BRANDING NATIONS

Malaysia, Truly Asia. Incredible India. 100% Pure New Zealand. Happiness on Earth, Thailand. Ultimate in Diversity, Indonesia. Uniquely Singapore.

Today countries are laying a lot of emphasis on developing infrastructure, attracting investments and improving the quality of life of its citizens. Tourism is an important tool in achieving this. The above taglines promote tourism by bringing into context, what a country has to offer to its visitors. The tourism industry contributes almost 9% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Every country wants to grab a chunk of this GDP. In the past Europe was the most famous destination for world tourism, but now many countries are coming into the limelight with their focus on promoting tourism. They want to create a unique brand identity for their country and attract more tourists. If a country is widely known as a modern, secure, clean and efficient state then the chances of attracting tourists is more. Some of the successful countries which have created unique brand identities are Singapore, Dubai, India, Switzerland and France among others.

Different countries use different strategies to promote their brands. It can be through their people, products, historical events or other well known entities synonymous to that country. The tiny South East Asian island country of Singapore is well known as modern, secure and efficient state. It launched “Uniquely Singapore” for its branding campaign in 2004 and promotes itself as the bridge between the eastern and western worlds. To a large extent, it has been successful in building a positive brand image of Singapore as a nation through this campaign. Countries also use major sporting events like Olympics, Formula 1 racing, Commonwealth Games, etc to promote and build their image. For example, China used the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to show case its brand. India promotes its rich culture, diversity and varied geographies with the tagline of ‘Incredible India’. African countries promote their wildlife to attract tourists while countries like Dubai showcase themselves as shopping destinations.

Any country should be cautious in branding or rebranding its image and promoting the same. If there are no visible changes or signs of development in sync with the brand identity it promotes, that will negatively impact the brand image of a country.

Overall today most countries around the world are trying to differentiate themselves by revamping their image and building a positive brand for their nations.