KICK-OFF #DCHH15
Ideas Come from Identity
Understanding your brand’s core, breaking it down, and clearly communicating its essence to the outside world to build brand recognition, trust, and goodwill—in his keynote address, freelance creative director Andreas Ruthemann sparked the search for the “Reason Why” and demonstrated why it’s so important for brands to show their true colors.
After an emotional video opening and a welcome address for the 5th DestinationCamp, the event dove right into the heart of the matter: Using vivid examples, Andreas Ruthemann provided insight into his day-to-day life as a freelance creative director and demonstrated how to best convey a brand’s essence to the outside world with the right tagline, the appropriate tone, and a strong visual identity.
At the same time, his keynote speech offered insight into the fine art of brand management: putting a face to the brand—clearly highlighting what makes one’s own brand unique and thereby transforming it from an anonymous player into a popular figure.
Ideas stem from identity—only those who are clear about what their brand fundamentally stands for are able to position themselves successfully over the long term and build credibility for their brand’s offerings and promises.
Following the keynote address, the six panelists engaged in a detailed discussion of pre-recorded video statements from industry representatives sharing their views on “tourism and innovation,” as well as the question of whether the Airbnb model is, rather than a “sharing economy,” actually a “shadow economy”:
- Carolin Ruh (Managing Director of TourismusMarketing Niedersachsen GmbH)
- Katja Leveringhaus (Co-owner & Managing Director of Explorer Hotels / Oberstdorf @ Event GmbH)
- Klaus Hildebrandt (Editor-in-Chief, FVW Media Group)
- Dominik Kneissl (Founder & COO, MapCase GmbH)
- Rico Pedrotti (Interim Manager of Partnerships, Qixxit / DB Vertrieb GmbH)
- Hansjörg Mair (Executive Director of the South Tyrol South Tourism Association)
Building on that, the moderators and mind mappers were introduced; they worked together in teams to present their session content for Saturday and gave short pitches to spark the participants’ interest. Now we’re looking forward to lively discussions, exciting results, and a wonderful time together in Hamburg! Here’s the video recap of Day 1... presented by Wild East & Traum-Ferienwohnungen: