Rikalo, M. Lazarevic and Novakovic, D.

Visaul identity as an instrument of turist destination

brending: case study the Vinca archeological locality
CASE STUDY: THE VINA ARCHEOLOGICAL LOCALITY

Instruction for citation: Rikalo, M. Lazarevic and Novakovic, D. (2012) Visaul identity as an instrument of
turist destination brending: case study the Vinca archeological locality, II International Symposium
Engineering Management and Competitiveness (EMC 2012)
June 22-23, 2012, Zrenjanin, Serbia

VISUAL IDENTITY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF TOURIST DESTINATION

BRANDING: CASE STUDY THE VINA ARCHEOLOGICAL LOCALITY
ABSTRACT
At the time of fierce competition in the market, only a recognizable brand brings profit. Due to the rapid
development of tourism, branding of a tourist destination becomes a very important activity. Brand creation is a very
complex work as it is vital to include all those contact points with the consumer on which impressions are being
formed. For the purpose of positioning a tourist location it is necessary to provoke emotions, associations and images
in the visitors minds. What attracts most attention when a brand is mentioned are the logo, colour and the emotion
which is being released on mentioning a brand name, so it is not unusual for a visual identity to represent the key
factor when deciding on a particular brand. This paper considers the potential the Vina archaeological locality has
in terms of this tourist destination branding. The colours, characteristic of the Vina period, as well as the font,
inspired by, still indecipherable, the Vina indentations, have been used as the instruments of branding.
Key words: brand, colour, emotions, tourist destination, itinerary

INTRODUCTION
In the contemporary business environment, tourism represents an important economic activity which shows
constant growth. Regarding the manifold offers of different tourist sights, their branding becomes unavoidable.
Tourist destinations are complex unities which consist of an aggregate of attractions, convenient tourist
facilities and services, various natural characteristics, cultural, anthropogenous and historical values (Pike,
2004). Thus, it can be concluded that tourist destination branding has its own specifics in comparison to
concrete product branding.
A destination brand is a name, a logo, or some other graphic mark which both identifies and
distinguishes the destination. Moreover, it makes a promise of an unforgettable experience which is
uniquely linked to the destination. Furthermore, one uses it to revive the memory of a pleasant
experience of the visit to a destination (Goeldner, Ritchie & McIntosh, 2002: 21). Branding activities
try to change the current picture which inhabits consumers' minds and to form a brand identity, which
is the desired image. Therefore, the primary task of a brand is differentiation with respect to
competition and positioning of a specific tourist destination in the minds of consumers tourists. A
brand ought to create an impression and make a promise so that consumers would attach themselves
emotionally to a place. Apart from that, while choosing a brand consumers try to tell a story about
themselves. A consumer chooses a brand which relates to their image and that is exactly the way they
define their identity and prove their belonging to a group, and often their own social status. In terms of
this, one can say that a person's characteristics determine the choice of certain tourist destination brands.
Travel with the aim of relaxation permeates everyday life and encompasses the experience dimension, i.e.
journey planned in detail, heightened expectations, and reminiscing afterwards with the help of souvenirs,
postcards, maps, photos, logos which point out that I was there and I did that (Morgan, Pritchard &
Pride, 2002: 4).
From everything mentioned above one can conclude that creating a brand of a tourist destination identity
which emphasizes uniqueness, is of the utmost importance. Therefore, it is necessary to deliver a clear
message with a central theme which should help relive an experience. The things that attract most
attention when a brand is considered are the logo, font and colours. Nowadays, when tourism keeps
moving toward the tourism of experience, branding of Vinca as a tourist locality represents an
important, so far unused potential. When creating a brand it is significant to do certain research which
would lead to the relevant data important for the creation of the visual identity. This paper presents one
modern and realized methodology.

