Classy and Bohemian – Prague City Tourism rebrands Czech capital and launches new design
Prague City Tourism has unveiled a new marketing concept with which it wants to present the Czech capital to domestic and foreign tourists. The city is also aiming to rebrand its image around three key-word pillars. To find out more about how Prague is seeking to rebrand itself as an attractive destination, I spoke to Prague City Tourism board member Jana Adamcová.
“The main goal of the visual concept was to appeal to a sophisticated clientele. However, our new philosophy is so much more than just a visual design. We aim to rediscover the soul of the free lifestyle of Praguers, their creativity, life stories and pure Bohemian heart, and introduce it to the world.”
You said sophisticated, so I am guessing one of the main aims is to change the image of Prague. This intention has been communicated for several years now by officials including the current mayor of Prague. Could you tell us a bit more about how you aim to do that? I am guessing it is not just with design but with other associated events?
“Yes. We have nearly 70 projects through which we want to contribute to changing the image of Prague. These are related to the cultivation of the public space, the sustainability and greening of the city, solving problems with shared housing, but also the development of new products and services of premium quality for a sophisticated clientele and the introduction of smart tourism. There is a lot happening right now and it’s not just related to Prague tourism, but to the whole city with associated organisations, so it is a very complex project.”
If I am a potential foreign tourist listening to this, how should I think of Prague now? What is its new image?
“Basically, we have devised three pillars that aim to make up the essence of the image of the city. One is that Prague is ‘classy’. We have a really beautiful city here with a lot of heritage sites, but our people are also among the top when it comes to arts, crafts and culture. This sophistication is really embedded in the city.
“We are also ‘Bohemian’. In other words, we chose to work with the word Bohemian, which does not just mean artistic, or unconventional, but is also the 1,000-year-old regional name for the Prague metropolitan region and we really want to reintroduce this term to the world.
“The third pillar centres around the the term ‘fusion’. Prague is, and has always been, an exceptional fused whole of diverse influences. We have profited from such a beautiful variety of cultures, such as Czech, German and Jewish. If you go even further back into history, you can also add Italian and French for example. We love different subcultures and they are really free to live and create in this city.
“Basically, these are the three pillars that make up the new image of Prague.”
If we move back to the new design concept itself, I understand that you included several artists in the project and even developed your own special alphabet. What sorts of pictures aside from the traditional Prague sights are being profiled?
“There is a specific artists behind the different ways in which Prague is presented, whether it is the design of souvenirs, illustrations, photography or videos. This design carries the soul of the city, because, as we always say, if even the most beautiful place will not leave a deeper imprint on the visitor if it has no soul. So that is why we are always also keeping focus on the designer behind the work.”
Where will people be able to see your new designs, aside from souvenirs?
“The new visual identity will gradually be introduced in our visual marketing tools, such as the Prague.eu website, our social media and in our marketing campaigns. We have also started to rebrand the heritage monuments under our management. It should all be visible before Christmas arrives.”
Prague City Tourism is a marketing organisation formed by the City of Prague which seeks to foster and develop tourism to the capital at home and abroad.
