It is not unusual today to find countries in vigorous competition with one another, where previously such activities were the province of for-profit companies. Governments are turning to branding techniques to differentiate their countries on the global stage and to give themselves a competitive edge over “rival” countries. A positive nation brand provides a crucial advantage by helping restore lapsed international credibility. Branding may also increase international political influence and facilitate stronger international partnerships. Thus, countries have become increasingly aware of the importance of their nation brand and nation branding. Nation branding refers to a country’s whole image, including political, economic, social, environmental, historical, and cultural issues. Because there is little theory on the subject but a substantial amount of real-world activity and multiple examples, the possibilities for the field are wide open. However, it is complex because it encompasses multiple dimensions, levels, and disciplines beyond conventional branding; it is a highly politicized activity that generates conflicting viewpoints and opinions; and to some extent, it has become controversial because some associate it more with marketing and branding, whereas others more with international relations and public diplomacy.
In this context, Keith Dinnie’s book, Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice, is both timely and relevant. Dinnie, an associate professor at Temple University, Japan (a branch campus of its counterpart in Philadelphia) explains the intricacies of nation branding and shows how countries can apply conventional brand management techniques. With plenty of information on the context and nature of nation branding, his book makes a valuable contribution to the emerging literature on nation branding.
The book has ten chapters and is divided into four main parts: (1) scope and scale of nation branding, (2) conceptual roots of nation branding, (3) ethical and pragmatic issues in nation branding, and (4) current practice and future horizons for nation branding. Each part consists of two or three chapters, and most begin with a country case study. Dinnie weaves in contributions from 20 branding experts, who comment on academic and practitioner aspects of the subject in short essays. For example, Klaus-Peter Weidmann, a professor in Germany, and coauthor Gianfranco Walsh write about nation branding in Germany; Dipak Pant, a Nepalese professor in Italy, writes on repositioning Nepal; and Anthony Gortzis writes on Greek olive oil and nation branding and, more generally, on the relationship between product and nation branding. Dinnie does an excellent job integrating the chapters by cross-referencing. The updated literature at the end of each chapter is useful for those interested in exploring the topic further.
Scope and Scale of Nation Branding
The book opens with a case study of South Africa and shows how the country applied nation branding techniques to attract trade, tourism, and investments. Chapter 1 continues with a definition of nation branding and discusses how to adapt brand theory to nation branding. It should be noted that there is a definition disconnect because a clear definition and view on nation branding has not been established yet, and what some regard as nation branding is different from the views of others in the discipline. The book gives an overview of initiatives in several countries. The case of Egypt, which opens Chapter 2, illustrates how that country tried to improve its image to attract more business. Dinnie also discusses key elements of branding theory, such as brand identity, brand image, and brand positioning, and how these concepts apply to nation branding. Chapter 3 begins with a case discussing the effects of country of origin (COO) and nation branding on Chile’s wine industry. The chapter author describes how brand equity concepts can be applied to nation brands and examines the potential sources and dimensions of a nation’s brand equity.
Unfortunately, there is only a limited discussion of how nation branding “fits” into the current branding literature. How is it similar to or different from product branding, corporate branding, and destination branding? Although the book includes a simplistic model of nation brand equity, it could have benefited from a more detailed explanation of why this is important. How can such brand equity be evaluated, and how does it differ from current brand equity approaches?
Conceptual Roots of Nation Branding
The second part of the book investigates the roots of nation branding. In Chapter 4, the country case of Switzerland shows the image promotion of Switzerland through a federal administration office, which coordinates the activities of other organizations in that particular field. In this chapter, Dinnie also reviews the main themes in the field of COO and relates them to nation branding. Chapter 5 outlines the country case of Russia, describing how nation branding was applied to shape and promote the nation’s identity internally. This chapter also reviews the basic features of national identity with a special focus on the cultural elements and how they are related to nation branding. The country case in Chapter 6 is Brazil; this chapter illustrates how a nation can promote an economic sector that does not necessarily coincide with existing stereotypes. This chapter presents a framework of how both COO and national identity underpin the concept of nation branding.
