Discuss about the Branding Strategy For Corfu Island.
Island destinations have the benefit of being surrounded by natural beauty. However, it is important to promote island tourism strategically because no matter how beautiful the islands are, a weak strategy could result in oblivion. Island tourism concept has fascinated researchers of tourism throughout ages who attempted to examine the characteristics that distinguish islands (Fountoulaki and Jung 2018). A good branding strategy could boost island tourism. Branding strategy comprises an attractive slogan, marketing materials and a target market. All these elements have to be addressed in order to prepare a great brand.
The present report focuses on the branding strategy of Corfu Islands located in Greece. The report will first review the literature involving destination branding. In addition, the literature review will include developing a new brand for island destinations. Further, the report will provide an evaluation of the island chosen for the purpose and analyze its status. It will be followed by the presentation of a new brand strategy for the island.
Destination branding began attaining visibility during the ending years of the 1990s after its inclusion as the central theme at the 1998 Annual Conference of Travel & tourism Research Association (Ttra.com 2018). The conference saw the presentation of various destination branding examples including those of Hawaii, New Orleans, Canada and Oregon. Destination branding as a concept had developed during the 80s as well but with a different name – destination image studies. New York and Glasgow were amongst the first cities to have used the destination branding strategies with slogans like “I love New York” and “Glasgow’s miles better”. Other countries like Spain, Australia and Hong Kong followed suit and developed a strategic approach towards destination branding. These events indicated that destination-branding strategy incurred much significance over the years. Mili?evi?, Mihali? and Sever (2017) carried out a study on destination branding and its association with destination competitiveness and found that the two have very close connection. The authors state, “There is a need for understanding the role destination branding plays in achieving destination competitiveness”. On the other hand, Oliveira and Panyik (2015) focused on the modern challenges of destination branding that is digital challenges. The authors found that the integration of tourist-generated content into destination branding strategy would most likely generate brand value. However, state the authors, empirical research and studies on the role of social media content in shaping destination brands is lacking.
Island destinations in particular are the most attractive part of destination tourism and the most crucial part of destination branding. Liang (2017) highlighted the issue of managing island destinations. The authors mention that the “sustainable management of islands as tourist destinations differs as per their global positioning, nearness to large populations and location on sea routes and airlines”. Seraphin et al. (2016) are of the view that strategies that help promote destination tourism form a crucial part of destination branding. Brand elements like name, tagline and logo also play a crucial role in the branding strategy for destinations. Apart from the destination name, the island destination branding strategy requires equal attention to the logo and tagline. Researches on the importance of branding strategy for island destinations have found that differences in promotion by different island destinations affect tourist perception. As George (2017) has found, familiarity of tourists with various tourism activities and the rate of involvement in these activities vary considerably between islands. Tourists have shown greater familiarity with beach activities and have indulged in these in higher proportion.
Corfu is an island situated in the Ionian Sea in Greece. The second largest island in the Ionian, Corfu boasts of numerous historical and modern places to visit (See Appendix A) (Visitgreece.gr 2018). The iconic city mansions like Liston Arcade and the Spianada Square are some of the attractions of Corfu (See Appendix B). The island shelters a host of other small islands that include the mystical islands of Diapontia and Lazaretto (See Appendix C). Corfu, also known as Kerkyra is a place rich in history and tradition. UNESCO has declared the historic centers in Corfu as world heritage sites (See Appendix D). In addition, Corfu is amongst the greenest islands across Greece that gives tourists even more reason to visit. All these facts make the island one of the most sought after island destinations in the world. Many things are there in the island that tourists could find attractive. Some of these include visiting the Canon and Mouse islands, the Old Fort, the beaches of Sidari and the Canal d’Amour and many more (Visitgreece.gr 2018).
However, the increase in the number of tourists the island also meant that there was increase in wastes, pollution and carbon footprint. The tourism development department of the country has an isolated view of the island with focus only on the central coastal patches. The secondary roads are uneven giving a rough experience to tourists. One of the most glaring issues in the islands is the presence of a mountain of garbage stuffed in the garbage bins throughout the island. The situation has grown to be so worse that the European Union had to declare the main landfill of Corfu to be illegal (Telegraph.co.uk 2018). Villages within the island also disagreed to provide new landfills for disposing off the garbage thus escalating the problem further.
Coming to the branding strategy of the island, it lacks the edge that would attract maximum visitors. In the modern era of technology and emergence of social media, the island lags far behind in branding. The island was recognized as a tourist destination during the 1950s and became one of world’s first big tourist destinations. Even today, the island attracts loads of tourists every year. In 2017, the increase in the number of tourists was registered at 10% in the first four months (News.gtp.gr 2018). However, experts believed that this was a meager number that reflects sloth in the growth of tourism in this part. Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) like VisitGreece, AtCorfu and many such were given the responsibility to promote Corfu as an island destination across the world but the organizations also failed to leave any mark. Funded by the Greek Ministry of Tourism, the DMO had sufficient financial power to turn Corfu into the biggest island destinations brands in the world but it failed to do so (Terzidou, Stylidis and Terzidis 2018).
