Nation Branding In Practice

This book investigates the political implications of country promotion through practices of ‘nation-branding’ by drawing on contemporary examples from the sports, urban development and higher education sector in Kazakhstan and Qatar. Nation-branding has emerged as a central practice of international politics, where it is commonly understood as a vain, superficial selling technique with little political salience. Drawing on shared insights from practice theory and constructivist notions of nationalism, identity and power, this book challenges this reading and instead argues that nation-branding is neither neutral nor primarily economically motivated, but inherently politicised and tied to the legitimation of current political regimes. The starting point for the analysis is a range of everyday practices and sites long ignored by international relations scholars. In particular, the book traces how the political leadership in Kazakhstan and Qatar have used participation in the international sports circuit, spectacular urban development, and the construction of ‘world-class’ universities to first produce and then stabilize new ideas about their state. Providing a new analytical perspective on nation-branding, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Middle Eastern and Central Asian studies, International Relations, and Cultural and Political Geography.

Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice was the ground-breaking first textbook to provide an overview of this recently established but fast-growing practice, in which the principles of brand management are applied to countries rather than companies. Many governments have invested in nation branding in order to strengthen their country's influence, improve its reputation, or boost tourism, trade and investment. This new edition has been comprehensively revised and its influential original framework modified to reflect the very latest changes to this still-developing field. It remains an accessible blend of theory and practice rich with international examples and contributions. Updates to this edition: New international cases of countries as diverse as China, United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Cuba, India, Great Britain and many more; New contributions from distinguished scholars, diplomats and businesspeople providing a range of case studies, practitioner insights and academic perspectives; New Companion Website to support the book featuring instructor aids such as PowerPoint presentations for each chapter and an instructor manual; This much-anticipated update to an influential book is an essential introduction to nation branding for students and policy makers.

Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice is a comprehensive and exciting text that demonstrates why nations are embracing the principles of brand management. It clearly explains how the concepts and techniques of branding can be adapted to the context of nations- as opposed to the more usual context of products, services, or companies. Concepts grounded in the brand management literature such as brand identity, brand image, brand positioning, and brand equity, are transposed to the domain of nation branding and supported by country case insights that provide vivid illustrations of nation branding in practice. Nation branding is a means by which more and more nations are attempting to compete on the global stage. Current practice in nation branding is examined and future horizons traced. The book provides: * The first overview of its kind on nation branding * A blend of academic theory and real world practice in an accessible, readable fashion * A clear and detailed adaptation of existing brand theory to the emerging domain of nation branding * An original conceptual framework and models for nation branding * A rich range of international examples and over 20 contributions by leading experts from around the world Country case insights on nation branding strategies currently being utilized by nations such as Japan, Egypt, Brazil, Switzerland, Iceland, and Russia Clearly and coherently structured, the book is an essential introduction to nation branding for both students and policymakers and will be an essential text for those interested in this fast growing area.

A recent coinage within international relations, “nation branding” designates the process of highlighting a country’s positive characteristics for promotional purposes, using techniques similar to those employed in marketing and public relations. Nation Branding in Modern History takes an innovative approach to illuminating this contested concept, drawing on fascinating case studies in the United States, China, Poland, Suriname, and many other countries, from the nineteenth century to the present. It supplements these empirical contributions with a series of historiographical essays and analyses of key primary documents, making for a rich and multivalent investigation into the nexus of cultural marketing, self-representation, and political power.

By taking corporate marketing concepts and applying it to countries, “nation branding” is a way for these regions to enhance their reputations and project a desired image for international recognition. New modes of publicity and marketing geared towards geographic location fall into this category, leading nation branding to have vast benefits for the economics and societies of countries. New marketing strategies have emerged and are being adopted to consequently brand countries with this purpose of economic growth. By studying these emerging strategies and methods, nations can best develop a desired brand and reputation to foster growth and prosperity. The Handbook of Research on Future Policies and Strategies for Nation Branding discusses how exactly nation branding works to benefit the function and mission of these nations along with showing how nation branding can be used as a strategic asset for the redesign of economic, political, and social characteristics of a country. The chapters outline the given situation of nations and the nature and implications of the brand that is required, measure branding inference, and propose future steps for nation branding. This book is a critical reference source for brand managers, tourism professionals, marketers, advertisers, government officials, travel agencies, academicians, researchers, and students working in the fields of international relations, economics, social sciences, business studies, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

Nation Branding, Public Relations and Soft Power: Corporatizing Poland provides an empirically grounded analysis of changes in the way in which various actors seek to manage Poland’s national image in world opinion. It explores how and why changes in political economy have shaped these actors and their use of soft power in a way that is influenced by public relations, corporate communication, and marketing practices. By examining the discourse and practices of professional nation branders who have re-shaped the relationship between collective identities and national image management, it plots changes in the way in which Poland’s national image is communicated, and culturally reshaped, creating tensions between national identity and democracy. The book demonstrates that nation branding is a consequence of the corporatization of political governance, soft power and national identity, while revealing how the Poland "brand" is shaping public and foreign affairs. Challenging and original, this book will be of interest to scholars in public relations, corporate communications, political marketing and international relations.

Branding is a profoundly geographical type of commodification process. Many things become commodities that are compared and valuated on markets around the globe. Places such as cities or regions, countries and nations attempt to acquire visibility through branding. Geographical imaginations are evoked to brand goods and places as commodities in order to show or create connections and add value. Yet, not all that is branded was originally intended and created for markets. This volume aims to broaden current understanding of branding through a series of contributions from geography, history, political studies, cultural, and media studies, offering insight into how ordinary places, objects and practices become commodities through branding. In so doing, the contributions also show how nation, place and product as targets of branding can be seen as intertwined. To discuss these forms of branding, book chapters refer to states, cities, holiday destinations, food malls, movies, dances, post stamps and other items that serve as brands and/or are branded. The book will be of interest to students and scholars in geography, sociology, history, cultural studies and business studies who would like to gain an understanding of the intricate and surprising ways in which things, places, and cultural practices become brands.

In the globalized world of today, a well-elaborated, long-term oriented nation branding strategy can help nations to improve and to better control of their nation image. Nation branding activities increase the countries’ competitiveness in the global marketplace, and help to foster the tourism arrivals, inward foreign direct investment flows and exports, and further, they help to attract talented workforce and students. Despite its growing importance, most Latin American countries still have not engaged enough in the area of nation branding, and mostly only focus their activities on the tourism promotion. The region’s countries have a good image regarding soft factors such as their people and tourism attractions but have a weak image regarding their products and investment opportunities. Brazil has a relatively good nation image in many dimensions but still has not developed an extensive nation branding strategy. Chile and Colombia are among the Latin American countries which have started to conduct more complete nation branding activities. Although, such advances can be observed, there is still a lot of improvement potential in the nation branding practices of Latin American countries.