Diaspora

matters

Saher Sidhom Great Works

Country Branding

How Do You Build a Country Brand?

Written for the Global Diaspora Strategies Toolkit by Saher Sidhom Great Works
Saher Sidhom is Global Planning Director, Great Works, Stockholm and London.

First published 2011 Diaspora Matters Gateway House, 133 Capel Street, Dublin 1, Ireland www.diasporamatters.com 2011 Saher Sidhom

Design by Identikit Design Consultants, Dublin Printed by Impress Printing Works, Dublin All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying, scanning, recording or in any other form of storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publishers.

Contents
Introduction A country brand should start with a coherent brand and attitude but allow for paradoxes A country brand should have a framework in which its paradoxical values can thrive; this framework is ultimately its culture 1 2 3 Cultural content Behaviour and experience Reputation and cultural momentum 1 2 4 4 6 7 9

Dont build country brands, use the countrys culture to contaminate other cultures

How Do You Build a Country Brand?

Introduction
How do you build a country brand? You cant really, but you have to start somewhere. Big global brands like Nike and IKEA have larger revenues than the GDPs of some small countries. However, their brands are managed better than most countries. This is a shame because powerful country brands that are carefully managed tend to yield massive benets for tourism, industry, politics and culture. These benets are discussed and covered extensively elsewhere, e.g. by Wally Olins in his book On Brand. In this paper I will only concern myself with what are new, innovative and interesting ways of building country brands beyond the usual strategy of Lets have a logo, an end-line and a few celebrity endorsements.

How Do You Build a Country Brand?

A country brand should start with a coherent brand and attitude but allow for paradoxes

Some Swedish cultural paradoxes

progressive yet preservative individual freedoms and greater good socialist yet have royal head of state cutting edge design yet inspired by nature ...and many more

Only liars need to be consistent. This is not about achieving a design consistency or a fanatic application of end-lines in every campaign. In the rst instance, any country brand that seeks to have a future-facing, growth-led and differentiating position must dene its essence, ethos and values, reecting the national identity and attitude of the people. This often means having to nd the interesting paradoxes in a countrys culture. The rst pitfall here is only choosing to focus on a politically correct version of the national identity and highlighting some values at the expense of others. Having a few contradictions in a countrys brand ethos and values often makes the brand a lot more interesting. I will take the country of Sweden as an example in this paper. Sweden has an interesting but powerful paradox at its brand core. It is a progressive country famed for its design and innovation, yet its people are socially and environmentally conscious, with a deep respect for nature and a solid belief in preservation. This progressive yet preservative attitude of the Swedish people is a fascinating paradox that could be used to display many sides of the countrys brand, which are richer than clichd pictures of a nice lake. Another paradox of Swedish people that makes the culture equally fascinating is the high regard for individual freedom which goes hand-in-hand with respect for the greater good. This is a bizarre contradiction, which makes Swedish people and their society fascinating. I can only describe it as a curious but highly useful form of what could only be described as individual group-think. Brands are like people, with multiple layers, interests, emotions, attributes and desires. Trying to distil a brand or an individual into one word is more often an

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organisational goal than anything else. How could it ever be done, I wonder? Just having a couple of words to describe a country brand is a bit like applying makeup; it may accentuate the beauty of a place but, as the saying goes, beauty is only skin-deep. A brand onion may be convenient from a management perspective, but it may disallow the opportunity to have multiple ideas expressing the different facets of a brand. In 2007, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown published a green paper called The Governance of Britain. In its nal section it said that there was a need to be clearer about what it meant to be British. In response, Prospect magazine asked 50 British writers and intellectuals to give their thoughts on the matter. I will cite writer Duncan Fallowells response: You should hate liars and cheats and those who wont play the game. You should be able to take a joke. You should dislike extremes. You should be bad at dancing and sex and incapable of either without being drunk. You should resist invasion of your personal or national space. You should ignore what you dislike but give to charity. You should protect the countryside. You should respect the sovereign. You should say what you think. You should be classical on the outside and romantic within. You should put religion in the back seat and make sure it stays there. You should acknowledge your good fortune. Ink often ows freely when describing the British. But as the above example illustrates, British characteristics and attitudes are full of curious paradoxes. And it is these very paradoxes which make the Brits or Swedes or any other people interesting, intriguing and worth getting to know. They present a question mark, not an answer. An answer is what you get in most country or tourism advertising. An answer leaves no role for the audience or opportunity for them to be intrigued. Given that a country brand seeks to embody a multitude of ideas about its people, the place, and what goes on there, it is perhaps folly to think that just one word would do it. As well as identifying the core paradoxes at the heart of the national identity, the attitudes and values of that society should be explored and embraced because in reality these are what the world will experience when they do come to a country or choose to invest in it.

