I was recently at a well-known exhibition for the conference and meetings industry in Barcelona. As ever, the range, breadth and different styles of stands was remarkable as was the variety of ways in which exhibitors were trying to entice you onto their stands with song, dance, drink and in the case of the Netherlands, a wiry haired, fun-loving guy in an orange suit, orange shoes and an orange tie who goes by the name of Mr Holland.
But one of the interesting ways in which the destinations were trying to differentiate themselves from their competition was in the use of taglines and slogans that they chose to plaster over their stands to express the essence of their places.
Which got me thinking. Do they work? Do they add something which isn’t already implied in the name of the destination itself?
There seemed to be a number of different approaches that destinations had taken in creating and adding a tagline. See what you think of their offerings:
1. The Practical or ‘We weren’t in the mood for creativity’
Malta Made for Meetings
Senegal Safe & Stable
Mauritius MICE in Style
Dubai Where Infrastructure Meets Innovation
Madrid Making Business a Pleasure
Zagreb A Smart Place to Meet
Meet in Remarkable Rwanda
(Note: MICE is shorthand for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions)
2. The Storytellers or ‘There is more to us than hen parties and beaches’
Egypt Where It All Began
Morocco The Country That Travels Within You
Greece All Time Classic
Montenegro Wild Beauty
Czech Republic Land of Stories
Zimbabwe A World of Wonders
The Seychelles Islands Another World
Guatemala Heart of the Mayan World
3. The Emotional or ‘How this meeting will change your life’
Poland Move your Imagination
Cyprus In Your Heart
Paraguay You Have to Feel It
Japan New Ideas Start Here
4. One Word Wonders or ‘Splash an adjective or three and see if it adds something’
Brazil Sensational
Wonderful Indonesia
Magical Kenya
Incredible India
Valencia Incredible But True
Essential Costa Rica
Faroe Island Unspoiled Unexplored Unbelievable
5. The Surreal or ‘Shall we just pick some words out of a hat?’
Colombia Is Magical Realism
6. The Apologetic or ‘Please visit us! Please! We promise to be nice’
Hungary More Than Expected
Abu Dhabi Travellers Welcome
7. The Inclusive or ‘Yes we’ve got something for everyone (or is that nothing for anyone)’
Dominican Republic Has it all
And my all-time favourite…..
8. The Country Name or ‘We think this is enough’
Peru
I have to say I admire Peru – Sometimes saying what the destination brand is supposed to stand for by adding a tagline or slogan doesn’t add anything at all. The destination name itself implies all manner of stories, images and feelings that a few extra words aren’t really adding to.
But if you had to come up with a slogan for Peru what would it say?