Camino de Santiago de Compostela to have Single Brand in the world..

[stevenjarvis]

There is an international project to create, if I understand the translation correctly, a single unified brand for the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
( Edit This is new to me but it's been around since May 2013 for ages ! )
Having been involved in brand management and the development, creation, maintenance and protection of global brands, the very thought of this project fills me with a combination of fear, intrigue and excitement.
On the one hand a wonderful opportunity to develop a simple, elegant, unique, distinctive and memorable identity for a global audience, on the other a free for all for interested parties to create a monster.
I am sure it will be an interesting process. If it is concluded within six months my faith in miracles will have been restored.
I read about it here http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http://rr.sapo.pt/informacao_detalhe.aspx?fid=29&did=124343

Further, there is a European Union briefing here
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/sustainable-tourism/documents/loci_iacobi_en.pdf

I love the wide sweep of the first paragraph ...

1
The Saint James Ways as a mean of European sustainable tourism development

LOCI IACOBI 2

The Loci Iacobi project is about the development of the Way of St James as an European
touristic product and about the promotion, development and implementation of
a single European brand that can identify all European pilgrims trails to St James and all the tourism services and equipment that make part of this product, making possible their commercialization as one coherent and thematic product

Not a single word there about the spirit, ethos, values of pilgrimage..... Anyway the Loci Iacobi site is available in French Spanish and Portugese .. http://www.lociiacobi.eu/

 

[stevenjarvis]

the project has its own distinct logo ...... and there is more information at yet another EU site here http://www.interreg-sudoe.eu/FRA/f/...--Lugares-de-Santiago--lieux-de-Saint-Jacques which has various budget figures which I'm yet to fully understand.
I thought it might be interesting to consider some of the visual identities currently associated with the Camino de Santiago de Compostela ( like the one above) . The visual identities and devices will be critical outcomes of the project . Straightforward enough....

 

[peregrina2000]

I guess it's not surprising that the forces of branding have reached the Camino. I just fervently hope that the outcome is not as vapid as the "official" sign of one of the recent Holy Years. It was a kind of grotesque caricature of a pilgrim, with strange shapes piled one on top of the other, earning the nickname of "Goofy" among a group I walked with when it was prevalent. I don't think it ever made it off the Frances, but it was never clear to us what the message was supposed to be. What's wrong with the simple yellow arrow?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I love PacMan Hiker and PacMan Biker! They should have stayed with the theme in 2010.

 

[jirit]

Too weird for my tastes.

Next thing you know they will hire Goldie to raise money and sell shares in the camino, offering a

"spiritual financial gain that reaches to the heavens"

Oh no, that sounds like a tag line

Where does it end?

 

[mspath]

...What's wrong with the simple yellow arrow?

Indeed. For me like Laurie the yellow arrow is THE 'perfect' symbol; clear, direct and for all of us who walk immediately recognizable. Initiated late last century by Don Elías Valiña Sampedro the then priest at O Cebreiro and first painted by him using yellow paint begged from the Road Department these arrows in our contemporary minds have become symbolically equal to the route. ..I'm all for good design but why change what is, what works and what is known just for the sake of change?

Margaret Meredith

 

[Bozzie]

There is an international project to create, if I understand the translation correctly, a single unified brand for the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
( Edit This is new to me but it's been around since May 2013 for ages ! )
Having been involved in brand management and the development, creation, maintenance and protection of global brands, the very thought of this project fills me with a combination of fear, intrigue and excitement.
On the one hand a wonderful opportunity to develop a simple, elegant, unique, distinctive and memorable identity for a global audience, on the other a free for all for interested parties to create a monster.
I am sure it will be an interesting process. If it is concluded within six months my faith in miracles will have been restored.
I read about it here http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http://rr.sapo.pt/informacao_detalhe.aspx?fid=29&did=124343

Further, there is a European Union briefing here
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/sustainable-tourism/documents/loci_iacobi_en.pdf

I love the wide sweep of the first paragraph ...

