As we reported in September this year, the Brand Africa forum was celebrated in Johannesburg, South Africa, as a summit with nation branding experts and country brand managers from a number of African nations. The forum’s objective was to explore ways so that Africa as a continent and African countries can improve their image and…
Lately we’ve had a handful of news coming from Africa. We’ve seen how some African countries have embarked in nation branding projects to prompt outer people to change their images of them. Among these countries you can count Kenya, Ghana, Botswana and South Africa. The following is a video interview with Mathias Akotia, the chief…
Most of us have heard of Simon Anholt – the brilliantly caustic, conventions-defier and outspoken nation branding (or as he prefers, ‘policy advisor’) expert. Mr. Anholt was in Johannesburg for the Brand Africa Forum held in on 16 September 2010, and he was interviewed by South Africa’s Talk Radio 702’s Jenny Crwys-Williams about the importance…
Something’s going on in Africa. Just a few days after a summit was held in Accra to explore a country brand identity for Ghana, another large-scale nation branding event took place in the continent, this time in Johannesburg, South Africa. Over 300 representants from the African media, business and political leadership, together with nation branding…
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…
At a nation branding seminar in Accra on September 28th, 2009, some updates on Ghana’s new nation branding project emerged. The CEO of the newly created Brand Ghana office, Mathias Akotia, said he is in the process of setting up the structures of the office, adding that “we will be recruiting very good quality and young…
We have reported on various occasions about the need of African countries to abandon Africa’s “halo effect”, which affects negatively all African countries just because they are located in the continent. Very few African countries have an identity of their own, and in fact most people can’t tell the difference between Zimbabwe and Botswana, Cameroon…
As world cups go, story Germany is only beaten to the plate in terms of the number of world cups won by the magical Brazil and the tenacious Italy. If football prowess was all it took to be a world power then Brazil would rule the world. As a self professed supporter of all…
