Search results matching tag 'New Zealand'

Rebranding Mauritius: what’s gone wrong?

2677497 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:44:00 GMT

By Sean Carey and Laura North

At the World Travel Awards last week in London, Mauritius lost out to the Maldives in most major categories. The Maldives received Indian Ocean's Leading Destination, Leading Hotel, Leading Resort, Leading Travel Agency and a host of others. Mauritius had to make do with winning Leading Airline for Air Mauritius.

Image of Mauritius by parkylondon on flickr.com

What is Mauritius doing wrong? It’s a question that the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority must have been asking.

It has tried to solve the problem by employing London-based agency Acanchi to create a new identity for Mauritius, and the result was unveiled last month.

With such a beautiful island paradise to promote, you might wonder why it’s taken 18 months and 31 million Mauritian rupees (£617,998) to come up with the new slogan: “Mauritius – It's a pleasure” or, the official version in French, “Mauritius – C’est un plaisir”.

Will the slogan help them beat the Maldives at the World Travel Awards 2010?

Unfortunately not. The slogan will do little to help as it fails in key areas.

You can ask three questions when evaluating the effectiveness of a slogan. Is it specific and not generic? Is it simple or short and easy to remember? Does it create a positive impression?

So how does “It’s a pleasure” do on the first question? This is its biggest failure: the phrase is too generic and could apply to almost any country in the world with a well-developed tourist sector and a reasonably friendly local population.

The country does better on the second question, is it simple and memorable? Al Ries, of American marketing company Ries and Ries, has pointed out that the most successful brands are ones which tend to have simple and short names attached to them. Think of Apple, Google and Nike, names that stand for instantly recognised products and services. The same is true of taglines.

The new Mauritian tagline is undoubtedly short and simple, but like the slogan that it replaces – “Mauritius – unforgettable experience” – it is a forgettable phrase. It doesn't have anything like the same impact as the taglines “Brasil – sensational!” and “Incredible India”.

And how about the third factor, creating a positive impression? “It’s a pleasure” gives an indication of the hospitality of the island, whether as a place to do business or as a place to relax. It certainly sounds like a nice place to go to.

But, according to Sen Ramsamy, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, writing in Le Mauricien, the phrase might be creating the wrong kind of positive impression. He says that “It’s a pleasure” could imply sexual tourism and “any remote suggestion to this type of tourism will prove simply disastrous."

Overall, ‘C’est un plaisir’ is much too open-ended and ambiguous for it to be effective in word-of-mouth communications.

When all three factors are present – non-generic, simple and positive – word-of-mouth communication happens more easily. And this type of marketing is very important in the promotion of a country's tourist industry.

Have other countries fared better when creating new identities for themselves? The answer is yes in the case of New Zealand. It topped a recent survey published by United Nations World Tourism Organisation and European Travel Commission where strengths of destination brands were rated by 165 National Tourism Organisations. Its branding was judged to be instantly recognisable, consistent and credible.

The tagline "100% Pure New Zealand" works well: it’s specific, simple and positive. Although the word "pure" is generic, it relates to individual perceived New Zealand attributes, acting as an umbrella for its agricultural produce, its values and natural environment. It’s easy to remember and it integrates the country's name into the sentence, creating an even stronger association.

Another good way to test an advertising slogan is to reverse it and then apply the new tagline to the brand’s competitors in order to tease out the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various positions.

New Zealand also does well in this test, especially when you compare it to densely populated urban areas. You can confidently state, for example, that the UK is not 100% pure, with its polluted cities. For urban dwellers, stuck in offices and breathing lungful’s of exhaust fumes, the purity of clean air and mountains evokes a pastoral idyll.

Mauritius fares less well. If you reverse the tagline for the Seychelles and the Maldives, for example, then it would suggest that these other Indian Ocean paradise islands were not a pleasure to visit, which clearly isn’t true.

The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority should look for a clear concept that puts Mauritius on the global tourist map. As Navin Ramgoolam, the Prime Minister of Mauritius, says, the country needs “a strong image that makes the difference”.

The island has to prove that it is better than its competitors, especially when the economic climate means that potential tourists are more likely to stay at home. Then Mauritius will be able to give the Maldives some competition in next year’s World Travel Awards.

Dr Sean Carey is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism (CRONEM) at Roehampton University. Laura North is a freelance travel writer.

The Haka: A brand evolution case study

1715701 — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:07:00 GMT

If any brand manager ever wanted an example of why it is important to constantly evolve and improve their brand, they need look no further than the New Zealand Haka.

Today the Haka is performed with such passion and ferocity that intimidated opposition constantly seek ways to respond to it else they enter the game a nervous wreck.

