Design of Brochures

Like all other forms of advertising, brochures should be designed and distributed for specific target segments (Getz & Sailor, 1994). Marketers had several ways of adapting information and brochures to satisfy tourists’ needs (Bettman, 1975). The consideration included the following: (1) the destination information, (2) the language use, and (3) the visual attractiveness (Molina & Estaban, 2006). Commonly

recommended elements that could be put in the brochure encompassed succinct and informative headings and descriptive text on itineraries, as well as full presentation of available amenities, services, and attractions (Getz & Sailor, 1994). Nevertheless, the design was subject to continuous changes. With the intention of making them more appealing, new photographs or new itineraries were expected to be updated (Molina

& Esteban, 2006).

Berger (2004, p.71) described advertisements as “a genre of communication that used words and images to convince people who were exposed to the advertisement to purchase the product or service being promoted.” In other words, both languages and images had significant functions to persuade and attract potential tourists (Salim, Ibrahim & Hassan, 2012). In the case of tourist brochures, the communicative intent was to provide tourists with the essential information for helping them decide what places to visit. Therefore, successful tourist brochures must be both informative and persuasive, and they relied heavily on the use of words and images to achieve the goal (Ip, 2008). There was little research concerning the context of tourism which focused on the role of languages and visual images (Salim, Ibrahim & Hassan, 2012), but in this study, in addition to the examination of language and images, we also examined the contents of our brochures. Therefore, the specific examination of contents,

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language, and images would be covered in the following sections.

2.2.3.1 Content Strategies

When it came to the contents of the brochures, the motivations behind a tourist’s need to engage in tourist activities were to discover unknown places and new cultural features (Pearce & Lee, 2005). Zhou (1997) evaluated the effectiveness of a

destination brochure, and the results indicated that the brochure helped increase respondents’ interest in visiting and had more of an influence on inexperienced visitors than repeat visitors. Rudez, Sedmak and Bojnec (2012) also found that

brochures were more often used by first-time visitors than by regular visitors. In other words, tourists either want to attain new environmental experiences or to explore new cuisines, historical objects, events, etc. through the tourist brochures.

Additionally, the balanced introduction of destination should be concerned, since the functional purpose of brochures was to promote tours as a whole, not just a

particular attraction among them (Ip, 2008). Also, the written guidelines such as information on the behavioral practices, habits, and customs that were inappropriate or had negative effects on local culture and environment should be provided to add the educational aspects of the brochures (Pennington-Gray, Reisinger, Kim & Thapa, 2005).

2.2.3.2 Verbal Strategies

Considering the choice of words while writing brochures, the narrative voice strategy should be employed. It is also suggested that the target was directly addressed with the pronoun “you” in a brochure (Francesconi, 2011). This choice reflected what Dann (1996) broadly characterize “ego-targeting,” which was a promotional strategy aimed to directly address the reader and to make him/her feel unique and distinct from

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the undifferentiated customers. On the other hand, the writer should be verbally personalized through the pronoun “we” (Mocini, 2005). The inclusive first person plural pronoun signaled the inclusion of the readers into the “virtual tour” (Ip, 2008).

In this way, the dialogic structure took the form of an intimate conversation

experience, and the tourists were guided through the familiar “you” to discover the meaningful aspects of the trip (Mocini, 2005).

Besides, adjectives should be applied to appeal tourists not only for their semantic richness but also for their stylistic potential (Francesconi, 2011). For example, “traditional” and “local” were adjectives that used to frame a place as unique; “magnificent”, “delightful” and “dynamic” were used to convey a strong sense of glamour and energy (Ip, 2008). Some verbs also served the same purpose of attracting tourists: “discover” and “explore” were used to shape a spot as dynamic and adventurous (Francesconi, 2011); “saturate” and “fill” expressed an implicit message to tourists that they would be able to enjoy their time in a place to the fullest (Ip, 2008). These verbal strategies established a conversational and friendly tone that reduced distance between promotional messages and readers (Mocini, 2005). Finally, as Dann (1996, p.2) put it, “Language of tourism attempts to persuade, lure, and woo millions of human beings, and, in doing so, convert them from potential into actual clients.”

2.2.3.3 Visual Strategies

As the proverb goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” photographs are essential to be included in a brochure. Despite the language and cultural barriers, the photos could convey a sense of rapport and connection with readers (Ip, 2008). Dilley (1986) analyzed the images used by different national tourist organizations, noting that over half the brochures gave over 75% of their space to pictures. It turned out that

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images indeed played an important role in convincing people to visit a certain place (Ip, 2008). Nevertheless, it was argued that photos in tourist brochures were often romanticized. Different from the common pictures showed in the travel guides, it was suggested to use photographs without “tourist gaze.” Defined by Urry (2002), tourist gaze functioned as lens which codifies new images by working with carefully planned filters. With tourist gaze, some tourist brochures failed to visually articulate the core value of hospitality of a place (Francesconi, 2011). For instance, some brochures intentionally cleared out locals in the picture in order to emphasize the view or the buildings. However, photos with people appearing in the screens were actually natural and authentic. Moreover, Reid (1989) advised the brochure designer to use action photos to stimulate the reader’s imagination (i.e., picture yourself here, doing this).

Reid also suggested that an attractive image must be fostered through illustration and information.

On the other hand, as the cover of a brochure was meant to grab the attention of brochure browsers, the use of bright colors and the appropriate font size (Martin, 1983) could accomplish the goal. Likewise, maps were powerful tools and essential

elements in brochures, although the representation of maps was often ignored (Moscardo, 1999). Zheng (2014) suggested that the visibility of environmental features such as the names of shops or roads were crucial to encourage tourists to familiarize themselves with a place, since maps with written directions and routes appeared to be important for potential consumers (Getz & Sailor, 1994). Besides, tourists would visit longer and engage in the destination better if resting area icons were added to the maps (Zheng, 2014). Moreover, many people found maps hard to read, so extra care must be taken in their design and presentation. In summary, these visual strategies helped catch readers’ attention and attract them to actually take a visit.

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