Nation branding aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries (closely related to place branding). In the book Diplomacy in a Globalizing World: Theories and Practices, the authors define nation branding as "the application of corporate marketing concepts and techniques to countries, in the interests of enhancing their reputation in international relations." [1] Many nations try to make brands in order to build relationships between different actors that are not restricted to nations. It extends to public and private sectors in a nation and helps with nationalism. States also want to participate in multilateral projects. [2] Some approaches applied, such as an increasing importance on the symbolic value of products, have led countries to emphasize 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." [3] This is also referred to as country-of-origin effect.
Nation branding is a developing field in which scholars continue their search for a unified theoretical framework. Many nations are aiming to improve their country's standing, as the image and reputation of a nation can heavily influence its economic vitality. They seek to attract tourism and investment capital, increase exports, attract a talented and creative workforce, and enhance their cultural and political influence in the world. Different ways that nation project their nation brand include export, foreign direct investment, and tourism. One example of exporting products is that Germany is known for their motor industry because famous car companies like Mercedes, Audi, and BMW are all German companies. An example of foreign direct investments that help the nation brand are US companies building maquiladoras and other European countries having factories in different countries. [4]
Nation branding is practiced by many countries, including the United States, Canada, France, United Kingdom (where it is officially referred to as public diplomacy), Malaysia, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Israel 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days of the New Labour government (following the Britain (TM) pamphlet by Demos's Mark Leonard), though this has since been replaced by a more credible Public Diplomacy Board. Cool Japan is a newer initiative aimed at promoting Japan's creative industries. 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, Colombia and Peru are creating smaller nation branding programs aimed at increased overall image and with the case of Colombia, changing international perception. Nation branding is seen as a part of Sweden's public diplomacy, especially with Brand Sweden. Sweden uses two main institutions, called the Utrikesdepartementet and the Swedish Institute, to study their nation branding. They wanted to present a good image through the press and also collect different reports on Sweden's representations abroad. Different events and campaigns were also made to promote Brand Sweden, one example being the House of Sweden, which was an embassy in the US. Another campaign was the Second House of Sweden, which used the internet to introduce Sweden's embassy virtually. Researchers in Sweden also studied the Nation Brand Index (NBI) results to collect data. [5]
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. [6]
Anti-globalization proponents often claim that globalization 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 local distinctiveness as a competitive advantage. [7]
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. Today it is fielded and published once a year in partnership with GfK, named the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index, using a panel of 60,000 people in 20 countries to monitor the global perceptions of countries. There is also an Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Futurebrand publishes the Country Brand Index every year, which includes an overall ranking of the 75 countries and rankings by dimension, FutureBrand collected quantitative and qualitative data from Approximately 2,500 opinion-formers and frequent international business or leisure travelers in 17 countries (USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, UK, Germany, France, Russia, Turkey, South Africa, UAE, India, China, Thailand, Japan, Mexico and Australia). complete perception dashboards for the top five country brands, regional leaders, and 'ones to watch' for the future. Futurebrand tests a global research sample based on the Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM) which involves determining an individual's awareness, familiarity, association, and preference towards a country's brand. In their 2018-19 ranking, the top 5 nations brands were (ranked from first to fifth) Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, and Canada. [19]
In international relations, a middle power is a sovereign state that is not a great power nor a superpower, but still has large or moderate influence and international recognition.
Karen Parfitt Hughes is the global vice chair of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and as a counsellor to President George W. Bush.
Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose of cultural diplomacy is for the people of a foreign nation to develop an understanding of the nation's ideals and institutions in an effort to build broad support for economic and political objectives. In essence "cultural diplomacy reveals the soul of a nation", which in turn creates influence. Public diplomacy has played an important role in advancing national security objectives.
The Swedish Institute (SI) is a public agency that builds interest and trust in Sweden around the world.
GfK is the largest German market research company. It provides data and intelligence to the consumer goods industry and is headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany.
