Pembrokeshire Brand Toolkit

A resource for everyone helping to communicate what’s special about our County.

How to build the Pembrokeshire brand, and why

We are dedicated to building a sustainable future for tourism in Pembrokeshire, and growing our tourism product in a way that’s good for everyone, but we can’t do this alone.

By helping us to deliver a shared narrative – one that sells our year-round offer, has a distinctive flavour, and tells a consistent story – every organisation involved in tourism can support this widely shared ‘’Call to arms’’.

All the information and assets that you need to do so are available here. Read on and discover how.

What’s here

Brand assets and guidelines

Logos in different formats to suit applications for print and online. See here
Colourways, typography, choice of imagery and guidance on how to use these to best effect. Download the Guidelines here
Access to imagery – free to use for the promotion of Pembrokeshire – Register here.

Pembrokeshire’s brand story

For a better understanding of the brand proposition, the key messages that we want to communicate and the audiences that we are reaching out to. Tell me more.

A checklist to help you stay ‘on-brand’

The checklist is a guide. You have you own unique messages to communicate, but if your product or service is rooted in Pembrokeshire we share part of the same story and same values, so there will always be an opportunity to reinforce something that we have in common. Use our checklist to see if you are ‘’on brand’’.

Go to the checklist.

One Pembrokeshire

If you are reading this page, you probably already know how important tourism is to Pembrokeshire’s economy. Many livelihoods depend on the income generated from the 7 million* visitors that we welcome annually.

However, tourism is not without its downsides. We are fortunate to live in an area of great natural beauty, but we are also guardians of a fragile environment. Summer often brings pressures associated with overcrowding, whilst at other times of the year a lack of visitors makes it hard to operate businesses which provide employment and amenities for residents.

So, we are working hard to create a more sustainable visitor economy. One based on a achieving a better balance of visitors all year-round and which avoids adverse impacts. These are the central goals of Pembrokeshire’s 5-year 2020-25 Destination Management Plan

A strong brand is one of the ingredients needed to help us to achieve these goals and simply put, the more that business gets behind this new Pembrokeshire brand and aligns their messaging with our own, the faster we will be able to grow our reputation and be able to affect this change.

Whatever your product or offer, this is a toolkit to help build a stronger and more recognisable Pembrokeshire brand. There are very few rules. It’s easy to use and everyone can use it, absolutely free. This is for all of us.

*2017-2019 Economic Volume and Value Report

The Pembrokeshire Brand

Elevating kindred spirits

Pembrokeshire is a place of deep cultural consciousness and pride. It is also a very creative and spiritual place and where an extraordinary number of diverse confluences meet. These characteristics combine to create powerful emotional effects on people.

Visitors are enriched, enlivened, and uplifted by their experience and often talk about being ‘changed’ by their stay. Usually in small ways, but sometimes in much more profound ones. Invariably, the effects are lasting. They go home but they see life and live life a little bit differently.

Our aim is to appeal to people who understand and appreciate these qualities, and to this end the idea that sits at heart of our brand, ‘’Soul Food’’, is a metaphor for both many of the qualities that we want to be recognised for, and a reflection of the role that the brand plays in elevating the spirit.

Soul Food is not a strapline and does not appear in communications, its purpose is to remind us that our proposition is first and foremost an emotional one – it’s about feelings.

People come here for many different reasons, but they all leave with elevated spirits. This is the Pembrokeshire brand effect.

Our Values and Personality

It’s not what you say, it’s what you do

In the search for the true spirit of Pembrokeshire we have identified values that are representative of the people who live here, that shape culture and are recognised by visitors as differentiating.

These are:

Caring – for the environment, sustainability, humanity
Embracing – warm, welcoming, diverse
Free spirited – independent, open-minded

These characteristics give Pembrokeshire its flavour and its uniqueness and we try to reflect one or more these qualities in each of our communications. Not necessarily using these words – we don’t explain or tell people about our values, but we let them guide our actions and aim to ensure that when we speak, we reflect something of this essence.

Our Position

Diverse confluences

Pembrokeshire is where many diverse strands come together

Sea and land, art and history, adventure and relaxation, nature and culture, Welsh and English, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon, mystical and tangible, people and place, beach and mountain.

All these confluences have within them a degree of tension and it’s these tensions that make Pembrokeshire such a unique and appealing place to live in and to visit.