THE IMPORTANCE OF VINCA CULTURE, THE VINCA LOCALITY AND THE NEED FOR
ITS BRANDING
Ever since Miloje M. Vasic discovered it in 1908, the Vinca culture keeps surprising the scientists with its
accomplishments. Developed in the valley of the great river Danube and its tributaries (the Tisa, the
Drava, the Sava, the Morava and the Tamis), which enabled communication and interaction on the vast
territory, it represents the most developed Neolithic culture in Europe. The first cities with thousands of
inhabitants on the old continent were formed in the Vinca culture. The area which we inhabit did not
manage to reach the size of their cities and number of inhabitants up until the Roman age. The people of
Vinca were engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting, fishing, gathering crops, craftwork, mining
and trade, which formed the basis for social division (Crnobrnja, 2010). Vinca is the first culture which
introduced the industry of polished stone, i.e. an organised acquisition of the raw material and an
organised manufacture of tools (Antonovi, 2001). They were also the first to discover the refinement of
copper ore, so we tend to connect the first metallurgy to the Vinca culture (Antonovi, 2002).
The excess of craft and agricultural products, work specialization, technology development, developed
metallurgy and mining, the industry of polished stone, along with the good geographical location
conditioned the exchange with the neighbours from the Black Sea in the east and Slovakia in the north to
Croatia in the west and northern Greece in the south (Radivojevi, 2006). Economic prosperity enabled
the development of culture and art. The work of the Vinca's sculptors represented the model to their
neighbours, and various artefacts never cease to amaze artists and archeologists worldwide even today.
Apart from the artefacts, Vinca people devoted attention to jewellery made from marble, bones, different
types of shells etc. Besides the classical exchange of goods, there was probably the exchange of creative
products in Vinca (artistic and ritual), and some scarce raw materials such as alabaster, marble, obsidian
and marine shells (exotic goods). They exchanged both ordinary and creative goods. That is why we can
find the early beginnings of protocreative economy in Vinca (Rikalo, 2011).
On the occasion of 100th anniversary of the locality of Belo Brdo near Vinca in 2008, an important jubilee
was celebrated and there was an exhibition called Vinca the prehistoric metropolis organised in SANU
gallery which greeted 45,000 visitors. Bearing in mind that about 620,000 tourists visited Belgrade in
2011, a discussion about the possibilities of the locality of Vinca as a tourist attraction seems worthwhile.
Up until two years ago about 5,000 tourists visited the locality per year, while nowadays that number has
drastically decreased due to landslide and the closing of the locality for group visits. The locality is not
under the protection of UNESCO because there is no regulation of its ownership yet, which is one of the
main criteria of this organization. Ever since the talks over the creative sector in Serbia, and over Serbia in
the European culture routes, there has been a mention of the potential of Vinca as a locality of the utmost
importance (Roga, 2010). Making an offer which has rich cultural inheritance in the first place, with the
possibility of creating a visitor centre, and with the development of ecology are the chances which should
be grasped.
Vinca is located on the banks of the river Danube, where the close proximity of the capital city to it and its
position on the river enable an easy access to the site. Its favourable geographical position marked this
location as the crossroads of the large region, being a part of the great hydrographic system the Rhine
MainDanube Canal. Even though the access to all the means of transportation is easy, the quality of the
transport network and its infrastructure are not at the adequate level.
The Tourist Organizaton of Belgrade (TOB) used to advertise and sell the programme of visits to the
archeological site of Vinca (until it was closed due to landslide). Following the reconstruction, in
agreement with the mission of TOB, the mission of the Vinca locality would be harmonized as well
because it would contribute to the creation of an authentic image of Belgrade as a leader in the region.
With the use of an attractive tourist offer based on the principles of the sustainable development and by
connecting all the services, products and activities, directly and indirectly connected to tourism, we could
strive for the aims of the sustainability of the European tourism which are: economic growth, social
equality and cohesion, protection of the environment and cultural inheritance. There are six key products

for Belgrade as a tourist destination (Tourism development strategy for the city of Belgrade, 2008) and
following the reconstruction, the Vinca locality could be included in five of them1.
POSSIBLE OPTIONS OF THE POTENTIAL ITINERARIES BRANDING
Within the development of Vinca locality as a tourist destination, we could enliven different forms of
cultural tourism: Heritage tourism, Arts tourism, Creative tourism, Indigenous tourism. Launching
different thematic itineraries (latin: Itinerarium the plan of a journey) within the limits of Vinca
complex, would require their branding (Education, culture and art routes, Adventure routes, Food routes)
which would request the production of logos, catalogues and prospectuses, i.e. the production of their
visual identity.
Before the creation of a visual identity of a cultural and tourist brand, it is necessary to decide on the most
convenient colours for a destination's image, i.e. the colours which would represent the identity of a
destination, its authenticity and cultural heritage. There has been a research done for the purposes of
branding an archeological site, which ultimate goal was finding the most suitable colours which could be
used for branding the locality of Vinca (see picture 1). We have assumed that the perception of colours
which could be used in branding the archeological tourist itineraries does not differ much in relation to the
age and gender of the interviewees. According to the frequency of occurence of certain colours in the
interviewees' answers, we have reached the conclusion about the colours which are the most appropriate
for the purposes of itinerary branding and we have noted certain exceptions. The basic reseach conducted
was related to the associations between certain concepts and colours of artefacts from Vinca locality. The
interviewees could choose a colour which they mainly associated with a certain concept, a colour they
would expect to see on the promotional material. By means of associations, we managed to find out the
colours that associate the interviewees with food, adventure, religion, craft, art.
The subject of research which was used as a sample was the population of the city of Novi Sad. 276
people of both sexes, aged 10-60, were interviewed. The sample was divided according to gender and age
based on their proportions in the whole population 2. The research was conducted in the period 1st-5th
March 2012 in similar lighting (in the period between 10-15h).
Table 1. Gender and age structure at the territory of the city of Novi Sad

