levelof public support within a large local and regional audience inthe 20 to 40-year age bracket. The area’s hotel occupancy

21



rose before, during and after the event.Anecdotal evidence points to high satisfaction level amongpartners and tourism suppliers. The 2005 rally saw a 100%+occupancy rise in A Gudiña, where the rally was held, incomparison to same period the previous year. Otherhospitality and shopping outlets also reported significantgrowth in business over the duration of both rallies.

Indirect impact : A wider, national, audience was alsoreached through rally reports in specialised weekly sportingmagazines and dedicated slots on state and independenttelevison broadcasting media.

• Sponsorship of sport ing events

While the inter-Celtic rugby tournament sponsorship wasmore specifically aimed at enhancing the socio-cultural tieslinking Celtic communities, the Ourense stand at othersporting events created a visual impact on the visiting public,

which was futher reinforced by the provision of promotionalbrochures on the region.

At the Conde de Godó tennis championships in particular,Ourense was the only Spanish province with a promotionalstand. The booth was visited by 100-150 people onweekdays and up to 250 during weekend days, includingsome well known tennis players.

Presence at these events allowed Inorde to raise awareness ofthe Ourense brand - its natural environment and outdooractivities, which underpin its tourism product.

Insights

Strategic

• Inorde’s experience illustrates the important role ofsport in regeneration, sense of place and

tourism marketing . The identification of thedestination with high profile sporting events, especiallysuch high adrenalin sports such as the Rally de Tierra,creates a sense of buzz and energy for the place,

which is felt by visitors and residents alike.• Inorde gained insights from the first year’s activities,

which enabled its approach to be fine-tuned over theperiod of the project, thereby improving the nextevent and increasing its media impact.

Practical

Ourense Rally

After organising the inaugural rally in November 05, Inordemade some changes to the event for 2006:

• Duration: In order to maximise economic impact, t herally was extended from one to 2 days . Visitorswere encouraged to stay longer and therefore spentmore in Ourense’s hotels and shops

• Time of year: To take advantage of more clementweather, the event date was moved to spring

• Location: while the first rally took place in thecountryside, the rally headquarters were movedto the city of Ourense for the repeat in 2006. Again,Inorde felt that this would stimulate economic benefit,by allowing partners of rally-goers to take advantage ofthe attractions and retail outlets in Ourense.

See more• http://www.inorde.es• http://www.turismourense.com/ • http://www.rallysdetierra.com• http://openseatbarcelona.com

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Rallye de Tierra: Ourense branded car



Valimar, PortugalChallenge

The region of Valimar consists of 6 independent municipalitiesin the North of Portugal: Arcos de Valdevez, Caminha,Esposende, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima and Viana doCastelo. Its 221,000 residents live on a total area of just over1500 sq km, stretching from the Atlantic shores and itsbeaches to the valleys of the Lima river in the interior.

Although highly attractive in terms of history, architecture andnatural attributes, statistics show that, some honeypots aside(such as Ponte de Lima during the Feiras Novas festival), thearea experiences issues of short stay and high seasonality. Inparticular, there appears to be a low level of awareness of thetourism resources on offer in the wider region, away from itsmain urban areas.

Valimar’s main challenge was to pull several sub-regionstogether behind the Valimar brand and to increase awarenessof a geographically diverse and large region in order to put iton the map for visitors.

Approach

SPAA Projects

Valimar undertook 3 SPAA demonstration projects:

• Thematic routes• Signposting of tourism resources• Interpretation centres

Strategy

The place-making for the region is co-ordinated by theComunidade Urbana Valimar (Valimar ComUrb), founded onMarch 11, 2004. This supra-municipal body encouragespositive collaboration between the 6 municipal councils in theareas of tourism as well as investment, the environment,health, education, nature conservation, health and safety,access to transport and culture and leisure. It is also involvedin social, economic and territory planning for the Valimarregion. The ComUrb replaced the Valima Association ofMunicipalities that had worked on behalf of 4 of the towncouncils since 1994.

