Description
Answer 4 Questions about the case study:Why, if they had maintained the same number of tourist visits, did they lose their Top 10position on the list of most visited countries?What would they have to do for the country brand to remain stable in attractivenessindices?Should they focus more on a specific country, or on a larger region to increase touristvolume and income? Why?Should they stay focused on sun and beach, or diversify their offer to include the fivepriority pillars: Culture, Adventure, Romance, Gastronomy, and Conventions? Why?
Unformatted Attachment Preview
HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism Marketing Management
Case Study 2: Mexico: Building a Country Brand
About the case study:
This case provides an opportunity to evaluate different strategic factors that influence decisionmakers when creating a country brand that is able to withstand today’s competitive global
context. It also explores the challenges of public-private partnership. Building a brand is not
easy and to attempt one in the context of a country is quite challenging. It becomes even more
difficult when dealing with developing countries, short- and long-term socio-economic crises,
and constant pressure from a neighbor like the United States that has considerable influence on
a country’s image.
Learning Objectives
Understand the different stages of creating a country brand.
Evaluate crisis management strategies.
Identify areas of opportunity for a country brand.
Assess factors that can cause a country to drop out of the Top 10 of tourist destinations.
Students are to access the full case study, provided by Harvard Business Publishing Education, at
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/BAB441-PDF-ENG a fee of $4.25. Please download and read
the case study carefully to understand the case and then answer each of the following questions
in a word document.
Questions:
1. Why, if they had maintained the same number of tourist visits, did they lose their Top 10
position on the list of most visited countries?
2. What would they have to do for the country brand to remain stable in attractiveness
indices?
3. Should they focus more on a specific country, or on a larger region to increase tourist
volume and income? Why?
4. Should they stay focused on sun and beach, or diversify their offer to include the five
priority pillars: Culture, Adventure, Romance, Gastronomy, and Conventions? Why?
To answer each question thoroughly, students should provide a response with a minimum
of one or two paragraphs. Students are to paraphrase the information from the case study
when formulating answers (rather than coping the information directly from the case study).
The written work is to be formatted in one single document, including a title page with their
name and course code (i.e., HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism Marketing Management), and
is due at 5 pm on Sunday, November 12, 2022. Students are to submit their work via Canvas.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
BAB441 / NOVEMBER 2018
MEXICO: Building a Country Brand
On April 1, 2013, Rodolfo López Negrete, Director of the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB), received the
first United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports on industry performance for
2012. When he turned to the rankings of most visited countries, he was surprised. He could not
understand why Mexico had lost the tenth-place ranking it held in 2011.
López Negrete, whose job was to coordinate, design, and implement strategies to boost tourism,
needed to find a solution. The country’s brand was in trouble, and Mexico was experiencing
stagnation in both the number of tourists and the economic windfalls they bring.
López Negrete was at a loss as to why Mexico, despite possessing so many positive attributes, had
dropped in the rankings (see Exhibit 1). The country had fallen from tenth place in 2011 with 23.4
million visitors, to thirteenth place in 2012, surprisingly with the same number of visitors.
The Top 10 had shifted. While Malaysia and Turkey were gaining ground with effective global
marketing campaigns, Mexico was falling behind.
López Negrete predicted a drop in position in the 2013 ranking given the great effort that Asian
countries were making. As a Mexican and the director of the MTB, he knew it was up to his team
to redesign their strategy to keep up with global competition and recover his country’s reputation
as one of the best travel destinations in the world.
After thinking long and hard about what to do, he and his colleagues at the MTB agreed that the
first critical step was a strategic realignment plan for Mexico’s brand in 2014. The plan’s objective
was to place Mexico back in the Top 10 in the next ranking, and place more emphasis on economic
windfall over volume of visitors. Moreover, Negrete thought about not only promoting the concepts
of Sun and Beach, but also extending efforts to the five areas the Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR)
had emphasized earlier that year: (a) Culture, (b) Adventure, (c) Romance, (d) Gastronomy, and
(e) Convention Tourism.
Mexico’s economy depended on maintaining and improving its position in the Top 10. SECTUR
had sent a clear message about the importance of regaining that position. López Negrete and his
team had to produce a three-year plan that was immune to crises brought by bad weather or foreign
policy issues and a ten-year plan that would catapult Mexico into the list of Top 10 most-visited
countries. They knew it would be challenging, but they were motivated by the prospect of sharing
Mexico’s riches with the entire world and shedding the perception of insecurity and violence
associated with the drug trafficking that plagued the country between 2010 and 2012.
