3. PLACE BRAND ANALYSIS
IMPLEMENTATION of 2 questionnaires to tourists (30 people) and residents (7 people)
PURPOSE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE: understand the perceived image and identity of Siracusa to
understand the place brand strategy gap and to define where to improve the brand image
DURATION OF THE SURVEY: 2 weeks
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH: questionnaires send via e-mail, direct interviews
MAIN THEME TREATED:
TOURISTS RESIDENTS
Image of Siracusa Quality and way of living in Siracusa
Knowledge about the position of the destination (“Do
Siracusa’s offer to potential residents
you know where is Siracusa located?”)
General knowldege about the destination and sources
of knowledge (“Have you ever heard about the
Siracusa’s product offering
destination? Where?”)
Source of information about the city Uniqueness of the city
What do they like most in the city Improvements needed
3
4. Let’s listen to what local community says
about Siracusa…
Siracusa, Sicily
4
5. PERCEIVED IDENTITY
What does the town of Siracusa have to offer
to potential residents?
“Excellent geographical, geological and
weather conditions”
“good climate and
seaside”
5
6. PERCEIVED IDENTITY
What new you would like to see in
Siracusa?
“Improvement in public
services, parking facilities”
“Effective recycling”
6
7. PERCEIVED IDENTITY
How is the quality of life in Siracusa and
what are the main attractions of the town?
Question:”Please, rank in order what you believe makes
the town of Siracusa an attractive place to live and work
(1-15)“
RANKING SERVICE/ATTRACTIONS
1 Distance from the coastline
Quality of life 2 Cultural Opportunities
3 Restaurant Facilities
4 Availability of Social Services
17% 5 Distance from the Airport
6 Shopping Facilities
Good
50% 7 General appearance and aesthetics of the town
33% Fair 8 Proximity to large cities
Poor 9 Cost of Home Ownership and Construction
10 Health Care Facilities and Services
11 Recreation Facilities
12 Childcare Facilities
13 Distance from Motorway/Dual Carriageway
14 Employment Opportunities
15 Business and Economic Climate
7
8. PERCEIVED IDENTITY
How is the level of services and facilities in
town?
Question:How would you rate the following services and facilities in the town of Siracusa?
SERVICES EXCELLENT GOOD NEED IMPROVEMENTS
Town Council Services 0% 100%
0%
Public Transport 0% 0% 100%
Public Parks 0% 0% 100%
Quality of Roads and
0% 0% 100%
Footpaths
Economic development efforts 0% 17% 83%
Local/Town Infrastructure
(Upkeep of the general area) 0% 17% 83%
Availability of Car Parking
0% 17% 83%
Facilities
Recreational and Sports
0% 50% 50%
Facilities for Youth
Retail and Shopping Facilities 0% 67% 33%
Accessibility for the Disabled 0% 50% 50%
Hospital Services 17% 50% 33%
Library facilities 0% 67% 33%
Community Events 0% 67% 33%
Cultural Facilities 17% 67% 17%
8
9. What do you think is the uniqueness of this
place?
“Excellent climate
conditions, amazing
“Very suggestivemplaces , seaside, cultural
monuments of ancient resources, Greek art,
Greece, beautiful beaches good restaurants”
and sea”
“The old town centre with
the Cathedral, unique in the
world; the archaeological
site of the city: one of the
most impressive Greece
theatres, a beautiful The beauty of Ortigia, of
seaside” its history and of its
fascinating atmosphere
“The presence of an enviable historic
centre, Ortigia , of a beatiful seaside,
and because we have areas that
belong to the UNESCO World
Heritage”
9
10. What could stakeholders do better to market the
area and attract new and repeat visitors?
Policy-makers could improve public services (transport, parking,
access to the seaside) and stress the importance of the natural
reserve. Entrepreneurs could invest on more activities (discos,
beach facilities, sport facilities..) and improve the quality of the
existing ones.
A new circuit between
attractions should be created,
new tourist information to
assist visitors during their trip.
In my opinion, it is wrong to
make tourists pay € 8 to visit
the Bellomo gallery, whereas
residents pay only €1!
(Notice that the entrance ticket
for the “Uffizi” in Florence is
about € 8!)
Possibility to move
easily around the
city and to the
seaside 10
11. Why going to Greece if you
can go to Siracusa?
Siracusa, Sicily
11
12. PERCEIVED IMAGE
What’s the first thing/image that comes to your
mind when you think about Siracusa?