It brings an energy and vibrancy that more unidimensional destinations simply do not have, and by highlighting this difference we are aiming to establish a compelling but well differentiated market position.

Our Target Audiences

Open to all, but with a special focus on three groups

Pembrokeshire is open to all, but our best visitors are those who appreciate the honest to goodness offer and the uplifting effect it has on them. These people are our best advocates. They are likely to be mindful individuals who share an appreciation of nature, are curious about local culture and place importance on sustainability.

They cherish quality above quantity, timelessness over flash in the pan, but they are not dyed in the wool traditionalists, in fact, they are open minded, free spirits, but they know what’s life affirming and are perceptive of what’s real and what’s fake.

Our audience spans all age ranges including multi-generational family groups who are very important during the summer months. However, in marketing we prioritise three groups whose life stage and interests mean that they are more available to travel during off peak periods.

Pre-Family Explorers (18-35)

Typically couples, singles and groups of friends. They love trying new things and tend to be much more adventurous in this respect than other groups. Experiencing something that is completely out of their day to day, or normal range of activity is often very important to them. They also like to get off the beaten track, seek out interesting and quirky accommodation and are happy to pay a premium for high quality products and experiences.

Cultural Explorers (45+)

Mainly couples who are interested in exploring the local culture. They like to meet locals, visit historical attractions, and generally develop an appreciation of the local way of life.

Happy to visit the larger towns and St Davids city for the galleries, museums and cultural events as well as explore Pembrokeshire’s countryside. The food offer is very important to them and local-ness a big attraction in this.

Scenic Explorers (45+)

Rather like our Cultural Explorers but with more of an outward-bound mindset. These are the people that we meet mud splattered but happy on the coastal path or the Lon Teifi Cycle Trail.

Come evening though you’ll find them checking in to a boutique hotel or dining in the area’s best gastro pub, re-fuelling before another energetic day. The weather is no deterrent, they are ready to pursue their outdoor hobbies at any time of the year. In fact, every season has its own charm and special delights.

Our Brand Mark

The inspiration comes from the free-spirited nature of local art, the colours of the seasons and a desire to capture movement in symbolism. The triangles (or deltas) within the knot are used in academia to indicate change. Bringing all these elements together creates something that speaks to renewal and hints at land, sea and air and creativity.

‘Pembrokeshire’ appears in a distinctive purple slate colour that is unique to our part of Wales.

The brand is ‘Pembrokeshire’ rather than Visit Pembrokeshire because Pembrokeshire is what local people take pride in and what people who come to Pembrokeshire fall in love with. We are selling an experience, not just a visit but a promise to engage on deeper, emotional levels.

There are logo versions in English, Welsh, and bi-lingual English and Welsh. The bi-lingual version helps to accentuate the cultural difference and is normally first choice for marketing to audiences outside of Wales.

Logos

Main Stacked Logo

ENGLISH & WELSH

Stacked Logo – Welsh

SIR BENFRO

Landscape Logos

ENGLISH

WELSH

Logo Anatomy

The logo consists of two elements. The logotype and the knot.
The Logotype (the word Pembrokeshire) cannot be used without the knot.
Its weight, letter spacing, proportions, colours and relationship to the knot should never be altered in any way.

Imagery

Nothing tells a story better than a picture.

The right choice of image communicates a certain mood, energy, or atmosphere much faster than can achieved with words alone.

We have chosen to tell Pembrokeshire’s story using photography that has a distinctive and dramatic style.

Our photography is honest and real and covers all of the seasons.

The people are relatable, shot in genuine situations not staged or posed and with natural body language.

Landscapes are dramatic, beautiful, and sometimes a little mysterious. Ideally, they show an unusual or unexpected perspective.

POV (point of view) photography is used extensively.

We have curated many inspiring images that you can use in your own marketing, presentations and on your website completely free of charge provided appropriate credit is given (There are some exceptions for print advertising and film where a separate fee negotiation might be required).

Sign up to image library

How we speak and what to say

Pembrokeshire is of course not just one voice but many

If we all tried to speak with one voice it would be extremely fake. So, we are not suggesting that others should emulate our style (though we’ll try to define it for you here). It’s more about recognising a mindset, understanding what potential visitors to Pembrokeshire are looking for and trying to reflect our shared core values in what you say or write.

Our core values define our voice and our style and help us build an emotional connection with our audiences.