Mexico: Richness of Diversity and Authenticity
This case was prepared by Vincent Onyemah, Professor of sales and marketing at Babson College and Dr. Silvia Cacho
Elizondo, Associate Academic Director and Marketing Associate Professor at IPADE Business School. It was developed
as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative
situation. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data or illustration of effective or ineffective
management.
Copyright © 2018 Babson College and IPADE Business School and licensed for publication to Harvard Business
School Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any
form or for
byuse
any
means
without
written
permission
of Babson
This document is authorized
only
by reem
Alzouri inprior
HTM 5423:
Hospitality
and Tourism
Marketing College.
Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
Bordered by the US to the north, Guatemala and Belize to the south, the Pacific to the West, and
the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea to the east, Mexico has an exceptional geographic location
for attracting tourists. In terms of its land size, it was the fourteenth largest in the world, with an
area over 760,000 square miles. It comprised 32 states and possessed enormous geographical,
climactic, and ecological diversity.
In 2013, Mexico’s 122.3 million inhabitants made it the eleventh most populated country in the
world. While Spanish was the official language, there were also 67 minority indigenous languages.
This contributed to the country’s historical and cultural richness. In macroeconomic terms, Mexico
ranked fourteenth worldwide in GDP, and eleventh in Purchasing Power Parity. The combination
of cultural diversity and economic power made Mexico one of the most attractive in the world for
tourism and investment.
Tourism: Source of Growth and International Projection
Tourism had been one of the most important and dynamic global economic sectors. This was true
in terms of the investment it attracted, the contribution it made to national employment and
income levels, and the support it provided for regional development. In 2012, tourism generated
one of every eleven jobs worldwide, contributing 10% to global GDP. That same year, Mexican
tourism represented 8.5% of GDP and generated 2.5 million direct jobs and 5 million indirect jobs
out of a total of 50 million.1
The MTB’s director firmly believed that the tourism industry could greatly increase Mexico’s
wealth. This could be achieved only by increasing the number of visitors and the average
expenditure per tourist. For example, Spain—second among all nations in tourist income (see
Exhibit 2)—generated 15% of its GDP through tourism in 2012.
According to UNWTO 2012 data, international tourism generated 1.35 billion global visits and
revenues of $1.075 trillion USD—a 4% increase (in visits) over the previous year (see Exhibit 2).
That same year, Mexico enjoyed 5% participation in the $212 billion USD reported in the Americas.
The UNWTO predicted that in 2030, some 1.8 billion tourists will travel internationally,
representing a compounded annual increase of 3% (CAGR; see Exhibit 3).
For the Mexican government, tourism was high on the list of priorities in terms of public policy and
national agenda, given that it generated 8.5% of national GDP. The organization in charge of all
issues related to tourism was the office of the Secretary of Tourism and all its affiliated agencies
(see Exhibit 4). López Negrete described the department’s structure as follows: “SECTUR has two
arms: The MTB2 and FONATUR.”
MTB: responsible for the design and implementation of promotional and commercial strategies.
FONATUR: responsible for developing tourism infrastructure in key tourist destinations.
Both organizations complemented each other under the umbrella of the Secretary of Tourism. For
example, whereas FONATUR designated a destination, MTB payed special attention to this
destination and promoted it vigorously. The objective was to make destinations, designated as top
priority, get the needed investment to boost their development.
www. eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2013/04/01/turismo-mexico-aporta-hasta-85-pib-cisc;
www.forbes.com.mx/la-verdadera-situacion-del-empleo-en-mexico/#gs._wS_HTI
UNWTO, World Tourism Barometer, April 2013. GDP = Gross domestic product.
2 Mexico Tourism Board.
1
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism2Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
MTB: Commercial and Communication Strategies
A key aspect of Mexico’s tourism strategy was to communicate the country’s image effectively.
Given that tourism was one of the most important pillars of the country’s economy, it required a
promotion strategy that created an identity, positioned Mexico among other international markets,
and improved perception among consumers and the industry as a whole.
