Destination Sri Lanka; The branding challenge

Renton de Alwis

It was a flight between Singapore and Colombo. Our plane takes off the runway of Changi International Airport. The well laid out lawns and tree lines of that island nation impressed me, but with the thought that, that there were too many straight lines.

After a few hours of flying, the shores of Island Sri Lanka appear in the horizon. We enter land, traversing the beaches around Batticaloa, heading towards our final destination. For almost forty minutes, what I see below me is green, green and even more green.

The vista below is filled with uneven terrain, transforming from coconut palm groves to paddy fields, to lush forests to tea plantations and on again to forests, coconut palm groves to paddy and so on.

What breaks the monotony are the crystal white stupas of temples on hillocks dotting what must be villages below them, covered with green canopies, with paddy fields and a small lake or water body nearby. Occasional cleared patches of land appear where development projects are ongoing.

The thought crosses me that, they perhaps may even be attempts at deforestation. I take solace in the fact, that green will soon fill those spaces as well, observing the rain drops that now dot the cabin window by my seat.

My mind's eye takes me to what's below that canopy of green, diversity of landscape, climate, culture, history; the people, their lifestyles, ethos, warmth; the waters, sun, sand and style. All spread out under that canopy.

The green breathes. In a world where climate change is a reality and mitigating global warming an issue not of choice but of our very survival, such green lungs on Earth are indeed rare.

Destination Branding blues is not uncommon for NTOs and even for well equipped agencies as it is much tougher than the assignments taken on for branding consumer products or services.

A destination brand must mean a unique blend of physical, rational and emotional qualities that constitute the destination to set it apart from others. Since we ourselves represent segments of this blend and each of us are slaves to our own domains of knowledge, expertise and experience, agreeing on a big idea platform for destination branding become a tough task.

In my mind, the foremost challenge in undertaking a destination branding pursuit is this realisation and equipping ourselves to overcome it.

The process thereafter, must take on the stages of defining a distinct differentiation platform and persona, communicate that persona with integrity and consistency, to be able to deliver on the promise.

A persona of a destination ideally must have a three dimensional construct consisting of sincerity, excitement and conviviality.

A destination personality influences the destination image and vice versa. The real success of a good destination branding strategy is in its ability to get those who have experienced the destination to recommend it to others.

Here the conviviality dimension of radiating the warmth, caring and light-heartedness takes over and moderates the impact of even the cognitive (factual or reason based) image associated with a destination.

In the context of Sri Lanka, we need a 'Brand Sri Lanka' that engulfs it all. A Sri Lanka Inc. platform that represents what we could and should stand for. We need to find a unifier seeking a canopy that brings within it, the diversity of this 'Land Like No Other'.

As Karen Post in her December 2004 article in BrandChannel.com, titled 'Brandtown: Destination distinction or disarray' states, "Clearly there are well-branded destinations. Bravo for those gallant efforts. These destinations have crisp stories, distinct attributes, and consistent messaging, and deliver the brand promise at all touch points. They affix a vivid brain tattoo on the minds of their markets.

On the other side of the map are many lost destinations and leaders who don't quite get it.

They think the brand is a jazzy logo or a catchy tagline. They think a costly ad campaign is the big ticket, and most of all they are oblivious to the destructive power of un-united forces within their destination.

A city or destination brand is the sum of what the market thinks when they hear the brand name. It's how they feel when they arrive at the destination's website or experience other communication, and it's what they expect when they select one place over another.

An effective destination brand resonates through all touch spots, including but not limited to the physical environment, entry and exit points, signage, marketing, residents' attitudes, transportation venues (airports, highways), events, web presence, visitor services, and leadership.

Most of us in creative pursuits know that the best way to kill big ideas is to run them through committees.

There needs to be cutting edge decision making with a collective buy-in reaching beyond the individual's spectrum of knowledge, expertise, experience and comprehension.

It's time for us to get on with it. Let us think global and act intrinsically local. That should stand us in good stead.