Revamping heritage brand: a case of Murshidabad, West Bengal, India

In the recent past, city and state branding became essential to the respective state officials in different parts of the world. However, in the unorganized tourism market of India, the primary challenge is to create brand differentiation. Heritage tourism is one of the important models of India's tourism industry, and Murshidabad brand is positioned as a heritage brand as the place is famous for its history for years. Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India, was famous for its heritage sites and culture of Nawabs of Bengal. In pre-independence time, Murshidabad, during the era of Nawabs of Bengal, was the most critical place of economic activities of the state. The case study dealt with the branding initiatives of the state of West Bengal to make Murshidabad a heritage brand in the tourism market. It touched on the difficulties faced by the Government to maintain sustainable brand-building initiatives and maintaining the same for long-run success. The study explained the underlying issues confronted by the place and the brand and how they were addressed. The current study's focus is to explain place branding strategies that marketers may adopt to create heritage brands in the tourism market. Besides, it touches on the difficulties faced by the Government to maintain sustainable brand-building initiatives and maintaining the same for long-run success.