The brand strategy was expressed as follows: Intangible value for the country through its products,
tourism, companies, athletics, or institutions.3
Country brand was a focal point for nations around the world. It sought to combine three main
elements:
(a) Identity: This included attributes that made it attractive to tourists or investors.
(b) Positioning: Defined by the country’s communication strategies and visitor experiences.
(c) Image: Based on brand perception among consumers.
The Mexico Brand: Genesis and Evolution
As with any other product or service, image was key and a country brand’s main attributes must be
properly communicated.4 In 1998, SECTUR created a logo to promote the country brand and
placed it on all marketing and communication materials. This logo (shown below) referenced
folkloric stereotypes and expressed elements of the sun and archeological sites.
In 2003, the MTB decided the logo was not properly achieving the desired positioning, given that
the image did not fully reflect Mexico’s diversity and richness.
So, their first step in the rebranding process was to commission a detailed qualitative study from
the firm Lexia. Based on the results, the MTB team hired the MBLM agency to develop a visual
identity and positioning strategy integrating cultural, productive, and commercial values in one
image that would make Mexico a more attractive destination.
This process took nearly two years, and it consisted of intense rounds of consulting and group
discussion with artists, politicians, business leaders, and cultural figures. Research was also
conducted with foreigners living in Mexico to discover what aspects most caught their attention.
These studies, which concluded in the first quarter of 2005, showed that Mexico’s brand strength
lay in its diversity, the warmth of its people, their capacity to overcome adversity, and its ancient
cultures. However, one of the problems was that the brand did not emphasize modernity.
The working group detected that Mexico’s modernity resided in the adaptability and flexibility of
its people. Art and architecture also represented innovations that differentiated Mexico in terms
of brand attributes.
3 Future Brand (www.futurebrand.com).
4 Marisa Ramos and Javier Noya, “América Latina: del riesgo país a la Marca País y más allá,” (2006): 30.
www.realinstitutoelcano.org/documentos/242/242_RamosNoyaImagenMarcaPaisAmericaLatina.pdf.
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism3Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
These concepts shaped the new visual identity and the slogan “Mexico is unique, diverse, and
hospitable”:
Mexico is unique because of its geography, culture, customs, traditions, and architectural
richness.
The country is diverse because of its climate, landscapes, tourist attractions, ethnic heritage,
its modernity, its music, and the alternatives it provides for different touristic needs.
Finally, Mexico is hospitable because its people are cordial, affectionate, friendly, and
accommodating, and because the country offers an array of quality transport services.
This brand transformation was meant to make the promotional activity that was being conducted
in foreign markets more competitive. The brand would be emblazoned on export products, highquality agricultural products, touristic products, and ad material for official events.
Although the project began as a way to promote tourism, Mexico’s brand integrated elements like
commercial exchange, geographic position, and attraction for foreign investment.
Mexico’s new brand logo (shown below) was unveiled in April 2005 at the national Tourism
Tradeshow. From that moment on, this logo would be part of all Mexican tourism promotion
campaigns.
Differentiating Elements of the Mexico Brand
The new graphic design was meant to incorporate Mexico’s natural and cultural richness. The
image expressed the nation’s diversity, richness, warmth, and happiness. The typography sought
to create a strong identity, a sense of pride in the zest for life, and self-confidence. The use of the
accented, lower-case “e” meant to convey modernity and personality. Within the brand concept,
each letter had a specific meaning:
Ancient civilizations, with strong roots and pride of origin.
A nation built from the clash of two cultures resulting in a distinct character.
Symbol of encounter, fusion, intersection, and ethnic mixture captured in the
duality of day and night (sun and moon).
Verticality, modern aspiration, visual and architectural traces of a sophisticated
past that looks toward the future.
Vitality, natural resources, and mega-diversity.
Ocean and sky, natural beauty, fluidity of thought, and conquest of our most
noble dreams.
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism4Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
In 2005, the secretary of Tourism declared the following:
The Mexico brand will provide immediate recognition, generating positive
associations with the country. This brand will be the symbol of modern
Mexico, which distinguishes itself both for its great cultural and historical
patrimony, and its creative people and their triumphant spirit that
transcends borders.
Brand Ambassadors
The strategy’s success would require the participation of various groups in Mexico, not only the
Ministry of Tourism. This depended on great communication and positioning efforts. Furthermore,
the need to improve the product offered to tourists would require new investment.
