mekong branding paper apjtr

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Towards a Mekong Tourism BrandPeter Semone a & Metin Kozak ba Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, Vientiane, Lao People'sDemocratic Republicb Mugla University, Mugla, Turkey

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Towards a Mekong Tourism Brand

Peter Semone1 and Metin Kozak2∗1Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic

Republic2Mugla University, Mugla, Turkey

In early 2008, the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Office (MTO) led a noteworthyregional tourism brand development exercise, the objective of which was to create amore recognizable identity for the Greater Mekong Subregion’s (GMS) burgeoning hos-pitality and tourism industry. This paper provides a synopsis of the stakeholder-inclusiveapproach taken by the MTO to develop a tourism logo and slogan for the GMS. Thebranding exercise was part of a larger marketing plan for the subregion and applied avery practical methodology. In total, the Mekong Tourism brand development was con-ducted in five phases, each of which is described in this paper along with any relevant andpertinent lessons learned. The paper ends with a summary of implications for the practicalimplementation of the study findings.

Key words: destination marketing, destination branding, stakeholder approach, casestudy

Introduction

The United Nations World Tourism Organiz-

ation (UNWTO) forecast that well over one

billion international annual tourists would

spend almost one trillion US dollars annually

in over 100 countries around the world in the

2010s. When all of the direct and indirect econ-

omic and social benefits of tourism are con-

sidered, its contribution to a nation’s foreign

exchange earnings, employment, poverty alle-

viation initiatives and social inclusion pro-

grams can be hugely significant, particularly

to developing economies. With tourists

around the world spending an average of

US$2.7 billion a day, it is no wonder that the

competition among destinations is fierce.

With thousands of tourism destinations trying

to attract potential visitors with their golden

beaches, exotic cultures, snow-covered moun-

tains and smiling people, it is difficult for a

place to stand out from the rest; and with the

emergence of 24/7 cable television, social

media and an information-hungry public,

Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, iFirst article, 2011

∗Email: [email protected]

Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, iFirst article, 2011

ISSN 1094-1665 print/ISSN 1741-6507 online/11/000001–20 # 2011 Asia Pacific Tourism Association

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2011.635663

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getting the international travelers’ attention is

no easy feat. For any destination marketer,

tourism entrepreneur or public policymaker,

the difficulty is in finding a way to stand out

from the competition. In today’s competitive

tourism marketplace, identifying and capitaliz-

ing on “destination differentiators” is the key

to success.

In early 2008, an exercise in tourism brand

development was undertaken by the Mekong

Tourism Office (MTO). The objective was to

create a more recognizable tourism identity

for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

This paper provides a synopsis of the consulta-

tive approach that was taken to develop a

tourism brand through a stakeholder input

process. The branding exercise was part of a

larger marketing plan for the subregion, por-

tions of which are included in this paper and

which describe in considerable detail the

context of the branding exercise.

The five phases to the MTO brand develop-

ment approach can be summarized as follows.

1. Identity of a commonly agreed upon “desti-

nation theme” and “core messages” that

the Mekong Tourism brand should com-

municate and convey. During this phase

initial conceptual ideas both in terms of a

logo design and a supporting slogan were

developed. This was done through exten-

sive interactive focus group discussions

and the engagement of a graphic artist.

During this phase, the choice of logos/

slogans was narrowed to four.

2. Administration of an online survey in which

participants were asked to rank their visual

preferences of the four options developed in

phase 1. Survey participants were also asked

to provide relevant comments.

3. Administration of a second survey, following

further refinementof the logo/slogan options

presented in phase 2. Two options, represen-

tative of broad stakeholder input, resulted

from the online survey. The second survey

was conducted at a Bangkok SKAL Club

meeting. SKAL is an international grouping

of travel professionals. The 46 SKAL

members present at the meeting, all of

whom were engaged in one way or another

with Mekong Tourism, indicated a clear pre-

ference among the two options.

4. Final refinement of the logo was under-

taken based on the phase 3 outcomes. It

was thereafter presented to the GMS

Tourism Working Group (GMS-TWG),

which eventually adopted the resultant

logo and slogan as representative of the

official brand of Mekong Tourism.

5. Modification of the slogan was rec-

ommended by the GMS-TWG after nearly

a year in the travel and tourism market-

place. The GMS-TWG endorsed a more

comprehensive and descriptive slogan to

include the words “six countries . . . one

river”.

This paper provides a detailed description of

each of the above-mentioned phases and the

lessons learned. The paper begins with a

section that presents an overview of the

current literature on how to develop a path for

destination branding. It continues by describing

the institutional role of regional destination

marketing organizations such as the MTO,

which will provide the reader with the necessary

context to understand how and why the brand-

ing exercise was undertaken. The paper ends

with a summary of implications for the practical

implementation of the study findings.

