WHY NATION BRANDING IS IMPORTANT FOR TOURISM ?

Nation branding as a marketing and socioeconomic concept has been in existence since 1998, when a British consultant named Simon Anholt surprised the business world and the political establishment by suggesting that places and nations can be viewed as brands. Since that time the idea has made significant recognition worldwide. Many countries have closely understood the role of their global image in attracting the attention of international organizations, foreign-aid donors, and providers of technical assistance, as well as that of trade partners, investment bankers, and the global travel and hospitality outfits. Positioning the nation as a global brand is becoming more and more recognized and advantageous for small and big countries alike thought building a nation’s brand equity requires time, money, and lots of work.

Promoting tourism products successfully requires a context that allows the audience to appreciate what the country has to offer to visitors. That context is the overall image, or brand, of the country. If, for example, a country is widely viewed as a modern, secure, clean and efficient state, the chances of getting tourists to visit attractive destinations are good. What’s more, if a nation is known for its unique features, whether they be cultural, artistic, natural or man-made, positive curiosity will provide a context that encourages tourists to discover first-hand something new or at least interesting.

Tourism branding and promotion cannot be conducted successfully without consideration of the context for tourism, which is the state of the country itself. Or, conversely, tourism branding and promotion can best be developed in the context of successful nation branding and promotion.

The purpose of nation branding
We live in a world where countries are trying to become the same in terms of infrastructure and quality of life. However, national objectives, including a universal core agenda to promote trade, investment and travel/tourism, are best achieved through differentiation. Countries need to take a critical look at themselves and ask: “Why should companies invest here or tourists come here, rather than go to other countries for investment and tourism?”

This self-critical analysis might well lead to recognition of what needs to be done to make the country more attractive. This self-analysis is the starting point of a nation branding process, because a brand must be truthful and believable. Every country has strengths and weaknesses and a good brand will project a nation’s strengths while recognizing its weaknesses. The good news is that a nation’s brand is not fixed in stone; it evolves as the country evolves. Thus even if you know there are many things to improve in the country, there is no reason to delay branding, which can be a key tool in helping you get to where you want to be as a nation.

The purpose of nation branding is to position your country in the best way possible in the world system, given its strengths and weaknesses.

And nation branding is not simply coming up with a cute logo and tag line. It has a much deeper purpose: to position a nation so that it can achieve the maximum success in the world system, including garnering the maximum international recognition and clout, robust business relations with the world, and a healthy tourism industry. By doing this, a nation brings the maximum benefit to its people by giving them dignity, and by creating jobs and wealth.

Branding has grown into a science that employs certain proven methods and techniques, including research among stakeholders, benchmarking, etc. And while nation branding is more complex than corporate branding, because of the complex nature of countries, many of the tools developed in the corporate world can be used in the nation branding process.

However, nation branding is a specialized field because the complex elements that make up a nation and the diverse objectives of government need to be understood deeply and fully for the branding process to be successful.

Branding is not advertising
Branding is a process that should be undertaken before money is spent on image-formation and messaging, and hence before communications strategies and plans are decided, advertising campaigns are initiated, web sites built or public relations paid for. However, most countries do it the other way round: they allocate budgets for advertising, web sites, PR, etc, without having a brand to communicate.

Every nation is a brand
It is a somewhat new way of looking at a country, but every nation is a brand. That is, it has an image in the minds of people living elsewhere, at least those people who are aware of its existence. Some countries are known for good things, some for bad, and some are largely unknown. This last group is probably the most fortunate, because little-known countries have the greatest opportunity to establish a brand from scratch.

The problem is that most countries have had their brands made for them. Their history, or current events, as described by others (historians, mass media, etc) have shaped their image, good or bad.

Governments must lead the branding process
Clearly, no one in the world will create a good brand for your country. Each country must take control of its own brand. This means that it must invest in its brand, as well as the management and promotion of that brand. This is a task that must be led by governments. Only a national government knows the full agenda of the country and has the power and resources to lead the nation in a branding process.

Nevertheless, governments must get the buy-in of all the key stakeholders, including NGOs, the business community, etc. With this participation in the branding process, these stakeholders will then become natural promoters of the brand. Furthermore, if the government takes an initiative that is intelligent and clearly of benefit to the whole country, it is likely to get the willing support of other stakeholders. After all, every citizen and organization in a nation would like to be part of a positive image for the country.

A nation’s brand is complex
One should not think that branding a nation successfully is an easy task. In fact there are few if any examples of such a success. Countries are made up of a mix of elements, including location, peoples, cultures, religions, traditions, industries, habits, natural resources and often complex histories. A successful brand will embody and represent the diverse positive elements that comprise a nation.

A good brand will take into account the complexity of the nation it seeks to embody, and be believable. At the same time it will differentiate the nation from all others, putting it in the best light possible, without exaggeration or distortion of the truth.

Depending on a tourism brand is risky
Many countries have depended on their tourism brand to project a positive image about the nation as a whole, but there is the risk that the tourism brand is too narrow or limited. A better strategy is to create a brand identity for the nation that supports tourism, including a tourism brand.

Many countries are now seriously thinking about the process and benefits of nation branding, but in many instances the task seems overwhelming in its magnitude, and governments simply don’t take action.

In these cases, it might be wise for tourism branding to take on as much of the role of nation branding as possible. Looked at in its broadest sense, the tourism sector includes much of what makes up a nation, including infrastructure, government and private services, the environment, etc, and there is a good argument for a tourism brand to embrace those elements, especially in the absence of a nation brand.

All these considerations must be carefully crafted into any tourism communications strategy and be delivered with maximum creative impact to the target audiences. In this way the nation branding process is initiated through tourism branding.

The nation branding process
The techniques used in branding nations are largely taken from the corporate world and adapted to the particular circumstances of countries. In particular, any credible branding process must begin with in-depth research and analysis, including getting the input of stakeholders. With this information, as well as an articulation of the nation’s vision, brand-building can begin in earnest.

It is difficult for us humans to see ourselves in a true perspective, as others see us. Even in the corporate world, outside branding consultants are used to help corporate executives make wise decisions about their all-important brands.

Likewise, it is difficult for a nation to see itself clearly. Therefore, it is desirable for a country to seek a branding partner to conduct the research and analysis, to develop a creative brief, and to propose images and messages. Every nation owns its own brand, and must make all the critical decisions regarding its formation and management, but in the complex world we live in today, the advice of experts is essential to success.

Promoting the brand
The brand must be adopted internally first, then domestically, meaning throughout the nation, by all stakeholders. Only then can it be effectively promoted internationally. At this point, a variety of tools can be used to promote the brand, from web sites and trade missions to advertising campaigns and embassies abroad. Again, advice from a branding and communications partner is needed for these steps in the roll-out, management and promotion of the brand.