Meejah fix - Dimanche O5.11.06

Dimanche O5.11.06 Meejah fix

It’s so good to drink tea again. I had to abstain all week as nowhere seemed to serve it. Of course it’s a scorcher of a day and it seems crazy to sip away on the hot stuff; sometimes however, you just can’t beat a cuppa cha. The tea warms my blood sufficiently for me to venture out for some Sunday sun.

I’ve a whole week of diary entries to catch up on and so I type away in the shade. School restarts tomorrow so I also pass the time planning my lessons. I’ve to teach my younger classes an Irish dance as part of the European Cultural Exchange week in a fortnight’s time. There will be a week of excursions, entertainment and cultural activities for the staff and pupils of Chateauboeuf (and other schools around the world) as teachers from different European countries come to share their culture and savour that of the host country. This year teachers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Germany and Finland are coming over to enjoy Martinique’s goodness.

The people of Martinique are proud of their heritage and even though they may not fly their flag as high as the Dominican’s they still wear their madras with pride. Later that evening I take time to read some of the publications I picked up in Dominica. There’s one advertisement which seems to succinctly and concisely summarise this country and the attitude of its inhabitants. The advertisement is part of Dominica’s re-branding as a desirable tourist destination as part of an initiative developed by the Ministry of Tourism. The following extracts are taken from The Chronicle [Friday, November 3, 2006. Page 2B] :

Yes, we have no direct flights.
Or high-rise buildings,
Traffic jams or casinos. Our topography of soaring mountains,
volcanoes and lush rainforests has kept Dominica unspoiled
for centuries. It’s the ideal place in the Caribbean to
get away from the hustle and into the soothing,
wellness-inducing waters of a natural sulphurous
hot spring, where things tend to fall into perspective.
DiscoverDominica.com | 767.448.2045


The accompanying advertisement is one of several developed as part of the island’s re-branding, which was recently undertaken.

The re-branding exercise allowed us to speak to past and potential visitors and tourism partners to determine the effectiveness of our marketing messages to date. Through the primary research component of the exercise, we were also able to develop a profile of the typical visitor to Dominica. Having a more defined profile of the king of visitor likely to visit Dominica also enabled us to effectively identify target markets capable of increasing arrivals to the island. Such specifics have also guided the creation of a more clearly defined print and on-line advertising campaign so as to ensure that we more effectively reach and appeal to the right king of visitor.

As a result of the re-branding, the new logo serves to more clearly identify Dominica as being a nature island within the Caribbean. The phrase “The Nature Island of the Caribbean” was changed to “The Nature Island of Dominica”. The word “Caribbean” was not incorporated since consumer research tells us that most travellers to Dominica are not seeking the typical “Caribbean” destination of sun, sand and sea. For the sake of clarification however, the word “Caribbean” is found in the copy that accompanies every advertisement. In addition, a new tag line “Defy the Everyday” was introduced as part of the logo. The graphics used in the logo capture our mountains, waterfalls and rivers. To reflect the hospitality and friendliness of us as People, the face of a woman was subtly incorporated into the face of the mountain.

Research has shown that our target market demands and respects honesty. Our new campaign does just that. We have presented upfront that high rainfall is what provides such vibrant rainforests, our fresh flowing rivers and waterfalls, that we do not have direct flights and our sand is black due to our volcanic makeup/origin. It is those very attributes that we tend to view as negatives, which make Dominica appealing to our identified niche markets. We are what and who we are, we make no apologies for it and our new campaign chooses to celebrate it!

Dominica competes with other destinations such as Costa Rica, Belize, Hawaii and other adventure destinations. Jamaica and Barbados or even Antigua or St. Martin are not our competition. Travelers to Dominica are typically non-conformists. They actively seek out authentic experiences, person challenges and the possibility of the unknown. They have no desire to follow the crowd. They have little use for the common, ordinary or typical. They question rather than accept. In the society that they are born into and live within, they really and truly “Defy the Everyday”. They understand that in order to maintain physical, mental and spiritual wellness, they must be in contact with nature. They know that nature brings balance to their lives, and are willing to pro-actively pursue it. They are participants, not spectators. They use travel to fulfil their needs.

All good logos and tag lines should be bold enough that they initially force us out of our comfort zone. In short, it is an acquired taste and not instantly satisfying. We feel the new logo meets that test. We invite you to embrace our new logo. We believe it will more effectively brand Dominica and enhance our destination marketing.

Thank you.

Your partners at the Ministry of Tourism


Okay. So it’s easy to fill out a diary entry by copying a piece of text but I feel that some of the points addressed above are relevant to me and as this is my Blog it’s going in.

The Chronicle is an interesting newspaper. The tag-line reads: The Newspaper of the Nation. Educational, Informative & Entertaining. The articles are written with a real personal touch. The straight forward descriptions, plain English and no-holes barred reporting show the reality of the news and stories. Since Dominica is such as small country some of the articles read like a parochial newsletter. The honesty and bluntness of other sections give an insight into the community and their commitment to social justice. Of course some of the national goings-on contribute to the frankness of the reporting. How else would you report on a court case involving a teacher who bit a part off someone’s lip? :

“The court head that Romain who had a relationship with Donna Mitchell in 2003 bit her lip. According to reports, on August 4, 2003 at about 7.30pm Mitchell came from the beach and met Romain on the verandah. She said hello to him and went in. He then came up to her and bit her on her upper lip resulting in a piece falling off. ‘I had to do surgery to repair my lips,’ she told the court.”

[The Chronicle, Friday, November 3, 2006. ‘Teacher fined for biting off lip.’ Page 24]

I love the simple bluntness of how it’s told. There’s another section on the same page titled ‘Bouquets & Brickbats’. It praises the good done in the community such as the incident-free WCMF and the recipients of awards yet it also has space to put down the unsavoury behaviour of others such as the person(s) who stole the property of a group during a performance at an independence event. I’m also intrigued by another section; EEF I WUZ… Here readers can write in and give their views and opinions on what they would do if they were in a certain authoritative or influential figure.

I put down the paper and tuck into the dinner of fish and rice which Nicola has prepared. It’s good to be back to our post-dinner ritual of trying out different ice-cream flavours. Tonight it’s time for nutty caramel cups. I’m soon overcome by my fullness and tiredness and roll into bed like a Rolo.