The overall vision of the Valimar ComUrb team was to centreits place-making on the wealth and variety of its cultural,natural, historical and religious features.

Valimar aimed to define its overall tourism product moreclearly and to create awareness of the wealth of its tourism

assets through:

• strategic signposting of tourism resources• creation of new tourist trails (thematic routes)

• establishment of interpret at ion centr es withinthe municipalities’ tourist information offices (promotionalstands offering information on the region and its products)

At the time of writing, both the signposting and tourist trailprojects were at the end of their consultation period andabout to be implemented. The third project has beenpostponed, awaiting the outcome of potential regional

restructuring along new European Union guidelines.

Objectives

• Reinforce the Valimar brand/image• Extend length of stay and encourage regional spread• Enrich the tourism experience in the region toencourage repeat visits• Raise awareness of the region’s rich heritage amongits residents

The place-making strategy is aimed at

• Day trippers• Walkers and independent travellers• Residents

Valimar’s markets are (in order of priority):

• Portugal• Spain• UK

Thematic Routes

In the past, thematic routes have proven to be a usefulmarketing tool for Portuguese regions. Existing routes in theValimar region range from “Mountain Villages” to “Walks in theValley of the River Lima”. No such routes have yet beenpulled together specifically for Valimar ComUrb, but they areapplied successfully by other organisations, such as the Regiãode Turismo do Alto Minho (RTAM, Alto Minho RegionalTourist Board). They consist of grouping together products ofa similar nature or within a specific geographical area toencourage tourists to visit more than one attraction. They alsohelp raise the brand image of the area as cultural, natural,

23

Thematic Routes leaflets



historic etc. Thematic routes could be walking trails or cartouring routes. What is important is that they enhance theappeal of the area and present a number of differentattractions, even if visitors don’t want to follow an entire trail.

Following the audit of available tourism assets, the consultantsdefined 5 thematic categories:

ThemeReligious

Res ource ca tegorySanctuaries; Monasteries and convents; Churches

ThemeNatural spaces and cultural identity

Res ource ca tegoryProtected areas; Natural landscapes

ThemeViews over the rural landscape

Res ource ca tegoryViewpoints; Rural landscapes (valleys)

ThemeCultural Valimar

Res ource ca tegoryHistorical centres; Museums; Castles/fortresses;Palaces/mansions

ThemeThe Iron Age

Res ource ca tegoryIron age castles, ruined settlements, dolmens

(Information taken and translated from the consultants’ 2nd project report, November 2006)

At the time of writing, the consultants recommend 10 newroutes to be created, 2 per theme (one on the coast, theother in the interior, for reasons of geographical distance). 2pedestrian route maps have been produced (for themunicipalities of Esposende and Caminha).

Following Valimar ComUrb’s board official approval, relevanttourism products will be selected from the resource audit foreach new route and route-related signposting will beundertaken. It is envisaged that information brochures will beproduced in several languages to promote the new routes tovisitors.

• Signposting of Tourism Resources

The overall project objective was to identify and clearlysignpost those assets that could be considered of strategicimportance. Consultants were appointed to conduct an auditof tourism products within the region.

Sources included the Inventário dos Recursos Turísticos emPortugal (Inventory of Tourism Resources in Portugal),published by the Direccão Geral do Turismo (NationalGovernment Department of Tourism), as well as local andregional tourist brochures and guide books such as the LonelyPlanet guide. The final database consists of a total of 693resources; all classified and weighted according to theirimportance on the local, regional, national or internationallevel and their visitor facilities (parking, information provision,catering, toilets and, in the case of beaches, lifeguards and firstaid).

It is expected that Valimar ComUrb will ask for the signposting

of some 130 assets to be reviewed more fully, seekinganswers to the following questions:

• Is the product signposted at present?• If so, is the existing signposting sufficient and does it

meet IEP (Instituto das Estradas de Portugal, Portugal’sroad network agency) standards for tourist attractions?

• If not, how should it be signposted?

Improved signposting will then be put in place.