Climate
Pythagoras,
History Magna Grecia , Hot
Ancient Greece, weather, dryness
Archaeology
General People Sicilian
feeling The atmosphere people,
of Ortigia during Siracusa
the evening, local people
Sea, Sun and
Sandy Beaches Places
Food Historical buildings,
Sicily Ortigia, ancient monuments, the
The small port, the bridge
archaeological that is at the entrance of
Good site, Park of
food, orange Ortigia, Greek Theatre,
Neaopolis , a
s Ortigia’s square, the
yellow building of
the Renaissance Duomo, Apollo’s Temple
12
13. Why do you have a positive/negative image?
I associate
A relaxing old town Siracusa
Positive because I
peaceful with a and Sicily to
have heard
vacation nice a clean and
friends speaking
it’s a pure historica limpid sea
good about this
beauty! l center
city,even though I
don’t know Positive because I
anything about it like sun and sea
and holidays!
Due to its
cultural Negative
tradition because I don’t
and its like the sea
charme
Positive culture that Because of
brings personal a beautiful
serenity, welcoming reasons, image of an
and nice people since my attractive and
mum is historic area
Sicilian 13
14. General knowldege about the
destination
Do you know where is Siracusa Where did you heard about the
located? city?
School
7% 3% 3% 3% Newspapers
13%
I am from Sicily
20%
YES 20% TV
Friends or relatives
NO 23%
93% School trip
3%
Internet
Radio
Most of people interviewed answered that they know the location of Siracusa.
They heard about the city mainly through the school, newspapers and friends or
relatives. 14
15. Perceived experience
Have you ever been to Siracusa? Did you use the Siracusa’s
website to look for information?
30%
11%
YES YES
70% NO NO
89%
70% of people affirmed they they didn’t go to Siracusa, but most of them are interested
to go. People that answered they did a trip to Siracusa asserted that thye didn’t use the
Siracusa’s website to look for information. 15
16. PERCEIVED EXPERIENCE
“Are there any reasons why you didn’t go to
Siracusa yet?”
“I always make another route when I am in Sicily”
“There is no a specific reason”
“When I visited Sicily during a tour with my family it was too far from my itinerary”
“Sicily was a bit difficult to reach as a tourist destination”
“Not much touristic information”
“Sicily is too expensive”
“Never had the opportunity to visit Siracusa “
“No idea about this city, we just heard about Sicily in general”
“Just never heard about it “
“I’ve never been to Sicily ‘cause I think Italy is too expensive. I’d rather go abroad
where it’s less expensive”
“I’m afraid to use the airplane”
16
17. PERCEIVED EXPERIENCE
What is there in Siracusa that you would like to
see or experience?
“Ancient sites “
“ World heritage site the city and its traditions”
“Hystoric site”
“Landscape and beaches, seaside “
“Good Food (cannoli, granite)”
“Beach I would like to go to the seaside, to see the Ancient Greek City, the
Cathedral and the World Heritage Site by UNESCO monuments”
“Local Community (south of Italy)”
“ Visiting Ortigia, eating local food and enjoying the coasts nearby “
“I’d like to visit the Apollo’s Temple and the Greek Theatre”
“Enjoy Siracusa during the summer, going to live concerts in the historic
centre or to local festivals”
17
18. PRODUCT OFFERING
Express a judgement about this attributes of Siracusa
Attributes Value
1 2 3 4 5
Historic
sites/museums 0% 11% 11% 33% 44%
Beaches 0% 22% 0% 44% 33%
Fairs/exhibit/festivals 11% 22% 33% 0% 33%
Natural attractions 0% 33% 22% 11% 33%
Climate 0% 22% 0% 11% 67%
Nightlife and
entertainment 22% 22% 33% 11% 11%
Local
infrastracture/transpor
tation accessibility 33% 33% 33% 0% 0%
Facilities for tourist
information 33% 22% 33% 11% 0%
Accommodations 0% 22% 56% 22% 0%
Restaurants 0% 11% 33% 56% 0%
Hospitality 0% 0% 33% 33% 33%
Friendliness/receptive
ness 0% 11% 33% 44% 11%
There’s link between what is the perceived identity and the product offering judged by
tourist: residents and tourists both agree about the lack of infrastructure and facilities
for tourist information. They assent regarding the cultural and seaside offer. 18
19. Projected Image
“A lovely and very pitoresque place” – Frank (UK)
“Very traditional and authentic Sicilian experience” – Skalauk (UK)
“Extremely traditional with beautiful architecture” – Javier (Spain)
“We love Ortygia” – Lardude (US-CA)
“Siracusa is a gem” - Vagabonda (Italy)
“I don’t think you’ll find a better place in Italy” – Marc (USA)
19
20. Brand Overview
• Positioning:
Siracusa’s old town centre, Ortigia, is an island:
An Island within the main Island, Great Mother Sicily.
