Image and Brand - Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a Brand matter? Customers face a huge array of choices when selecting goods to buy. What may differentiate one item from another and affect a decision to purchase, is often the association of ideas connected with the brand.

What are the advantages of a strong Brand? It generates more sales, at higher prices together with more loyalty and repeat sales.

Does Cornwall already have a Brand? Yes, but it is rather clouded by a perception based on tourism and leisure, which is not always helpful to other sectors.

What needs to change in perceptions of the Cornwall Brand? We would like Cornwall’s Brand to represent more than just a tourism experience.

Why do you want customers to see Cornwall in a different way? At the moment if they predominately see Cornwall as just a leisure destination, they may not be convinced that Cornwall is a good place to do business or buy certain goods from.

What’s wrong with the way customers see Cornwall? If customers believe that we are solely living the relaxed lifestyle they themselves experience when on holiday, they may not see us as professional and capable of producing high quality goods and services.

What happens when your brand is not perceived in the way you want? Customers do not buy your goods and services often enough, or at the prices you would want to get paid for them.

So is improving Cornwall’s Brand about improving Cornwall’s economic performance? Yes – it’s by no means the whole solution but there is an indication that Cornwall would sell more products, at higher prices, if the image of its brand was more appropriate to today’s Cornwall.

Will changing Cornwall’s brand mean we lose the popularity we already have across the UK? The idea is to look underneath what makes Cornwall popular and show how those strengths are also something that can be relied upon when buying a wider range of products and services.

How can you take someone’s positive view of Cornwall as a holiday destination and use it to influence how they see manufactured goods, for example? You show how the qualities that make Cornwall good for a holiday can be relied upon when buying other items. This means taking our reputation for quality and reliability and distinctiveness in approach, in one area, and demonstrating how this means we can be relied upon in another.

Do other big brands try to transfer customer support from one service or product to another? Most customers will try a different product (a chocolate bar or car) that’s made by a supplier who has already given them good service, rather than try something from a producer about which they know nothing at all.

How do you suggest we develop, or broaden, the Cornwall Brand? Research shows that we have to face the problem two ways: (a) change the tourism messages so that we don’t give the impression of being “sleepy” and “where time stands still (b) bring some cohesion into the way other sectors represent Cornwall, so that there is a more consistent approach.

Why would ‘bringing a consistent approach’ to representing the Cornwall brand be helpful? At the moment, some promotion shows Cornwall as traditional, some depicts Cornwall as artistic and creative and some shows Cornwall as innovative and modern.  The customer who receives all these messages is confused, so they fall back on what they think they already know which is that Cornwall is a good destination for a holiday.

So you are saying that, if we have clearer guidelines about how we talk about Cornwall, we will have more impact on customers? Yes, if they continually see Cornwall portrayed in the same way they will start to understand what we are saying about Cornwall today.

Is it possible to make people, or businesses, follow a set of guidelines? It is possible to encourage people to work together to change the image of Cornwall, if in the long run they will benefit from this change.

How would my business benefit from this new approach? If the messages coming out from Cornwall sound like a ‘choir’ rather than a ‘cats chorus’ customers are more likely to be persuaded by them.

So if customers are thinking something new about Cornwall, what difference will it make? Think about Switzerland, think about Taiwan. They each have a reputation. We want to improve Cornwall’s reputation and encourage more business.

Isn’t this all too much extra trouble for a small business in Cornwall or a fragmented sector? What sort of help do you envisage? Printed materials and a website will be available for information, supported by an advisory hotline lead by the Brand Development team at Cornwall Enterprise. We will also work closely with sectors and organisations to identify the best approach.

This all sounds very difficult – will I be in trouble for getting it wrong? How a company advertises itself must always be up to that company. How we all advertise Cornwall could be better organised and there will be help on hand to assist.

Is there a logo I have to use? A brand marque is available for use. However, it is important to remember the strength of successful brands is in what they stand for, rather than the ‘badge’, they wear. The ‘badge’ helps customers recognise brands quickly and make appropriate choices.

What ‘badge’ or logo will Cornwall use? A marque known as ‘the blaze marque’ has been developed. The role of the blaze marque is to act as an distinctive emblem and to build consistent recognition for Cornwall, and all that it represents, wherever we are in the World and whatever our specific area of expertise.

What does the blaze marque stand for?  The blaze marque reflects a contemporary region with long standing associations with innovation, world-class revolutionary ideas, a thriving entrepreneurial spirit and a long-term commitment to helping to secure Cornwall’s future. A leading historical and cultural influence in the design of the blaze marque is the patron saint of tin miners, St Piran; celebrating the link between the black of the ore and the white colour of the tin that occurred as part of the tin smelting process.

Will businesses or organisations have to pass a ‘quality inspection’ to be able to use the logo? A Brand Licensing system has been developed for the use of the blaze marque. If businesses and organisations meet their own specific industry quality standards and produce goods and services that help build consistent recognition for Cornwall, and all that it represents, there should be no reason why a Brand Licence cannot be issued.

Why do I need a Licence? A Brand Licence Agreement has been established to ensure that the blaze marque is aligned with high quality, authentic, forward-thinking companies, organisations, products and services. The Licence Agreement will not only protect the day-to-day use of the marque but also ensure that your marketing activity is not comprised by misuse elsewhere.

How will using a new logo change customer’s ideas about Cornwall? On its own a logo cannot do this. It is more important to ensure that we talk about Cornwall in a new, more consistent way and then link the logo to this new way that we present the brand - as a quick reminder. As part of a wide consultation process distinctive brand messages for Cornwall have been identified, a summary of this work is incorporated in a Brand Principles document.

How can we work together to talk about Cornwall in the same way when we produce everything from fine art to pharmaceuticals? If we are clear about what Cornwall wants to ‘stand for’, we can reflect those same values and brand messages no matter what we produce.

Do customers around the world have the same image of Cornwall as those in the UK? Study shows that even in the UK, awareness of what is going on in Cornwall is pretty low. Across the globe, perceptions will be even more inaccurate. Europe offers Cornwall access to exciting new markets and Cornwall’s culture can be used to stimulate interest, but more research is required there.

And what values does Cornwall stand for? Research in Cornwall among residents and businesses as well as across the UK shows us that the following values seem to reflect what makes Cornwall different from elsewhere and make it a good place to buy from or do business with.

Who is going to lead the new approach to the Cornwall Brand development? Cornwall County Council will lead this initiative, via the Brand Development team at Cornwall Enterprise. Progress will be supported by a cross-sector group to make sure that the economic aspirations of people who live and work in Cornwall are taken into account.

Don’t the views of customers have to be paramount? Customers need to be at the heart of any brand development, but Cornwall’s external brand should reflect its internal identity, or it won’t stand for anything that people value.

What happens if we do nothing? Cornwall may well continue to be seen as somewhere that works well as a holiday destination, but is not taken as seriously as it should be in other business markets. As a consequence, it may not command the sales, or prices, for its products that it should. If our economy performs badly we all see the consequences.