• Int er pr et at ion cent res

The third SPAA project involves the creation of informationspaces within the tourist offices of the 6 municipalities, 2 ofwhich are directly financed by the SPAA project.

The information points are dedicated to the promotion ofecotourism and of the natural landscapes of the region.Specifically, visitors will dedicated areas within each of thecities’ information offices with brochures, an audiovisualpresentation and information panels on pedestrian trails, pathsalong the river Lima, water activities and active tourism..

It is planned that the tourist office staff be given producttraining on the Valimar region in order to allow for widerinformation dissemination and a degree of “cross-selling” tovisitors, in order to encourage greater regional spread of visits.

The project is in the design phase as at March 07, while thenext steps will be the production of the structures and panels.

Resources were switched from an early Tourism Passportproposal (in the form of a printed booklet offering discountsand added value extras for visitors) to strengthen the othervisitor information projects (thematic routes, signage andinterpretation centres).

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Regional t hemat ic routes - r iverside walkway



26.



Glasgow – The City Dimension

ChallengeIn the 1970s Glasgow was facing a grim economic future.Levels of unemployment, poverty and deprivation were high.In the early 1980s the City Council and the regional localauthority began to support and fund a range of urban

regeneration initiatives to tackle this, whilst Scotland’seconomic development agency started undertaking majorredevelopment work, site clearance and re-development, andbusiness support. Much of this work was invisible to thoseoutside Glasgow and perceptions of a deprived, dangerouscity prevailed.

ApproachGlasgow was one of the first UK cities to appreciate theimportance of place-making in regeneration. The firstcampaign – ‘Glasgow’s Miles Better’ using Mr. Happy (acartoon characters from children’s books) initiated by GlasgowCity Council put over the message of change andimprovement in a simple, light-hearted way. This was asimportant for stimulating a sense of pride within Glasgow’scommunities as it was for changing views elsewhere. Theinvestment in infrastructure (including major venues such asGlasgow Concert Hall, a Museum of Modern Art and theScottish Exhibition and Conference Centre) continuedalongside flagship events, such as the hosting of the NationalGarden Festival in 1988 and the City of Culture in 1990,which transformed the city.Glasgow has continued to stay ahead with its most recent re-branding exercise in its repositioning as ‘Glasgow – Scotlandwith Style’ launched in 2004. The campaign worth £1.8million and funded by the City Council and European RegionalDevelopment Fund runs from 2005 to 2007 and is aimedboth at tourism and business investment.

Impact• The long running efforts to challenge perceptions

about Glasgow have paid off – it is now one of theUK’s prime city break destinations

• The editor of Frommer’s travel guides has chosenGlasgow as one of her top ten must-see destinationsfor 2006 and the only one selected in Europe

• In 2005 readers of Conde Nast Travel voted Glasgow

as runner up in the Best UK City category, second onlyto London• The campaigns have also been powerful vehicles for

community engagement• Glasgow’s most recent brand campaign ‘Scotland with

Style’ has claimed an additional 181,000 tourists visitingthe city between March 2005 and June 2006 bringingan estimated £21 million in economic benefit

Insights• The importance of internal marketing in changing

perceptions and attitudes

• The importance of marketing in boosting civic pride• The role culture can play in regeneration• The close relationship between tourism and economic

regeneration – and the need to invest in the productfirst

• The need to keep branding and positioning underreview – but give it a chance to work before changingit too soon

• The impact of winning major national and internationalflagship events in transforming a city’s image and theway it feels about itself

See more

• www.seeglasgow.com

Barcelona – The Cit y Dimension

ChallengeFrom the 1960s onwards Spain was the world’s first masstourism destination. However towards the end of the centurythe attractions of mass tourism had begun to pale and Spainwas keen to reposition itself as much more than ‘sun, sea andsangria’. During the 1990s a new brand and promotionalapproach was pursued based on culture and heritage.Barcelona, an industrial centre, was never one of Spain’s massdestinations and the new national approach provided a moreappropriate platform on which to promote the city. Moresignificantly, the 1992 Olympics, held in Barcelona, providedthe spur to transform the city from an industrial port into oneof Europe’s “coolest” cities, a leading conference and incentivedestination, aspirational place to live and own a second home.