Literature Review

Over the last decade, branding has become an

increasingly popular marketing tool because of

2 Peter Semone and Metin Kozak

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a changing business environment marked by

increasing competition and consolidation of

corporations. In the tourism industry, both the

accommodation and restaurant sectors have

successfully applied the branding concept to

build unique identities and differentiate them-

selves from their competitors. Hilton, Sheraton,

Club Med and McDonald’s are some of the

examples of accommodation and food service

brands successfully implemented on the

national and international arena. Realizing the

benefits of branding in acquiring a competitive

edge in both domestic and international travel

marketplaces (Dwyer & Chulwon, 2003;

Heath & Wall, 1992; Kozak & Baloglu,

2011), many destinations have also been

trying to adopt branding strategies that are

used in product and service industries.

The basic assumption is that geographic

locations – much like products and people –

can also be branded. Thus, the literature

describes destination branding at the general

country level (Kozak & Baloglu, 2011) and

in some cases particular countries such as

Britain (Hall, 2004), New Zealand (Morgan,

Pritchard, & Piggott, 2003) or Denmark

(Ooi, 2004). Meanwhile, others focus on

branding nations (Fan, 2006) or states such

as Oregon (Curtis, 2001) and even regions

such as Central and Eastern Europe (Hall,

1999), Western Australia (Crockett &

Wood, 1999), the Alps (Pechlaner, Raich, &

Zehrer, 2007), Pays Cathare (Woods &

Deegan, 2003) and Alto Minho (Edwards,

Fernandes, Fox, & Vaughan, 2003).

Additional empirical evidence suggests the

branding of countryside such as Surrey Hills

(Nininen, Hosany, & Ekinci, 2007) or even

rural destinations (Cai, 2002). There are also

several examples of research on city branding

issues (Merrilees, Miller, Herington, &

Smith, 2007; Phillips & Schofield, 2007;

Trueman, Klemm, & Giroud, 2004).

According to Gnoth (2007), branding a

destination means offering place values for

tourist consumption. Ritchie and Ritchie (1998,

p. 103) define a destination brand to be “a

name, symbol, logo, word mark or other

graphic that both identifies and differentiates

the destination; furthermore, it conveys the

promise of a memorable travel experience that

is uniquely associated with the destination; it

also serves to consolidate and reinforce the recol-

lection of pleasurable memories of the destina-

tion experience”. In fact, marketing of many

destinations does not begin from a zero base

(Hankinson, 2004). Pechlaner, Raich, and

Zehrer (2007)explain reasonablebrandmanage-

ment as contributing extensively to a desti-

nation’s success or failure and ensuring an

effective use of resources actively to maintain

and reinforce unique values of the products as

signified by the brand. Morgan, Pritchard, and

Pride (2005) propose that a successful destina-

tion branding initiative should comprise trust,

quality and lifestyle connotations that consumers

can associate with them. Place branding there-

fore inevitably becomes a coordinated process

rather than a managed activity (Hankinson,

2004).

Every city has its own name, which can be

used as an analog to a brand for products

and services. Next, branding strategies take

into account direct and indirect competitors,

incorporating positioning strategies. Also, the

assessment of city branding includes evalu-

ations of marketing activities such as advertis-

ing effectiveness, positioning analysis,

competitive performance analysis and market

segmentation. Consumers are bombarded

with choices that are easily substitutable

because more and more cities try to attract

visitors to gain economic benefits. Most

places emphasize attributes of attractiveness

such as friendly people, beautiful scenery or

nice facilities, which no longer help potential

Towards a Mekong Tourism Brand 3

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visitors distinguish and choose among

competing cities. Therefore, it is crucial for

countries or cities as tourism destinations of

varying sizes, regardless of their size, to differ-

entiate themselves from others by fostering

their “unique” identity or personality, based

on their core values (Kozak & Baloglu,

2011; Ritchie & Crouch, 2003).

On the other hand, branding major cities

could be relatively more effective and efficient

than branding other cities within a country,

ceteris paribus. Major cities are usually the

places that attract the highest proportion of

domestic or international tourists visiting a

country (e.g. London, Istanbul, Paris,

New York), particularly in the context of

business tourism. It is well known that Paris

is a major factor in drawing millions of tour-

ists to France. Generally speaking, major

cities in Europe are usually the capital cities

and have a higher rate of recognition owing

to their association with politics and the result-

ing high visibility in the media. Though not the

capital of Turkey, Istanbul, as a major urban

destination, is revealed as a highly recognized

city of Turkey. Jensen and Korneliussen

(2002) contend that particular places or cities

in a country, such as London, Paris, Rome

and Istanbul, can act as “halos” or

“summary constructs” for the whole country.