1
The Saint James Ways as a mean of European sustainable tourism development

LOCI IACOBI 2

The Loci Iacobi project is about the development of the Way of St James as an European
touristic product and about the promotion, development and implementation of
a single European brand that can identify all European pilgrims trails to St James and all the tourism services and equipment that make part of this product, making possible their commercialization as one coherent and thematic product

Not a single word there about the spirit, ethos, values of pilgrimage..... Anyway the Loci Iacobi site is available in French Spanish and Portugese .. http://www.lociiacobi.eu/

I'm disgusted. The Camino is not another Brand to be manipulated by some ad bozos to turn it into a Mickey Mouse or Burger King experience! This 1200 year experience is a sacred place where pilgrims seek truth, even today, not another fast (faith) food, clog the arteries experience.
I speak of such things being a detriment to this amazing journey, because as a 30plus year producer of such trivial pursuits of selling people things they don't really want or need, the Camino transformed me more than any other experience in my life. To use the Camino, to make it some kind of audacious brand, is sacrilege.

 

[Thomas1962]

Can anyone tell me why there should be one 'brand'?
The only reason I see is that there is some interest by people who make money from the camino. Please let them not take over any 'development' 'brand', 'product' or sign.

 

[SYates]

"and there is more information at yet another EU site here"

Just a quick note, a domain ending with .eu can be bought by anybody that resides in the EU. I know it, I have one ;-) The simple ending .eu doesn't make it an official EU site. Not implying that anybody here thinks / thought this, just mentioning it ;-) SY

 

[stevenjarvis]

"and there is more information at yet another EU site here"

Just a quick note, a domain ending with .eu can be bought by anybody that resides in the EU. I know it, I have one ;-) The simple ending .eu doesn't make it an official EU site. Not implying that anybody here thinks / thought this, just mentioning it ;-) SY

Thanks for that, I should have said what I meant , " yet another European Union , European Council, Governmental Agency, Non Governmental Agency site "

Meanwhile, whilst remembering that logo's are but one part of a brand identity ..... here are a couple more ...

I met this one in 2004

 

[nellpilgrim]

As someone who once spouted Corporate speak for a living it sends a shiver up my spine to read some of those links......I know that the groups and people involved mean well but really is 'enhancing the touristic integrity' of the Camino what it's all about? Surely by simply supporting those who support 'the Pilgrim' will ensure that the Camino(s) endure and maintain it's core integrity? Oh but I forgot 'simple' and marketing don't really go together.... unless we get really lucky and, having spend millions establishing 'core values' and the 'brandscapes' (yep you know like landscapes) of 'the audience', those responsible may (with the grace or God and St James) make the earth shattering discovery that 'the simple yellow arrow' has 'the greatest market resonance'...as long as they can make it an exclusive trademarked brand of course

 

[William Marques]

Can anyone tell me why there should be one 'brand'?
The only reason I see is that there is some interest by people who make money from the camino. Please let them not take over any 'development' 'brand', 'product' or sign.

I think you are right. This reminds me of the ugg boot a comfy type of Aussie slipper/shoe that someone managed to register as a brand name and made a mint from.

 

[stevenjarvis]

Can anyone tell me why there should be one 'brand'?
The only reason I see is that there is some interest by people who make money from the camino. Please let them not take over any 'development' 'brand', 'product' or sign.

Thomas, you're right, vested interests might expect to see a commercial advantage. There will of course be many other more altruistic views. I personally find this sentence from one project definition, chilling....
"development and implementation of a single European brand that can identify all European pilgrims trails to St James and all the tourism services and equipment that make part of this product, making possible their commercialization as one coherent and thematic product"

(About to look at your blog, Bon Camino ! )

 

[stevenjarvis]

As someone who once spouted Corporate speak for a living it sends a shiver up my spine to read some of those links......I know that the groups and people involved mean well but really is 'enhancing the touristic integrity' of the Camino what it's all about? Surely by simply supporting those who support 'the Pilgrim' will ensure that the Camino(s) endure and maintain it's core integrity? Oh but I forgot 'simple' and marketing don't really go together.... unless we get really lucky and, having spend millions establishing 'core values' and the 'brandscapes' (yep you know like landscapes) of 'the audience', those responsible may (with the grace or God and St James) make the earth shattering discovery that 'the simple yellow arrow' has 'the greatest market resonance'...as long as they can make it an exclusive trademarked brand of course

Nellpilgrim - LOL! "once spouted" Same here.... still do ! Of course I'm not guilty of some of the worst excesses of marketing speak. Now you'll have to excuse me while I integrate the essence of a Brazilian horticultural product into a stream of the finest combination of hydrogen and oxygen available in my culinary universe..
Ps Wanna pitch for the job ?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Many service providers have made substantial investments in providing for pilgrims. It makes a lot of sense that they would coordinate their offering. It is not the first effort. Red Albergues created an organization of private albergues to set standards and do joint marketing with their very useful folio. The French and Spanish accommodation and food providers are sufficiently anarchistic that I doubt any branding effort will be particularly onerous. I suspect it will be one of those "herding cats" efforts with some minor benefits to the pilgrims and providers. I sense a bit of resistance to change in the comments here! I guess it doesn't take much to spoil some people's memories and expectations. We all hope that future pilgrims will experience what we experienced, right down to the blisters.