ApproachBarcelona is in the province of Catalonia (which also marketseight destination brands within the province internationally,one of which is Barcelona). Two major factors turnedBarcelona’s image around; the 1992 Olympics and aconcerted drive to establish Barcelona’s cultural credentials onthe European map.

CultureBarcelona has its own dedicated tourism marketing bodyTurisme de Barcelona, responsible for promoting Barcelonaoverseas and within Spain. By the turn of the centuryBarcelona was attracting over 3 million leisure visitors a year.This success led to Turisme de Barcelona turning its attention

to cultural tourism and business tourism in particular, both ofwhich are high yield. A long term cultural strategy wasdeveloped with the Insitut de Cultura (created by the CityCouncil in 1996) which focused on annual themes to promotethe rich culture of the city leading up to Barcelona hosting theUniversal Forum of Cultures in 2004. 2000 was the Year ofContemporary Art. The following year - Gaudi 2002 – was alandmark celebrating the 150th anniversary of the famousarchitect’s birth and showcasing his considerable legacy of 15outstanding buildings including his Sagrada Familia cathedral,which is Barcelona’s most visited building. 2003 was the Yearof Design. Supported by the Institut de Cultura, Barcelonaruns a variety of regular festivals (the most prominent of whichis La Merce held in September each year) as well as specialevents. It is also fortunate in having over 50 museums,including two dedicated to the work of Picasso and Miro, toconfirm its cultural credentials.

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Business tourism was limited by suitable hotel accommodationand small convention facilities and major development wasapproved at two key sites in the city, one of which was theBarcelona Trade Centre.

OlympicsMassive redevelopment took place between 1989 - 1992 toprepare Barcelona to host the 1992 Olympics. The airport

was redeveloped; new housing was built, including theOlympic village, which remained after the Games as affordablehousing; new ring roads were built to ease congestion andtraffic flows; roads were increased by 15%, sewage systemsby 17 %, green zones and beaches by 78% and public pondsand fountains by 268%. A major part was played inBarcelona’s transformation by moving the railway tracks thatseparated the city from the port, so that the city began to facethe sea: a boardwalk was constructed, the old port wasredeveloped as a housing, restaurant and entertainmentquarter that injected new life into the area and Barcelona trulybecame a city whose sense of place was in large part definedby the sea, rather than a city with industrial port that wasavoided by all but those in the maritime business.

Impact• Barcelona is now one of Europe’s top city break

destinations• It is one of Europe’s top conference and incentive

destinations• It is perceived as one of Europe’s top cultural

destinations• It is perceived as one of Europe’s most desirable cities

in which to live• Tourism increased by 40% after the Olympics• Between 1886 – 1992 Barcelona’s unemployment

rate halved (from 18.4 – 9.6%) ata time when theSpanish national average unemployment rate was15.5%

Insights:

• Cultural tourism is getting increasing attention fromvisitors and destinations – but you have to have theproduct (because others do)

• The legacy of major sporting events in transformingphysical infrastructure and civic pride, as well asencouraging municipal ambition

• The importance of water (the sea) in defining a city’ssense of place

• The potential to transform a city’s sense of placethrough imaginative and committed effort

See more• www.barcelonaturisme.com• www.bcn.es/turisme/english/turisme/welcome.htm

The Scottish Borders – TheRegional Dimension

ChallengeThe Scottish Borders sits in the south of Scotland on theborder with England. It stretches from the coast in the east,taking up two-thirds of the land towards the west. Despitehaving lovely scenery, with rolling hills and river valleys,woodlands and attractive small towns, it had an imageproblem as a tourism destination. The Scottish Borders doesnot fit the perception of Scotland as a county of dramaticmountain scenery, coastlines or dynamic, nor does it havevibrant cities. The Borders was largely seen as somewhere topass through on the way to the ‘real’ Scotland. It lackeddistinctiveness.