Additional approaches such as co-branding

and creation of partnerships in tourism desti-

nations are recommended by academics (Cai,

2002; Prideaux & Cooper, 2002; Telfer,

2001) because without common vision and

synchronization of branding and marketing

processes the implementation of branding is

not easy or effective. The idea of a strong

brand umbrella and the coordination of activi-

ties under the same brand concept (logo,

slogan, brand identity, mission, vision,

values, etc.) are crucial in brand extension

and developing the idea of cooperative brand-

ing. The existence of both private and public

sectors and different managerial approaches

also complicate the process of branding.

The creation of partnerships in destination

branding can also improve the funding

process and increase the availability of

finances for marketing and promotion pur-

poses. However, it is important to conclude

that “a successful brand campaign leading to

increased yields for local businesses does not

translate into increased revenue of DMOs

[destination marketing organizations]” (Pike,

2005, p. 181). The idea of partnerships in

order to improve branding has been developed

in Western Australia through the establish-

ment of advisory councils in order to support

marketing (Crockett & Wood, 1999).

Success of branding depends on the under-

standing by government of marketing con-

cepts. Henderson (2007, p. 269) discusses the

success of branding and tourism in Singapore

through good conceptual planning and finan-

cial support. This has enabled Singapore to

achieve a competitive position and to gain

new businesses and events (Henderson,

2007). An orchestra playing synchronized

music together serves as a strong metaphor

for successful destination branding; where all

partners play in unison the melody outlined

in the marketing strategy of a destination.

Mekong Tourism Office InstitutionalReview

This section of the paper describes the MTO

and its standing as the leading subregional

tourism institution for the six Mekong

countries. The MTO was formed in January

2006 as the coordinating institution for the

implementation of the GMS tourism develop-

ment and marketing agenda as outlined in

the GMS Tourism Sector Strategy (TSS).


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The stated institutional mission of the

MTO is:

to develop and promote the Mekong as a single desti-

nation, offering a diversity of good quality and high-

yielding subregional products that help to distribute

the benefits of tourism more widely; add to the

tourism development efforts of each GMS country;

and contribute primarily to poverty reduction,

gender equality and empowerment of women, and

sustainable development, while minimizing any

adverse impacts. (www.mekongtourism.org).

Prior to the establishment of the MTO, the

Agency for Mekong Tourism Activities

(AMTA) was charged with orchestrating subre-

gional marketing. AMTA, which was headquar-

tered at the Tourism Authority of Thailand

(TAT), was discontinued in late 2005 and the

responsibility of GMS subregional tourism mar-

keting was assumed by the MTO. At the time,

there was only a marketing-focused agenda

linked to AMTA and development-related

issues were relegated to the GMS-TWG, the

Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Pacific

Asia Travel Association (PATA). Throughout

this early period, the logo shown in Figure 1

was used to brand both the collaborative frame-

work of the GMS-TWG members as well as des-

tinationMekong.The thinking behind this rather

abstract logowas to show ariver flowing through

six countries, each depicted by a face.

The marketing mission statement of the

MTO is to increase the number of high yield

subregional travellers (ADB, 2005), whereby

high yield is defined as someone who stays

for 10+ days and/or has per diem expendi-

tures of US$100+ per day and subregional tra-

veler is defined as any person who visits two

or more GMS countries during any single

visit to the subregion. The marketing plan

slightly modified the marketing mission by

defining the focus market as long-stay and

above-average-spending visitors rather than

high yield (MTO, 2008). In the context of

the overall marketing strategies for the subre-

gion to 2015, the key marketing objectives to

2010 as set out in the TSS Action Plan are

to: develop and strengthen the subregional

institutional capacity to market the subregion

as a single destination; enhance subregional

product development and product quality;

and enhance the promotion of the subregion

as a single destination (ADB, 2005).

In recognition of resource limitations and

capacity constraints when the MTO was

launched in 2006, a modest step-by-step

approach to implementing the marketing

program was proposed in the TSS Action

Plan (ADB, 2005). These steps included:

1. Launch a modest campaign to present a

unified Mekong tourism branding through

a consistently updated web page presence,

collateral development engaging the ser-

vices of a professional PR/advertising

group, arranging travel trade familiariz-

ation tours, presenting “The Mekong” at

Figure 1. Initial Version of Logo for Mekong.


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www.mekongtourism.org

regional trade shows and rebranding

AMTA as the Mekong Tourism Office.

2. Organize interactions with core interest

groups of the private sector (e.g. investors,

ground tour operators, tour operators of

generating markets, infrastructure develo-

pers, etc.) to engage them in dialogue,

present views of the potentials of Mekong

tourism and seek support for the program

as partners.

3. Energize and stage a relaunch of “Mekong

Tourism” as the universal thematic tourism

focus of the GMS with supporting collat-

eral and strategies, including private

sector-driven initiatives.

At the time of the writing of the MTO Mar-

keting Plan in November 2007, the above-

stated marketing steps (as prescribed in the

TSS) had been implemented either partially

or not at all and significant marketing efforts

were required (MTO, 2008).