Caring – this means demonstrating genuine care for the environment, sustainability, humanity.

The stories that we tell must have substance. They cannot be shallow or token.

Embracing – this means being warm, welcoming, diverse. A metaphorical cwtch for everyone.

Free spirited – this means letting our independent nature show and being open-minded. Pembrokeshire is full of highly creative communities: artisans, makers and entrepreneurs who are engaged in both preserving the past and embracing the new ideas. It’s another one of those confluences that makes Pembrokeshire a fascinating and uplifting place.

Remember that people don’t only want to see our destination, they want to meet the people and know what it feels like to spend time stargazing on the Preseli Hills, to stand where Henry VII was born, or to rub shoulders with the locals on St David’s Day in a seaside pub.

Think your story through. Draw out the emotional benefits. If you can capture this, then you will begin to inspire people to visit.

Typography

We use one primary font which is Open Sans. It is used for headings, paragraph, and button text. There are 9 font weights associated with Open Sans. The primary weights that we use are Regular for paragraphs and Semi Bold for headings and buttons.

Open Sans Light

Open Sans Regular

Open Sans Semi Bold

Open Sans Bold

Palette

Colours that work well with each other to build a vivid, versatile, palette that brings our brand to life

The core colours (purple and stone) are used for headings and body texts. The more expressive secondary colours are used as highlights, to reflect the light and warmth of the brand, indicate seasonal content, and to provide exciting pops of colour and personality.

As you would expect they are used more economically than the core colours.

Each colour has been provided with references for usage in printed material and on-screen/digital assets.

Pantone and CMYK colour references are systems used for professional printing, such as for magazines, outdoor advertising banners.

For usage on digital screens you can use either the hexadecimal (HEX) or the RGB colour values.

Primary Colours

HEX / HTML: 505759
RGB: 80.87.89
CMYK: 66.47.47.37
Pantone: 445C

HEX / HTML: 4B384C
RGB: 75.56.76
CMYK: 69.75.43.44
Pantone: 7448C

Secondary Colours

HEX / HTML: F5AD37
RGB: 245.173.55
CMYK: 2.37.84.0

HEX / HTML: E37447
RGB: 228.117.72
CMYK: 7.64.74.0

HEX / HTML: 1B7DC1
RGB: 27.125.194
CMYK: 82.42.0.0

HEX / HTML: 75942B
RGB: 118.149.43
CMYK: 60.23.100.7

HEX / HTML: 9C3B15
RGB: 157.59.22
CMYK: 26.83.100.24

HEX / HTML: 552611
RGB: 85.39.17
CMYK: 40.80.90.63

HEX / HTML: 0f4f81
RGB: 15.80.130
CMYK: 96.67.24.9

HEX / HTML: 536D28
RGB: 83.110.40
CMYK: 69.36.100.26

HEX / HTML: 745D88
RGB: 117.94.137
CMYK: 62.66.23.7

Pattern

The brushstrokes that we sometimes use to create an additional visual connection between various brand touchpoints are taken from our knot logo. They add an impressionistic, uninhibited touch, echoing the free-spirited character of the brand and are used in random ways – which is more or the less the whole point.

Checklist

Planning a communication? Use our checklist to see how well you are aligned

If you can tick three or more boxes you are ‘on brand’

Quick check

Inspiring
Are you saying something that will be of interest to your target audience? Can you share an insight? Tell them something that they didn’t know before?

Human and real
People love Pembrokeshire because it’s real. There is an honesty about us and little pretence. Is the tone of voice true to yourself, your brand and the Pembrokeshire brand?

Imagery
Do the photos that you’ve chosen add drama? Are they real? Are they inspiring? Do they contribute in some way to helping to understand Pembrokeshire’s spirit or character? Do they have ‘’soul’’? Ordinary won’t do. They also need to meet professional quality standards. Screenshots lifted from another website won’t do either!

Values
Does your messaging align with our core values? Does it demonstrate a special level of care for people or places? Is the tone warm, welcoming, and positively diverse? Does it highlight in some way the free spirited or spiritual nature of Pembrokeshire?

Emotion
Does your communication draw out the emotional benefits? Does it help people to understand what it might feel like to stay with you/eat with you/join your tour etc?

Social
If you are creating content for social channels, have you tagged Pembrokeshire and used our hash tag #VisitPembrokeshire