Country Brand Research Articles

A framework of place branding, place image, and place reputation

PurposeThis paper aims to develop a framework that links the concepts of place branding, place image and place reputation. Focusing on the antecedents and outcomes of place branding in the context of an emerging country, namely, Iran, the model further examines critical moderation variables.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach was undertaken, comprising face-to-face in-depth interviews with 15 respondents, involved in communicating about their country for various purposes such as encouraging tourism, promoting exports and attracting investments. Based on analysis of the qualitative data, a comprehensive framework for place branding was formulated.FindingsFindings indicate that the key indicators of identifying a place brand come under two headings, namely, national culture (country’s name, country’s brand, country attributes, social changes, geography and environment, people, culture (history, language, etc.) and infrastructure (security, economic condition, technological advancement, tourism development goals, place marketing and promotional strategy), which influences on the favorability of place branding. In addition, five main moderators of the outcomes of place branding were identified, namely, political perception, social media and news, place awareness, place association and tourism experience.Practical implicationsEffective place branding could help a country attract tourists, visitors, traders and investors. Place branding should be considered a constructive tool that can be successfully applied to managing a country’s image.Originality/valuePlace branding has received little attention in the context of emerging markets. This is the first known study undertaken with a view to understand and develop a place branding model that links with place image and place reputation in an emerging country. The study identifies 12 antecedents of place branding and five important moderators. Findings will help policymakers, country brand managers and communication professionals more generally who deal with a country’s image and reputation and those involved in improving the tourism industry in Iran.

소셜 미디어를 이용한 공공외교가 국가이미지와 국가 브랜드에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

본 연구는 공공외교가 이루어지는 소통의 채널에 관심을 두고, 소셜미디어를 이용한 공공외교 활동의 효과를 검증하는데 목적이 있다. 이에 따라 소셜 미디어의 특성이 공공외교 콘텐츠 호감도와 국가 이미지, 국가 브랜드 호감도와 로열티에 미치는 영향 관계를 규명하고자 하였다. 체계적인 실증분석을 위하여 7개 대륙 42개국 외국인 301명을 대상으로 표본을 수집하였으며, 연구 결과, 소셜 미디어 특성 중 상호작용성과 신속성을 제외한 모든 변수가 공공외교 문화 콘텐츠 호감도와 유의한 영향 관계가 있는 것으로 확인되었다. 또한, 공공외교 문화콘텐츠 호감도는 국가 이미지에 유의한 영향을 미치며, 국가 이미지는 국가 브랜드 호감도와 국가 브랜드 로열티에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이로써 21세기 공공외교 정책의 효과적인 수단으로써 소셜 미디어가 가지는 영향력이 검증되었으며, 공공외교를 수행하는 주체들에게 기초자료를 제공하여 미래 공공외교 활동에 이바지할 수 있는데 시사점이 있다.

Experiência em website de marca-país e a formação da imagem de destino turístico: um estudo na Islândia

A pesquisa visa verificar se a experiência em websites de marcas-país influencia a imagem e a atratividade de um destino turístico na mente dos consumidores, bem como sua intenção de visitá-lo. Foi conduzido um estudo pré-experimental do tipo pré-teste/pós-teste de um único grupo com uma amostra de 30 estudantes de graduação de uma universidade paulista. O tratamento consistiu em expor os sujeitos da pesquisa ao site turístico oficial da Islândia. As variáveis dependentes foram a percepção de atratividade turística e a intenção de visitar a Islândia. A avaliação da experiência de navegação foi medida utilizando escalas da literatura de comportamento de consumidor online. As duas hipóteses são: (1) a experiência online positiva influencia positivamente a formação da imagem do destino e (2) influencia positivamente a intenção de visita-lo, e ambas foram sustentadas pelos testes estatísticos de comparação de médias antes e após o tratamento. A análise de conteúdo de questão aberta, realizada após o tratamento, mostrou o efeito que o conhecimento adquirido por navegação prazerosa tem na formação da imagem e no aumento da intenção de visita um destino turístico.