 

[Wanderer64]

If you thought something couldn't or shouldn't be commodified and monetized, I can assure you branding experts are seeking a way to do just that with said thing as I type this.

 

[Meredith1]

This is simply chilling: "Within the Loci Iacobi an experimental project (with a higher involvement of SMEs and public tourism authorities) will be developed that aims the creation of a specific tool for the distribution and commercialization of the Saint James Ways as a touristic product." I am not a religious person, but I respect the religious aspects of the Camino for those who are. This seems completely contrary to the mystical, spiritual, and yes, religious elements of the Camino experienced by so many, including me--not religious, but spiritual and sometimes mystical--you know, the various little "coincidences" that seem like much more in the context of the Camino.

 

[susanawee]

Indeed. For me like Laurie the yellow arrow is THE 'perfect' symbol; clear, direct and for all of us who walk immediately recognizable. Initiated late last century by Don Elías Valiña Sampedro the then priest at O Cebreiro and first painted by him using yellow paint begged from the Road Department these arrows in our contemporary minds have become symbolically equal to the route. ..I'm all for good design but why change what is, what works and what is known just for the sake of change?

Margaret Meredith

I agree totally Margaret Meredith.....hear, hear.....

 

[stevenjarvis]

Many service providers have made substantial investments in providing for pilgrims. It makes a lot of sense that they would coordinate their offering. It is not the first effort. Red Albergues created an organization of private albergues to set standards and do joint marketing with their very useful folio. The French and Spanish accommodation and food providers are sufficiently anarchistic that I doubt any branding effort will be particularly onerous. I suspect it will be one of those "herding cats" efforts with some minor benefits to the pilgrims and providers. I sense a bit of resistance to change in the comments here! I guess it doesn't take much to spoil some people's memories and expectations. We all hope that future pilgrims will experience what we experienced, right down to the blisters.

I suspect "herding cats" would be more straightforward than this project. Watching this might be even more entertaining ! Meanwhile how about this as a visual identity ? I've just submitted it (with my invoice...)

is this what your refer to as PacMan Hiker ?

 

[Tia Valeria]

I so agree with comments others have made. The thought of the Camino being 'branded' is not IMHO in the spirit of the Camino, it makes it tourism not pilgrimage. We hope to walk to Santiago one last time next year, hopefully before this is really implemented.

 

[SYates]

Thanks for that, I should have said what I meant , " yet another European Union , European Council, Governmental Agency, Non Governmental Agency site "

...

You forgot to add "another private web page owned by an individual that happens to reside in the EU ;-) SY

 

[stevenjarvis]

You forgot to add "another private web page owned by an individual that happens to reside in the EU ;-) SY

Thank You ! To be clear, I'm ALL FOR your web site ! And indeed EU, .eu websites . ( A bit less keen on many of the European Union bureaucratic institutions ! )

Those concerned about this project might wish to IMAGINE the interested parties around a table discussing any new brand, brand identity, logo, visual device, typefaces, colours, agreed use in print, digital, signage etc. Now imagine such a group coming to agreement on these topics ...... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thinking of the "stakeholders" , there's no end to the corporate bodies, official and other, that might wish to be involved in the development of any such brand, rather than have it foisted upon them. Here's one , I'm sure you can think of more...

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I suspect "herding cats" would be more straightforward than this project. Watching this might be even more entertaining ! Meanwhile how about this as a visual identity ? I've just submitted it (with my invoice...)

is this what your refer to as PacMan Hiker ?

That's the guy! The following Holy Year there was a PacMan biker.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Here he is:

 

[stevenjarvis]

Here he is:
View attachment 6340

Wow, thanks for that, made me smile on sight ! For what it's worth I think from a design point of view it's (Pac Man Hiker as you describe him ) very effective. That sign is a good example of the scope of this exercise; Four devices - Pilgrim Figure, Xunta Device, Arrow (Left Handed, Black) , Xacobeo (Galicia ?) . Now there's about $500k worth just for some ideas right there ( although I'd do it for half that )

 

[Deleted member 3000]

This is the official logo for 2010, I think. Does it show any imagination??

