Logos versus Slogans

From my time as Senior Advisor of the Mekong Tourism Office, I recall an ongoing debate about the importance of logos vs. slogans.

I have always been of the opinion that the visual strength of a destination marketing logo is far more effective in creating a lasting impression on consumers.  Not only are visual images easier to remember, but they are much more able to conjure imagery and symbolism of a destination.  Not only that, but in the globally competitive and multi-cultural environment in which tourism destinations must operate today, visual messaging is probably far more universally understood.

Slogans tend to be a play on words, the meaning of which usually doesn’t translate well into multiple languages (and hence multiple source markets).  Not only that, but destination marketing organisations tend to make slogan far too complicated; wishing to incorporate every last feature of their destination into their slogan.  The whole problem is further exacerbated when non-native English speakers attempt to create clever plays on words, which frankly don’t work.  This task should be left to experts marketers and wordsmiths.

Professors Park Sun-Young and J.F. Petrickin a recent study presented in the Annals of Tourism Research (Destinations’ Perspective of Branding 2006) found that destination management organisations tend to use both logos and slogans in the branding process.  Their study found that destination managers considered logos to be more valued in communicating the brand identity than slogans.

Meanwhile, Steven Pike in his article on Tourism Destination Branding Complexity in the Journal of Product and Brand Management 2005 contends that slogans are ‘unlikely to meaningfully differentiate destinations over time’.

So maybe its time to think about seeking greater symbolism in destination marketing logos and more simplicity in supporting slogans.

Less is often more!