“Little Island Big Barbados” ‘brand driver’ followed two years of research – Chatrani

The Barbados Tourism Management Incorporated (BTMI) Chairman who presided over the organisation when the controversial Little Island, Big Barbados initiative was conceptualised more than two years ago, is seeking to clarify the reasoning behind it.

Amid a barrage of criticism from Opposition parties and the public in general following the recent relaunch of the brand, Sunil Chatrani declared that the concept developed during his tenure was a “brand-driver”, as opposed to a mere slogan.

During a brief Barbados TODAY interview, Chatrani also described the $750,000 price tag suggested by Democratic Labour Party (DLP) president Verla DePeiza as a “complete exaggeration”. While he refused to disclose the figure, inside sources suggest that the number is actually around BDS$500,000.

Meanwhile, sources close to the situation are contending that calls for the sacking of Minister of Tourism Senator Lisa Cummins are unwarranted, as her appointment occurred more than a year after the slogan was introduced and paid for.

According to Chatrani, the heavily-criticised “brand-driver” was developed after months of research and careful work, to provide a foundation upon which slogans and taglines could be developed.

“This debate about Little Island, Big Barbados as a tagline or slogan, is perhaps due to a lack of understanding about the intricacies involved in brand development. This was not designed to be a slogan or a tagline. It was meant to be a brand driver,” Chatrani explained.

“I served as Chairman of the Board of the BTMI from July 2018 to December 2020. At the time of my departure, under my chairmanship, our board signed off on Little Island Big. A brand driver is used to influence the development of a brand’s identity and image in the marketplace. It is an internal understanding of what the brand represents, not a consumer-facing tagline or slogan.

“I feel that we need to focus on the real issues. We have a tourism sector that is suffering. Several businesses have already closed their doors and more are on the brink of doing the same. People in this sector are either unemployed or working short hours. This is not a time to be distracted. We should be pulling together and focusing on the task at hand. There is a lot of work to be done to re-open this market and it will require all hands on deck in the weeks and months ahead,” he contended.

When pressed about the cost of the project, the former Chairman, who left the post last December, replied: “I will not give you the number, but what I will tell you is that that is significantly exaggerated.”

Two Fridays ago, during the re-launch of the campaign, BTMI Director of Marketing, Robert Chase shared similar sentiments. He explained that the process began in 2018 in collaboration with brand consulting agency Landor  in collaboration with officials from the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTII), Invest Barbados, and the National Cruise Development Commission.

According to Chase, it was structured as a “fully integrated, 360-degree campaign” to be rolled out across mainstream media markets, public relations entities and the world wide web.

“A good brand driver must speak to who we are as a people and what makes Barbados special to both Barbadians and those who visit our shores. There is no doubt that the ethos of our brand sits in the spirit of our people, a spirit imbued by the Almighty with a bold sense that this little island has the ability to punch above its weight,” the marketing director explained.

At the time, he explained that the “little Barbados” brand would be paired with taglines like “big vibes”, “big flavours” and others.

“This in itself is a differentiating deployment of a tagline and hence a unique marketing tool that will allow us to connect to multiple passions and themes of culinary, adventure, heritage and leisure. Our taglines speak to both our passion and the passion of our visitors. It serves to excite them to come and visit us,” Chase said.

Exactly one week later, the current BTMI Chairman Roseanne Myers revealed that the initiative would be reviewed after new information revealed that it was a virtual carbon copy of the slogans used to promote other tourists destinations around the world, including in the Eastern Caribbean. Myers’ revelation came less than 48 hours after Minister Cummins sought to defend the new branding.

The saga has triggered demands from the DLP for Barbadians to be reimbursed for the money spent on the branding “blunder”. Longstanding DLP member, the Reverend Guy Hewitt has gone a step further in calling for Minister Cummins to either be fired or to step down.

One inside source, in defence of the Cummins, declared that the programme, which was conceptualised and financed between 2018 and 2019, predates Cummins, who was only appointed last July.

Furthermore, the source contended that not even the previous tourism minister, Kerrie Symmonds should be blamed, because of the level of independence with which the BTMI has traditionally been allowed to operate. (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)