 

[stevenjarvis]

This is the official logo for 2010, I think. Does it show any imagination??
View attachment 6341

by way of illustrating the complexity and financial interests at play, here is another "official" identity for Holy Year 2010 , this is taken from the Council of St James site ,
(so it must right..... yes ?)

Official logo of the event for the application of tax benefits
The Plenary of the Council of St. James, in its meeting of 17 June 2009 in Madrid, adopted the official logo of the event for tax benefit purposes.

and the Archdiocese have a retro feel to their Synod logo...

 

[stevenjarvis]

I imagine that any decisions relating to the subject of this thread would need to be approved by the Council of St James ( Consejo Jacobeo ) , who appear to have extensive responsibilities by Royal Decree under the auspices of the Ministry of Education Culture and Sport. This is from their web site :-
Functions of the Council of St James

Regulated by Royal Decree 1431/2009, of 11 September, regulating the reorganisation of the Council of St. James (BOE, 29 September 2009).

The functions of the Plenary Session of the Council are to study and propose the following matters in order to submit them to the corresponding public administration agencies represented on the Council:

• Actions concerning the delimitation, sign-posting, layout and maintenance of the Way of St. James in all of its historical branches.
• Actions designed to rehabilitate and conserve the assets linked to the historical-cultural heritage of the Way of St. James.
• Activities to promote the Way of St. James and its cultural and tourist dissemination, both nationally and internationally, with special emphasis on support for pilgrims.
• Specific actions regarding the celebration of the St. James Years (Años Jacobeos).
• Actions to improve the landscape and environment surrounding the Way.

The functions of the Executive Committee to be performed under the supervision of the Plenary Session, are as follows:

• To promote co-ordination among the different institutions and autonomous regions in order to carry out the work necessary enabling the Council of St. James' Plenary Session to fulfil its functions.
• The application and monitoring of the agreements taken in the Council of St. James' Plenary Session.
• To agree the measures undertaken by the different Administrations for the protection, regulation and sign-posting of the Way.
• To co-ordinate the joint information gathered on the state of conservation of the Way of St. James.
• To promote the cultural revitalisation of the Way, offering services and activities especially aimed at pilgrims or people interested in finding out more about the Way.
• To promote the undertaking of detailed studies on the public and private resources invested in the Way, the human resources dedicated to its management and its value as an instrument for economic development and as a regional backbone.
• To resolve any urgent matters that require an immediate decision, providing information thereon at the next following Plenary Session of the Council of St. James held.
• Any other function delegated by the Plenary Session of the Council of St. James.

Pretty impressive, I wonder if there is a representative member here , Ivar ?

 

[tyrrek]

My main concern about this is that I don't know what (if anything) gives anyone the right to 'brand' the Camino.

As far as I know it doesn't belong to the EU, Galician tourist agency or anyone else for that matter. These organisations don't own the land it passes through and certainly don't have intellectual property rights on the original idea! It's simply not theirs. In this respect it's quite different from companies branding and marketing some widget they've come up with. The danger with these situations is that once they have a financial 'stake' in it the idea of some kind of 'ownership' becomes a bit more tangible and with that comes influence.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The Loci Iacobi project is about the development of the Way of St James as an European touristic product and about the promotion, development and implementation of a single European brand that can identify all European pilgrims trails to St James and all the tourism services and equipment that make part of this product, making possible their commercialization as one coherent and thematic product

No one is claiming ownership. The effort is to coordinate resource providers in a focused way. Governments already exercise a lot of control over caminos. If you pay attention to rerouting of parts of the walk, it always creates a lot of controversy. There are many stakeholders, so they have to coordinate to eliminate the friction. I honestly don't expect much except uniform markings, a few brochures in tourist offices, and a million dollar logo paying royalties to someone. The consequences are not likely to be dire. Maybe it will include a bit of clean up. There is no shortage of litter and graffitti.

 

[tyrrek]

Well, you have more faith in these ventures than I do, Falcon. It could indeed be a well meaning attempt to spread the benefits of the growth of the Camino Frances a bit wider, and encourage the expansion of the albergue network on the less walked routes etc. If so, that's fine, assuming such assistance is actually needed and welcomed and wouldn't be hijacked by bureaucrats' agendas about what type of development was allowed/desirable (3*+ hotels only etc).

