Nation branding is a process by which nations put into place steps enabling them to be perceived in a positive light by the outside world. There are many ways and means of achieving this. The political structure of the country, its social and cultural structure and tourism are all tools used by nations with the benefits and advantages that each of these aspects brings to the economy of that nation. 
Nation branding is not a new concept and not a phase but a necessity in this globalised world. The way you are perceived has direct bearings on your social and economic development. To give a simple example; the way you advertise your country could attract lots of tourism and investment which would impact positively on your economy. But nation branding is not simply a slogan or a simple advertisement. There must be cogency, power and influence between your establishments, which should be compatible with one another. If today Libya placed a nice tourism advertisement and tried to insist that it is the best place to go for a holiday there would not be any dynamism there.
In general human nature pertains to being biased so it is important to brand your nation positively to attract the right social and economic investment. Years ago someone asked me where I am from and I told them I was from the Unga Bunga islands and the person surprisingly commented how beautiful this country, which does not exist in the world, was. Probably the word ‘island’ depicts visions of sea, sun and enjoyment, therefore it must be beautiful. Similarly if we mention Afghanistan it is likely to conjure images of bombs, terrorism and repressed women, yet if we asked its geographical location within a map of the world lots of people would not be able to tell you.
Today nations set up specific organisations to market their country positively. An example is India which has launched an organisation called “Brand India”. There are over 100 people working within this organisation to give the world a positive image of India. (http://nation-branding.info/)
China has branded itself as a country where labour force and production costs are cheap. However cheap manufacturing evokes the perception of poor quality products. According to research done by IMB Business school, American society does not tend to buy computers or any computer devices from Chinese owned Lenovo. But very interestingly IBM (International Business Machines) managed to sell it all over the world successfully. (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/) This shows the positive branding of the US over China.
Even the United States (US), as the leading country of the world, still aims to prove itself to the world to justify and not lose that position. Since the Second World War, the US has tried to depict an image that it is foremost a democratic country and that foreign policy steps are done in the name of democracy. US perception was damaged during the tenure of the Bush administration. However since Obama’s term, the world has united in support of the US and there is less US antipathy today. Basically leadership plays an important role in nation branding. Similarly Denmark damaged their brand by cartoons of Muhammad. Denmark is one of the most beautiful and democratic countries in the world but once that message was misconstrued that positive image was tarnished. This had the knock on effect of Danish originating products being removed from shelves and Danish websites being hacked. The export of this country’s goods to Muslim countries has fallen 35 % and risen to European countries by 10 % (http://news.bbc.co.uk)
In general it can be argued that the brand of a nation within the global world is crucial in terms of its economic and social wellbeing. Collectively the social, cultural, political and economic image of a country is perceived by others and, depending on whether the branding is positive or negative, can have a constructive or destructive effect on all these areas. Branding is the perceived first impression of a country without the impact and insight gained from physically visiting it and this affects its whole structure.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Akoitia, M, Nation Branding: What is nation branding. Available from http://nation-branding.info/2010/02/17/what-is-nation-branding-brand-ghana-ceo-writes/ (Accessed 18.03.2011)
Anderson B. T, 3rd October 2006,BBC News: Denmark Row, Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5392786.stm (Accessed 20.03.2011)
Yaqub, A, Foreign Policy: Foreign Policy and Nation Branding Program, Available from http://www.foreignpolicy.com/advertising/mag_nation.php (Accessed 18.03.2011)
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