‘So Sri Lanka’’ launched: So what?
View(s):Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, the most resilient industry I have ever known, came together on Monday November 5 to witness the unveiling of the new brand identity for the destination.
‘So Sri Lanka’ was officially launched at the opening of the World Travel Mart 2018 held at ExCel London followed by an event held at the Grosvenor House in Park Lane, London. This stylish event was attended by Sri Lankan and UK parliamentarians, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the UK, Lords, Ladies, Mayors, foreign agents, tour operators, media, industry leaders and colleagues.
These events were well coordinated and the night brought great pride for Sri Lanka. Eloquent speeches, a stylish sit-down dinner and great networking caught the attention of many. The setup of the event, the ambience and décor was just simply amazing bringing the warmth of Sri Lanka to a cold winter’s evening in London. One of the top high end tour operators from UK wrote to me the following day and I quote, “I cannot thank you enough for the invite to such a glittering event with no expense spared, that was ‘SO’ fantastic”.
Need for ‘So Sri Lanka’
‘So Sri Lanka’ was the long awaited result of the outcry for a well-thought-out strategic plan, a new brand identity and global marketing push from the industry for nearly a decade. Many other previous marketing drives were cancelled at the eleventh hour for reasons unknown. The example of year 2015 August still echoes in my mind. The impact has taken a toll on the industry and we have witnessed average growth in revenues and yield during the years, especially during summer. Therefore, the full potential of Sri Lanka Tourism is not exploited and the future looks worrying. In fact, a few hoteliers mentioned that their rates are so low; they had better rates during the period of war! This is in addition to many billions allocated for marketing activities from industry revenues going back to the Government coffers due to a lack of a concerted effort to market Sri Lanka as a destination over the past decades.
The gravity of the problem was recognised and an initiative between the public and private sectors that reached ‘’game changing’’ proportions was borne with the target of launching the new brand identity at one of the world’s largest travel fairs, the World Travel Mart (WTM). Supported by industry stakeholders and the two key tourism associations namely THASL and SLAITO, the task force team with no direct power nor authority was able to fast track and drive the process of creating a new brand identity and launch in just three months.
The little part I played in this endeavour made me realise how bureaucracy and ted tape are our biggest obstacles and the enemy within.
Therefore, the actual launch on November 5 was ‘So’ emotional and ‘So’ rewarding. This unexpected triumph for me is ‘So Sri Lanka’! The task force team should be congratulated for this achievement and J. Walter Thompson, the winning ad agency, should be congratulated for creating the slogan and identity, they were a cut above the rest and the industry is ever ‘So’ grateful.
Why ‘So Sri Lanka’?
Sri Lanka is passionate, she is strong, quirky, and fun loving, demonstrative, delicious, warm, rooted in proud tradition, steeped in a glorious history, blessed with abundance, fiercely loyal and magnificently natural. What we have is authenticity and that cannot be packaged with one adjective.
Adding ‘surreal’, ‘soulful’, or ‘charming’ would not have done justice to who we are as a country and people.
The industry sought to find a way to use a hundred adjectives and at the same time offer the new digitally empowered world traveller the power to shape this brand and take the idea of Sri Lanka further than she has ever been before. We set out to create a brand that has the power to effortlessly amplify, a brand that is agile, progressive and above all else memorable, an idea that was so ‘sticky’ that absorbing it into everyday life and language was going to be effortless. The fact that the brand idea is viral without a single marketing dollar spent on it to date is testament to its incredible power. That is what makes ‘So Sri Lanka’ a truly authentic brand that has the power to thrive year upon year, decade upon decade. That is also why the entire industry is so excited about this slogan.
‘So Sri Lanka’ is designed to include everyone from the 7 star conglomerates to the little roti shop up the lane. Our tourism economy is robust and diverse, there are many, many stakeholders that all deserve a brand that can add strategic value back into their businesses. So the great business challenge has been how to build economic value into our cultural value? How to unlock the potential of our destination brand in a modern and sustainable way? How to unite a diverse industry under a single brand idea? How to build a scalable, trainable, authentic and credible culture around the delivery of our unique brand of warmth and hospitality? These have been the many challenges that were considered in building ‘So Sri Lanka’.
The bitter truth is that a new brand identity is not going to generate massive tourist numbers but maybe incremental growth at its best. It is the first step towards a global marketing plan.
The whole post PR campaign and more importantly the global marketing campaign planned for early 2019 is the only mechanism that will take tourism to greater heights in Sri Lanka.
With the change of political leadership, change of Ministers and the dissolution of the respective boards, the task ahead looks a tall one. A stand-alone brand identity with no integrated marketing push may not provide desired results for the industry or it could be just another tagline until the next one comes along.
How well will this resilient industry face its next steps, how soon can we get our act together and strive for greater voice in this competitive market, how soon can we have all teams and bodies in full motion, only time will tell.
We sincerely hope the new team or the old team, either one it may be, offers the industry required support and respect to carry on with the planned activities which is well articulated in the Tourism Act No 38 of 2005, or else, instability could take centre stage and add to the list of missed opportunities for the industry and country ‘So Sri Lanka’ marks a turning point in our destination brand building story, as it takes its first steps towards a journey of modernisation, of strategic vision and fact based solutions that will provide Sri Lanka every advantage she deserves to win the hearts and imaginations of travellers for decades to come. The success of ‘So Sri Lanka’ rests with all of us; let’s show the world what makes Sri Lanka, earth’s favorite island! I am so excited and so very proud of this moment!
(The writer is a Director of a leisure conglomerate, current President of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and former Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau. The thoughts are strictly his personal views)