On September 5, 2005, the new Mexico Brand strategy was launched by the Ministry of Tourism
and Francisco Ortiz, at that time the director of MTB. Notable business figures, academics,
scientists, politicians, and diplomats attended the launch.
Regarding brand communication and positioning, the secretary of Tourism said,
Successfully projecting a Country Brand requires synergy and teamwork,
which is a commitment for all of us that work for Mexico, and we invite
participation from all organized and productive forces in Mexican society.
The Mexico brand will give us an immediately recognizable identity that
generates positive associations. This brand will be a symbol for modern
Mexico, which distinguishes itself both for its great cultural and historical
patrimony, and its creative people and their triumphant spirit that
transcends borders.
We are more than just fun, sun, and beach; we also have talented people in
the fields of literature, art, architecture, and music, only to name a few.
Supported by the MBLM agency, the MTB team developed the idea of electing a group of brand
ambassadors from among select Mexicans that had distinguished themselves through
internationally recognized work. The mission of these ambassadors would be to promote a
favorable image of their country through their work, and spread a new message about Mexico
beyond the reach of traditional communication media.
Results of the New Image: 2005–2008
Mexico’s new image was very well received and was used for both national and international
campaigns. The focus was on increasing the flow of tourists and increasing the rate of hotel
occupancy throughout the country. SECTUR carried out key initiatives supported by research done
by Lexia, and communication materials generated by MBLM.
However, the campaign’s impact began to fade over time. 2008 had been a good year, but the
director of SECTUR and his team realized that they could not merely center their efforts on
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism5Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
attracting foreign visitors, as many of these people were barely staying afloat in their own countries.
Tourism had been growing, but by the end of 2008 the global situation was rapidly deteriorating,
and the MTB sensed they were on the verge of a new crisis.
The “Live Mexico” Campaign: 2008–2009
Mexico’s Country Brand Index (CBI5) had been growing year by year, and by 2008 the country was
positioned among the most preferred in the world for its beautiful beaches. However, Mexicans
themselves viewed the situation unfavorably because of the great uneasiness felt by families that
made their livings solely from tourism.
With the help of MXN 200 million Mexican pesos pledged by President Felipe Calderón, the MTB
hired the Olabuenaga Chemistri agency to create a new campaign that would reinvigorate national
tourism. The campaign’s goal would be to resolve the image problems caused by increased violence,
insecurity, and poor sanitary conditions.
The Ministry of Tourism wanted a massive campaign. More specifically, they wanted a street-level
campaign using various communication media: press, radio, and television. For his part, MTB
director Oscar Fitch wanted to reassure each of the country’s states, saying, “Each state, according
to its needs and tourism offer, will have the support of the Secretary and the Board. We will not
leave anybody behind.”
The MTB welcomed everyone aboard in convincing foreign visitors that visiting Mexico could be a
wonderful experience. They wanted to communicate that Mexico was not only a beautiful country,
but also a strong country capable of overcoming challenges. The message was that Mexicans would
be waiting with open arms to welcome visitors to their beaches, cities, and towns.
In April 2009 the H1N1 flu crisis struck, and the “Live Mexico”6 campaign was launched in response
(see multimedia references at the end of case). The federal executive pointed out that Live Mexico
was more than a normal advertising campaign, but rather a way to show the unity of the Mexican
people. The campaign was an unprecedented effort to attract tourism.
Live Mexico demonstrated that the country was alive in all senses, and invited people to visit and
live it intensely. Moreover, companies launched special offers to make key tourist destinations
accessible to more Mexicans. The results were positive,7 and the country recovered pre-crisis visit
and hotel occupancy numbers quickly.
The Perfect Storm of 2010
In April 2010, López Negrete was named director of MTB. It was a critical moment for the
organization, coming on the heels of the H1N1 crisis that decimated Mexico’s tourism industry.
However, 2010 only added to the trouble:
5 CBI or Country Brand Index is an index of global country brand positioning. This index measures how individuals
perceive a given country, its products, culture, business, and tourism. It analyzes factors like growth, historical sites,
tourist destinations (beaches, restaurants, and hotels), safety, exchange rate, and foreign investment, among other
things.
