Strategic branding as a social management tool for community initiatives

Abstract

Ecuador is a pluricultural, multi-ethnic and mega-diverse country; territorial strengths that affect the emergence of community initiatives. Natural resources and their tangible and intangible heritage are tourist magnets for national and international visitors. In Chimborazo, Palacio Real community benefits from its natural and cultural attributes as a value proposition, in the community tourism initiative Sumak Kawsay, since 2002. The research grounds that, after more than a decade of operation, Palacio Real has not has achieved the right positioning; due to ignorance or because the visitor prefers destinations recognized by the verifiable experience or by the trademark capital that the products and services offered have. It was approached from the holistic dialectical approach and phenomenology, starting from the theoretical foundation of the object of study, strategic branding. The findings were ordered chronologically, for the construction of the PASTE analysis. The theoretical foundation was contrasted with observation and ethnographic research in the field, because in Palacio Real the indigenous manifestations prevailed. The main result is the restructuring of the trademark system and the branding strategy, understanding the use of this tool, with a strategic vision to social management.

Keywords: Palacio Real, social management, territorial marketing, place branding, place brand.