MTO Finances

Since its inception in 2006, the operational

costs of the MTO have been underwritten

by an annual contribution of US$15,000 by

each of the member governments (Cambodia,

China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and

Vietnam). At the close of 2007, the MTO

account held an operating surplus of some

US$40,000. In addition to US$90,000 in

annual operational funding, Thailand’s Min-

istry of Tourism and Sports provided office

space (including utility costs). From August

2007, the French government seconded a

senior-level tourism expert to coordinate and

oversee implementation of the 28 develop-

ment projects identified in the GMS Tourism

Sector Strategy, which are part of the MTO

development agenda. In addition to the oper-

ating budget, the MTO had a marketing

budget of US$25,000, which comprised

residual AMTA marketing funds that were

transferred to the Mekong Tourism Coordi-

nating Office (MTCO) in 2006. This market-

ing money was earmarked to be spent in 2008

on enhancing the Mekong Tourism brand, the

MTO website and supporting collateral,

public relations activities and trade show

attendance.

Going Forward with the MTO MarketingAgenda

The limited marketing budget of the MTO dic-

tated that in the short term the subregion did

not have the luxury of the massive spending

power enjoyed by many competitive desti-

nations to draw visitors to the subregion.

Any marketing project undertaken by the

MTO in the short term needed to be highly

focused and aimed at developing a strong mar-

keting framework. In order to attract private

sector support for its marketing programs,

the MTO had to revitalize its institutional

credibility, which was viewed as “weak” at

best by key stakeholders.

A Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG)

comprising senior executives of regional

private sector organizations was formed to

provide advice and direction to the MTO’s

marketing program. During a 31 October

2007 meeting of the Advisory Group,

members expressed concern that the MTO’s

reputation had been seriously diminished as a

result of inactivity and lack of continuity. It

was unanimously agreed that if the MTO

were ever to receive financial support from

the private sector as prescribed in the TSS

Marketing Strategy it would need to establish

its relevance and authority as the “lead mar-

keting organization for cooperative GMS


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tourism” (MTO, 2008). It was furthermore

expressed by the private sector that in order

to be realistic, any financial contributions to

the MTO’s marketing activities must provide

clear and tangible returns on investment.

Comparable Regional TourismOrganizations

In light of the footprints of a benchmarking

exercise for tourist destinations (Kozak,

2002, 2004; Kozak & Baloglu, 2011), many

stakeholders have suggested that there are

lessons to be learned from understanding

how comparable regional tourism organiz-

ations market their respective subregions. An

Internet search using key words such as

“tourism association”, “regional tourism mar-

keting organization” and “regional tourism

cooperation” produced links to a number of

comparable tourism organizations similar to

the MTO. As a result of this desk research,

methods of marketing collaboration were

identified. Additionally, approaches to logos

and slogans in support of the regional brand

were reviewed. In total, six regional tourism

organizations were identified as being similar

to the GMS tourism endeavor. They are

described in the following subsections.

The African Travel and TourismAssociation

The African Travel and Tourism Association

(ATTA) creates a hub for the positive develop-

ment of travel and tourism in Africa. With over

350 members, it is Europe’s largest trade

association promoting Africa. Membership

covers all sections of the tourism industry.

They are drawn from those who supply the

product, including hotels, lodges, camps, air-

lines and ground operators, and those who

service the market throughout the world, tour

and web-based operators, travel agents, rep-

resentation companies, tourist boards and all

sectors of the media. The prime role of the

association is to channel information and

breaking news to its wide membership

through its sophisticated web distribution

email service “ATTAK”. National tourist

boards, the media, the British Foreign Office

and the membership itself use this distribution

facility to keep the industry informed.

Response time is fast and information is

quickly distributed. ATTAK enables members

throughout Africa and the UK to keep abreast

of the rapidly changing affairs of tourism.

Meanwhile, the ATTA logo and slogan

(Figure 2) were viewed as being strong in pro-

viding a sense of location and dimension of

the African continent as well as clearly stating

the organizational objectives of the associ-

ation. The logo seems to provide a strong insti-

tutional branding position for ATTA.

However, it does not appear to be directed at

the end user traveller.

The Baltic Sea Tourism Commission

The Baltic Sea Tourism Commission (BTC) is

a networking marketing association with the

aim of promoting tourism to the Baltic Sea

region in North America, Asia and Spain.

The main activities of the BTC include: press

Figure 2. An Example of a Logo for Africa.


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and trade familiarization trips, an annual

tourism conference, participation in tourism-

related projects, advocacy of the tourism

industry among political decision-makers,

cooperation with other Baltic Sea organiz-

ations and the provision of tourism

information. The BTC logo is unremarkable

in terms of any branding for either the insti-

tution or the Baltic tourism region.

