Simon Anholt

septembre 2006

Not many countries are lucky enough to be economically wealthy, yet virtually all are rich in intangible assets: almost every country on earth possesses a wide variety of cultural, historical, geographical, human and intellectual capital. But in most cases, for one reason or another, there have not been the right conditions, the ability or the motivation to translate these natural assets into consistent economic performance.

Yet in a global economy increasingly driven by services, intellectual assets and ‘virtual’ products, the human capital of nations is more than ever the critical factor in their economic progress, and a lack of conventionally marketable resources is less of a bar to economic development than it has been in the past.

Whether the product being sold is tangible or intangible, intellectual capital plays a vital role in the modern economy by adding value to the product. Without a distinctive and attractive brand, few of today’s leading companies could have achieved, still less maintained, their profitability, their market share, or the loyalty of their consumers and employees.

The same basic principle applies to countries. Without a powerful and positive reputation or nation brand, no country can consistently compete for consumers, tourists, investors, immigrants and the respect and attention of other countries and the world’s media.

Nation Branding

The idea of COO or country of origin effect – the power of the “made in…” label to add appeal to products and services, to create a price premium for them, and to stimulate customer loyalty towards them – is well known. If Sony, Nintendo, Toyota and Yamaha weren’t first and foremost Japanese brands, it’s hard to imagine that they would enjoy the same prestige, and the same applies to French luxury brands like Chanel and Moët & Chandon, and to German engineering brands like Mercedes, Bosch, Siemens and Audi.

But COO affects far more than a country’s exported goods and services: it makes a significant difference to perceptions of the country’s people (whether as employees, investors, immigrants, politicians or media stars), of its sporting and cultural endeavours, of its political and diplomatic relations with other countries, of its tourism and heritage attractions, of its investment offerings, of its media and other intellectual and creative productions. A country’s brand impacts virtually every aspect of its international engagement, and thus plays a critical role in its economic, social, political and cultural progress.

Each of the points of the hexagon involve different aspects of the patrimony of the nation, and together they add up to a single ‘idea of the nation’ which can drive performance in many areas of international trade, relations and cultural and social exchange. The points of the hexagon need to be managed, protected and, where appropriate, put to work for the good of the country.

When, as a result of clear and inspiring leadership from government, all of these stakeholders share a common vision of the country’s future and its current identity, and achieve some degree of harmonisation between their actions and communications, there is a far greater chance of the country’s image fairly and positively reflecting its present reality.

This is because the international ‘audience’ is only likely to form a coherent and positive opinion of the country if the majority of the messages they receive from it are broadly aligned, and the people of the country organised around some degree of shared understanding of their national identity and national purpose.

Reality and perception: the benefits of nation branding

The brand images of countries, whether good or bad, are seldom an entirely accurate reflection of the reality of the country. In the case of developing countries, the most common reason for this disconnect between image and reality is time: the country may change quite quickly, but its image lags behind by years or decades and sometimes even centuries.

It is widely believed that little can be done to correct or enhance a country’s image: one can blame the media, people’s ignorance, globalisation or one’s own history, but apparently not even the richest countries can do much to change a negative stereotype once it has become ingrained or build a brand for little-known places.

But there are enough examples and enough ‘best practice’ to prove that a country’s international reputation can be managed and changed to better represent the current reality and future aspirations of the place, as long as there is a clear strategy for doing so, real leadership, and proper coordination between government, the public and private sector, and the population in general.

This message is of critical importance to developing nations, which simply don’t have the time to wait until their image catches up with the rapid pace of their development. For them, place branding represents a way of ensuring that their fundamental human qualities, their efforts, achievements and ambitions are seen, acknowledged, and properly interpreted in their own region and beyond.

In a deeper sense, place branding also provides a way for newer, smaller and poorer countries to establish and broadcast their true cultural, social and historical identity, and carve out a ‘perceptual niche’ for themselves in the global community.

In a world dominated by the capitalist system, it’s easy to conclude that real competitive advantage can only come from economic, political or military strength. However, as in any busy marketplace, there is room on the global stage for brands which play by slightly different rules; there is room for niche brands, and room for brands which compete primarily on cultural excellence, rather than on economic muscle.

In this sense, national brand is national identity made tangible, robust, communicable and useful. A good brand represents a real competitive edge, and is without doubt the single most valuable asset which any nation possesses; and knowing how to protect, develop and exploit it is the key for translating the intangible wealth of developing countries into economic growth.

Physical products need physical distribution if they are going to generate income. Ideas need branding and marketing. In the knowledge economy, branding is both the strategic discipline and the distribution channel which builds success for smaller countries and turns ideas into wealth.

See Brand New Justice – How Branding Places and Products Can Help the Developing World by Simon Anholt (Elsevier, Oxford, 2003/5).