Why rebranding the country of Cyprus is vital, and why the colorful depictions of hearts and waves are over.

I was born in Cyprus in 1972 and moved to Malibu, California in 1992 to attend university.
I have lived in Los Angeles ever since.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and is situated west of Israel and just south of Turkey. As many of you may know, Cyprus has been going through an economic slowdown for the past few years, escalating to a near financial meltdown in 2012 -13. Despite its economic and political issues, the island, with a population of just over a million, gets over twice as many visitors in any given year. Numbers are great for the economy, but it's important to note, that most of those visitors are on a budget - a really tight budget.
On chartered, package tours from northern Europe, one can fly, stay, eat and drive for a week on the island for a few hundred Euros. Half of that is probably airfare.
If you rely on being the cheapest then you are vulnerable to anyone who offers a better price.
Attracting a higher "quality" visitor and diversifying your offerings, has always been the holy grail of all countries that depend on tourism for their survival.
Don't forget, you attract what you put out.

As far back as I can remember, the branding and marketing of the country of Cyprus has always revolved around tourism and used the sun, the sea and Aphrodite (the goddess of love) in its branding - literally.

I have to admit I do like the first one on the left, with the big yellow sun, developed a few years back. It's simple, it's playful and fun. The stylized typography lends character and it's simple just like Cyprus was back then.  Today things are a little more complicated. As the Cyprus tourism sector matures, it also faces a lot of competition from the internet and the negative publicity over the recent financial meltdown.
This is why it's time for a new, more refined, more sophisticated approach to branding and marketing the country. To attract not only the budget tourist, but also the sophisticated traveler who is curious, affluent and is able to spend more and anxious to share their newly discovered paradise.
The time for childlike, colorful depictions of hearts and waves is over. The time to push the reset button is now.
What really amazes me is how the Cyprus Tourism Organization rarely markets itself to the American traveler -the most affluent and peripatetic traveler in the world, barely knows where Cyprus is. The third largest island in the Mediterranean and it's almost invisible as a tourist destination. The only time I ever see Cyprus mentioned is in some random trivia question on Jeopardy!  Soon the Chinese will be the emerging savvy affluent travelers of the world - will the Tourism Organization miss that boat as well?  A sophisticated traveler has a myriad of places to visit. Those places also happen to have a long history. And lots of sun. And crystal clear waters and I am sure they have a couple of gods or goddesses to boot. So what makes one destination more attractive than the other?Since nowadays everyone is their very own travel agent - online presence is everything. From the logo, to the tagline, to the photography, the language used,  the dedication to the arts, antiquity, history - all these factors carve an indelible image in one's mind when you are about to book a vacation. If you are enamored with a place you see online,  you are bound to spend a few more euros or dollars to visit it. Maybe not this year but surely the next.

Cyprus has so much to offer, but it all gets diluted in the message. A new brand will bring new beginnings, will raise expectations and set high standards for all the stakeholders to adhere to.

Gandhi said "Be the change that you wish to see in the world" I am sure he meant for much bigger things but hey, Cyprus is part of the world so here it goes:

At Flat 6 Concepts we have decided to create a case study on rebranding the country of Cyprus.

From a new logo to a new tagline and a whole new array of products, we hope to inspire and make Cyprus the new place to revisit in the Med. 

We will be unveiling our work shortly and we will be looking forward to your feedback.

In the meantime, here is a recent info graphic on the country, courtesy of CNN.