How Do You Build a Country Brand?

A country brand should have a framework in which its paradoxical values can thrive; this framework is ultimately its culture

Behaviour products, politics, actions, experiences, exports Some Swedish cultural paradoxes
progressive yet preservative

Content entertainment, arts, music, lm, design, etc.

individual freedoms and greater good socialist yet have royal head of state cutting edge design yet inspired by nature ...and many more

Reputation stories, myths, debates and headlines

I will substitute the word brand with culture in the rest of this article, primarily because it is a more realistic approach and broad enough to facilitate the exploration of a countrys cultural hallmarks and the export of these internationally. Admittedly, brands offer a simplied short cut for people when making a decision, but a countrys culture offers a much deeper, richer and indeed more complex set of ideas that allow people to be fascinated and intrigued by a countrys culture. Culture is communicated in every conversation between a citizen and a foreigner. It is one thing to identify a set of values associated with a brand, but quite another for them to be believed, lived and acted upon. A country is not a brand; it is an attitude and a set of paradoxes. Since this is a discussion of new and innovative ways of building a countrys culture abroad (its biggest and best export), I will focus on three aspects of a cultural approach to exporting a countrys values, paradoxes and attitude.

1 Cultural content
The trouble with country brand building is that the generic, predictable and clichd depiction of a country in its advertising abroad hardly does the country brand any favours. Of course it can raise awareness and perhaps build some new brand attributes but, realistically, something as complex as a country brand, not

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to mention its culture, is hard to encapsulate credibly and, more importantly, effectively in a poster. I believe there are more efcient alternatives. A countrys values are implicit in acts (covered in the next section) and arts. Cultural content is an entertaining and fascinating way of exporting the cultural values of a country. The following are a couple of examples. Spain is a modern-day re-brand of a country, according to Olins. It used to be somewhat backward and isolated, evoking images of Franco and Flamenco. However, events and achievements such as the Seville Expo, 1992; the Barcelona Olympics; Gaudi architecture; the European City of Culture accolade for Barcelona; and a resurgent lm industry led by Pedro Almodvar, were exploited by various government and arts institutions on the basis that the countrys cultural exports, whether architecture, lm or attitudes, were the most important content in the marketing of the country. The core strategy is to think of ways to establish a countrys brand abroad. Think cultural products and opportunism instead of ads. Estonia and Kazakhstan both new countries that emerged from the clutches of Soviet occupation relatively recently were desperate to establish their own identity and brand internationally. The difference between the two is that the rst did something about it and the second allowed somebody else to do it for them. Estonia won the Eurovision song contest in 2001, which allowed it to host the 2002 competition in Tallinn. For a small country that most people in the world had hardly heard of, all of a sudden it had a 166m worldwide TV audience manna from heaven as far as brand building opportunism was concerned. The country took advantage of the event and used it as a platform to stimulate interest in the rest of Estonia; internally, by giving its citizens new cultural properties to own and be proud of and, externally, by inviting and exploiting positive attention. Meanwhile in Kazakhstan nothing. No serious attempts to brand the country, and people are left to believe the highly popular and negative perceptions of one man, Borat. The case of these two countries is compelling at many levels. The challenge should not be how to advertise a countrys brand or build it, but rather how to export positive cultural values and products to the rest of the world. If this is the starting point, then cultural exports become the backbone of tourism and other brand-building exercises for the country. Film and TV are incredibly powerful tools in this context. These and other cultural products are prime targets when it comes to putting a countrys brand on the travel agenda. What Sex in the City did for tourism in New York could hardly have been matched by the New York tourist ofce. A clever strategy employed by Prague city council, which promoted Prague as a cost-effective, beautiful and exotic lm location, resulted in the city becoming the location for a number of lms such as The Bourne Identity and the James Bond Casino Royal. In the same vein, the relatively unknown town of Bruges, Belgium, had a starring role in the lm In Bruges. Country marketers should pursue an arts and lm strategy to