Az országnevek mint márkanevek és szerepük az országmárkázásban: néhány eset a világból

Today, it is widely accepted that “country brand councils” are established all over the world, including Hungary, and these bodies coordinate the strategic communications (or at least the marketing communications) of the country. It is also becoming more and more obvious that politicians discuss country branding and nation branding, and these terms appear in the public media, too. Regarding the name of a country as a brand name is natural for place branding professionals, but it may offend those not familiar with this marketing practice. However, country names and brand names do cause the same reaction: when we see or hear a specific country name, we have certain associations in our mind. Then these associations help us decide whether we visit the place as a tourist, invest capital there, or purchase the products of the country. Although the terms nation branding and country branding only appeared in 1996, there is an extensive literature dedicated to them, and organisations responsible for the coordination of country branding have been created in several countries. The three main aims of country branding are: to attract more tourists to the country and increase their spending; increase the number and value of foreign investments in the country; and increase the international success of products originating from the country. To this end, country branding harmonises strategic communications and marketing communications messages about the country. Its most important aspects include the building of the country image and a uniform visual and verbal identity. Country slogans and country logos have been discussed in several publications, but brand names (country names) have not been in the focus of analyses, which is rather surprising as brand names are essential in commercial communications. Therefore this article examines this topic from a special perspective: Can a country change its name the way product brands do from time to time? Changing a country name is most definitely a much more complicated issue than using a new product name, as geographical names (including country names) usually have long historical roots. These names are also strongly connected to the life of local inhabitants who have got used to them, therefore they are not easy to change. Still, there are examples that could be analysed from the aspect of branding. In some cases the new brand name or country name is meant to symbolise a new beginning. For example, when colonies claimed their independence, the first thing to do was to create a new name for the country. And something similar happened when the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia broke up – the newly formed successor states started to use new names, or returned to their old names. Some countries still have changing their names on the agenda. Possible reasons include the complicatedness of the country name, or its similarities with other country names, resulting in disadvantages in the competition of countries. A country name is also extremely important because it is the only common element in the communications campaigns of the country – and wise countries make advantage of this, sometimes even integrating the country name in their slogan.

Influence of Nongovernmental Organizations on Forming Country Image and Developing the Country Brand Using Public Diplomacy

Country image and nation branding provide a competitive advantage for small and medium-sized enterprises in their internationalization. This paper analyzes the influence of Turkish nongovernmental organizations on forming country image of Turkey and developing the country brand using public diplomacy in the African continent. The published interviews and statements of Turkish and African politicians, business people and intellectuals argue that these organizations are effectively using public diplomacy to create the country brand. This paper focuses on the most active organization, the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) which supports to its members in communicating with their potential customers in several occasions, and having a differentiating statement and a competitive advantage by promoting the brand image of the country. This civil society support is significant, especially for the small and medium enterprises of developing countries, when considered the weak international image and reputation of these countries.

Exploring the Literal Effect of COO for a New Brand: A Conjoint Analysis Approach

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study is to determine the literal effect of country of origin (COO) dimensions—(1) country of brand (COB) and (2) country of manufacture (COM)—and to discover the extent of importance consumers place on COO knowledge when other product attributes are available. Conjoint analyses are used to obtain the importance scores for attributes that affect the purchase intention for a new leather shoe brand. The results indicate that the level of importance placed on COM is higher than that on COB. However, when consumers evaluate COO and brand name knowledge as single cues, the results are in the opposite direction. In addition, the study investigates the importance of COO dimensions with an itemized rating scale in order to compare literal and exaggerated effects of COO.

Theoretical Principles of Economic Diplomacy

The term economic diplomacy has established itself in the Croatian sources as an umbrella term for all the activities of the national state to protect and promote its own economic interests in the international environment. Under the broader concept of economic diplomacy we distinguish the activities of economic diplomacy and commercial diplomacy. The economic instruments of foreign policy are divided into two major groups: economic (development) aid and economic sanctions. Contrary to these traditional concepts we have a newer phenomenon called 'country branding'. Some countries use different systems of organizations to promote their economic interests in the global environment, and such a system is called model of economic diplomacy.