The European Quartet

The European Quartet is a group of central

European countries including the Czech

Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

The organization has an annual budget of

E200,000–400,000, which is funded by

member governments and, to a lesser degree,

the private sector. Activities include: mainten-

ance of a common website, www.european-

quartet.com; a multi-language promotional

brochure (Chinese, Japanese and English);

statistical information press releases and

photo library; a common promotional video;

road shows to key markets; marketing work-

shops; and special interest promotions. The

logo is shown in Figure 3.

Greater Tumen Initiative (Joint TourismPromotion)

Tumen River Region Development Area, com-

prising China, North Korea, the Russian Fed-

eration and Mongolia, offers cultural and

natural heritage, and historic and wildlife-

based tourism products, targeting mainly

North East Asian and European markets that

seek soft and hard adventure experiences in

this once secluded area. The United Nations

Development Program and the Tumen

Program supported a familiarization tour of

the Tumen Region for selected tour operators

and travel journalists in October–November

1999. The participants from China, South

Korea and European countries assessed the

tourist attractions, facilities and services of

the area. They also had meetings with local

tourism officials and inbound tour operators

and travel agents to generate ideas about

multi-destination tours in the region. The

project included publication of a promotional

brochure for the Tumen Region entitled The

Tumen River Area – New Horizons in

Travel, which has been translated into

Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian and

widely distributed to local tourism agencies,

tour operators and travel journalists. The

project has been successful at increasing

awareness of the Tumen Region’s tourism

resources in key markets, and has been

helpful in terms of development of tourism

products in the area. The project has been

complemented by Tumen Program partici-

pation in a number of international tourism

fairs in Asia, which are good opportunities to

draw international attention to the attractions

of the Tumen Region as a tourist destination

(total budget of US$70,000). There appears

to be no concise branding in the form of a

logo or slogan for this initiative.Figure 3. An Example of a Logo for Central

European Countries.


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www.european-quartet.com

www.european-quartet.com

The South Pacific Tourism Organization

The South Pacific Tourism Organization

(SPTO) is the mandated intergovernmental

organization for the tourism industry in the

South Pacific. In the early 1980s, an informal

association of South Pacific national tourism

organizations was formed, which sub-

sequently became the SPTO. The SPTO is an

organization with a membership that substan-

tially represents both the public and private

sectors. Current full government member

countries include The Cook Islands, Fiji,

French Polynesia, Kiribati, New Caledonia,

Niue, Papua New Guinea, People’s Republic

of China, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga,

Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Private sector members

include over 200 of the major tourism oper-

ators in the region. The SPTO’s mission state-

ment is: “to be an internationally dynamic and

leading tourism organization in the develop-

ment of public and private sector tourism

businesses in the South Pacific”. Key market-

ing activities of the SPTO include: regional

branding; overseas representation; travel

show/road show coordination and facili-

tation; regional collateral material; regional

tourism magazine; website development and

promotion; Internet marketing; lead gener-

ation; tourism products database; and Internet

and marketing training/consulting. Mean-

while, the SPTO logo and slogan are clearly

focused on branding the organization and

the website rather than the South Pacific

(Figure 4).

Tourism Vancouver Island

Tourism Vancouver Island is a destination

marketing organization whose vision is “To

Position the Vancouver Island Region as a

Premier Destination”. The organization is a

not-for-profit association representing the

tourism stakeholders within the Vancouver

Island region, which includes all the islands

located between Vancouver Island and the

mainland coast and also includes coastal

areas of the mainland coast between Moses

and Bute Inlets. Tourism Vancouver Island is

one of six regional DMOs in British Columbia

that are contracted by the Tourism British

Columbia to deliver marketing initiatives on

behalf of the region. As part of this contract

each region administers the Tourism Partner

Program for their respective region. Through

the Tourism Partner Program, Tourism Van-

couver Island is able to offer tourism stake-

holders within the region the opportunity to

participate in marketing initiatives at greatly

reduced costs. In partnership with tourism sta-

keholders and Tourism British Columbia,

Tourism Vancouver Island coordinates over

US$1.5 million in advertising and promotional

campaigns targeted at driving tourism business

to the Vancouver Island region. The associ-

ation is governed by a board of directors that

is made up of industry professionals from

various parts of the Vancouver Island region.

The marketing committee meets regularly to

evaluate and recommend strategies and

tactics that are focused on reaching the vision

Figure 4. An Example of a Logo and Slogan for the South Pacific.


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of the association. The branding of Vancouver

Island is part of the overall British Columbia

logo and slogan of “Super, Natural”.

