Slovenian-based Brand Equity of Soča Valley

Mojca Smrekar; Maja  Konečnik Ruzzier

Mojca Smrekar
Maja Konečnik Ruzzier

Keywords: destination brand, small destination, customer-based brand equity, Soča Valley

Abstract

This paper highlights and draws attention to the importance of branding small de- stinations, a concept poorly researched at the global level. More specifically, we focus on analyzing the customer-based brand equity of Soča Valley, a small Slove- nian tourist destination. The results of the quantitative research, conducted on 211 potential Slovenian visitors, imply that Slovenians are aware of Soča Valley, have a positive image of it, perceive its good quality, and are loyal to it. The presented rese- arch represents the first investigation that gives detailed insights into the understan- ding and evaluation of Soča Valley among Slovenes. These findings might provi- de a good basis for further upgrading its long-term strategies, which must primarily come from the brand identity elements.

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Author Biographies

Mojca Smrekar

Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Address: Kamno 9, Tolmin, Slovenia
E-mail: mojca86@gmail.com

Mojca Smrekar is a student of the Faculty of Economics, University Ljubljana who graduated in 2010. She completed her master's degree in March 2014, with First Class Honors in the Full-Time Master Program at Faculty of Economics. She received the Prešeren award from the Faculty of Economics for her master’s thesis “Slovenian-based brand equity of Soča Valley.” During the preparation of her master’s thesis, she also participated in the local tourist organization Sotočje. Her research interests include destination branding.

Maja Konečnik Ruzzier

Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
E-mail: maja.konecnik@ef.uni-lj.si

Maja Konecnik Ruzzier is an associate professor in the Marketing Department at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, where she works as a teacher and researcher. Her teaching area includes marketing (and its application to tourism and destination) and branding. Her research interest is similarly focused and evident in numerous papers published in highly ranked international scienti- fic journals. Her articles are well cited, with more than 800 citations according to Google Scholar as of June 2014. She works as a consultant. To date, she has par- ticipated in many brand management projects, including the development of the country brand I feel Slovenia.

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