Some have tried advancing on the New Zealand team, while last weekend the Welsh players stood motionless and just starred them down. It was probably the best response I can recall and I hope England are working on a game plan for this weekend.

But the Haka wasn’t always so scary. Just take a look at this priceless effort from 1973...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emJyEa4z2Ec&feature=related

Can it get any worse for Carl Hayman?

1715701 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:39:00 GMT

You have to feel sorry for Carl Hayman.

The world’s best prop forward had several reasons (£££!) for signing for the Newcastle Falcons ahead of the 2007/08 rugby season. But he must be scratching his head at the moment.

The Falcons – who have sold England stars Matthew Tait and Toby Flood – are a pretty dire outfit, especially with the loss Jonny Wilkinson to injury yet again.

And had the 28 year-old remained in his native New Zealand he would still be an integral part of their preparations for the 2011 World Cup on home soil.

Instead the poor man finds himself dress in a pretty frock trying to flog a few family tickets for the team’s Guinness Premiership fixture against London Irish later this month.

Fair play to him and his team-mates for having a sense of humour to appear in the promotional campaign but surely this wasn’t what the big man signed up for!

(Hayman: top right)

Haka-ed off with the All Blacks (the New Zealand All Blacks that is)

1715701 — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:52:00 GMT

The New Zealand All Blacks are threatening to sue Launceston RFC, after the National League Division 2 minnows tried to trademark the name, ‘Cornish All Blacks’.

Paul Dalton, the NZRFU's commercial director, is quoted as saying. ‘In the professional era, the name ‘All Blacks’ is a highly recognisable, and commercially valuable, brand, with the NZRFU relying heavily on it for its revenue which, in turn, is vital to sustaining rugby at all levels in New Zealand.’

Once upon a time the All Blacks were revered in this country and adopted as a second team for many followers of the 15-man code. But over the years the good will has all but evaporated and this ridiculous non-sense does them no favours.

Apparently the Cornish All Blacks have used the moniker since 1948 and the episode reminds me of the equally ludicrous attempts by Victoria Beckham to sue Peterborough United FC for selling merchandise carrying their nickname ‘The Posh’.

Launceston RFC president Tony Randel summed up my feelings on this matter perfectly when he said, ‘We were dismayed but unfortunately not surprised when the New Zealand RFU objected to this move.’

Pervert Penguins save the planet

322703 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:32:00 GMT

There are some amazing stories around and some that just make you laugh. None more than the case of the two environmental campaigners who dressed up as penguins and were seen as being potential paedophiles.

If you thought they were nuts, meet Telford Council! This story comes straight out of the ‘Barmy Britain’ category. Telford & Wrekin Council have managed to reinforce the idea that people who become councillors are probably the last people on the earth who should be councillors. And certainly not let near children! They obviously have little else to do than panic.

Having been reading too many stories about Gary Glitter in the News of the World, they fear that Telford’s children are being preyed upon by dirty old men, so they have started targeting any single men in the local parks. They claim they are trying to prevent paedophiles and perverts preying on kids and womenn. No doubt they’ll also evict Arabs and muslims (who may be terrorists), anyone with a hood (could be a mugger) or any large red people with horns (could be Hellboy).

So when Rachel Whittaker and her friend (note, not a man) were spotted dressed in penguin suits giving out leaflets to educate kids about climate change, a pair of fascist park keepers moved in and moved them on. Not surprisingly, the penguins got the last laugh with lots of publicity, meanwhile Telford got egg on their face.

For great fun in the ethical arena pop The Gruen Transfer into YouTube and enjoy. You find some great ads promoting child labour and the benefits of global warming. Yes, that’s right. The former ads points out that kids in the third world earn money, learn about responsibility and the value of work young. Stay health and learn skills. By contrast, kids in the West are spoilt, get fat, watch TV all day and corrupt their minds with violent video games. They have a point.

Global warming is helping people who live on the streets. So every time you drive you car you can feel good that you’re helping people not freeze in winter. There are a few of many very funny ads from this Australian TV programme The Gruen Transfer that likes to take the mick out of advertising, the world and especially New Zealand – “lets invade New Zealand” is the cry of one ad. They especially like to tackle subjects that others wouldn’t dare. And finally, take a trip to the world of SPAM “it’s a big world out there, and it’s full of meat.” What a great slogan It may not be organic or vegetarian, but the US site is kitsch to the point of art.

There’s even a museum “sure beats an art museum and it’s free”. Or check out the merchandise – SPAM costumes, boxer shirts, ties and everything you could want for Christmas presents. You can even join their fan club. We once set SPAM as a brief for a D&AD workshop – after all, who better to sell it to than students – they’ll eat anything. The best lines were “All meat no greens” and “If you want greens, leave it out on a plate for a week.”. Nothing like truth in advertising.