Unfortunately, Dinnie gives little attention to other possible roots of nation branding, such as destination branding. Country identity (Chapter 5) is the internal perspective, and country image (Chapter 2) is the external perspective, but I believe that parts of Chapter 2 would have been better included in Chapter 5. Along the same line, Chapter 6 presents a framework that shows that COO and national identity are two related fields underpinning the concept of nation branding. I agree with this, but because destination branding and country image are also related fields underpinning nation branding, they should be added to the framework.
Ethical and Pragmatic Issues in Nation Branding
Part three opens in Chapter 7 with the country case of Bolivia and traces how nation branding can overcome a negative image to attract tourism. Dinnie discusses the key ethical imperatives related to nation branding, such as who has the right to be a nation brand manager. The country case in Chapter 8 is about Iceland and describes the establishment of an umbrella brand for multiple industries. This chapter also reviews the extent of stakeholder participation, the coordination of nation brand initiatives, and a simple nation brand architecture. It shows that the nation brand represents the umbrella brand; at the next level down, there is the endorsed brands, such as tourism, exports, inward investment, talent attraction, and sports; and at the third level, there are standalone brands, such as regions, cities, or landmarks for tourism; products and services for exports; or national teams or clubs for sports.
However, what was missing was an in-depth discussion about product safety, labor issues, corporate social responsibility, and human rights and their relationship to nation branding. Although there is a brief discussion of nation branding as a political activity, it would have been beneficial to also learn more about that and the connection between nation branding and public diplomacy and international relations. For example, Dinnie could have included a discussion about nation branding as a means to enforce “soft power.”
Current Practice and Future Horizons for Nation Branding
The country case of Japan opens Chapter 9 and shows how that country has gone about developing a nation-branding strategy. It discusses the principles of a nation-branding strategy and provides guidelines on how to conduct an internal analysis of a country’s existing competitive position and an external analysis of competitors from a nation-branding point of view. Chapter 10 begins with the country case of France, describing how nation branding can contribute to attracting foreign direct investment to a country. Dinnie concludes his study with a discussion of future directions for nation branding, such as online nation branding, internal nation branding, and sonic nation branding.
An overall visual framework to guide the reader through the book and to connect the different parts and chapters would have been valuable. This would also have helped in understanding the “big picture” of nation branding, especially because the topic is complex and includes multiple levels, components, and disciplines. Although Dinnie does an excellent job cross-referencing the chapters effectively, there are no introductory and conclusion chapters. Although the country cases were very well chosen and very interesting to read, there seemed to be a disconnect between the cases and the commentaries that followed in each chapter. A more conventional structure of first discussing the theory and issues and then including one or two country cases at the end of each chapter might have overcome this disconnect.
Overall, however, I applaud Keith Dinnie for researching and editing this book, the first overview of its kind on nation branding. It is a very thoughtful contribution for both marketing scholars and practitioners. For scholars, it may either broaden their perspective on the discipline of branding or serve as a starting point for additional research. The book also offers worthwhile supplemental reading for any undergraduate or graduate course on marketing, branding, international business, public diplomacy, and international relations. For scholars who may want to create a seminar or teach a course about nation branding, this book is a “must buy.” The work of Kotler, Jatusripitak, and Maesincee (1997) and, more recently, Anholt’s (2007) Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions are very useful and valuable complementary readings. For practitioners and especially government officials and policy makers in economic development, export promotion agencies, and tourism organizations, this book includes many hands-on examples and very useful information.
—Marc Fetscherin, Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College
REFERENCES
Anholt, Simon (2007), Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kotler, Philip, Somkid Jatusripitak, and Suvit Maesincee (1997), The Marketing of Nations: A Strategic Approach to Building National Wealth. New York: The Free Press.