Since branding is all about subjective estimation and perception of the consumer, instead of measuring the
realistic value of the colours of the Vinca objects, it was decided that representatives of different target
groups should choose the most acceptable colours according to their opinion and point of view. They
chose the colours which would be used for branding the logo, catalogues, monographs, labels etc. Even
1

City breaks, Round trips, Events, Special interests and Navigation

2
The citizens used in the research according to their features were chosen at random (because every

individual had equal possibility to be chosen for the group), and proportionally (those parts are in direct proportion
with the territory of the city). Stratification was done according to the territorial arrangement of citizens.

though people of all ages and backgrounds were interviewed, certain target groups are to be emphasized,
such as children and teenagers who would be visitors (within school trips), aged 10-19, and youth aged
20-29, as a target group which travels the most, and educated people aged 30-60 (people interested in
archeology, prehistory, and cultural heritage as well).
Art, culture and religion routes would above all be meant for adventurers regardless of their age. Within
an itinerary some would fish, other could go rafting, hunting, make clay souvenirs, weave, spin wool, feed
cattle, milk she-goats, treat the wool, hit copper, dance, play instruments, sing, basically, feel the spirit of
the Neolithic Vinca.
Food routes are an itinerary which is, as its name suggests, mostly focused on food. People would come to
Vinca to have a meal made in a similar way as it used to be made in Neolithic Vinca. The colours used for
branding this itinerary are the ones which associate with food the most and rise the appetite. The target
group for this itinerary are people aged 30-60. The test card showed Vinca dishes and objects of various
colours, the plants which could have been found in Neolithic Vinca, fish and meat of the animals which
lived in Neolithic Era, and there were also colours of the Danube and the sky (even though it is quiet
probable that the colour of the Neolithic Danube was a lot different from the one today). Therefore, the
colours offered were the colours of objects which had sacrad, artistic and useful function, together with
the colours of nature that surrounded them. The colours on the test card are actually certain shades picked
out from the photos of Vinca objects. The first part has mostly warm earth colours, but a bit colder
achromatic grey shades as well, whereas the second part of the card includes bright and cold colours of
water and different shades, from light to dark greens, cheerful yellows, and colours of meat, too.

Figure 1: Test card used in the research

The task assigned was to pick colours through associations item-colour out of the array of Vinca colours
(which could be found in prehistoric Vinca), in order to brand theme itineraries which will be connected to
the Vinca location. In order to brand the itineraries, the interviewees were given the option to pick what
colour reminds them the most of religion, art, crafts, appetite and adventure.
CHOICE OF COLOURS FOR BRANDING OF POSSIBLE ITINERARIES
In search for the colour which would brand the itinerary Culture, Art and Religion Routes, we have
assumed that once upon a time, as well as now, art and religion were firmly bound and the response
(association) of most interviewees should be relatively similar. The colour which associates with art the
most is IV3 (the one that was picked out by 20% of the interviewees). It is interesting to note that as the
second most picked out colour by men was number 17 (9% of men chose this colour, whereas only 1.5%
women picked it). On the other hand, women chose colour number II9 (10.4% of women, and only 1.5%

men chose that colour, Chart.1a). As expected, the colour which associated most of the interviewees of
religion is under number IV3 (13% interviewees chose that colour), which is the exact colour which most
interviewees chose to describe art (Chart 1.c). In the second place, there are colours number I1 and II7
which were chosen by 9% interviewees. Therefore, around 30% of the interviewees picked out three
colours. It is an interesting fact that colour number IV3 (the most chosen one) was picked out by only 5%
of the interviewees aged 50-59 (Chart 1.b). Most commonly picked colours for this age group were II9
and II7. Furthermore, many interviewees said that they were not religious and that dark colours associated
them with religion.

