En route for a new brand message for Cape Town

Responding to their new mandate for the City of Cape Town's destination marketing, Cape Town Tourism started reviewing brand Cape Town in relation to other top city destinations. A number of think tanks were held and a preliminary report published.

"It was clear that although Cape Town ranks among the top city destinations of the world, its brand image is fragmented, misunderstood and diluted. Countries, regions, states and cities, like large corporations, have begun rising to the challenge of communicating with power and persuasiveness. Furthermore, famous and successful cities are usually associated in people's minds with a single quality, promise, attribute or story. The competition amongst travel destinations is tougher than ever before. We cannot afford not to put out a confident and powerful brand message out to the world," says Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism.

Iconic

Underwhelmed by a sense of "same-old, same-old", website capeinfo.com approached Mel Miller, a font of great ideas and communication excellence (and probably better known for bringing IMAX to SA), for his thoughts.

He cut through the clutter immediately with an inspired, "It has to be Iconic Cape Town"

"Cape Town is the brand," says Mel. "What Cape Town represents - what it has to offer and what it is known for - needs to be communicated instantly and effectively. The brand message needs to do that.

"We have so many memorable, recognisable and revered icons, it makes complete sense to capitalise on them. As a collective then, we can make one crisp, concise promise - Iconic Cape Town." (The issue is not about logos, slogans or complex strategies.) It's about simplicity of communication - "iconic" being the language and experience of our customers. (Operators at the rock face of tourism confirm this to be true. It's the conversation they have with visitors daily.)

CapeInfo set about testing the brand concept by updating its "Introduction to Cape Town" page. Iconic Cape Town is a powerful statement, a promise and, when one explores it fully, has the legs to carry the city to its rightfully unique position on the world stage. It is designed to work at a generic and a product level.

Iconic - not just visual
"Iconic" is rich with meaning, not just visual. One of the city's greatest icons is not primarily visual at all. Robben Island should be deeply ingrained in Cape Town's brand message with its iconic symbolism of "a triumph of the human spirit against the forces of evil, a triumph of wisdom and largeness of spirit against small minds and pettiness; a triumph of courage and determination over human frailty and weakness."

For many visitors, experiencing a genuinely warm welcome amid indescribable poverty while on a township tour is an iconic moment, so you should visit the new, surprising and inspiring "Introduction to Cape Town" page. It says it all but can grow to encompass much more.

However, it's public ownership that makes a brand great, so CapeInfo decided to publish the proposal, under Mel's guidance, with a public invitation to comment and vote.

Get involved!

Getting the public involved in the branding debate has been enthusiastically received by Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism:

"I love Iconic Cape Town. It is simple, but powerful and tells the story of our city. Iconic Cape Town captures the diversity, richness, beauty, history and complexity of the city. But for a brand message to be truly effective and real, it must be embraced, shared and lived by the people of the city. If not, it is reduced to a meaningless strap line without soul. Cape Town Tourism looks forward to being part of the process and hearing what our fellow Capetonians have to say."

However, it's not only Capetonians who are invited to comment… it is important that the brand also works beyond the city, so comments from outside Cape Town welcome. Take a look at http://www.capeinfo.com/blog/, post your comments and vote.