Nation branding: Twenty-first century branding dynamics impacting emerging economies in the global marketplace

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which nation branding antecedents can be leveraged to create a strong nation brand for emerging economies. The Anholt (2002) nation branding model was quantitatively applied to develop a hexagon of factors which can affect developing economies. The Republic of Zimbabwe was targeted for analysis due to its national brand challenges and the negative brand equity. Data for the study was collected using structured questionnaires. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using Amos Graphics was the main tool for analysis. Findings suggest that government regulatory framework is the single most important key nation brand element which influences emerging economies’ brands today. This is followed by tourism, natural resources, sport and entertainment, diasporic citizenry, and religion. The study concluded that if these affordances are capitalised, nation branding for emerging economies can be greatly improved by 58%. The study recommends government and private sector stakeholders to take active roles in capitalising these affordances in order to achieve the nation brand equity