Nation branding

Nation branding is a field of theory and practice which aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries (closely related to place branding). Some approaches applied, such as an increasing importance on the symbolic value of products, have led countries to emphasise their distinctive characteristics. The branding and image of a nation-state "and the successful transference of this image to its exports - is just as important as what they actually produce and sell."^[1]

Contents 1 Nation Branding as a Theory 2 Nation Branding in Practice 3 Nation Branding in Academia 3.1 critics 4 Nation Brands Index 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

Nation Branding as a Theory

Simon Anholt is credited as a practitioner pioneer in the field.^[2]

Nation branding is still trying to come up with one unified theoretical framework. Many theories have been proposed and are being used. Anholt’s Nation Brand Hexagon is one of the most prominent. It consists of a country managing and coordinating the nations brand through the six communication channels:

• People: Measures the population’s reputation for competence, education, openness and friendliness and other qualities, as well as perceived levels of potential hostility and discrimination.
• Governance: Measures public opinion regarding the level of national government competency and fairness and describes individual’s beliefs about each country’s government, as well as its perceived commitment to global issues such as democracy, justice, poverty and the environment.
• Exports: Determines the public’s image of products and services from each country and the extent to which consumers proactively seek or avoid products from each country-of-origin.
• Tourism: Captures the level of interest in visiting a country and the draw of natural and man-made tourist attractions.
• Culture & Heritage: Reveals global perceptions of each nation’s heritage and appreciation for its contemporary culture, including film, music, art, sport and literature.
• Investment & Immigration Determines the power to attract people to live, work or study in each country and reveals how people perceive a country’s economic and social situation

Nation Branding in Practice

Nation branding appears to be practised by many states, including Canada, the United States, France, United Kingdom (where it is officially referred to as public diplomacy), Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand, and most Western European countries. An early example of this was the Cool Britannia approach of the early days of the New Labour government (following the Britain (TM) pamphlet by Demos's Mark Leonard), though this has since been replaced by a more credible Public Diplomacy Board. Over a fifteen year period popularity in the practise has grown dramatically: over 40 governments have worked with Anholt to increase their engagement with other countries. There is increasing interest in the concept from poorer states on the grounds that an enhanced image might create more favorable conditions for foreign direct investment, tourism, trade and even political relations with other states. Developing nations such as Tanzania and Colombia are creating smaller nation branding programs aimed at increased overall image and with the case of Colombia, changing international perception. Programs led by Richard H. Griffiths have been used in Tanzania, Colombia, Guatemala and the US Department of State.

Nation Branding in Academia

Nation Branding can be approached in academics as a field in social sciences, political sciences, humanities, communication, marketing and international relations. Scholars such as Evan H. Potter at the University of Ottawa have conceptualized nation brands as a form of national soft power. All efforts by government (at any level) to support the nation brand - either directly or indirectly - becomes public diplomacy.

critics

Anti-globalisation proponents often claim that globalisation diminishes and threatens local diversity, but there is evidence that in order to compete against the backdrop of global cultural homogeneity, nations strive to accentuate and promote the distinctiveness of local characteristics and competitive advantages.^[3]

Nation Brands Index

The concept of measuring global perceptions of countries across several dimensions (culture, governance, people, exports, tourism, investment and immigration) was developed by Simon Anholt. His original survey, the Anholt Nation Brands Index, was launched in 2005 and fielded four times a year. Now known as the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index™ (NBI), it is published annually and evaluates international public perceptions of 50 countries. It is used primarily for the benefit of the 20-30 national governments to monitor and track their international standing.^[6][7] Up to six additional countries can be added to each wave of the survey fielded based on the specific requests and interests of NBI subscribers or as world events dictate. ^[8]

References

Further reading

• Review by Chan, Rachel of Brand Singapore by Koh, Buck Song at University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School. 20 April 2011.
• Townsend, Jake August 8, 2011 "Branding Peace: Norway's Identity Put to the Test" Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jake-townsend/branding-peace-norways-id_b_918229.html
• Olins, Wally. 2002. Branding the nation – the historical context. In Journal of Brand Management, 9(4-5).
• Fan, Y. 2006. “Nation branding: what is being branded?” Journal of Vacation Marketing, 12:1, 5-14, available at http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/1286
• Backgrounder on Nation Branding from Council on Foreign Relations, November 9, 2007
• Entry on Nation Branding, Center for Media & Democracy's Sourcewatch
• Nation Branding : San Marino developing into a brand Meike Eitel, Marie Spiekermann, 2005
• article, Boston Globe, Risen, Clay (March 13, 2005)
• Feature by Weiner, Eric (January 11, 2006), National Public Radio's "Day to Day",
• article by Gumbel, Peter Time Magazine, May 29, 2005
• Article in New York Times - "Branding Nations" by Clay Risen, Dec 11, 2005.
• Article on Singapore's nation branding - "The Singapore brand offers a thoroughly modern city" by Andrew Stevens, City Mayors Foundation, 8 June 2011. [3]
• Rendon, Jim: “When Nations Need a Little Marketing.” New York Times, November 23, 2003.
• Anholt, Simon. Brand New Justice: the upside of global branding. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, 2003.
• Johansson, Johny K. In Your Face: How American Marketing Fuels Anti-Americanism. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Financial Times/Prentice-Hall, 2004.
• Kotler, Philip; Jatusripitak, Somkid; Maesincee, Suvit: The Marketing of Nations. A Strategic Approach To Building National Wealth. The Free Press, New York, 1997.
• Melerowicz, Marianna. National Branding in Poland. in: AICELS Law Review - Journal on Central European Law. No.1, Rincon: The American Institute for Central European Legal Studies (AICELS), 2009.
• Potter, Evan. 2009. Branding Canada: Projecting Canada's Soft Power through Public Diplomacy (Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press).
• TRUE, Jacqui. 2006. "Globalisation and Identity." In Raymond Miller (ed.) New Zealand Government and Politics (Melbourne: Oxford University Press).

External links

• Corporate Sector Role in Place Branding
• USC Public Diplomacy
• Branding Greece: Greece as a Brand, the non-governmental Greek project for national branding

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