The above subregional groupings as well

as other individual competing destinations’

positioning concepts range over: landscape,

sightseeing and urban tourism based on shop-

ping and nightlife of Hong Kong, Macau,

Zuhai and Canton in the Pearl River Delta;

soft and hard adventure and Buddhist culture

in the Asia Subregional Economic Coop-

eration (SASEC); relaxation and fun in tropi-

cal island resorts of the South Pacific and

Caribbean; hard and soft adventure in the

Tumen River Area; and wildlife tourism in

the Southern African Development Commu-

nity (SADC). In Association of Southeast

Asian Nations, Malaysia positions itself as a

microcosm of Asia (Malaysia – Truly Asia),

whereas Singapore positions itself as an

urban tourism destination and gateway to

Asia (Uniquely Singapore). Within the broad

positioning framework among potential com-

peting regional destinations for its markets,

the GMS is distinctive in its ownership of the

Mekong River and its rich array of ethnic

peoples and cultures. What is clear from

seeing what comparable organizations are

doing in terms of marketing activities is that

any MTO marketing plan must include the

consideration of several core channels, includ-

ing: trade marketing, consumer marketing,

market research and intelligence, media and

public relations, global branding and Internet

marketing.

As for branding logos and slogans of the

various comparative regional tourism organiz-

ations, most appear to be more focused on the

positioning of the respective institution rather

than on the subregion being represented. The

exception to this is the European Quartet,

which has a brand that emphasizes the market-

ing of destinations more than institutions.

In the case of the MTO, the previously men-

tioned Mekong Tourism logo appears to be

trying to position both the institution and the

region. However, owing to the highly esoteric

nature of the logo, it arguably does neither

well. In the highly competitive global destina-

tion branding environment, it is unlikely that

the average consumer would have an appreci-

ation or understanding of the Mekong, or the

fact that it is comprised of six nations. This

reasserts the need for a destination brand

that is more explicit, understandable and

effective in its promotion of the Mekong

tourism region.

Case Study: The Mekong TourismBranding Exercise

This section describes how the MTO has

developed a subregional tourism brand for

the coordinated marketing efforts of Cambo-

dia, China (Guangxi and Yunnan Provinces),

Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam

(Figure 5). The evolution of the brand (and

supporting slogan) took place over a 2-year

period. The logo and slogan described in

phase 5 is the one the MTO is currently auth-

orized by the GMS-TWG to use for all subre-

gional marketing programs.

Phase 1: Defining Destination Attributesand Initial Logo/Slogan Designs

This phase entailed identifying Mekong

tourism attributes, developing supporting

descriptive words, and establishing an initial

slogan and logo. This phase lasted approxi-

mately 2 months and involved a lead consult-

ant as well as a focus group of 10

representatives of the public and private


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Figure 5. Map of Greater Mekong Subregion.


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sectors. A graphic design artist was also

engaged at this stage.

Initially, an overall evaluation of Mekong

Tourism was conducted by one of the

authors of this paper, as lead consultant, in

collaboration with various tourism industry

public and private sector stakeholders. It was

clear from the outset that the objective of the

exercise was to create a brand with a support-

ing logo and slogan that would go beyond the

existing Mekong Tourism logo in supporting

consumer awareness building and marketing.

It was agreed by the GMS-TWG that the exist-

ing brand was overly focused on promoting

the MTO as an institution rather than the

Mekong as a tourism destination.

Through content analysis, and review of

grey literature from the Asian Development

Bank and other institutions (both private and

public sector) by the lead consultant, core

themes used in describing Mekong tourism

were identified. Three core elements emerged

immediately, namely: nature, community and

culture (Table 1). Ten focus group members

were identified, which included a cross

section of both public and private sector stake-

holder representatives. In informal ad hoc

meetings with focus group participants, the

three core elements were evaluated for their

individual suitability and merit. The focus

group participants were also asked to identify

activities that they strongly associated with the

Mekong, resulting in a list of core tourism

activities. From this wealth of words produced

by the focus group members, an initial slogan

was developed by the lead consultant:

“Explore Asia’s Last Frontier: the Mekong”.

Following the above-described exercise of

building a brand foundation, a graphic artist

was commissioned to develop visual themes

that supported both the destination attributes

identified and the aforementioned initial

slogan.

This initial phase of the branding process

resulted in 15 treatments of the logo and sup-

porting slogan, as shown in Figure 6.

Table 1 Core Themes used in Describing the Mekong Region

Nature Community Culture

Eco-(lodges, tourism, tours) Tourism Reigion

Sustainable Village Heritage

Green People Buddhism

Verdant Market Animism

Nature-based Local Native

Diverse Rural tourism Tribal

Agro tourism Home stays Huts

Soft adventure Mekong Rustic

Water Pure Authentic

Untainted Indigenous Real

River Simple Fresh

Note: Associated tourism-related activities: cycling, trekking canoeing, hiking, rafting, elephant treks, self-drive holidays,backpacking, cultural exploration and camping.


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Figure 6. List of Logos Included in the Branding Colour online, B/W in print Exercise.


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Phase 2: Stakeholder Consultation

This phase entailed review of the initial logo

and slogan designs developed in phase 1 by

original focus group members as well as a

broader stakeholder audience through an

online survey. Various treatments developed

in phase 1 were first individually reviewed and

discussed with the 10 focus group members.

As a result of these consultations the lead

consultant was able to narrow the 15 logos to

a shortlist of four, as shown in Figure 7.

