Branding Malta

I am trying to understand the precise meaning of Brand Malta.

As one who has spent 40 years in marketing, building brands in the consumer packaged goods industry in North America, I feel that I may have a modest amount of competence in expressing an opinion on this matter.

And, my opinion is that Brand Malta has a terribly confused identity (if indeed it even has one) with its target group... presumably, potential European tourists contemplating a vacation in the Mediterranean.

From the many ads that I've seen in a number of magazines and billboards, I cannot draw any simple conclusion as to Malta's unique selling proposition. In other words, what exactly is Malta selling to potential tourists, and is this proposition relevant to them?

Not to sound like a "know it all", I'd like to suggest that the Malta Tourism Authority seriously consider a "brand positioning" that some very smart person or agency developed when I was just a kid. And, that brand positioning was simply, "The island of Sunshine and History". This, I believe, perfectly captures the very essence of the Maltese Islands.

It is beyond the scope of this letter to get into the details of why this positioning is potentially unique, credible, relevant, motivating and memorable. Suffice to say that brands must meet all these criteria to be great, and I do not believe that the current "Brand Malta" campaign passes this test.

With proper marketing, I feel that we could stimulate substantially greater interest in Malta as a tourist destination. After all, if one is looking for sunshine, we have 300 days per year, great beaches, smiling faces, friendly people etc. As for history, we are blessed with a richness that is remarkable given the size of our small island. How many other island tourist destinations can boast of this brilliant combination? Not many, if any at all.