“Social Media as Multipliers in Nation Branding provided it has a Well Defined Strategy”

Villafañe has conducted the first study of Spain’s Country Brand from the Theory of Reputation perspective. According to the author branding is the promise that a company or a country makes to its stakeholders. Villafañe proposes a scientific and professional approach on building a Country Brand and seeks to identify thoroughly the branding promise to then compare it with the identity of a nation. The study delves into the proposition of value and links it to the expectations and interests of diverse stakeholders. This interview intends to assess carefully some key aspects of its methodology.

Online Communication and Italian Tourism

Tourism destinations seek to attract tourists in innovative and enticing ways by using web-based communication media. Since tourists have the choice between many destinations of the same target category, destinations are required to provide something special in order to stand out from other destinations. Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to the idea of creating promotional ecosystems able to represent territorial specificities while, at the same time, taking advantage of the global attractiveness of the country brand. However, less is known about how integrated bottom-up approaches. Since congruence between destination image and destination identity was already found to be highly important for successful destination branding, integrated bottom-up communication could provide a reliable basis for developing effective destination branding campaigns.

Country brand equity model: Sustainability perspective

This paper proposes a model of country brand equity that incorporates the issue of sustainability in determining destination brand equity. In particular, the model includes elements of sustainability as its core dimensions and promotes the concept of the country sustainability promise that transforms destination resources into the positive perception and experience. The theoretical model is empirically tested using global secondary data confirming that country image is the most important element followed by sustainability and loyalty. Also, the analysis suggests the existence of the higher order construct confirming the country brand equity concept. Based on the research findings, the article offers some implications to the destination managers by suggesting the direction for further development and strategy implementation.

Analysis Regarding the Growing Presence of Italian Firms in Romania

At the end of 2014, the number of firms with an Italian presence in Romania was 39,556, representing 19.33% out of total registered firms and this number is still growing. This article focuses on answering the following question: what kind of Italian firms are investing in Romania and why? Starting from the empirical observation that the number of Italian firms in Romania grew by 6.82% last year, we have used a PESTEL analysis to find the key points characterizing the country, paying attention also to the concept of country brand. From the point of view of Italian firms, we have also analyzed the shifting paradigm of internationalization from a Vertical Foreign Direct Investment model to a Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment model. This paper can be useful for managers and entrepreneurs who are oriented towards investing in Romania following the path of Italian firms.

Reflexão sobre a missão desafiadora do constructo marca-país na área de negócios internacionais

A importância de uma marca-país promovida estrategicamente é um dos propósitos fundamentais em negócios internacionais. Cada nação tenta transmitir seus atributos internacionalmente - não apenas seus produtos e serviços, mas também a sua imagem geral. Além disso, pesquisas sobre o construto de marca-país estão sendo realizadas continuamente em institutos governamentais e ambientes acadêmicos e corporativos. As nações precisam se promover estrategicamente se desejam serem percebidas. Baseada nesta premissa, o objetivo desta reflexão teórica é abordar este constructo para delinear o desenvolvimento desta linha de pesquisa e propor um arcabouço teórica para pesquisas futuras. Este artigo também colabora para a compreensão da missão desafiadora do constructo marca-país, cujas estratégias podem ser aplicadas na prática e na teoria da disciplina. Este estudo conceptual complementa o estado-da-arte sobre as complexidades do construto de marca-país através da compreensão das filosofias-chave sobre o tema depois de traçar a sua evolução. A combinação de resultados ofereceu suporte para a elaboração de um quadro conceptual relacionado com as principais complexidades do construto de marca-país, os quais são os seguintes: natureza multifacetada; variedade de muitos grupos de stakeholders; envolvimento do governo; oportunidades interdisciplinares e multidisciplinares e potenciais modelos para marca-país. Assim, o artigo considera que as estratégias dinâmicas e funcionais de branding para uma marca-país proporcionam autenticidade às nações no cenário internacional de negócios e ao fazê-lo - esta missão desafiadora da marca-país beneficia a economia e o comércio internacional; desenvolve as relações diplomáticas e os avanços de pesquisa sobre marketing internacional; fomenta programas de intercâmbios acadêmicos e de ensino; por fim, avança na sustentabilidade nacional e global.