ApproachIn the late 1990s the Scottish Borders Tourist Board made abold decision to focus its marketing, getting to know its marketbetter and undertaking a realistic appraisal of its product. Itknew the growth trend in leisure tourism was for shortbreaks. It knew it would have a hard job attracting visitorsfrom overseas or from more than two hours’ drive away(public transport not being an option). It knew that it couldoffer a gentle, rural escape to city dwellers. This intelligencewas shared with its local authority, which was a key fundingpartner, the economic development agency for the area, andits key stakeholders – its member businesses. The ScottishBorders Tourist Board also identified and sold a rather boldsolution: it re-branded itself as ‘Scotland’s Leading Short BreakDestination’. It developed marketing campaigns promotingshort breaks, aimed at two specific market segments – youngprofessional couples and empty-nesters. It focused campaignson markets within a two hour drive: firstly on Edinburgh,rolling out to Glasgow and then Newcastle in the north ofEngland. It worked with its businesses to develop short breakpackages based on escape, gentle outdoor activities andcultural events, such as folk music. All of these showcased thebest of the area and thereby reinforced its sense of place.

Having decided on the strategy it has pursued this single-mindedly since.

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ImpactDespite early misgivings from businesses, they have boughtinto the strategy and have restructured their product towardsthe short break domestic market. The Scottish Borders hasestablished a distinctive tourism offer, which helps it stand outin a crowded market place. Through effective campaigns andfollow up customer relationship management they have builtbusiness to the area and laid the foundations of a sustainabletourism industry.

Insights

• Be honest about the product and its appeal• Be brave - make the case and stick to it• Be focused – better to be one (or two) things to one

(or two) types of people and make an impact.• Know your markets and be honest about your product

appeal• Develop local markets first, where they are sufficiently

large• Develop attractions, events and activities that reinforce

a sense of place

See more• www.scot-borders.co.uk

London: Olympic and ParalympicGames 2012 – The Event

Dimension

ChallengeLondon had declared its intention to bid for the Olympics in2012, entering the process as an outsider to Paris as thefavourite. The bid team clearly had to provide the evidencethat London could provide the infrastructure to run asuccessful games but it also had to challenge perceptions,persuade and influence the 115 voters on the Olympiccommittee to convince them of London’s case. Theemotional sell was just as important as the technical and

rational one over the two year campaign.

ApproachThe bid team appointed communications experts to helpthem, who developed a strategy based on a series of specialevents and a repositioning of the London ‘brand’ to appeal tothe International Olympic Committee. Events were chosen asa vehicle because they gave the opportunity for personalcontact and communications. However the opportunitieswere scarce and had to be exploited to the full as ‘set-pieces’,with key messages well thought-out and presented. The key

messages were London’s assets; its status as a world city; itspopularity with young people; the opportunity the Olympicswould present for regeneration; diversity; and passion for

sport. These were run through all events from the bid launchonwards through a series of presentations to the finalpresentation in Singapore just prior to the bid decision.Extensive use was made of innovative films making a creativeuse of vox pops with Londoners and visitors and ambassadorsfrom David Beckham to Sir Steve Redgrave. The PrimeMinister and even the Queen were called upon to participateand support.

A critical element was the legacy that the Games would leavebehind, not just in terms of physical regeneration, but perhapsmore importantly, in how London used the opportunity toinspire young people across all communities to participate insport in the run up to, and after, the Games. This wascreatively and imaginatively communicated in a highly emotivefilm that demonstrated the intent and potential to use theGames to inspire not just London’s communities, but youngpeople worldwide.ImpactLondon will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in

2012.

Insights:• The emotional is as important as the rational• A well thought out strategy, precisely targeted and

executed, has more impact• Never underestimate the time and dedicated effort

needed• The legacy of major events can be more important

than the event itself• Cross-cutting agendas (e.g. sport, health, regeneration)

can be mutually reinforcing• The value of appropriate “celebrities” in endorsing amajor international bid

See more• www.london2012.org

Lichtenstein – The NationalDimension

ChallengeLichtenstein is a tiny principality of 34,000 inhabitantspositioned between Austria and Switzerland. In 2001 its roleas a financial centre was facing difficulties and it was engaged ina major constitutional debate. It had a growing imageproblem internally and externally with a sense of insecurityabout what it was and where it was going.

