Branding strategies: analyzing TV campaigns for the promotion of Lebanon as a touristic destination

Abstract

Nations have understood the importance of reliable branding strategies to promote themselves as unique touristic destination. Marketers around the world are now dealing with countries as if they are brands and use different kinds of strategies to promote them. This thesis went through the definition of branding and destination branding; it also discussed the branding process with the emphasis on the Lebanese case. Relying on persuasion theories, mainly Rank’s persuasion model, this thesis has analyzed the TV campaigns done by the Ministry of Tourism in Lebanon to determine their strengths and weaknesses and eventually to put guidelines for any future branding strategy for Lebanon. Results showed that television is still an essential tool in promoting countries. The TV campaigns of Lebanon, however, do not reach the required markets and that is due to several obstacles such as budget constraints and the lack of an effective branding strategy. A Conceptual model of Destination Branding by Cai & Hsu (2009) and another one by Qu, Kim & Im (2011) described the branding process and the image building process. These models could be helpful in evaluating and improving the position of Lebanon as a touristic destination. Further research should elaborate the different criteria of the branding process. There should be an in-depth analysis of the psychological needs and expectations of the potential tourists. This would facilitate the communication process by knowing how to reach the targeted tourists and what message they should receive.