RUN Aotearoa to lead Marshall Islands tourism rebrand
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has appointed RUN Aotearoa to lead a global tourism rebrand, putting the marshall islands’ destination strategy in the hands of a team that will build it around community engagement, research and new visual material.
The work is funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and is meant to strengthen the Marshall Islands’ position on the world stage without losing the identity that makes the country distinct.
Marshall Islands brand work
RUN Aotearoa will shape the tourism brand and platform through an in-market visit, with research, photography and film production all planned as part of the process. Community engagement will play a central role, tying Marshallese stories directly into the way the country is presented to international audiences.
Laura Cibilich, RUN Aotearoa co-founder, said: “It’s a dream to have the opportunity to build a brand for a country. We feel privileged to be able to spend time with the Marshallese people and to hear their stories. We hope to share the Marshall Islands narrative in a way that honours its people, culture and environment.”
RUN Aotearoa and the Pacific
The appointment adds to RUN Aotearoa’s Pacific portfolio. The company was previously selected to lead a Pacific-wide campaign to phase out single-use plastics in tourism, a project involving the Pacific Tourism Organisation and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
That history helps explain why the Marshall Islands turned to the same team for a branding project that depends on local participation as much as international reach. The immediate task is to turn the country’s tourism ambition into a platform that can travel beyond the Pacific while staying rooted in Marshallese voices.
Laura Cibilich on the appointment
Cibilich and co-founder Raymond Otene McKay now face the practical work of turning the appointment into images, interviews and a brand narrative. For the Marshall Islands, the next step is the in-market visit, where the research and production phase will begin with Marshallese people rather than a finished campaign brief.