Country brand equity: a comparison between the USA and China

Objective – This article aims to identify differences between country brand equities in the USA and China. Design/methodology/approach – The research was descriptive and quantitative, using as survey method self-administered questionnaires applied to 386 Brazilian respondents who are students from a public university in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. Theoretical foundations – Marketing and brand techniques may be applied to countries, and it is even possible to improve a country’s competitive position in the global market in this way. Research about the value of country brand equities is recent and there is no consensus in literature concerning the nature of this value. Findings – We found that the USA’s country brand equity is greater than China’s; the USA presented higher averages than China in all dimensions as well as in the global value. Contributions – The results represent a contribution to studies about country brand equity, which are new and scarce. From a practical point of view, the results may be used as a source of information in projects and international marketing activities by countries that possess automotive industries; by countries that have invested or want to invest in Brazil, in its automotive industry; and by countries that export cars to Brazil.

The country of brand communication in the retail setting: An analysis of Italian products in China

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of country of brand (COB) communication within the retail environment of emerging markets. Drawing from the literature on store image, we developed a framework to analyse static and dynamic elements of COB communication. By adopting an inductive approach, we analysed COB use in a sample of 20 stores of Italian fashion brands in China using the mystery shopping technique. Given the increasing growth of e-retailing in China, the in-store observation is complemented by an analysis of the use of COB within the brand's local website and e-commerce page. In order to have a multi-layered representation of the phenomenon, in-depth interviews with managers of Italian firms in fashion industry are carried out. Findings confirm that retailing represents a primary communication channel for firms operating in China; however, the results of the participant observation show that COB is a cue information utilised only by a small percentage of the sample, mainly in a textual and iconic way. Managerial implications are discussed on the extent to which COB communication in store should be managed within an effective marketing strategy in line with the country and consumer characteristics in order to enhance the brand image in a growing market like China.

New Way of Country Branding by Factors of Irrationality and the New Advantages of its Acceptability, Affordability, Accessibility and Awareness

In this article main focus is on country/nation/people branding. The acceptance of the Nation Branding is growing. Strong National brand, as an asset, has not only advantages in international commerce but also in public diplomacy (Szondi, 2008). But people’s branding, that means the ethnic group’s brand building, is still not well known in marketing. If country brand mostly includes rational values, ethnic groups – peopleare usually known by their irrationalities. The main assumption of this article is that, in order for the country brand to improve, it must achieve high marks on all four A’s: Acceptability, Affordability, Accessibility and Awareness. Well combined, these attributes are called the 4A’s. The 4A framework derives from a customervalue perspective based on the four distinct roles that customers play in the market: seekers, selectors, payers and users, using some combination of rational and irrational tools of branding, discovered by the research undertaken for this article. The concept of 4-A-s belongs to famous Jagdish Sheth, professor of Emory University who the author of this article met at Kennesaw State University in 2015.As a research method the famous Delphi method was used in order to gain expert views and opinions on the issue of country. The information obtained through this qualitative method enabled us to establish prerequisites for the successful establishment of the Country Brand Formula (CBF). Using Delphi method, completed in 2 stages, 57 journalists who write about tourism and the countries that they travel to, were surveyed. But in the process of marketing research new horizons of Country marketing were found: the research crew was surprised when it faced new dilemma about choice irrationality. The countries mostly appreciated by people, have more irrationality than rationality. The process of countrybranding goes well when some sort of irrationality: beneficial irrationality exceeds rationality. This was a big surprise, one worthy of exploring.

The Role of Country of Origin in Celebrity Endorsements: Integrating Effects of Brand Familiarity

ABSTRACTWith the advent of globalization and open economies in the developing nations, the consumers in the same are experiencing entry of more and more foreign products. The traditional practice of having country of origin (COO) cues to influence consumer attitudes is being juxtaposed with COO cues of celebrity endorsers to influence consumers. In that context, the present study investigates whether (a) a global celebrity would be more applicable for a brand regardless of its COO (local or global); (b) a global celebrity would have a more favorable impact on the consumer attitudes for a third country (TC) brand; and (c) brand familiarity would moderate the effects of celebrity endorsements on consumer attitudes. Based on a detailed literature review, four hypotheses were developed and tested through two experimental designs using nonstudent participants. The independent variables used in study were celebrity endorser COO and brand COO. Major findings indicate a celebrity–brand COO match to create favorable impact on consumer attitudes. Findings also supported the effectiveness of a global celebrity for a brand that does not share the same COO. Brand familiarity was found to moderate the effect of the endorser on consumer attitudes. The study has implications for academia and practitioners.