Corfu was once the world’s top tourist destination that was opened for public in the 1950s. Today, it boasts of being highest rated tourist’s destination in the country. Despite this fact, the island has managed to keep its authenticity intact. In order to make a brand known worldwide, it is important to understand the basic elements of branding. It is nonetheless important to note that branding strategy for island destinations differ significantly from branding strategy for other firms. Majorly, three areas need to be focused while preparing a brand strategy for islands (Law, DeLacy and McGrath 2017). These include slogans, marketing materials and the target market.
Slogan – In order to make a brand resounding, it is important for it to have a unique slogan. As mentioned previously, during the 1980s, cities like New York and Glasgow adopted branding strategies that had slogans that instantly attracted attention. Corfu too could have its own tagline or slogan that would draw the attention of tourists the world over. Greece, the country where Corfu is located itself has no remarkable tourism tagline like other countries. It just has a simple “You in Greece”. However, the country’s tourism slogan is considered one of the best by a leading UK newspaper. The “All Time Classic” slogan for Greece tourism does have a ring to it (Theguardian.com 2018). Slogan for Corfu Island could be prepared as per its major attractions:
Connect with History!
Come fall for Greece!
It’s good to be Greek!
These could be some of the slogans to promote not only the island of Corfu but also the country Greece.
Marketing material – marketing materials include brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and banners amongst others. In order to makes sure that Corfu receives adequate promotion, brochures containing the island’s images especially its satellite type mystical islands and historical buildings. The Unique Selling Point (USP) of Corfu is that it has remained untouched from the onslaught of tourist entering the country and populating most of the islands. Corfu is a secluded island much needed for the people in today’s era. Television advertisements and print ads could be used to portray the USP. The advent of social media would further enhance the branding of Corfu.
Target market – Market segmentation is important to prepare a good branding strategy. The brand should know who are its target customers or tourists in case of destination branding. Greece is in Europe that has probably world’s largest urban population who are willing to spend a good amount for a little vacation in the islands. Therefore, countries like UK, France and other EU nations frequently visit the island for vacations. The prime target for Corfu should be the elite and the royal class of countries like UK and France. With the availability of social media, the Corfu brand even reach out to the modern generation travel junkies mostly within the UK and France.
Conclusion
A good branding strategy involves the proper amalgamation of these elements. Corfu Island needs a good promotion as a brand so that it could flourish. In addition, it would also open new scope for employment and thus boost economy. The report provided the branding strategy for Corfu Island in Greece that attracts thousands of tourists especially from UK and France every year to Greece.
References:
Fountoulaki, P. and Jung, T.H., 2018. Tourism Distribution Channels in European Island Destinations. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1).
George, B.P., 2017. The evolution of destination branding: A review of branding literature in tourism. Journal of Tourism, Heritage & Services Marketing, 3(1), p.9.
Law, A., DeLacy, T. and McGrath, G.M., 2017. A green economy indicator framework for tourism destinations. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(10), pp.1434-1455.
Liang, A.R.D., 2017. Assessing the impact of co-branding of island destination and tourism activities on tourists’ reactions. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(5), pp.536-551.
Mili?evi?, K., Mihali?, T. and Sever, I., 2017. An investigation of the relationship between destination branding and destination competitiveness. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(2), pp.209-221.
News.gtp.gr. 2018. Tourist Arrivals on Crete and Corfu Show Growth, GEPOET says. GTP Headlines. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://news.gtp.gr/2017/05/31/gepoet-expects-rise-crete-corfu-tourist-arrivals/
Oliveira, E. and Panyik, E., 2015. Content, context and co-creation: Digital challenges in destination branding with references to Portugal as a tourist destination. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 21(1), pp.53-74.
Seraphin, H., Ambaye, M., Gowreesunkar, V. and Bonnardel, V., 2016. A marketing research tool for destination marketing organizations’ logo design. Journal of Business Research, 69(11), pp.5022-5027.
Telegraph.co.uk. 2018. Corfu. The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/greece/corfu/
Terzidou, M., Stylidis, D. and Terzidis, K., 2018. The role of visual media in religious tourists’ destination image, choice, and on-site experience: The case of Tinos, Greece. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(3), pp.306-319.
Theguardian.com. 2018. Tourism slogans from around the world. the Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/nov/21/tourism-slogans-around-the-world
Ttra.com. 2018. Travel and Tourism Research Association. Travel and Tourism Research Association. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://ttra.com/#
Visitgreece.gr. 2018. Visit Greece | Corfu. Visitgreece.gr. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.visitgreece.gr/en/greek_islands/ionian_islands/corfu
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