Identity, image and brand: A conceptual framework

Abstract

The following paper originally constituted the first half of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. Together with the follow-up paper, to appear in the upcoming issue of this journal, this paper introduces and discusses a conceptual framework for the analysis of nation images and applies it to a case study. In this first paper, it is argued that globalised media and the growing importance of a nation's reputation for economic progress are increasingly driving nations to manage their image. In this context, the concepts of nation image and nation image management (NIM) and their relationship to the media are examined. It is found that the existing concepts on nation image and NIM can be put together into a conceptual framework that may function as an analytical tool for future case studies. In this regard, another finding shows that there is a differentiation to be made between a nation's actual image and the image it believes to have. The importance of this differentiation will be discussed in the follow-up paper titled ‘The Borat Effect’, which, using the conceptual framework, delivers a detailed analysis of Kazakhstan's image troubles caused by Sacha Baron Cohen's ‘mockumentary’.