6 Mexican Editorial Association, 2009. www.oem.com.mx/oem/notas/n1177645.htm.
www.calderon.presidencia.gob.mx/2009/05/pone-en-marcha-el-presidente-calderon-campana-vive-mexico-para-reactivarel-turismo/
7 www.informador.com.mx/economia/2009/129345/6/califican-en-yucatan-de-exitosa-campana-vive-mexico.htm.
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism6Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
Mexico’s Image Crisis: A country immersed in a drug war. This crisis caused great concern
in international markets, creating a general resistance—among consumers and the tourism
industry—to support Mexico in its efforts to attract tourism.
Bankruptcy of Mexicana de Aviación (the country’s largest airline, with most available
seats for passengers entering Mexico): This had a tremendous impact on the number of available
airline seats for both national and international flights.
Economic Crisis in the US: As the number one source of tourist visitors to Mexico, the
number of flights from the US fell from 40 million per year to 36 million per year between 2008
and 2010.
It was necessary to design a promotion strategy that could overcome these obstacles and recover
Mexico’s brand positioning internationally. To that end, the MTB produced what López Negrete
called “parallel strategies”: one would strengthen Mexico’s reputation, and another would use
touristic promotion to allow for increases in volume and profit, and attack the roots of the crisis of
2009.
MTB needed to communicate that although episodes of extreme violence were occurring in Mexico
at that time, they were not happening in tourist areas. Battles among cartels were limited to specific
regions and were far from areas frequented by international tourists. To improve the Mexico brand,
the MTB team designed programs and campaigns oriented towards contextualizing the situation.
The first initiative was to take control over messaging about the country both in Mexico and abroad.
Two of MTB’s most timely and effective actions were related to improving perceptions of Mexico
and using visitors’ testimonials.
The first action was to gain assurances from the US State Department (and eventually from other
countries) that travel alerts concerning Mexico would be regionally specific and not general. This
way, Americans and other international travelers would have accurate and updated information
about violence occurring in very specific places, and thus would realize that 95% of Mexican
destinations were safe from such risk.
As a result, the US Secretary of State published a document with extensive and specific information
about all 32 Mexican states, describing in great detail the current situation in each defined region.
This was an important step in gaining credibility.
As López Negrete pointed out, “In a crisis, rule number one is: come out and tell the truth, but also
come out and say what you are doing to solve the problem, and third, give continual and periodic
updates about how your solution is progressing.”
The second action was focused on improving brand perception using the tourists themselves. The
“Mexico: Taxi Project” was directed toward the US and Canadian markets and was based on
experiences of tourists from those countries that had just returned home from Mexico.
Tourists were recorded sharing their experiences with taxi drivers and talking about their
satisfaction with their trips to various destinations in Mexico. The drivers were professional actors
using a script of very specific open questions. This campaign helped the country gain credibility
and spread the message that the problem of insecurity was not general, but occurred in very specific
pockets.
As a result of these strategies and others employed in 2010, perceptions of Mexico measured among
potential visitors changed from 70% negative and 30% neutral and positive, to 70% positive and
30% neutral and negative in only 18 months.
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism7Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
“Mexico, the place you thought you knew” Campaign: 2010–2012
At the end of 2010, López Negrete decided to commission a more extensive study of what
consumers were really thinking, and the associations they were making with the country brand.
This study, carried out by Ogilvy Public Relations, showed that Mexico was sub-commercializing.
Consequently, MTB organized a new international communication and positioning campaign.
Most people associated Mexico only with beach vacations and relaxation. As such, the main
challenge was to broaden US and international consumers’ view toward vacationing in Mexico. The
Ogilvy PR team wanted to eliminate the perception among tourists that Mexico was only a place
for “laying in the sun like a lizard.”
The campaign’s objective was to communicate the great variety of opportunities available to
tourists. Together with MBT, the agency developed a clear message and proposed the slogan
“Mexico, the place you thought you knew” (see multimedia references). The message focused on
the diversity of Mexico’s tourist offerings.
The campaign8 integrated various versions that highlighted attractive features of Mexico’s main
destinations, providing better socioeconomic and demographic profiles than previous campaigns.
During this period, Mexico invested 640 million Mexican pesos in advertising in North America
alone.
