Branding Europe – Between Nations, Regions and Continents

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore a common European tourism marketing initiative orchestrated by the organisation European Travel Commission (ETC) and communicated via www.visiteurope.com. Particular focus is given to the position of the Nordic countries – how they are depicted and which imagery is used to represent these countries. The paper raises the question whether it makes sense to name the initiative a “Brand Europe” as suggested by the president of ETC and whether common denominators are sought thereby facilitating the creation of a European brand profile, or whether the website is just a collection of links to national websites thereby functioning as a medium for national tourism destination promotion. Theoretically the point of departure is taken in place‐branding theory, and scrutinising this literature it appears that attention has centred on branding the city and the nation whereas little attention has been paid to branding supra‐national entities. In this article focus is on stakeholder interests and consumer images and their implications on communicative choices in place‐branding efforts. The analysis shows that www.visiteurope.com, on the one hand, is a shared European platform which thematically sketches experiences to be had in Europe, and which constitutes more than just the marketing from national destinations in Europe. On the other hand, it is hardly possible to term this initiative “a brand” as it lacks a holistic approach not only to promotion but also product development. Keywords in the shared profile are diversity, history, culture and nature that, taken together, stand out as quite a generic catch‐all presentation of Europe, however, there seems to be potential in the place‐branding concept that can be exploited more extensively in future, also at the supra‐national level of Europe as a destination. The Nordic countries appear as a region “in the far corner of Europe” presented as primarily a location with extreme nature conditions and exotic cultural habits combined with peaceful, sunny café environments which only links up marginally with the overall European profile. Still, for a relatively unknown region in the global tourist market, it is deemed relevant for the Nordic countries to be part of a European brand in future, but the integration of a regional profile into a future European brand needs substantial development.