ApproachLichtenstein embarked on an internal debate among politiciansand business people resulting in an action plan and a new wayof presenting the principality both to internal and externalaudiences. It developed a new logo for use by governmentand business, key messages and a toolkit for its ambassadors,

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international PR activity, a web portal for Lichtenstein andestablishment of ‘Foundation Image Lichtenstein’ to managewhat was in effect a place-making strategy. Its six coremessages were based on it being a principality, a successfuland safe financial centre, well- connected internationally, astrong cultural life and a great place for recreation, covered allaspects of its people, its state, and its economy. And its newlogo encompassed these. Consultation was undertaken within

Lichtenstein – relatively easy with only 34,000 inhabitants -holding a series of ‘brand events’.

ImpactThe strategy is a long term one with realism about thetimescales taken to identify the brand values of a country, getbuy-in from all stakeholders, roll out activity and then see animpact in terms of perceptions and behaviour. Lichtenstein is5 years into a 10 year strategy, and has so far focused ondeveloping the tools and materials and embedding the brandinternally. The next stages are to take more overt external

promotion to specific stakeholders and then more generally.

Insights• Internal agreement on core values and buy-in to the

strategy• Working from the inside out• The need to ‘make it someone’s job’ to make things

happen• Strong leadership and a place-making championSee more• http://www.liechtenstein.li/en

Sweden – The National Dimension

ChallengeSweden is a country with considerable international prestige – its way of life, its culture, its environment and economy areadmired as stable, safe and civilised. Yet in 2005 it undertooka review of how it was perceived internationally, its strengthsand weaknesses. Lying behind this was a view that Swedenshould not simply rest on its laurels but should be proactive in

how it promotes itself to make sure that, although it has arelatively small population, it has a strong internationalpresence based on its strengths rather than its perceivedweaknesses or negative stereotypes (cold and dark; expensivewith high taxes; unexciting, unemotional people with atendency towards being internally focussed and complacent).

ApproachThe Council for the Promotion of Sweden is an advisory bodyto the government, which provides a forum for discussionbetween the government and businesses. Its membershipcomprises various bodies with an interest in externalpromotion including The Swedish Institute, Visit Sweden, andthe Swedish Trade Council. It took on the job of providing acommon platform to present Sweden as a “forward-looking,new thinking and open country”. A significant pillarunderpinning this “forward-looking, new thinking and opencountry” image lies in Sweden’s long-term position withregard to international human rights, symbolised by its hostingof the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. A Sweden web portal,

which provides a wealth of information and resources on allaspects of Swedish life, culture, infrastructure and economy, isan important tool in projecting this new image .

Impact• UNESCO – “ Sweden no. 1 in science and innovation• OECD – “Sweden leads the way in sustainability”• UN – “Sweden tops global innovation league”• World Economic Forum – “ Sweden is the world’s

most equal society”• The Economist – “ Sweden ranked no. 5 in global

quality of life”

• Newsweek – “Sweden best in biotech research”Insights• Image always lags behind reality• Even the successful need to take their image seriously• Business efficiency, good governance and well-

mannered people are positive from a businessperspective. But a place needs an emotional flavour towiden its appeal and overcome disinterest that mayhave arisen through unhelpful media stereotyping

See more• www.sweden.se

Poland – The Nat ional Dimension

ChallengeEmerging from forty years of communism and isolation fromthe rest of the world, Poland has had to rediscover its sense ofself within the country and establish its identity externally.There was a desire to show the world what its personality

was, and could become.