The campaign ads were placed in traditional media outlets, as well as in iconic places in the largest
US cities: Los Angeles (where they paid for the city’s largest wall advertisement), Chicago, New
York, Atlanta, and Washington, among others.9
By 2011, the campaign started yielding results, and the number of tourists entering Mexico
increased. The country’s CBI ranking recovered the ground lost during the sharp fall in 2010, and
the number of international visitors reached a record 23.4 million at the end of 2011.
Mexico’s share of US tourists grew from 14.4% in 2010 to 15.4% in 2011, as did visits from other
countries like Brazil (65%), China (32%), Colombia (23.2%) and Italy (13%), according to
information from Datatur 2012.
At the end of 2012, Gloria Guevara (Secretary of Tourism) along with the Business Coordination
Board, the Finance Ministry, and the MTB, presented the Country Brand Program’s progress and
declared that the strategy had allowed them to “Strengthen our image and increase the number of
international visitors.”10
Mexico Falls in the 2013 Rankings
On April 1, 2013, sitting with his executive committee, López Negrete was rehashing the country
brand promotion and commercialization strategies. Everyone on his team agreed that their past
initiatives had been reasonably successful. However, by the end of 2012 Mexico had fallen in the
rankings in both number of tourists and income per tourist.
Mexico’s rank in number of tourists fell from tenth to thirteenth place, and from twenty-third to
twenty-fourth place in income per tourist, according to numbers for 2012. In López Negrete’s
8 www.journeymexico.com/blog/pushing-mexico-forward.
9
www.promotur.com.mx/work/sites/CPTM/resources/LocalContent/8065/31/PLANDEMERCADOTECNIA.pdf.pdf.
10 SECTUR, 2012.
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism8Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
mind, the period from 2010 to 2012 had been a “period of business recovery” that saw moderate
tourism growth—from 21.5 million tourists in 2009 to 23.4 million tourists at the end of 2012.
The main focus of MTB’s strategies had been to attract more tourists, and once that goal was
achieved they could move on to increasing tourism profitability. Yet, López Negrete’s experience in
the industry taught him that this focus was insufficient by itself to improve Mexico’s brand
performance, given the increased competition from other countries.
To begin developing a new strategy, López Negrete and his team needed to review the KPIs11 in
more detail, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of previous campaigns. The new strategy
had to consider a broader positioning for the Mexico brand that included culture, adventure,
romance, gastronomy, and convention tourism.
Rethinking the Future
It was clear to López Negrete and MTB that they could neither allow a continued drop in the
number of tourists and associated income, nor tolerate the increased negative associations with the
country brand.
Reflecting on the possible causes of this drop, López Negrete and his team wondered if previous
strategies had been too focused on the short term.
As a response, MTB set out to design a six-year plan that would be stable in the face of aggressive
strategies from competing countries, and create accelerated growth. The challenge was formidable:
Bring Mexico into the second tier!
Success would require finding the correct answers to some difficult questions:
Why, if they had maintained the same number of tourist visits, did they lose their
Top 10 position on the list of most visited countries?
What would they have to do for the country brand to remain stable in
attractiveness indices?
Should they focus more on a specific country, or on a larger region to increase
tourist volume and income?
Should they stay focused on sun and beach, or diversify their offer to include the
five priority pillars: Culture, Adventure, Romance, Gastronomy, and
Conventions?
López Negrete and his team wondered if broadening the value proposition to include the five
pillars would make them lose focus, like someone trying to sell too many things at once.
The group was tense, and they all knew they needed to deliver. The industry was as competitive as
ever, and more and more countries were in a position to generate employment, attract
investment, and boost development through tourism.
11 Some of the Key Performance Indicators typical to the international tourism industry were number of tourists and
market participation (by country, region and type of tourism offer); see www.dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k47t9q2t923-en.
This document is authorized for use only by reem Alzouri in HTM 5423: Hospitality and Tourism9Marketing Management – Fall 2023 taught by Kevin So, University of South Carolina from Oct
2023 to Dec 2023.
For the exclusive use of r. Alzouri, 2023.
Mexico – Building a Country Road
BAB441 – NOVEMBER 2018
Multimedia References for the Mexico Brand Campaigns
2003: MBLM
www.mblm.com/case-studies/country-branding
2009: Live Mexico
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SGi-EP8Aug
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcfm8ZevvTo&list=PL3A745B383DE1AAB9&index=4