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission, or Austrade, is the Australian Government's trade, investment and education promotion agency which was also given responsibility for tourism policy, programs and research from 2013. Austrade was established under the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985. It is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, and a statutory agency under the Public Service Act 1999. Austrade is part of the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio.
Simon Anholt is an independent policy advisor who has worked to help develop and implement strategies for enhanced economic, political and cultural engagement with other countries.
Deglobalization or deglobalisation is the process of diminishing interdependence and integration between certain units around the world, typically nation-states. It is widely used to describe the periods of history when economic trade and investment between countries decline. It stands in contrast to globalization, in which units become increasingly integrated over time, and generally spans the time between periods of globalization. While globalization and deglobalization are antitheses, they are not mirror images.
Digital diplomacy, also referred to as Digiplomacy and eDiplomacy, has been defined as the use of the Internet and new information communication technologies to help achieve diplomatic objectives. However, other definitions have also been proposed. The definition focuses on the interplay between internet and diplomacy, ranging from Internet driven-changes in the environment in which diplomacy is conducted to the emergence of new topics on diplomatic agendas such as cybersecurity, privacy and more, along with the use of internet tools to practice diplomacy.
Place branding is a term based on the idea that "cities and regions can be branded," whereby branding techniques and other marketing strategies are applied to "the economic, political and cultural development of cities, regions and countries." As opposed to the branding of products and services, place branding is more multidimensional in nature, as a 'place' is inherently "anchored into a history, a culture, an ecosystem," which is then incorporated into a network of associations, "linking products, spaces, organizations and people." As such, the concepts of nation branding, region branding, and city branding, fall under the umbrella term of place branding.
Global marketing is defined as “marketing on a worldwide scale reconciling or taking global operational differences, similarities and opportunities in order to reach global objectives".
Guerrilla diplomacy is a method of diplomacy that is identified as an alternative approach to the established common frameworks of international relations, being primarily articulated by Daryl Copeland in response to the foreign policy outcomes of the War on Terror. In a sense, the responses to the major events of the late 20th century and the early 21st century which has brought major changes to the International Order is identified as in need of a new paradigm of diplomatic thinking in order to adapt to the needs of modern diplomacy.
City marketing or Place Marketing is the promotion of a city, or a district within it, with the aim of encouraging certain activities to take place there.
Canada ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, education levels, gender equality, public services, public security and environmental sustainability. It ranks among the lowest of the most developed countries for housing affordability, healthcare services and foreign direct investment.
The Presidential Council on Nation Branding was established on January 22, 2009, by Executive Decree 21283 with the objective to develop South Korea's national brand value. The council was abolished on March 23, 2013.
Science diplomacy is the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and to build constructive international partnerships. Science diplomacy is a form of new diplomacy and has become an umbrella term to describe a number of formal or informal technical, research-based, academic or engineering exchanges, within the general field of international relations and the emerging field of global policy making.
Commercial diplomacy is diplomacy that focuses on development of business between two countries. It aims at generating commercial gains in the form of trade and inward and outward investment by means of business and entrepreneurship promotion and facilitation activities in the host country. Commercial diplomacy is pursued with the goal of gaining economic stability, welfare, or competitive advantage.
Culinary diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy or food diplomacy is a type of cultural diplomacy, which itself is a subset of public diplomacy. Its basic premise is that "the easiest way to win hearts and minds is through the stomach". Official government-sponsored culinary diplomacy programs have been established in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Peru, Israel, the United States, Cambodia, Japan, and Nordic countries.
The Good Country Index measures how much each of the 163 countries on the list contribute to the planet, and to the human race, through their policies and behaviors.
Cultural relations are reciprocal, non-coercive transnational interactions between two or more cultures, encompassing a range of activities that are conducted both by state and non-state actors within the space of cultural and civil society. The overall outcomes of cultural relations are greater connectivity, better mutual understanding, more and deeper relationships, mutually beneficial transactions and enhanced sustainable dialogue between states, peoples, non-state actors and cultures.