• Core Values:
Siracusa, and also Sicily in general, is known worldwide for its
history, culture and for the very special way of life, in a time frame divorced
from reality, where the main activities are living, loving, lasting and
enjoying life ‘till its very end.
• Proposition:
Siracusa is able to offer to visitors a wide range of different experiences.
From singles to couples and families, from young to elder people, from
backpackers to high expenditure tourists, everyone can find his/her spot in
Siracusa.
And what will surprise the tourists most will be the fact that a lot of what
they’ve heard about the city is actually true, but many of the greatest
things they experienced weren’t even in their imagination.
20
21. Brand Identity
• Core Values
• People
• Food
• Traditions
• Cultural Heritage
• Sea Sun and Sand
• Vision
21
23. Brand Identity
• Core Values: Life, Family, History, Nature, Relax and Fun;
• People: In Siracusa, people would say they’re very very busy
even when their main activity is to sit outside their house
staring at people walking by. Of course they study, work, take
care of themselves, but they consider their own relax as one of
their duties, not as a reward for days of hard work.
23
28. Brand Identity
• Food: People in Siracusa have at least 4 breakfasts per morning. Every
person they meet, is a person the want to buy coffee for (as you can easily
imagine, if everyone wants to pay for the other, the argument about who’s
paying for who could actually be endless). Breakfast is a sacred
moment, as well as lunch and dinner. No one is allowed to leave the table
if they haven’t gained at least 3 kilos. To hurry on someone who’s eating is
punishable by death. To ask for seconds is not just recommended but
mandatory. People in Siracusa think that they’re food is the best one in
the world. Many tourists agree with this assumption, and when they
come back home their dieticians are even happier. Sometimes tourists
think that they know what a Cannolo Siciliano is, even if that’s their first
time in Sicily: our mission is to redeem them for such nonsense.
Vegetables, Fruits, Seafood and Cheeses are just few of Siracusa’s great
productions, together with Wine, Ice Creams and Granita, of course.
There’s a notable production of organic foods, as well as an increasing
focus on Slow Food products, homemade and unrelated to industrial
production.
28
36. Brand Identity
• Traditions: If you’re looking for a fight, you’re definitely in the right place.
Every season with at least 5 different shows, mixing up
history, battles, love stories and heroes, the Sicilian Puppets’ Show is the
one you don’t want to miss. 100% purely handmade and hand
performed, this is the kind of experience that gets together
men, women, children and elder people. But if you’re looking for
tragedies, we have something even better. Our Greek Theater hosts every
year a one-month-cycle of shows, performing every year 2 different greek
tragedies. People from all over Italy and the World come to see them, to
feel the ancient greek spirit. We believe that 3D movies won’t be enough
for you, after that.
• Cultural Heritage: Want to experience Ancient Greece? Take a walk at our
archaelogical park, with the Greek theater, the amphitheater, Dioniso’s
Ear and the «rope-makers’ cave». Take a look at Apollo’s temple, with his
throne still there, wating for him to be back. And if you’re rather the
baroque type don’t worry, there’s room for you as well. Take a look at our
balconies. But did you know that our baroque cathedral was previously a
Greek temple? 36
41. Brand Identity
• Sea Sun and Sand
Tired of all this history? Take a look at the sea
and forget about all of your problems: Siracusa
is surrounded by nature reserves, where sea
fauna and flora are untouched!
41
46. Market Segmentation
Siracusa’ s tourists’ market can be segmented on various basis:
Demographical:
• Families with children
• Couples
• Silver segment
• Young groups of friends
• LGBT
Geographical:
• Locals (Sicilian people)
• Domestic (Italy)
• Foreigners, especially from France, Germany, Russia, UK and USA. It has
been noticed an increase in arrivals of people from India, Brazil, China and
Japan as well.
Aim of the trip:
• Cultural attractions and events
• Sea, sun and sand
• Food and Wine tasting Tours
• Adventurous trips (in nature reserves)
• Sailing and/or cruising
46
47. Targeting
In order to respond to tourism demands, some new segments have been identified as «target
segments»:
Demographical:
• Silver Segment: usually known has high expenditure potential tourists, the actual offer
of the city doesnt’ really satisfy their needs; the concept of luxury tourism in Siracusa is
not well developed yet, and considering the potential of this segment we believe that
something must be done in order to meet tourists’ expectations.
• LGBT: there has been an increase in arrivals of this segment of tourists, certainly due to
the calmness of the city and the intimate and discrete atmoshpere of the place;
however, there is still a lack of real attractions or receptivity for this increasing
segment.
Geographical:
• BRIC: having noticed a net increase of arrivals of tourists from BRIC countries we
believe that the city could really use the help of people that speak those
languages, and also the help and the know how of outbounding tour operators of
these countries.