How Do You Build a Country Brand?

partner with international lmmakers as well as indigenous talent to apply product placement techniques to the countrys values and locations; its a places placement, as it were. This is an active strategy employed by the likes of Prague and Morocco with great success. The beauty of this strategy is that it not only builds awareness of the countries in question, it also delivers iconic images and cultural values, not to mention foreign lm investments.

2 Behaviour and experience

Values dictate behaviour. Behaviour is what a country does, makes and popularises. The portrayal of a countrys culture internally and internationally can create a mutually benecial relationship between the country and its export brands. How about brand ecosystems and good old country-of-origin branding? Lets look at the ecosystem built by the Apple brand. Steve Jobs once gave a sneak peek at how the Apple brand is organised internally around three business functions: Macs, music and the iPhone. These are essentially three different industries and categories of products, yet they are united by the Apple brand and the way it works with technology. Ecosystems are about building an environment around the brand, where each item reinforces and is compatible with the others. Once a consumer buys into one of the products, this becomes the entry ticket into the entire system. First you buy an iPod, then you need music to go with it iTunes and to ensure the experience remains pleasantly connected, you buy a Mac. With over 50 per cent of new Mac sales coming from switchers and over 2 billion songs sold on iTunes, this strategy is indeed valuable. A country culture that starts thinking of its ecosystem of brands and channels could benet greatly from a coherent exploration and exploitation of natural ecosystems around it. Country-of-origin branding plays a huge role in how a number of exported brands benet or indeed suffer from the association. Everybody wants a German car; few would rush to buy a Kazakh one. Country cultures act as a protective umbrella, or a bad omen. The mutual exchange of values between a countrys culture and its export brands becomes a virtually reinforcing brand system. There are a number of benets from this happy exchange. Country cultures provide instant credibility and identity to new or unknown brands in new markets. If the value system is coherent, as shown in the example below (albeit a simplication of the German brand), then these products invariably live up to the values of the country of origin. Brands that are not even connected in any way can also reinforce each other. There can be similar expectations associated with buying a Bosch power drill and a Porsche. The strength and coherence of a system becomes a mutually reinforcing brand equity. Ecosystems can also pre-empt competitive strategies for the export brands in question. For example, it is no surprise that both Audi and VW in the UK have end-lines in German to emphasize the country of origin. The strength of this strategy was exemplied when Citroen, a French car maker, made ads that tried to

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question the German dominance of quality by depicting its cars in German contexts but performing with French air: Unmistakably German. Made in France. Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of attery.

Germany

= technical/engineering prowess

tangible products and performance reinforce the associations of the country brand

Cars, applicances, heavy industry, DIY tools

intangible associations of precision and perfection received from the country brand

inter-product category associations too, the expectations of performance of a BOSCH power tool is at the same level as that of a PORCHE

The German strategy is perhaps an exception. I doubt it came out of a strategy brainstorm between the brand managers of AUDI, VW, BMW, Bosch and whoever is in charge of the branding of Germany. It is, in the rst instance, a truth about Germany and the German peoples appreciation of, and attitudes to, technical and functional prowess. What country brands cannot do is manufacture stuff like this from thin air. It has to be founded on truths and the values of the country which is apparent in the DNA of its export brands. Getting back to Sweden; unsurprisingly, the countrys set of beliefs in the fabric of its society turns up in a host of Swedish super brands.