Subsequent to this phase of consultation

with the focus group members, an online

survey was administered using the open

source software Lime Survey (http://www.

limesurvey.org). The lead consultant circulated

an email to 200 individuals directly involved in

Mekong tourism asking them to participate in

the online survey and to rank from 1 to 4

(“1” indicating “most favorite” and “4” indi-

cating “least favorite”) the four logos and

provide any relevant comments. The email cir-

cular that was sent by the lead consultant in

early March 2008 appears in Appendix 1 of

this paper. The online survey was conducted

over a 2-week period and resulted in 120

responses (a 60% response rate), many of

which included detailed comments.

The online survey results identified logo

option C as the most preferred, with options

A and B a close second (see Appendix 2).

Perhaps more important than the ranking of

preferences was the variety of comments pro-

vided, which were incorporated into a

second round of logo and slogan development.

A particularly valuable comment was “why

not start off with your strongest brand asset:

MEKONG and say Explore the MEKONG,

Asia’s last Frontier”. This, along with other

comments, instigated the thinking that fewer

words may be more powerful in conveying

the Mekong Tourism brand and more easily

remembered by consumers. This resulted in

Figure 7. A Shortlist of Four Logos.


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http://www.limesurvey.org

http://www.limesurvey.org

the shortening of the slogan to simply

“Explore Mekong”.

Phase 3: Refinement and AdditionalStakeholder Engagement

This phase, which lasted 1 month, required the

re-engagement of the graphic designer and

another round of broad stakeholder consul-

tation. With a shortened slogan and a myriad

of comments on usage of colors and themes,

the graphic artist was asked to develop a new

version of the brand that incorporated this

common wisdom. This reaped two new treat-

ments, which were presented and voted on at a

Bangkok SKAL club luncheon. In total, 46

people voted on the two options, with the fol-

lowing results (see Figure 8). Four people

abstained from voting, indicating that they

did not like either of the options. Based on

the SKAL luncheon survey and additional

comments collected during individual inter-

views, the logo was refined further in an

attempt to incorporate as many constructive

observations as possible. The profile of the

Bangkok SKAL members is industry-focused

with mid- to high-level management represent-

ing travel agents, tour operators and hoteliers.

Phase 4: Consensus by the GMS TourismWorking Group (The MTO Board)

This phase, which lasted 1 month, entailed pre-

paring and delivering a compelling presen-

tation to the six country representatives for

final endorsement by the GMS-TWG or

Board of Directors, all of whom are public

sector civil servants. In May 2008, the final

version of the logo was presented to the

GMS-TWG by the lead consultant, and with

some final fine-tuning by the graphic designer,

responsive to Board-level comments, the

logo/slogan shown in Figure 9 was eventually

adopted as the Mekong Tourism brand. It

was used for all consumer marketing activities

of the Mekong Tourism Office on its consumer

website, www.exploremekong.org, from June

2008 onward.

Phase 5: Adjustments to the Slogan Text

This unanticipated phase, which occurred a

year later, led to the adjustment of the

Figure 9. The Logo Recommended.

Figure 8. Votes for the Two Shortlisted

Logos.


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www.exploremekong.org

slogan. In mid-2009, the GMS-TWG at the

behest of the Mekong Tourism Office sec-

retariat determined that additional descriptive

words in the slogan would help enhance

consumer awareness and understanding of

Mekong tourism. At their annual meeting,

the MTO Board voted unanimously to adjust

the slogan to read “Explore Mekong Six

Countries . . . One River”. This additional geo-

graphic description was seen as an enhance-

ment to the brand, which would potentially

improve the effectiveness of the Mekong

tourism brand in attracting consumer atten-

tion. The resultant logo/slogan is shown in

Figure 10. Since 2009, this has been the official

logo and slogan of the Mekong Tourism sub-

regional marketing effort.

Interestingly, it is noted that this entire

brand development exercise was respectful of

the limited financial resources of the MTO

and the steps recorded in this paper were com-

pleted with a budget of less than US$2,500,

making this a low-cost approach that is

easily replicable for even the most financially

cash-strapped of destination marketing

organizations. Of course, the approach relied

heavily on the goodwill of key industry stake-

holders to share their opinions and time.

Conclusion and Implications

Part and parcel of being competitive in the

international tourism arena is the need for a

recognizable destination brand. Branding is

typically done at the national level as a single

destination; however, increasingly often an

agglomeration of destinations will attempt to

attract visitors to a region, of either a single

country or a group of countries. Developing

logos and slogans that underpin destination

brands in marketing and promotion cam-

paigns can be a costly and complicated exer-

cise. The verbal and graphic artistic nature of

logos and slogans makes liking or disliking

them subject to personal opinion and tastes.

It is therefore almost impossible to develop a

logo and slogan that will be agreeable to every-

one. This should be accepted as fact from the

onset of any branding or rebranding process.