The worst case scenario is that once they've spent loads of our loot on a single brand/logo etc, the 'product' will have to match the 'brand image'. In order to appear in promotional material businesses will have to conform to some 'vision'. The logo itself will be property and nobody able to use it unless they pay/conform, unlike the current ubiquitous and democratic yellow arrow. There are more ways to 'own' than just waving a set of deeds.

I agree it's unlikely to come to much in the short term, and I also accept that promotion by tourist agencies has helped in re-establishing the Camino over the last 25 years or so. However we should make sure such interventions are genuinely about helping where it's needed and not meddling where it's doing perfectly well on its own.

p.s. I assume the clean-up reference was a joke.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

No joke. Here is my plan.

From April through October, concession trucks with toilet facilities would set out each morning from large cities and position themselves every 5km in the vacant stretches of the Camino so as not to compete with villages. A very small sum, say 50 cents, would be charged to use the toilet. Each van would have the usual tienda items for sale. In the late afternoon the trucks would return to be serviced. It would take about fifty Winnebagos to give good coverage, and create several hundred badly needed jobs that require very few skills. Small trash bags would be distributed and collected, returning trash with the trucks to the cities in the evening. Revenue would be insufficient to cover the cost, so a subsidy from the xuntas would be required. Maybe the Gates Foundation would provide the capital to buy the trucks! Bill has a big project building toilets for the third world, so he could test them on the Camino.

What a great branding opportunity! For Sh*ts Sake, Keep the Camino Clean.

 

[SYates]

Wouldn't it be better to teach / encourage responsibility (take your rubbish, including toilet paper to the next village bin, instead of setting up toilets each 5km? The mind boggles at that sites, a line of toilet boxes on the way to Santiago ... SY

 

[Deleted member 3000]

One or two commodes inside the RV-type truck; nothing permanent.

 

[Wanderer64]

Or is the solution to toilet trash and other issues related to higher pilgrim numbers to be found in some sort of reservation system for the Camino? Other walks around the world do it. Nominal fees collected for reservations would go toward administering the program and would help fund environmental preservation and maintenance of the routes.

Likely an issue the merits it's own thread, but I throw it out here.

 

[stevenjarvis]

Xacobeo Galicia have recently launched a new logo for the VII Centenary of St Francis of Assisi's Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela ,( which I'm going to start a new thread on )

The logo , visual identity, includes a piece of cardboard with handwritten symbols - you can see it full size here - http://www.xacobeo.es/en/blog/turis...entenario-de-la-peregrinacion-de-san-francisc

 

[stevenjarvis]

As the work to create the new unified BRAND goes on, here's another set of visual identities of relavence, I do admire the SdC Council one, simple, effective, looks great on everything from buildings to wheelie bins !

 

[Deleted member 3000]

A casualty already of the Camino's popularity is the slow disappearance of the "traditional" albergue. It wasn't necessarily donativo, but it was very low end, inexpensive, and intimate. To keep the cost low it was usually run by volunteer hospitaleros. The demand of large number of pilgrims has caused a new supply of albergues to be built. They conform to modern codes and regulations, so require a charge larger than the former 5E per night (a handicap bathroom alone costs tens of thousands of Euro). As a result, pilgrims looking for an "authentic" pilgrimage jam the remaining traditional albergues, making them less authentic in ways that most of us can imagine. As volunteer hospitaleros see the rewards going to the commercial albergues, they become less willing to volunteer year after year, and, if they are honest in their self-evaluation, they may develop a bit of an attitude toward pilgrims. It is a natural attitude because many of the new pilgrims are much more demanding than the ones of yore! They often view themselves as customers after some nights in high-fee albergues, and have a customer's expectations even of the donativo albergues.

"You cannot go home again," and the changes are irreversible. In many ways it is pointless to resist the changes. Having an expectation of a "usta," as in "it usta be better," camino can do little more than ruin the one that you are on today. The day will come when pilgrims avoid the albergue at Granon because it is just too crowded. Every pilgrim, maybe 500 a day, will want to stay there to have a bit of the good old days they read about in places like the Forum. With wall-to-wall pilgrims, everyone will wait for someone else to do with the cooking and cleanup, and the "customers" will leave wondering what all the hype on Granon was about.

The best attitude may be to cherish the occasional "usta" accommodation when you find it, accept the ones that have become the new standard (and subject to branding), embrace the changes, and have a good time by refusing to let expectations ruin reality.

 

[stevenjarvis]

This is another image used in the past by the leading authority the Consejo Jacobeo ....
(this post in process of updating)
Thanks for all the direct messages, updates on the way