Robert Govers's Blog, page 2

This article was first published on City Nation Place , May 7, 2020.

The novel Coronavirus has clearly shown us how vulnerable globalisation has made us. Travel, tourism and migration have been spreading the pandemic like wildfire. Global value chains have disrupted delivery of much needed supplies to tackle the consequences locally. Businesses are being bailed out by government coffers, filled with tax-payers money, but not theirs as these businesses swirl money around the globe in efforts t...

This article was first published on City Nation Place , May 7, 2020.

The novel Coronavirus has clearly shown us how vulnerable globalisation has made us. Travel, tourism and migration have been spreading the pandemic like wildfire. Global value chains have disrupted delivery of much needed supplies to tackle the consequences locally. Businesses are being bailed out by government coffers, filled with tax-payers money, but not theirs as these businesses swirl money around the globe in efforts t...

Imaginative Leadership for a New Decade

This article was first published by the Economist Intelligence Unit on theirPerspectivesplatform on February 4.

In this era of global challenges, geopolitics, risks and on-the-ground business realities are increasingly intertwined.In a recent whitepaper, the Economist Intelligence Unit argued that this is an increasingly challenging reality which often results in reputational risks. The report identified three major contributing factors to this trend. Expanding social media landscapes cause...

Govers on Brand: The SKBM Model

Do you agree with my conceptualisations or am I hallucinating? I believe that whether you manage a product brand, corporate brand, city brand, nation brand or your own personal brand, the Sustainable Kinetic Brand Management (SKBM) model explains how it works.

The Sustainable Kinetic Brand Management (SKBM) Model

According to the model brand management is the process of channeling the kinetic friction of development back towards reputational gains. This creates a virtuous cycle. Let me...

My Campaign Against Campaigns

Rethinking Communication in Country Reputation Management, was the title under which this piece was first published in the Club of Venice’s magazine Convergences, Number 14, Autumn 2019 .The Club of Venice is the informal gathering of communication tsars of the EU Member States and the EU Institutions.

The way in which “we” are perceived by “the average foreigner” is usually based on clichés and stereotypes. Sometimes perceptions can also become distorted by major recent events or...

Let us go Back to Local?

This article was first published on October 1, 2019 on hospitalitynet.org under a different title:  The Return to Power of Local Hotel Brands?

With the dramatic collapse of Thomas Cook it seems that the era of the neo-colonial tourism system, in which the travel trade pulled the strings, is finally coming to an end. For one and a half centuries, since Thomas Cook started the tour operating business around 1850, int...

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Travel and Tourism Imaginativeness

On the occasion of the release of the  2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness report  at the Wold Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, a different version of this article was published on September 1, 2019 in the World Economic Forum Agenda under a different title:  Why tourism policy needs to use more imagination

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The Future of Tourism: Imaginative Destinations

This article was first published on July 10, 2019 in the World Economic Forum Agenda under a different title:  Our tourism system is broken – time to customize

Are we unwillingly killing the geese that lay the golden eggs? The communities that tourists want to visit are increasingly under pressure from tourism. Essentially, no one person is liable. Human beings want to travel; who can blame them? Hoteliers are happy to provide beds, that’s their business. Food and beverage providers and museum...

How good policy, not propaganda, can build reputation

This article was first published on May 17, 2019 on Apolitical under a different title; Beyond place branding: Make your city known for policy, not propaganda. Photo credit: Death to the stock photo/ALLIE LEHMAN, thanks to Apolitical

Many of us feel uneasy with the lack of recognition that our community, city, region or country receives internationally and with the stereotypes and outdated clichés by which “outsiders” define us.

This has probably been the case for as long as man has existed,...

Imaginative Communities Formula

Axel Van Noten, a dear friend and relative of mine, was kind enough to proofread an early draft version of my book Imaginative Communities. The book improved tremendously based on Axel’s suggestions, corrections and input. His most valuable contribution is the following formula that nicely summarises what the book is about. I hope it will help other readers to digest the book’s conceptual contribution.

(ID + VAL) * IM² = REP

The whole thing deals with the way in which communities engage with...