Linking Culture and the Environment

134 Destination and Place Branding
include behaviours such as creating and managing networks. This complex
web of relationships with a variety of other organizations seems to
be of particular importance to place marketing/branding.
Hankinson (2004) continued to present his model of the relational network
brand. At the core of the model is the brand’s identity and its extensions are
its relationships with stakeholder groups, these include consumers (also
residents and employees), media, infrastructure and services. He applies his
model to place branding, and through his conceptualization recognizes a
more complex perspective on branding and the destination. However, he
does not consider the unique geographic and cultural identity attached to
the place. One of the major differences between these products and places is
that goods and services are being created and destinations already exist
within a particular bioregion. They have geographical, cultural and historical
roots and have names already associated with them. They cannot be created
as brands but their brand images, identities and associations can only
be managed, influenced, repositioned, enhanced, etc. The idea of a destination
brand is much more complex than a product brand and needs further
consideration.
Destination Brand
Destination brand is a fairly new concept in tourism research but has
gained a lot of attention by marketing managers. Broadly defined, it refers
to the holistic reputation a tourism destination has achieved. However,
DMOs often associate branding with the development of logos and tag
lines (Blain et al., 2005). Comprehensive analyses of branding are rare compared
to applied case studies or destination image analyses. The exceptions
are Morgan et al.’s (2002) book, Destination Branding: Creating the Unique
Destination Proposition, which provides a positive outlook on brand management
strategies for places. Also, Cai (2002) suggested distinguishing between
the formation of a destination image and the branding of it. He offered a theoretical
model for cooperative branding for rural destinations and developed
a model of destination branding. Morgan et al. (2002) offered a refreshing
mixture of academic and applied thoughts on branding without extensive
debates on definitions and exemplifying a step-by-step guide to destination
branding. The book laid out case studies of countries that intentionally developed
brand strategies. For several countries it was important ‘to root the
brand identity in the realities of the country in a way that taps into the beliefs
of the people actually living and working there’. This is an important consideration
versus the ‘image creation’ strategy. Perhaps here, we start recognizing
the significant differences between destination image and destination
brand. The image is perceived by the tourists, while the brand may be based
on a core identity that is identified by the residents. The brand/destination
image may then be a reflection of how well that identity is represented
through marketing strategies.