Shire of Esperance marketing manager Christiane Smith with Australia’s Golden Outback representatives Annabelle Hender, Marcus Falconer and Rod Quartermaine.
Last week saw the launch of Esperance’s new tourism brand Esperance. In your element.
Esperance’s tourism industry representatives filled Lucky Bay Brewery to hear how the Shire of Esperance and Australia’s Golden Outback had collaborated to develop and execute the brand.
Esperance tourism development manager Annabelle Hender said key branding statements like “bikini then a beanie” and “hikes before likes” aimed to capture the authentic and nature-focused approach of this a chapter in Esperance tourism.
The brand development team encouraged other Esperance businesses to implement the ideals of the new tourism strategy and to align themselves with Esperance. In your element to “inspire new experiences and new products”.
Lucky Bay Brewery had already made steps towards this, as they announced the name of their new white lager, “Element”.
The branding is part of a strategy supported by the state and local government to attract more visitors to Esperance during the off-peak season.
Heading:
What is the aim of the new brand?
The Shire of Esperance considers the rebranding to be a “pivotal” moment for Esperance, as one of the key aspects will be promote the town as a year-round tourist attraction.
Ms Hender said Esperance had previously been seen as a summer-only travel destination. She said this new travel brand would encourage year-round tourism by focusing on the elements: earth, wind, fire and water.
“Which is essentially the sum of all the collective parts of the experience that we can deliver on every time of year,” she said.
Through incorporating the elements of nature, Ms Hender said the brand was targeting premium nature seekers.
She said this particular type of tourist was “not after mainstream tourism. They want to get off the track. Turn away from the modern world and reconnecting with nature.”
Coinciding with the first week of the tourism brand, the “Grounded” Esperance hiking festival and the Grove to Table dining experince last weekend acted as a public introduction to how the brand wished to encourage tourists to connect with the “natural wonders of Esperance”.
As well as shining a spotlight on Esperance’s unique natural features, the tourism brand also aimed to highlight the importance of sustainable travel.
“The Esperance Promise” is a tool created for the brand that Ms Hender said would help tourists to be more conscious about how they interact with the environment.
“We need to help visitors travel sustainably. They need to understand what’s unique about Esperance and how to visit here,” she said.
A website has been launched where visitors to Esperance can read “the Esperance promise” and sign a pledge “to care for this special place.”
