Re-branding PERU

Good afternoon!

I hope you are all doing well and that you've enjoyed the first few days of spring. For those of you who are out of town, just to let you know that Waterloo (where I am currently living) has been dumped on with snow. About 2 feet of snow have fallen in the past 24 hours, whereas we had had green grass for over a week! Quite a change of scenery. I for one am not complaining though; I think that snowy white sceneries are gorgeous, I just wish the weather would make up its mind. Pick one: winter or spring/summer. Not both.

Anyways, seeing as I don't have much to report to you this week on changes in my life (school, homework, sleep, repeat), I'll be talking about the re-branding of Peru! What's that you might ask? Well a few weeks ago a friend informed me that the tourism office of Peru has recently re-branded their entire image. Below is a sample of the drastic changes that have been made. The old version is on the left, and the new version is on the right:

Quite a change, isn't it? The tourism office has even had its very own font designed that it will use in all official publications. If you want a complete look at their new website, you can follow this link: http://www.peru.travel/en/ I'm assuming that this new branding scheme will be in full effect by the time I arrive in late August or early September, but I'll report back to you on that one!

I find this re-branding quite interesting, actually. In my Marketing and Communication class we have been discussing how to make yourself stand out among the 'noise' and make yourself heard so that you can draw people in. This is especially important in international development, where non-governmental organizations and charities are constantly on the look-out for donor funding and support. I guess tourism bureaus face similar challenges, especially when large world events such as economic recessions/depressions occur. They are constantly looking for new ways to draw people in and entice them to come visit their culture, landscapes, and heritage. Here is the new publicity video to incite viewers to visit Peru (it is in Spanish, but worth watching for the pictures and music):

After watching the video I am so excited to be travelling to Peru in the near future, and can't want to discover all that is has to offer. Hopefully you'll do the same sometime soon (you can even come visit me!).

What do you think of the new branding image? Better/worse/indifferent? I'd love to hear your opinion. In the following weeks I'll be posting one of the new ads/slogans to visit Peru in each blogpost. Make sure you keep reading so you don't miss any! Have a great week!

Sheila