Aim of the trip:
• Cultural attractions and events: the agenda of events must be better advertised and
planned.
• Sea, sun and sand: some beach equipments must be improved.
• Sailing and/or cruising: Siracusa’s port and other nautical facilities need to be
renovated and improved.
47
48. Positioning
One Year Round Plan
Considering the variety of attractions, the city could plan an year-round schedule of
attractions and events in order to attract all the desired segments in the right period of the
year.
For instance, having considered different variables in order to segment tourists, it could be
smart to group them on different filters, in order to find brand new segments.
• From January to March, due to the mildness of climate wich is not rigid at all in the
city, Siracusa can become an ideal destination for the Silver segment which can spend
part of their retirement there, as well as for families with babies who don’t go to school
yet, that may enjoy the calmness of the place together with the mildness of the weather.
• April, along with easter holidays, is the starting period for foreigners to come. May and
June, with the Tragedies’ Show ath the Ancient Greek Theater, are a very interesting
moment for cultural tourists and those who may suffer from summer hotness, and prefer
mild temperature. It’s also a good period for honeymooners.
• July, August and September are the ideal months for Sea Sun and Sand tourists, as well as
families with children who go to school or young people who have their holidays during
summer. Honeymooners as well can enjoy the city during October too.
• October, November and December are the perfect months for tasting tours, with the
newest productions of olive oil and wine just ready! Christmas in Siracusa is very
charming as well, the ideal place for those who can’t stand cold and prefer to have a trip
to the sea on New Year’s Eve as well (no bath though, please)!
48
52. Place Brand Implementation
Our brand effort focuses on delivering an exceptional experience that has to be
memorable and emotional.
Analyzing the data we collect from the brand analysis, the ideas of the brand
essence we develop the brand implementation strategy through 3 main activities:
• CONSTRUCTION
•COMMUNICATION
•COOPERATION
We want to go against the popular perception that destination branding is a solely
exercise in communication; it is, in reality, an exercise in identification, organization
and coordination of all the variables that have an impact on the destination image.
Like the rest of the Southern Italy, even Sicily and Siracusa have a lot to do
especially investing in new way of communication and new type of governance in
order to adopt better solutions of territory’s management.
52
53. Construction
Co-creation about the new brand with the customers through:
interviews , surveys, questionnaire to understand what the final customers
expect from our product
Social Network (launch a questionnaire in Facebook, Twitter, about Siracusa)
Web 2.0 (through the Siracusa website create a space where customers can
leave their feedback, ideas about the project)
Co-creation of the brand with the main partners:
hotels: increase the accommodation quality of Siracusa. One of our main
target are BRIC countries. To attract them we need to increase the presence
of luxury hotels (4-5 stars) and strengthen the quality and the peculiarity of
services delivered
tour operators: cooperate with them to find out new itineraries involving
Siracusa and its neighbourhood as a way to develop the destination
OLTA: this is our challenge because we want to make our hotels be present in
the OLTA but to do this we need to improve the quality of Siracusa’s
accommodation and the number of existing hotels 53
54. Communication
•Launch of the new logo of the brand
“Siracusa”
• Set 3 main activities for the whole year to be
always present in the mind of people
(future customers)
ACTIVITY REACH TIMING FLEXIBILITY COST/EXPOSURE
Launch a new
campaign with the
Advertising (TV, new Siracusa Brand
Standard message
newspaper, Social to reach Sea Sun May, June, July Moderate
for each target
Media) and Sand tourists,
families, young
people
Message tailored
Direct Marketing Each target Whole year and personalised for Moderate
each target
Be present at mainly Range of different
tourism fairs (BIT, February, June, products (culture,
Fairs and Exhibition Moderate
BTC, TTG) to reach October sea, food…) to reach
our main targets different customers
54
56. Cooperation
The success of Siracusa’s management can be
seen as an exercise of coordination where
relevant variables, such as tourism
infrastructures, quality of local services, and
other destination-brand users need to be
managed in order to achieve a coherent and PRIVATE SECTOR
(hotels, local businesses)
desired destination-brand identity.
In order to put in practice a co-creation of the
brand a strong cooperation between all the
actors is needed. We want mainly that the
central actor is the municipality that should LOCAL COMMUNITY PUBLIC SECTOR
be more present in the development of the (people, associations) (municipality, Government)
brand, through:
• improvement of infrastructure and public
services
•Development of activities to involve young
people and universities in this project
•Support to the new ideas launched by the
hospitality sector
• Cooperation between private businesses
and the public sector (private can invest in
new projects in the city) 56
