5th October 2017

The Nation Branding Playbook

Strategy Toolbox

Our team of place and destination branding consultants recently prepared a strategic advice note for a seminar in Dublin for the Irish government and key stakeholders to explore refreshing the country’s national brand of Eire, the Republic of Ireland.

This post shares their views of key considerations for country and nation branding initiatives, informed by recent work on developing a national brand for Paraguay, assessing the impact of the national brand of Costa Rica in target international markets and, developing the concept of a Place Branding Playbook for the City of St Petersburg in Florida.

1. Be Absolutely Clear on the Overall Objective

Before commencing work on the development of a nation brand strategy, countries need to be very clear on their objectives. Examples include:

To clarify and raise awareness of what they offer to the rest of the world, e.g. the US as a country of innovation and entrepreneurship;
To promote the goods and services they offer for sale to the rest of the world, e.g. Paraguay;
To attract inward investment, e.g. IDA Ireland;
To attract tourism investment and spend, e.g. the “Essential Costa Rica”brand-led tourism campaign;
To unite the nation behind a country development strategy, e.g. South Africa’s “Rainbow Nation” campaign to bring the country together after the end of apartheid;
Or, a limited mix of the above,e.g. the “Great Britain” campaign.

Remember the old saw – “If you do not know what you want you won’t know what you will get.”

2. Be Realistic About the Expected Benefits

In a similar vein, countries need to be clear on the expected benefits, beyond increased general awareness, of spending time and money on refreshing/developing a national brand. Typically, these include:

Increased international awareness of the achievements of their people, businesses and organisations.
Enhancing or changing international perceptions of the benefits of investing in the country and hiring its people, e.g. The “Hire them before they Hire You” campaign promoting the skills of the young Irish Workforce.
Increased awareness of a nation’s culture and heritage and its contribution to life around the world.
Increased national pride among their people in the role of the nation in the wider world – pride in the achievements of its people, businesses and institutions.
Increased local and international awareness of the commitment that the country has to other parts of the world, e.g. participation in refugee relief, supporting famine relief, supporting education and skills development, e.g. the support from Morocco for other countries in Africa.
Leadership positioning in sectors where the country excels, e.g. Agri-business; Technology; Lifesciences/Biopharma; Financial &Business services; Creative Economy and Tourism.

Tangible benefits can include a combination of increased investment, growth in exports of goods and services, attraction and retention of talented people, increased tourism and more.

3. Be clear who will be responsible for creating or refreshing the national brand

Typically, the push for a national/country brand strategy comes from politicians at the national level or, less commonly, from commentators in the media or personalities in the arts and literary sector.

Traditionally, work on funding the creation of a national brand is supported and stimulated by the public sector – by national governments, often by Ministers of culture, trade and foreign relations, sometimes by Presidents and Prime Ministers.