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This Christmas break I was fortunate enough to visit St Lucia for holiday – but, being in branding your mind never quite completely ‘switches off’ and have some observations to share. First of all, under the rules of Full Disclosure, FutureBrand (in 2009) worked with the St Lucian tourism authority to ‘brand’ the island and help ‘position’ it for future marketing. However, my holiday was not funded nor paid for in any way by the St Lucian government or any representative of any companies or products I am about to mention.  So – as I said, even on holiday you are never fully ‘off duty’. And so, the holiday began with what could only be described as a ‘flee from winter’ as the BA flight took off from Gatwick in the grip of an icy December headed towards  60 degrees/61 degrees west longitude and 13 degrees/14 degrees north latitude (1, 300 miles south of Florida) in the eastern Caribbean. A blissful little gem of an island called St Lucia. The West Indies and Windward islands of this part of the world are tropical, green, wet, volcanic and picture postcard backdrops a la Pirates of the Caribbean. St Lucia was fought over and changed hands between the British and the French 14 times with the British eventually ‘winning’ until the island’s independence in 1979. For an island this small, it has some serious history, natural beauty and two Nobel Lauretes (Sir Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott) plus an amazing jazz festival and imaginative Creole cuisine. So, enough of the tourist ‘sell’ – what interested me was the ‘branding’ of and on the island.

Upon arrival, I immediately began the search for mobile phone network to connect with the wider world and was pleased to find a competitive choice between Digicel, or LIME. I decided to wait to see which ‘brand’ attracted my attention or whose marketing clearly convinced me to select them…It was tough, Digicel’s airport Ad claiming it to be the ‘Bigger, Better Network’ with eye-catching red colour ways (including a red bikini clad woman practicing yoga while perched on a rock with her Blackberry seemed awfully convincing!)…only to be outdone by Lime…no tagline, but a headline in the St Lucia Visitor Guide book which said, LIME – ROAM.  Your phone works great here (but you don’t have to – LIME. Terms and conditions apply.) This was juxtaposed with another lady in (white) bikini reclining in sunglasses (with no sign of any handset) beckoning me to…, er – Roam? Not what the ‘name’ promised…Where was the LIME, or lemons even? Where was the cheeky logo of a lime, or even a lime coloured bathing costume on a tanning tourist? I choose Digicel – more out of disappointment with Lime’s unfulfilled brand promise. (PS…LIME – stands for Landline, Internet, Mobile and Entertainment) – but, too late! THE BIGGEST AND BOLDEST seduced me…

Ok, then we moved on to the baggage waiting area, where a 1970’s display showcased some of St Lucia’s most valuable and important products! (an entire case filled with St Lucian product packaging!) The most interesting thing being : a) the range of juices which were labelled according to what body disorder or affliction was being ‘cured’ via the drinking of said juice (Bowel Disorder, Women’s Time and Scratching) being my personal favourites. To think, all these branded products and juices are available and being showcased at the baggage arrivals hall! I am not sure what ‘Noni juice’ is…but – the label certainly was appealing. I was told later by a taxi driver that Noni juice is a ‘miracle’ drink – whenever you are sick, Noni juice cures it! (I would love to see their advertising!)  A brand architecture and extension strategy was clearly in place that Tropicana could learn a lesson from! Plus there was an assortment of soups, tinned coconut and custard products, a bag of cocoa powder, coffee and a few other basic provisions…and, some spices and an empty bottle of Rum’. I could see now that a trip to St Lucia was like an exotic grocery store aisle of brand opportunities! One of my favourite discoveries was the Banana-Catsup – and yes, it tastes like Bananas and Ketchup! Made by the brand ‘Baron’s’ – their Jerk Sauce and Hot Pepper sauce seemed to be omnipresent at every restaurant.

Spending just over two weeks on the island led to a few brand discoveries. 1. DIgicel worked less frequently than LIME (so, Digicel may be the biggest and best network as they advertised BUT LIME delivered…My phone DID work and work great here! , and the LIME magazine offered free at the airport was a very well designed and thoughtful branded piece of content (LIME 1 – Digicel 0); 2. The island lived up to its positioning (Live the Legend). The legendary qualities of the sulphur springs and volcanic waterfalls of Soufriere…amazingly beautiful and natural spa-like qualities of rejuvenation!; The legend behind the cuisine (Creole and Caribbean Fusion), as best practiced by the Chef Orlando Satchell of the Ladera Hotel and restaurant. This guy knows his way around Caribbean food. We had the best meals of our trip at the restaurant Dasheen (which is named after a local Yucca plant!) watching legendary sunsets over the Pitons. I note here…Orlando deserves to be famous, and he should have his own TV show and product range (and, maybe we at FB can help him!)…he is known as the ‘ShareTheLove’ chef and his recipes and dishes are a combination of inspired artistry and culinary talent.  Very good for a Birmingham born, of Jamaican ancestry and now St Lucian convert master of ground provisions and plantains!; and lastly the legend of beaches, natural beauty above and below the waterline which has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site! Add to this, the friendly locals who have a beautiful manner and mixture of cultural codes and cues that are somewhere between ‘relaxed and slow’ but are always polite and friendly. In fact, the local T-shirt encapsulates the whole approach…LIVE SLOW, St Lucia style. What’s not to like?

We stayed at the Jalousie Plantation (transforming from the previous Hilton management to the new more trendy TIDES Group of management). What an excellent property and brand experience. Rated by Conde Nast as Number One in the Caribbean on the GOLD LIST of reader’s choices and endorsed by many a Trip Advisor review.  And, coming soon..! A ‘real’ Hotel Chocolate! Yes, Hotel Chocolate – the UK on-line Chocolate retailer is actually opening a HOTEL and RESTAURANT here in 2011. The cocoa from St Lucia’s volcanic and fertile Cacao trees is unique and of the highest quality. Word on the ‘street’ in St Lucia is that they are paying $1.00 per pound/kilo for raw Cocoa (vs. the previous .25 cents paid by Hershey’s) in order to foster positive and sustainable supply, farmer-company-community relations and a ‘fair price/fair trade’ deal which sees cocoa farming skills, sustainable agriculture and marketing expertise embedded in the business principles of the company and its partners. (Right on, Hotel Chocolate!). Plus, I was very fond of sampling some of the many Rum brands of the island…e8(element eight) and Chairman’s Reserve being two of my favourites; and TOZ (Troy Oz of gold rum) being a close runner up. Can one ever do enough Rum sampling? I was amazed at the abundance of fruit and vegetables and a growing Organic food movement.

So, you see – even while on holiday branding was ever-present and influential.  St Lucia is truly an amazing place and well represents the ‘future’ of what stressed out northern hemisphere denizens want and need.  The tourist authority is making an effort to ‘upscale’ the island as a destination. A holiday location which is not just about fly-and-flop cheap hotels with too many sun loungers on a commercialized beach; or even a location homogenized beyond recognition with the same brands, retail shops and restaurants you get ‘back home’.

On the contrary, an intelligent paradise with thoughtful and enviro-friendly approaches to food, tourism and products is what travellers in the future will demand. This is where and how St Lucia is ‘pitching’ itself for future competitive success.  Also, as St Lucia recovers from the devastation of the Hurricane Thomas which hit in October 2010, the opportunity exists to build better and more thoughtful infrastructure on the island.

Expect to see St Lucia as a brand feature prominently in the future. I will be returning, and will be supportive.