Romanian Tourism minister: Touristic brand’s leaf issue was solved

Elena Udrea, Romanian Regional Development and Tourism minister, said that the fake problem of the leaf in Romania’s touristic brand was solved by the disappearance of the foreign site that included a similar element, according to Mediafax News Agency

She also added that the company that appeared on the mentioned site does not exist, in this moment, in Ireland.

The creative process for the visual identity of Romania’s tourism brand was budgeted with Euro 94,600 from the total budget of almost Euro 900,000 for Romania’s tourism brand, the representatives of the Romanian Regional Development and Tourism Ministry said, in July.

After the scandalregarding the use of a stock photo as an element of the Romanian tourism brand’s logo, Romanian Tourism Ministry announced, in a press release published on its site, that it will not pay THR-TNS until the situation isn’t clarified in what concerns the “naughty” leaf and other symbols commercialized over internet. “Romanian Regional Development and Tourism Ministry (MDRT) asked today to the association THR Asesores en Turismo, Hoteleria y Recreacion SA/ Taylor Nelson Sofres, its contractual partner in realizing the Romanian tourism brand, to urgently communicate its official position regarding the press published info which refer to one of the three representative brand elements as being very similar, as form and composition, with a logo commercialized over internet”, according to Ministry’s press release.

After MDRT asked publicly explanations from THR/TNS and announced it won’t make any payment until the situation is not clarified, the association that made the brand reacted and said that “Romania’s tourism brand and all its components were created by us and, considering that, they should be considered as being original”. According to THR/TNS, the drawing presented by Romanian press and attributed to Nulens and the brand element from Romania’s tourism brand’s visual identity “have many significant differences of shape, color and orientation”. THR/TNS mentioned, in the same letter, that the association is willing to make available to the ministry all the manuscripts, drawings and sketches realized during the creative process, in order to remove any doubts, and even “to make supplemental graphical works over the isotype”.

The Romania’s brand story started a few years ago, with a bunch of different ideas and a lot of different people assuming the responsibility over the time. From the 13 pitch offers for Romania’s tourist brand, Romanian Ministry selected 3 for the last stage of the pitch: TBWA Bucharest – GfK Romania, Saffron Brand Consultants – Brandient Consult – Acacia Avenue and THR- Taylor Nelson Sofres. Five months later, the winner was announced, the criteria of selection – the lowest price – being fulfilled by THR.

Romania’s touristic brand was launched at Shanghai World Exhibition.