If we want to describe Montenegro using one word, the big question is how they would do it. Is Montenegro an ecological country? As it is, but only on paper, let's not lie. Is it a private state? Was once, hopefully never again! Is it a police state? Was once, hopefully never again! It cannot be coastal because it is also mountainous. We are not an industrial power and we have no prospect of becoming one, we are not even a nest of criminals, but we are largely a criminal state, although we should not brag about it. It is most accurate to say that Montenegro is a tourist country, although that is not even grammatically correct.
It is devastating that Montenegro is the country in Europe whose GDP comes mostly from tourism, and that the least investment in tourism promotion is in Europe. Something is not right there. The people from NTO also complain, rightly so, but the question is how strong they are, how much they are able to box out a better position and more funds for that sector. Montenegro is lucky for now, because it is visited by people who are exploring countries they have not yet visited. But bearing in mind what kind of campaigns are being launched by other countries that practically do not even have a tenth of what Montenegro has to offer, we are really trotting behind the world in terms of the mechanism by which tourists are attracted.
Tourism is a matter of advertising. This should finally be understood by the people in charge of tourism, as well as those who decide on the budget. The difference between marketing and advertising is big, and it is best seen in nothing done, because those who don't understand it make mistakes, and with us, mistakes are visible at every step.
We need a strong integrated campaign (a 360-degree campaign that covers all communication channels), which will be consistent and long-lasting, and which will take place step by step for a minimum of five years. If we look at what Turkey did with the tourism campaign after the military coup, we will see how masterfully a country pulls itself together using advertising, changing its image and attracting people to visit it. Canada did the same with branding the flag and highlighting everything it has to offer. Iceland is also a country that advertises its tourism potential well.
And what is the slogan of Montenegro? What does "wild beauty" mean? Has it become unfashionable and counterproductive? What message are we sending to the world and what message do we really want to send? Does anyone know that and who decides about it? Perhaps the most stupid thing we have done is the public marketing of ideas about the rebranding of Montenegro and tourism through headlines, a logo and a campaign.
"Montenegro - a pearl in the stone" as well as "Montenegro - all at hand" are wrong on many levels, first of all because they do not highlight the USP (unique selling point) and are absolutely inapplicable for marketing because they do not even have a precise emotion, purpose, call to action, and they don't even have the possibility of modularity to develop further. They are neither audible nor clear. Spontaneous approach, without a clear strategy, differentiator and insight. A mouth full of nothing. After all, if this is the age of social media, how can those messages become a catchy hashtag?
Croatia had a "Full of life" campaign. That is, "Full of life". Of course, people on the networks said "Full of corruption" and "Full of crookedness", but for those for whom the campaign is intended, for foreigners, that message worked perfectly. It is in line with all the aspirations of those who want to make the most of their vacation, who want a fulfilled life and every vacation day fulfilled to the fullest.
If we continue to change our minds, we are wasting precious time, if we wander with messages in tourism as we have been doing so far, we will continue to be executed. In that case, it would be best if the headline were: "We don't know where we are hitting", and the subhead: "Find yourself in the executed country". Maybe it's super fun for someone to come and watch that process up close. Something they really didn't have the opportunity to see in other countries, which consider themselves serious tourist destinations. The word would definitely get out, it would resonate far more.
Bonus video:
