Overview

Country Branding has many different definitions. However, it is possible to find two broad categories of definitions: The first definition describes it as the process of using branding methods to promote the image of a nation or a place. It is the use of marketing and branding tools to ensure a change in the perception and attitude of a specific target group towards a place’s image. The second avoids associating Country Branding with the processes of branding and marketing. These definitions use terms such as “the strategic self-representation” of a country or “the vehicle” that can help a country, a region or a city reach economic and social objectives. This second set of definitions avoids the term "branding" in order to ensure that the strategy of country branding is not confused with a product branding campaign. It emphasises the fact that places are very different from products and that it would be wrong to approach both of the strategies in a similar way.

Further Definitions

According to Rainisto and Moilanen, "Places can be branded like products and services. Place branding aims especially at increasing the attractiveness of a place. Branding are not just loose marketing activities, but holistic development that influences the whole place. Place branding brings added attraction to a place. A branded place makes people aware of the location and connects desirable associations. It is possible to discover for each place a combination of unique attraction factors to make it different from the competing ones." (Moilanen,T; Rainisto,S: How to Brand Nations, Cities and Destinations: A Planning book for place branding, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) According to José Filipe Torres, cited by Forbes and The Economist as being “a world renowned specialist in country branding”, “there is a big confusion between what is a country branding strategy and what is advertising.”[1] In his opinion country branding “is an asset and a tool for a country to establish a strategic development in the areas of trade, tourism, and talent.” [2]

Similar Concepts

Even though the term Country Branding would first suggest that it is only concerned with the branding of countries, it actually embraces all type of places: cities, countries and regions. The following terms are all interchangeable, although there are some differences between them: - Country Branding - specific to countries. A country is defined by its political location containing all of the regions, cities and geographic locations within its political boundaries. A country is a self-governing political entity and has its own political system that separates it from being a nation. Country Branding is therefore the way the political location is branded using its image, regions, cities and cultural assets to demonstrate its overall attractiveness to the public. - Nation Branding - specific to nations. A nation is very similar to a country, however it is defined as a group of people or a community who share a common culture. This differs to a country, which is separated by its political location and political identity. Nation branding is specific to branding each of these communities, focusing on the people as a whole. - Place Branding - specific to places. A place is an area that could include a small region and/or a city of any particular size. A place is usually defined as a location of inhabitants such as a town, city or a point of interest. Place branding is the process of communicating the image of the nations, regions and cities in the particular place to a target market in order to compete for people, resources and business with other places. - Geographical Branding - specific to geographical locations. It takes into account the area of the world specifically rather than the country, nation, or city itself. For example, the geographical location could be as vague as being ‘Northern Spain’, which would not take into account regional borders or whole communities, as it is based purely on geographical location. It includes an area of land, a set of features and the inhabitants in that area. Geographical branding is most relevant in wine branding. - Region Branding - specific to regions. Regions are specific areas within a country and are defined by its physical characteristics, the local people and the environmental positioning. The borders of a region are not clearly defined unless it shares a border of another country and its politically defined boundaries. In order to brand a region, the public messages is often mainly focused on the region’s physical and environmental characteristics and the local people. - City Branding - specific to cities and how their qualities and their image can be marketed. A city is similar to a town and in many cases it is not clear how a particular settlement should be defined unless it is approved by law to be a city. A city brand includes its people, monuments, environmental qualities and any positive characteristics that distinguish it from other cities or make it special. - Development of Countries - development of countries refers to strengthening countries’ economies in order to improve the standard of living and their global standing. A country’s economy must be improved through creating business, which also requires sufficient branding in order to market each business to the rest of the world. As an economy grows, so should it’s external image. A common trait of developed countries is that they all have built up cities with modern infrastructure and a healthy level of GDP. The most effective form of strengthening a country’s economy is through FDI inflows. This can be achieved by advertising local brands that bring FDI into the country and help to improve the country’s GDP.