ApproachThe process of ‘branding’ Poland was as much a journey back

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to normality for Poland as a marketing exercise. The Institutefor Polish Brand was established in 1995 to lead the processand establish a consistency in how Poland was presented. Apriority was to tackle what was felt to be a much morenegative perception than was the reality. Co-operation withinthe country was identified as a keystone in this new approach,recognising the need for a wide debate to get agreement onthe way forward and establish Poland’s ‘brand values’ and

brand positioning. In addition there was a wider agenda to re-establish the worth of brands and trademarks in the economyand culture generally. Polish goods had to be differentiated inorder to compete successfully in domestic and foreignmarkets. The Institute for Polish Brand’s first tasks were togather resources and run initiatives and events to bringtogether Poland’s biggest brands into their ‘Academy’, and torestore the system of brand names and trademarks. Since2004 attention has been focused on developing a brandidentity for Poland with the help of international advertisingagency Wolff Ollins. The development of the core idea took ayear, involving research at home and abroad, interviews withopinion leaders, case studies and a lot of analysis. Fourcreative ideas were developed, but none entirely worked.From this evolved the idea of ‘creative tension’ as the definingcharacteristic of Poland, based around its dualities. This coreidea worked for all aspects of nation branding: foreign directinvestment (vitality, growth and entrepreneurialism); tourism(interesting, unusual and, above all, an experience); exports(passion and practicality in products and service); publicdiplomacy (a challenging but constructive approach). Thiscore idea was taken through to creative development of thePoland brand marque and a national brand tool-kit producedand promoted.

Insights• Nation (or place) branding as the new patriotism (or

civic pride)• The need for wide engagement in debate in order to

reach a conclusion, even if full consensus is notachieved amongst all stakeholders

• The need for co-operation• Changing an image and developing a place brand takes

time

See more

• www.imp.org.pl (Institute for Polish Brand website- inPolish)

• www.poland.pl

Costa Rica – The NationalDimension

ChallengeCosta Rica is a small country of just 51,000 sq.km. in the heartof Central America competing with various tropical idyllselsewhere in the world from the Maldives to Mauritius. Costa

Rica’s challenge was how to stand out in the market place andsay something other than “we’ve got great beaches”.

ApproachCosta Rica has taken a focused approach to its tourismmarketing. It adopted a highly single minded approach topromoting itself as an eco tourism destination. It positionsitself not only on the quality of its environment andbiodiversity but also in its sustainable and green policies andsustainable developments. This is reinforced by its qualityaccreditation scheme based on sustainable certification forbusinesses. This has given Costa Rica a highly differentiatedoffer that is based on a solid and substantiated foundation – which is therefore credible in consumers’ eyes: the countrylives and delivers what it promises as a truly sustainabletourism experience. Significantly, Costa Rica’s products that aremore widely associated with the Caribbean (and not alwaysconsidered to reflect a sustainable tourism product) – beaches,activities, culture – have been imbued with this stamp ofenvironmental sustainability that reflects Costa Rica’s sense of

place.

Impact• 1.5 million visitors each year• A sustainable tourism industry in sympathy with

environment and culture• Costa Rica is recognised as one of the world’s leading

exponents - if not the leading exponent - ofsustainable eco-tourism development

Insights• To be noticed you need to be focused – be wellknown for one thing, rather than attempt to offersomething for everyone

• Product development must be part of marketing andeach reinforce a sense of place

• Niche is good, particularly for small destinations

See more• www.visitcostarica.com

Ireland – The National Dimension

ChallengeIn the 1980s and 1990s Ireland was a country with ambition.It had joined the European Union and saw this as a majoropportunity, not only for funding but an opportunity to play ona larger stage. Substantial European funding and high domestictaxation produced significant funds to invest in Ireland’s

economic development and the government was determinedto make these funds work hard. Economically Ireland had nomajor industry and still relied heavily on agriculture. So wherewas economic growth to come from?

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destination, it lacked a strong enough appeal to attract enoughvisitors to replace the decline in agricultural export earnings.

