Wilderness Coast Branding Workshop

March 28, 2008

The Wilderness Coast region that stretches from Lakes Entrance to Bermagui is part of the prestigious National Landscapes Program which recognises the natural beauty of the area.

Its inclusion means the area will have the same iconic status as the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu, the Australian Alps or Uluru.

A Wilderness Coast Steering Committee has been appointed with Sertec member Geoff Brookes as a local member.

The next step in the process is to a destination branding project and an audit of the natural experiences available on the Wilderness Coast.

A workshop on destination branding will be held next Monday (March 31) at the Merimbula RSL Club from 9am to 12.30pm.

It will be co-ordinated by Mr Brookes and run the Leap Agency from Sydney which has been appointed by Tourism Australia and the Steering Committee to develop a destination brand for the region.

Three Bega Valley Shire Councillors – the Mayor, Cr Allen, and Crs Mike Skitt and Fraser Buchanan - and representatives of Sapphire Coast Tourism will also be present.

The overall aim of the destination branding is to brand the region in a way that matches the expectations of the target market for the National Landscapes Program.

Workshop technical outcomes will include developing a widely accepted brand positioning statement, a clearly defined customer proposition, a clarification of brand values, development of functional and emotional elements of the brand, and to develop suggested tone, style, feel and Imagery for the destination.