One of the basic tenets of nation branding is that there often exists an intimal relationship between a nation brand and national brands, that is, companies hailing from that particular nation.
This relationship allows a usual nation branding tactic, which basically consists in exploiting this relationship for the benefit of either the nation brand or the [...]

Through deals, diplomacy and promotion, Latin America and the Caribbean have begun to cast aside outdated conceptions and reposition the region as one not just open for business but also good at business.
A late-20th century description of the countries south of the United States might well have been laden with stereotypes ranging from fun-in-the-sun to [...]

After publishing the Branding Slovenia story in early November 2009, I got an interesting response from an accredited source, Ms. Maja Konecnik Ruzzier, Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Ms. Konecnik has been involved in Slovenia’s national re-branding from the core, so her vision on the issue is [...]

There is a wide gap between how foreigners think about South Korea and the country’s reality. And this gap has severe consequences on South Korea’s national ambitions. For instance, in terms of nation-brand value relative to GDP, the U.S. stands at 143 percent and Japan at 224 percent, while South Korea is at less than [...]

Switzerland is widely admired for its system of government, but is not perceived as having offered much to the world in terms of culture.? These were two of the findings of last year’s edition of the Nation Brands Index, which put Switzerland in eighth position overall – three places lower than in the same study [...]

Malaysia is very well known for its tagline “Malaysia – Truly Asia”, but the Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak wants to push things forward. Malaysian political marketing blogger Radzi comments on the challenges being faced by Mr. Razak in building the Malaysia’s nation brand.
Every nation is a brand. Think of the associations that France, Great [...]

With Arab and foreign visitors swarming Lebanon this summer, from the malls in Achrafieh, Dbayeh, Dora and Verdun to the clubs and restaurants in Gemmayze and downtown, and the mountain enclaves from Broumana to Bhamdoun, it is obvious to the naked eye that Lebanon is more than ever a prime vacation destination.
However, this summer season [...]

Brand Africa continues to be a dismal one. Images of poverty and conflict continue to dominate the perceptions of people around the world, particularly in the West. Africa is still seen as a charity case waiting for salvation from outside the continent. This negative view persists despite the enormous progress the continent has made over [...]

The current economic crisis is affecting countries in an obvious, well-documented and flagrant manner, but is also impacting their reputation, their “nation brands”, in a less obvious manner.
One example is Dubai. The Emirate is facing the toughest economic challenge in its history. According to this article, nation branding guru Simon Anholt believes that only the development [...]

Part of Sweden’s celebrated image can be credited to the fact that the country has a unified brand platform, the result of incorporating the Swedish Institute, VisitSweden, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Invest in Sweden Agency and the Trade Council into the Council for the Promotion of Sweden, which generated a common brand platform for most of [...]