The article is devoted to the policy of national branding, which is a tool of the state to improve the image of the country both within it and abroad. National branding, the purpose of which, among other things, is to create a positive perception of a particular country, is a direct component of the «soft power» used in the foreign policy of the state in order to solve various foreign policy tasks that are on the agenda. The national brand is designed to solve the problems of the reputational nature of the state in which it is developed and applied.
Keywords: national branding, country, image, foreign policy, “soft power”
Scientific research in the field of branding territories, cities, regions and countries began to be carried out relatively recently. So, F. Kotler, D. Haider and I. Rein suggested considering territories from the position of marketing in their work “Marketing Places: Attracting Investment, Industry, and Tourism to Cities, States, and Nations” [4]. This meant that cities, regions and states are a kind of product, the market for which is both their own citizens and citizens of other countries. It was they who laid the foundation for branding research, and many experts in the field of developing the image of a territory are guided by their fundamental fundamental work.
The very concept of «national branding», which deals with the whole state, was developed by the English political scientist Anholt Simon at the end of the 20th century. He compared the popularity and prestige of the brand of a commercial company or product with the reputation of a country, which in the same way need competent promotion and management [1, 6].
A national brand aimed at improving relations with actors in foreign policy should be considered as part of the “soft power” policy. National branding is «a condition for the competitiveness of territories in world politics and regions within a state». Being a direct tool of «soft power», it can favor the development of political influence both within the country itself and abroad, by creating a positive reputation background.
The essence of the development of a territorial brand lies in the right choice of marketing. In the case of states, the challenge is to positively publicize the features, specificities, and unique attributes of the country in question, which, either on their own or with the help of well-chosen rhetoric, can subjugate the audience to a particular brand. The object of «advertising» must become attractive and desirable to an external audience, gaining loyalty in various ways. Similar methods are used here, as in the promotion of any regular goods or services: the audience can be influenced by influencing emotions or by using any manipulative techniques.
Naturally, the whole state is a much more complex and difficult object of branding, because it has a huge number of contradictory characteristics, not to mention the scale of the territory and population. Territory branding is “associated with the most complex philosophical questions that have ever arisen in a person: with the nature of perception and reality, with the relationship between objects and ideas about them, with the phenomenon of crowd psychology, with the mysteries of national identity, leadership, culture and social ties, as well as many others [2, 12]».
When creating a national brand, first of all, it is necessary to take into account the positive signs that will competitively distinguish it from others. After that, the vectors of the development of the state are indicated, which will be reflected in the essence of the brand itself. A successful national brand covers all major aspects of society: culture, exports, tourism. After determining the main directions of development, the countries begin to implement: they promote, improve, develop and manage the brand of a particular territory.
After collecting macroeconomic, economic, social and cultural indicators of the country, the experts conduct a SWOT analysis, which allows them to evaluate the brand according to the following characteristics: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This method gives a complete picture of the internal potential of the country.
When creating a national brand, one should not neglect the definition of the “competitive identity” [3, 23] of a particular country, namely, highlighting the totality of those symbols, signs and characteristics that will cause a positive perception among the target actors who are affected by “soft power”.
Of course, one of the most important success factors is the planning stage. At this time, the initial task is to determine the expressed purpose of the branding campaign. By and large, the goal is always to create something positive, although it varies from country to country, due to individual characteristics. Thus, the goal may be to build a country brand that will create an image, for example, of the best tourist destination, a promising investment site, a safe and stable country for raising a family, an attractive place to start a successful career, or a safe environment for running one's own business.
Moreover, when designing a national brand and conducting branding research, one should not forget about the audience to which the future brand will be directed. It is necessary to determine the target audience, its views and preferences on the image of the branded product. Such an audience can be both citizens of certain countries as a whole, and certain categories of people, which can be investors, low-skilled or highly skilled labor, scientists, experts in various industries, and others. To determine the target audience, such tools as statistical studies, surveys, interviews and other sociological methods are used.
Of course, the national brand itself can be successful only in conjunction with the implementation of a consistent domestic and foreign policy of the state, which will correspond to the chosen branding strategy. Timely response to the needs of the target audience, building appropriate political programs, strategies and development concepts that will reflect the general vector of development of the state, the chosen branding model, will only contribute to successful and effective work and communication with the public.
An important factor in the popularity and attractiveness of the brand is the successful use of symbols and attributes that reflect the uniqueness of the object of branding promotion. The brand should reflect the verified values and philosophy that will resonate with the selected target audience. In addition, a short, clear and memorable slogan significantly affects the attractiveness of a national brand. Examples of these may be the following: «Spain — everything under the sun», «Greece has everything», «China like never before», «Incredible India», «Sensual Brazil» and others.
The logo of the national brand with an attractive color palette should also be noteworthy for a more effective and meaningful impact of the brand on the target audience. The Eiffel Tower of Paris, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, the Taj Mahal of India, the Great Wall of China and others have become world-famous symbols of individual cities and countries.
Oddly enough, the national brand development strategy is closely intertwined with many methods of spreading “soft power”. Thus, significant international events, such as the Olympic Games, meetings at official summits, sports, cultural, musical and business meetings, and the direct participation of the country-object of branding in them, significantly improves the national image of the state. It is noteworthy that many events become visiting cards of various countries. Thus, the world of high fashion and key news and events from it are associated with Italy, at the same time, fiesta, bullfights, as well as tomato fights evoke the image of the Spanish Kingdom in the minds of the townsfolk.
As already mentioned, completely different tools can be used to create and promote a national brand, including, and probably to a greater extent, cultural and entertainment. So, according to a Forbes study [5], the film adaptation of the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien's «The Lord of the Rings» in three films led to much more active tourist traffic to New Zealand, where the film itself was filmed. The tourist flow has increased by fifty percent in 10 years. There are many other examples of using both musical and many other instruments as such a factor that contribute to a significant improvement in the image of the state.
The results of the national brand campaign should not be expected earlier than after a certain period of time. According to the assessment of a specialist in marketing and branding of territories, as well as a part-time Russian geographer, economist and urbanist, Denis Valerievich Vizgalov, the effect of city branding can be traced no earlier than in 4 years [6, 143]. It should be assumed that the effect of the branding campaign of the whole state will be much larger. At the same time, in the case of improving the image of a territory that already has a negative background, positive results will be traced through even more time.
References:
- Anholt S. Beyond the Nation Brand: The Role of Image and Identity in International Relations // The Journal of Public Diplomacy. 2013. No. 2. P. 6. URL
- Anholt S. Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. P. 12.
- Anholt S. Places: Identity, Image and Reputation. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. P. 23.
- Kotler P., Haider D., Rein I. Marketing Places: Attracting Investment, Industry, and Tourism to Cities, States, and Nations. New York: Maxwell Macmillan, 1993.
- The Impact (Economic and Otherwise) of Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit on New Zealand. Forbes. 2012. December 14. URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2012/12/14/the-impact-economic-and-otherwise-of-lord-of-the-ringsthe-hobbit-on-new-zealand/#3f72dd23163e (дата обращения: 12.01.2022 г.)
- Vizgalov D. Brending goroda [City branding]. Moscow: Fund «Institut e`konomiki goroda», 2011. P. 143.