ApproachTourism New Zealand (TNZ) is the body charged withmarketing New Zealand as a destination internationally. In theearly 1990s, based on research it had undertaken onperceptions, it undertook a ground-breaking campaign in itskey markets (English speaking and Asia Pacific) profiling NewZealand as the ultimate escape from urban stress. Media wasselected on the basis of its ability to show the landscape of toits best advantage (e.g. TV, outdoor posters, full colour doublepage spreads in quality magazines). This campaign developedinto the current positioning of New Zealand ‘100% Pure’launched in 1999 based on New Zealand’s stunning naturallandscape which is now a key motivator for visits. Thecampaign is still running. It targets what Tourism NewZealand calls ‘Interactive Travellers’ which they define asregular travelers, looking for a wide range of tourismexperiences, actively participating in the natural environment,

environmentally and culturally aware, and seeking authenticand new experiences. They are also highly competent usersof technology and so ideally reached through the internet.The web has been a key plank of Tourism New Zealand’sactivity as it is an ideal vehicle for providing the depth ofinformation and planning necessary to convert interest toaction. Their web site is an excellent example of a destinationweb site.

New Zealand has extended its offer beyond beautifullandscape becoming a major destination for activities andextreme sports in particular. Much of this was driven by theyouth market, particularly the growing trend in the UK for“gap years” amongst prospective students. These peopledemanded outdoor activities and adrenalin sports, which anumber of enterprising and “outdoor- skilled” NewZealanders were well equipped to provide. Furthermore,new “outdoor skills” were developed in response to thisdemand, increasing employment opportunities for young NewZealanders.

At a similar time, as New Zealand was experiencing problemsin exporting its produce, a number of chief executives ofmajor exporting companies got together and pledgedbetween 1-5% of their European marketing budgets behind a

national effort to reposition New Zealand produce aspremium produce and drive sales. This became a majorinternational export-marketing vehicle known as the NewZealand Way. It was a pioneering place branding exercise thatremains a textbook example to this day of how to unite anation behind a vision for the place. The indigenous NewZealand silver fern, which embodied the natural environment,was selected as a national logo that was used ubiquitouslyacross different sectors.The association between tourism and business developmentcontinues too on Tourism New Zealand’s web site wherethere is a button on the home page leading anyone thinking of

doing business with New Zealand into a range of informationand support.

• Over 2m visitors spending $7b amounting to around16% of total export earnings

• New Zealand is widely recognised as a leader indestination marketing

• TNZ won the 'Webby' award for best tourism websitetwice, most recently in 2006

• 2001: “100% Pure” campaign beat 600 entries to wingold medal winner at the Fédération Nationale des

Offices de Tourisme et Syndicats d’Initiative(F.N.O.T.S.I) awards

• 2004: The Hospitality Sales and Marketing AssociationInternational awards overall platinum award to the100% Pure New Zealand campaign

• 2005: NZ voted in world’s top five tourismdestinations by the readers of Lonely Planet

• 2005: CondeNast Traveller (UK ) Best Country andbest overall winner

• New Zealand produce – from lamb to oysters, dairyand fruit products to wine - have positionedthemselves at the premium end of the market, therebyconferring an aspirational value to all things associatedwith New Zealand from tourism to

Insights

• New Zealand is one of the world’s most successfulexamples of true place branding – where there wasproductive cooperation and mutual reinforcementbetween different sectors in branding and promotingthe place – significantly tourism, food and agriculturalproduce

• Crisis can give birth to innovative thinking and unitedisparate interests, from different sectors, behind acommon goal

• The importance of strong leadership and private sectorchampions in getting things done

• A place brand must be built on a truly sustainableproposition that has credibility

• Good campaigns will last a long time – you will getbored before your customers

• Major films shot in your destination, which showcaseyour landscape, help (Lord of the Rings trilogy), as longas their content is in keeping with the sense of place

• Constant reinforcement of the country’s brand values(natural, pure,) by all sectors enhances the country’s

image This has far greater impact than the sum ofindividual sectors’ own marketing efforts

• How all sectors can use a place’s brand values (i.e.natural, pure) to promote their own products.

• The importance of youth tourism, which manydestinations disregard as low-spending, in bothgenerating revenue and leading travel trends

• A “natural fit” between food products and a destinationwith regard to consumer marketing

• The importance of linking products that reinforce asense of place to the destination (website)

See more

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