Question 2a: What are the important aspects and challenges in Destination Branding

(i.e., Place Branding)? Discuss them. (2 marks) Saly

What is destination branding:

“Destination branding is about identifying the most competitively appealing assets of the
destination in the eyes of its future visitors, assets in order to invoke certain feelings, values,
cultures, and the overall mindset that people experience when visiting a place and then
building a story from these assets that makes the destination stand out above its competitors,
and running this narrative consistently through all marketing communications.”

The aspects of destination branding:

Destination brand should have a clear point of differentiation, in addition to an original brand
story and a branding strategy that is imaginative, single minded and consistent.

Building a destination brand strategy include three main steps:

 Understanding and highlighting the market perceptions of the destination

 Capturing the unique essence of the destination and its special attributes
 Building on media and cultural references that link to the destination

Successful destination branding is all about that tangible experience at every touch point for the
visitors. This starts from the moment they start thinking about visiting the location, possibly
prompted by the successful marketing campaign, to the moment they arrive. Every one of those
‘brand experiences’ must positively reinforce what the brand stands for and what makes it
different to competitors, reaffirming the visitors that they made the right choice. The visitor
should leave ‘wanting to come back’ and enthusiastically referring the destination to friends
and family or better still extolling ‘the destinations virtues’ on social channels; because not only
they enjoyed the food, product or service, it is because they lived the experience fully and they
want to live it again.

For 6BP: Creating a consistent story is about feeling the excitement of the Bengali foodie.

The 6BP address itself had an aura of being contemporary but with a legacy, as it was that
particular part of the city that was inhabited by modern, elite, and liberal Bengalis.
6BP constantly threw out fresh ideas to refresh its consumer relationships. It had started
branding itself through the gastronomic aspects of numerous Indian, Bengali, and foreign
Festivals. It also took marketing to a new level when domestic airline IndiGo started
mentioning 6BP to its passengers arriving at Kolkata, just before the aircraft doors opened.

The challenges of destination branding:

External environment and politics: Destinations are highly affected and hampered by political
pressures. Destination marketers are extremely affected by short termism of the tourism
organizations political heads. One example is the destination brands in Israel which get
seriously affected and badly hurt each time a campaign against Israel is launched in Europe and
the west countries.

Destinations are not a single product but a combination of products and services that includes
accommodation, tourist attractions, entertainment, culture and natural environment.
Destination marketers have a relatively little or no control over these different components in
the task of creating brand identities.

Other external factors like civil wars or clashes, terrorism, disasters and political instabilities
affect badly the destination brands. Some studies concur that destination branding should be
married with crisis management strategies in order to turn a crisis into a profitable opportunity.
Some strategist marketers see that in the prevailing fragile world, the traditional notion of
positioning a destination is no longer effective. Destination brands need to position themselves
and their destinations in such a way that, despite uncertain conditions, they can exploit the
scarce windows of opportunities; which is a huge challenge that need lot of studies, effort and
investment.

Internally, other challenges are on the table. One is identifying the uniqueness that can be
converted into a unique selling proposition. Creating the distinguishing environment within a
place which allow the brand strategy to influence the way in which this place operates. In other
word, finding the right place and location that aligns with the brand vision and fit smoothly
within the brand concept.

The second challenge is building the consensus which allows the place to communicate in a
fresh, bold and imaginative way. It is about creating the message that truly reflects the
personality of a place and is equally effective across a wide range of different audiences.

For 6BP was trying to challenge the conventions of the eating-out industry in Kolkata. And so
they worked to deliver at both symbolic and experiential levels, all the features necessary an
outstanding destination restaurant: a quality of service like no other, a tasting food that bring-in
the taste of the cultural dishes, the ambiance that creates emotional connection with the visitors.
Figure 1: Four Functions of identity-based place brands (Kavaratzis and Hatch 2013)

Question 2b: Conduct a SWOT analysis for Savourites based on the provided
information. (3 marks)Saly

Strengths:

 A team that is experienced in catering services and a failure experience of founding and
managing a fusion restaurant that they left them a good learning.
 For 6BP, the team is a strong asset. Chef Sengupta, a master chef, was an expert in
Southeast Asian cuisine. He is described as the most passionate person about food and
cooking. Palit, a management expert with a career in the food and beverage industry
and had managed restaurants, including managing their infrastructure, ambience, and
personnel. Ramani, the catalyst for smooth operations, has worked outside the food
service and restaurant industry. A hotel management graduate with nine years of
experience in sales and marketing in the automotive sector.
 Location: Old ancestral house right in the heart of South Kolkata, which amalgamated
the idiosyncrasies of Indo-British architecture, was a revelation
 Strong brand image:
 6BP name: name after its address, in part because a Bengali name might be
difficult to pronounce. A name that roll nicely off non-Bengali tongues.
 Introducing certain distinguishing features that people loved like the use of
different metals (utensils) for different dishes.
 Unique identity for 6BP starting from the simple logo with well-thought of
shapes and colors and poetic menu, atmosphere that is inspired by the culture
  While 6BP grew, the holding company, Savourites, was also growing its catering
division. Taking advantage of the 6BP brand, the catering business had over 100
bookings a month and did not require much marketing.

Weaknesses:

 Maintaining the brand conversation through consistent experiential programs at all the
outlets
 Savourites, the catering services company and 6BP were quite connected. Any recession
that 6BP might face will definitely affect savourites reputation and business.
 multiple operations and multiple presences in various markets make a difficult business
situation where the organization needs to utilize various arrangements of skills that
match different markets.
 It is a premium restaurant brand that offers high quality food and thus all its products in
the portfolio are priced highly. Usually, this expands overall revenues yet decrease the
affordability of its items.
 6BP has all what it takes to grow and boom in Kolkata. Yet, it is not ready to go global as
it takes more than the destination alone.
 The wall that 6BP created in an upmarket in the city might detract from the company’s
core focus on providing the finest Bengali food, which in turn would affect customers’
delight.

Opportunities:

 Kolkata was the food destination of the country

 Competitor restaurants made sporadic forays into this space, but most of them had
remained stand-alone outlets.
 There were big restaurants out there with history in the market but their focus was more
on Kolkata food rather than Bengali food.
 Social media food blogging, food channels on YouTube, and the popularity of television
series such as MasterChef along with the influx of foreign tourists that increased are
factors that led to changes in the Indian food service industry
 The FDR segment in India was growing at around 14 per cent per year and it is set to
grow for many years to come
 The varied climate, topography, flora and fauna, culture, society, and religion were
factors that had influenced the country’s diverse gastronomy. Food was an integral part
of Indian life.
 The food service industry in Kolkata suggests that it is very challenging to sell Bengali
food to Bengalis. This can be both an opportunity because no other restaurant has done
it before and a threat by itself because it is very risky, the community might not accept
the concept of eating outdoor Bengali food.
Threats:

 The Bengalis of Kolkata being fussy eaters who were not comfortable having Bengali
food outside their homes. Indians were conventional and generally veered towards their
own cuisine.
 To gain an understanding of fine dining in India, you needed to go back a few hundred
years
 FDR segment is a niche outlet taking only 11% of the market after street food and
unorganized eateries and quick-service restaurants. And A sizeable proportion of the
restaurant’s customers were non-resident Indians and Bengalis staying outside West
Bengal. Thus, any decline in the touristic activities or small economic can highly affect
Savourites.
 Consumers in Kolkata were made to look beyond just food, they sought enriching
eating-out experiences. And so Savourites has to hold bar high
 Threats of new entry: Themed restaurants are appearing and entrepreneurs started to
think about Bengali themed restaurants.