Therefore, as suggested in the literature

(Crockett & Wood, 1999; Fyall & Garrod,

2005; Morgan & Pritchard, 1998; Morgan

et al., 2003), encouraging stakeholder partici-

pation is a critical success factor for any

branding exercise, e.g. the stage of developing

and practical use of brands.

The study findings are valuable for

suggesting several implications in specific refer-

ence to the case of tourism authorities in

Mekong. In addition to heeding the advice of

the PSAG, the MTO has had to abide carefully

by the following marketing guidelines, which

were incorporated in the Marketing Action

Plan: (1) to maximize the potential of the Inter-

net as an effective marketing tool and source of

comprehensive visitor information; (2) to

facilitate coordinated joint marketing and pro-

motional activities with all stakeholders and

Figure 10. Revised Version of the Logo

Recommended.


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partners; (3) to encourage more effective and

targeted subregional tourism marketing based

on sound market research and understanding

of consumer needs; (4) to establish a stronger,

more systematic and coordinated basis for sub-

regional destination marketing by MTCO

member countries and the private sector; (5)

to increase awareness of the GMS by creating

a strong and distinct image (brand) and clear

positioning in target markets; (6) to facilitate

awareness of the subregion; and (7) to comp-

lement existing national tourism marketing

and promotion campaigns with a unified subre-

gional program.

Consequently, the character of tourism pro-

ducts, the influence of not only attractions and

direct tourism services but also the support of

infrastructure and services, has a significant

impact on the success of branding strategies.

Morgan and Pritchard (1998, p. 215)

mention that destination managers might

cope with significant obstacles during the

implementation of marketing and branding

strategies, especially three unique challenges:

a lack of control over the total marketing

mix, their relatively limited budgets, and

often over-arching political considerations.

Cooperation and strategic marketing,

strengthening the role of DMOs in a destina-

tion and branding are important for tourism

destination competitiveness and success.

Finally, this study has some limitations to be

assumed as directions for future research. First,

the Internet provides a powerful platform for

conducting online surveys that are visual in

nature. It is important that these types of

survey are individualized in order to ensure

the authenticity of the responses. It is probably

wise, therefore, to ask for full contact details

including name, email address and telephone

number. Second, it is also important to

provide a mechanism for individual comment

through which creative input and ideas can be

conveyed. A strong focus group comprised of

people with strong verbal and visual creative

stills is invaluable. This group can and should

be consulted throughout all phases of the

brand development process as it provides a

degree of continuity and consistency.

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Appendix 1. Email Circular for OnlineSurvey

Dear Friends

The Mekong Tourism Office is currently

working on developing a Destination Brand

for Mekong Tourism. This will be a critical

element in the Visit Mekong 2010 destination

marketing campaign.

Through considerable creative input by a couple

of wordsmith friends the campaign slogan has

been narrowed to The Mekong: Explore Asia’s

Last Frontier. This encapsulates the positioning

of the Visit Mekong 2010 campaign which

intends to focus on The Mekong as a nature-

based, eco-friendly, culturally exotic destina-

tion. Very much in the spirit of Community-

based (experiential) tourism which features pro-

minently in the GMS Tourism Strategy and the

National Tourism Strategies of the seven

member destinations of the Mekong.

Of course, one of the key elements of the cam-

paign will be to establish the right look and

feel of brand “Mekong Tourism”. Again,

through the kind assistance of a few graphi-


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cally skilled friends – in exchange for a few

beers – a number of logos have been designed.

Now we need to get opinions from a broader

audience.

Can I ask that you take a few minutes to par-

ticipate in the on-line Logo survey by clicking

on the following link: http://www.

mekongtourism.org/surv/index.php?sid=1

I would also be appreciative if you would

pass the survey link on to as many people as

you can: the more input the better!

Thanks for helping to get Visit Mekong

2010 off to the right start.

Peter Semone

Senior Adviser

Mekong Tourism Office

Appendix 2

Table A1 Online Survey Results

Results

No. of records in this query: 120

Total records in survey: 120

Percentage of total: 100.00%

SQL: SELECT count(∗) FROM survey_1

Field Summary for 1[1]:

Please rank the logos by preference with “1” being your favorite and “4” being

least favorite.[Ranking 1]

Answer Count Percentage

A (A) 27 22.50%

B (B) 22 18.33%

C (C) 56 46.67%

D (D) 15 12.50%





A (A) 20 16.67%

B (B) 26 21.67%

C (C) 34 28.33%

D (D) 40 33.33%

(Continued)


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Table 2. Continued

Results





A (A) 27 22.50%

B (B) 43 35.83%

C (C) 17 14.17%

D (D) 33 27.50%





A (A) 46 38.33%

B (B) 29 24.17%

C (C) 13 10.83%

D (D) 32 26.67%

PHPSurveyor

Version 1.0


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mekong branding paper apjtr

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