Complacency threatens tourism drive

Brand image

Country and city images are usually formed through tourist experiences and word-of- mouth communication, but by far the most important influence is media coverage. Traditional media such as television, newspapers and radio still dominate here. Unfortunately this is an area where China, and to a certain extent Beijing, has a lot of work to do. Food safety and other corruption scandals all too often eat up media space. The Chinese government, as well as reacting to the latest scandal to hit the news pages, needs to develop more informative promotional campaigns that depict the real, modern, comfortable China A positive, assertive approach is called for.

The area of brand personification - creating a brand that is perceived by consumers as having human characteristics, can help in building a new, modern image of China and Beijing. Brand personification works best when famous people are firmly associated with a brand and China can now boast a plethora of internationally famous superstars from many different walks of life, for example Li Na, Liu Xiang and Yao Ming from the world of sport, Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li, both hugely successful Hollywood actors, and the internationally acclaimed pianist Lang Lang. These world famous Chinese people should be heavily involved in rebranding China's image across the world over the long term. More and more success internationally in sport and entertainment for people, especially younger Chinese people, should be seized upon and promoted vigorously as an example of the modern, vibrant China.

Brand promise

Even those most successful tourist destinations, of which China is fast becoming the leader, must never dwell on their achievements and allow complacency to set in. Brand promise is about new, exciting tourist attractions that will soon add to a destination's appeal.

Brand China can lay claim to amazing architectural innovation here with the 2008 Olympic stadiums such as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, as well as the aesthetically pleasing China Central Television building that sits majestically overlooking the central avenue that runs east-west through Beijing, Chang'an Avenue. Despite this, more is needed, especially in second- and third-tier cities that cannot boast anything like the avant-garde architectural initiatives of Beijing.

Perhaps most important of all is the issue of complacency as China moves into pole position. Many of the most successful brands soon fade as a result of neglect caused partly by the euphoric blindness brought on by such success. Product brands such as Jianlibao (a Chinese soft drinks brand that rivaled Coca-Cola in the 1990s) are prime examples of how quickly success can be followed by failure.

Brand building of China as a tourist destination as well as China's major cities and scenic "hot spots" needs a long-term, strategic plan, coordinated across the country with government, media and the most famous Chinese heavily involved. Tourism across China is an exciting, growing industry but lacks brand management, which is critical if sustainable competitive advantage is to be maintained in the face of intense competition.

The author is a visiting British professor of brand management at China Agricultural University. The opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily 09/16/2011 page8)