From PISA to national branding: exploring Finnish education®

ABSTRACTSince the recent global paradigm shift in the governance of higher education toward business and marketing, internationally competitive education is increasingly considered as an asset for governments. Consequently, governments started to invest in education branding and marketing their educational systems. In Finland, national interest in education branding rose especially since the country's success in the programme for international student assessment studies created a positive reputation of its basic education. In this article, the authors investigate how this reputation is transformed into a general Finnish education brand, based upon Finland's official Country Brand Report (2010). The governmental discourse on Finnish education reveals a fusion of education and national branding, which is why the authors suggest to discuss the Finnish education brand as Finnish education®. The article provides an analysis of the elements constituting the brand and opens up a critical discussion on the ethics of branding education through cultural and national characteristics.

Impacts of Story Preference on Media Content Consumption and Country Brands

본 연구는 중국인들을 대상으로 선호하는 스토리 유형을 알아보고 스토리에 대한 선호가 한국 문화콘텐츠 소비와 한국에 대한 태도 그리고 한국에 대한 신념에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 연구모델화하여 알아본 것이다. 연구 결과 중국인들이 선호하는 스토리는 문화정체성, 성공, 사랑과 운명, 미래/과학, 영웅/신화로 나타났다. 스토리 유형과 한국 문화콘텐츠 소비와의 직접적인 영향 관계는 찾지 못하였다. 한국에 대한 태도에는 문화정체성이 긍정적인 영향을 미치고 영웅/신화는 부정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 한국 문화콘텐츠 소비는 한국에 대한 태도와 한국과 관련된 신념에 긍정적으로 연결되었다. 마지막으로 한국에 대한 태도는 한국관련 신념에 영향을 미치고 있었다. 이러한 결과는 스토리 유형화에 대한 계량적인 연구라는 점에서 학문적 의미와 함께 국가 브랜드 관리에 대한 시사점을 제공하고 있다.

A brand built on sand: Is acquiring a local brand in an emerging market an ill-advised strategy for foreign companies?

The literature that focuses on acquisitions from the consumer perspective has generally neglected the brand strategy of cross-border acquisitions in an emerging market by a developed country brand. However, research in this field appears necessary, considering the high failure rate of M&As, the common practice of Western/global companies of augmenting their brand portfolio through local acquisitions, and the sensitivity of emerging market consumers to foreign brands. The present study is an initial attempt to understand the loyalty of consumers toward the acquired brands. Moreover, we investigate how such an acquisition affects the relationship between quality and loyalty, as well as between price and loyalty. For fast-moving consumer goods brands in China, the findings indicate that from a customer’s perspective acquiring a local brand is not an advisable strategy for foreign brand conglomerates, because such an international takeover may decrease consumer loyalty. Additionally, consumers tend to expect higher quality after the takeover but may not want to pay more for the quality increase.

The Impact of Brand Country-of-Origin Image on the Formation of Brand Equity in the Sports Apparel Industry

The present study aimed to investigate the conducted effects of the Brand Country-of-Origin Image on The Formation of Brand Equity in the sports apparel industry. Method of this study is descriptive-correlative. The study investigated the effects among the research variables using structural equation model (SEM) with Lisrel software. The population of the study was the whole country's physical education students, alumni, which 805 subjects were selected based on the purposive sampling, using in person, and online questionnaires were collected from Iran. The results showed that the image of the country of origin has a positive relation to the brand equity dimension including brand loyalty, Perceived quality, and brand Awareness/associations, and there is a significant positive relation between brand equity dimensions and brand equity. Therefore, it is recommended to manufacturers in the apparel and sports equipment to try to promote brand's country of origin image to increase brand image in markets by using advertisements and other combined components such as personal sales and public relations.