3 Reputation and cultural momentum

With roots in politics, nature and care for the many, Swedish society is pretty much built around the idea of providing a better life for everyone. The paradox of individual freedom and the belief in the greater good is a prime example. These work well because they support each other. The social progress and the greater good for the many can be seen in the core brand ideas of many Swedish brands. IKEAs brand idea of democracy of design is actually a social idea in the rst place; and in a similar vein are H&Ms luxury for the masses, Volvos Life is better lived

How Do You Build a Country Brand?

together, and ABSOLUT vodkas use of new artists in its advertising. All of these brands and more are based on the idea of improving the quality of life of the many not just the individual. This approach can be leveraged by these brands and by Sweden in a number of ways. The rst is at a corporate social responsibility (CSR) level. Swedish brands in their various elds and endeavours have a pretty good grip on sustainability issues and in fact are world leaders. Joining forces on the CSR level can help Sweden be to the environment what Switzerland is to political neutrality. Collaborations between Swedish brands, governments and other internal and external entities can own the social progress idea in a way that makes the existing but less well-known reality the perception. Country brands can learn from fashion brands which create cultural halos and momentum every season, four times a year. Selfridges, a store in the UK, has an interesting strategy that it employs to promote the store. Every summer it has a big theme that it promotes within the store. A couple of years ago it did a Tokyo theme, complete with Japanese lift attendants, products, mad fashions and music. Yet the real genius was in creating a Japanese cultural halo out of the store in London. It collaborated with arts, culture, commerce and other Japanese representatives in London. All highlighted and aligned their calendar of events with Selfridges, thus creating a halo effect in the city for which the epicentre was Selfridges. They essentially promoted the idea of Japan and Tokyo, not Selfridges itself per se. People in the fashion business know that most mainstream fashion is created, planned and coordinated. Fashion is not the surprise that most consumers are led to believe. From product placement in the movies to the pre-determined pre-season selection of colours and the quick turn around of promotions in stores, all are carefully managed and coordinated on the high street. There is no reason why country brands (and their export partners) cant learn a thing or two from fashion brands. The coordination with both indigenous and international partners can enable a countrys culture to be well in-fashion at key cultural moments. Learning from fashion marketing, it is wise for countries that want to export their culture and build a vibrant and lively view of it abroad to consider the calendar of events in recipient cultures. Sweden could, for example, create and invigorate a whole season and sensibility in other countries if it had a single-minded focus on Swedish design. Owning and setting the design agenda from a Swedish perspective in other countries allows it to introduce, reinforce and, most importantly, gather acres of press coverage for events and stories about Swedish design ethos and edge.

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Dont build country brands, use the countrys culture to contaminate other cultures
The central idea of this paper is about taking a countrys spirit, culture and values and using them to contaminate and inuence those abroad. This begins by identifying the paradoxes and idiosyncratic hallmarks of a country and its culture, developing a set of themes based on these and then exporting them via the three tenets of content, behaviour and reputation. As far as content is concerned, the key strategy here is that of place and people. Placing a countrys location, people and ideas in the story or in the cultural narrative of a lm or TV show can work wonders for raising awareness of the country and its cultural currency and afnities. The case of Estonia showed a renewed belief in its people and a new-found condence in its ability to play David in the Goliath of international tourism competition. Behaviour is about nding some core ideas that a country can use to brand its products abroad, whether its export brands or its politics. The country of origin as a powerful umbrella for export brands is hard to escape and is perhaps the strongest example of how to pull together the common DNA of these brands to achieve ownable leadership, even if it is as simple as Swiss neutrality. However, because traditional advertising is not going to be enough to build a brand, countries need to think laterally about what its retail and media brands abroad could do for them in distributing cultural and communication content. They need to explore and exploit their international ecosystem. Finally, at a reputation level, country branding can learn from how fashion brands set the cultural agenda through dictating the themes or colours of the season, as it were. The natural networks between style journalists, fashion designers, store celebrities and movie stars collectively set the agenda for what to wear. Country cultures should explore and nd the equivalent of that network in the area of tourism, in each of the markets in which it seeks to promote itself. Once that is done, the network needs to be supplied with the most relevant, entertaining and compelling ideas.

How Do You Build a Country Brand?

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