Chart 1.a(association with art) b(association with religion) c(association with art and religion)
In order to give a brand to Adventure Routes itinerary, we did a research on the colours which remind of
adventure and crafts (the reason being that tourists can do different crafts within this itinerary). Most part
of the interviewees, about 23%, responded that colour number I1 reminds them of crafts. It is worth
mentioning that less than half of the female interviewees chose one of the first four colours in the first
scale, whereas the answers of male interviewees were placed all over the scale. The cause may be in the
fact that the offered pottery associated with crafts most women, while men have much wider span of
associations connected with crafts. However, in search of colours which associate with adventure,
generally equal answers were given, regardless of gender and generation of the interviewees. In choice of
one between two colours which associate with adventure there were 7 colours offered with rather equal
participation in choices, and altogether they made 77% of the most chosen colours, and these are colours:
VI1, VI2, VI6, VII1, VII2, VII4, VII7 (picked out by 12% interviewees). It occurs that Culture Routes
itinerary is meant for all generations, i.e. adventurers and that people gave answers which were quite alike,
regardless of gender and age structure.
In search of colours which would be the best for branding Food Routes itinerary, the test card shows
colours of meat which may have been consummated by the Vincan people, and which is still available.
Furthermore, there are also various plant species which can be used for making a dish or salad, and the
yellow colour of a flower which associates with food. We wanted to determine which shades of those
colours are the most suitable since this combination of greens, yellows and colours of meat is common in
the national cuisine. The colour which associated most men with appetite (VII) is but in the 5th place in
womens list. That colour was chosen by only 12.5% women, whereas 27.3% men chose that one.
Nevertheless, the colours that both men and women preferred, regardless of their age, are VI2 and VI4. It
is an interesting fact that colour VIII7 was picked out by almost 20% of people aged 40-49, and that
percentage is only 5% for people 10-19, especially if we take into consideration that the younger
population prefers cleaner and more saturated colours. Since the Food Routes itinerary is meant for the
elderly in the first place, their choice of colour, i.e. colour VIII7 is going to be used for its branding.

Figure 2: Array of colours suggested for possible branding of different tourist itineraries for Vinca site
CONCLUSION
In creating a visual identity of a cultural and tourist brand it was necessary to determine the most
acceptable colours for image building of the destination, i.e. colours that would represent the identity of
the destination, its originality and cultural heritage. This research has determined the most suitable colours
for branding of tourist itineraries of Vinca archeological site .The crucial colour in branding of itineraries
of culture, art and religion could be the colour purple which is found in ritual dishes and figurines, and it is
also the colour chosen by most interviewees. This is also the colour which was very appreciated in the
culture of Vinca (it was a symbol of luxury and wealth). As it was expected, one and the same colour
associates with art and religion with most interviewees (even though it was unpredictable which exact
colour it would turn out to be). The combination of purple and achromatic colours, black and grey, can
also be very effective.
Association with adventure is a variety of colours, but three shades of green and three shades of somewhat
warmer colours with lots of red emerge from the multitude. That is exactly what has been found very
surprising. It was expected that the shades of green would be much more prominent and that they would
push the other colours aside, but that did not occur. The expectations were not realized in the choice of
colours which associate the interviewees with appetite either. At least one green shade was expected to
appear in the top five, but it did not occur. The reason may be the environment, since the first association
with food is meat, for most people, and not a plant. Orange and pink shades are the most appropriate for
branding this itinerary, though yellow and brown could add to the great contrast and stress them even
more.Considering that it is sub consciousness and instinct what makes us decide, this method could be
relevant in the choice of colours for branding. No matter how experienced one may be, some associations
cannot be predicted. It has been shown that many expectations proved to be wrong, and therefore going
out on the field and conducting research represent the real solution.
REFERENCES

Antonovi, D. (2001). Vinca History of Polished Stone in the Light of New Research. Journal of the Serbian
Archealogical Society, 17, 169-175.
Antonovi, D. (2002). Copper Processing in Vinca new contributions to the thesis about metallurgical character of
Vinca culture, Starinar, 52, 27-45.
Crnobrnja, A. (4. 2. 2010.). Neolithic Metropole A City of Vinca in Stubline, A 6,500 Years Old Clay Army ,
Vreme, No. 996, http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=911228 (accessed on 23th of Janurary 2012)

Goeldner, C. R., Ritchie, J. R., & McIntosh, R. W. ( 2000). Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies.
8th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Pike, S. (2004). Destination Marketing Organisations, Oxford: Elsevier Science
Radivojevi, M. (2006). Contribution to the Typology and Distribution of Hammer Axes of Plonik type in Southeast
Europe, Journal of the Serbian Archeological Society, 22, 211-224.
Rikalo, M. (2011). From Prehistory to Creative Economy: A Study on Vinca Civilization, presented at the
symposium Contemporary trends in European economy: implications for Serbia, Novi Sad
Roga, Lj. (2010).Serbia in European Cultural Route , Culture, 128, 274-294.
Tourism Development Strategy of the Belgrade City (2008). INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCIES (IEN) BELGRADE