COUNTRY BRANDING: THE NEW GLOBAL MARKETING STRATEGY

The public impression of a country is important as a source of national pride. Invariably, people
source part of their own identity from the image of their country. Roberto Cevero, 2012.

Research Report
Ana Maria Corrales
Nathalia Rios Ballesteros
EAFIT University
Globalization, regional interdependence and global economic integration have traced
the path towards a new global paradigm in which not only companies but also
countries are engaged in competing at every level. Empirical and historical evidence
have shown that countries compete to stimulate exports, attract tourism, appeal
foreign direct investments and enhance immigration within its borders. In that respect,
governments are turning to branding techniques to differentiate their country on the
global stage in order to establish a competitive advantage over rivals in the belief that
a strong country brand can contribute to the countrys sustainable development
(Fetscherin, M. 2010, pag. 1). However, even though this branding technique has
become a trending topic nowadays, there is a disappointingly lack of progress in its
conceptual development limiting and challenging nation brandings ability to overcome
cynical scepticism among the public (Fan, 2010).
Regarding the notion of brand understood as a multidimensional assortment of
functional, emotional, relational and strategic elements that collectively generate a
unique set of associations in the public mind (Aaker, 1996, pag. 68), one can say that
every country has a unique set of elements such as: people, places, culture,
language, history, food, fashion, etc. and a current image to its international audience
through which it can be recognize or associated with, nationally and internationally,
thus reassuring the existence of what can be considered as country brand.
Thus, nation or country branding can be considered as a process by which a nations
images can be created, monitored, evaluated and proactively managed in order to
improve or enhance the countrys reputation among a target international audience
(Fan Y., 2012, pag. 6). This term emerged from the marketing literature related to four
main marketing fields; country of origin 1, destination branding2, country image or
country-product image3 and country identity4 However, over the years, country
branding became an interdisciplinary topic, involving not only marketing and branding

Country of Origin or the meaning of Made In may associate a product with status, authenticity, and exoticness (Verlegh
& Steenkamp, 1999, p. 523) Country of origin (COO) is the country of manufacture, production, or growth where an product
comes from. It is also known as the "made-in image" and the "nationality bias.

Destination branding is how costumers perceive the destination in their minds. Its about capturing the destination
elements in the brand and communicating them through the brand components.

3Refers to the overall perception consumers form of products from a particular country, based on their prior perceptions of
the countrys production and marketing strength and weaknesses (Roth & Romeo, 1992: 480).

topics but various disciplines such as international relations and public diplomacy
(Anholt, 2007).
Its main objectives are generally associated with: promoting a clear, defined and
unified identity of a country in the international arena that integrates all its productive
activities and creating a culture of national identity among its citizens around highly
recognized ideologies and customs. At the same time, nation brand aims to: improve a
countrys image; align the perception of citizens toward greater patriotism and national
pride; provides a competitive advantage as countries compete in the economic and
political scenario; reinforce the concept "made in" labels on products sold in
international markets; among others
In regard to its measurement, two main high profile indexes, annually published, has
been created with a transparent approach and methodology, and based on objective
secondary data. These are; the Country Brand Index from FutureBrand consultancy
and the Anholt GfK Roper Nation Brand Index (NBI) respectively. It is important to
recall that these indexes do not account for all dimensions of country branding.
However, they represent a starting point as an analytic tool when assessing current
status of nation branding among countries.
As to the Country Brand Index regards, apart from being one of the most reliable
indexes worldwide, it has expanded the knowledge and research field for nation brand
and thus country branding. According to its latest ranking (2014), the five leading
countries in this topic were; Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and Canada. By
this, it means that people have stronger than average perceptions of these countries
and perceive them equally strong in aspects relating to quality life, values and customs
and business potential, as they do for their culture, history, tourism and Made In
expertise.
Even though any Latin American country appears to be leading the ranking, regional
data shows that despite its weaknesses -such as the lacking political freedom, the
scarce health and education infrastructure, the low standards of living, among othersthe region has effectively offset them seizing its advantages and opportunities in;
natural beauty, wide range of attractions, tourist destination and its historical points of
interest. Specifically, Colombia is ranked 63 in the overall list. At a regional level, it
belongs to the top 10 of the Latin American countries included, and it also appears to
be the 12 country with the most promising country brand along with 14 other countries
including; UAE, Chile, Mexico, India, China, Qatar, South Korea, Brazil, Estonia,
among others.
The Colombian Nation brand: La respuesta es Colombia
In the last two decades, Colombia has become a key player among Latin American
countries. Its recent accomplishments in terms of; security, socioeconomic
development, foreign investment, trade agreements and great tourism opportunities,
have not only laid the foundations of national sustained growth but have repositioned
4 National identity refers to a personal sense of belonging to one state or nation, oftenly shared with a group of people,
regardless of one's citizenship status. Many professors see national identity in psychological terms as "an awareness of
difference" - "a feeling and recognition of 'we' and 'they'. (Lee Yonmi, 2000)

the country as an attractive destination and a symbol of talent, hard work and passion.
In achieving this, public and private alliances have played a fundamental role;
transforming the paradigms and stereotypes surrounding the country for the
international audience. This is why, since 2004, various entities former Proexport,
Inexmoda and Presidency- gathered around the need of sponsoring a positive country
image, which in turn, gave birth to the initial phase strategy to promote Colombia
internationally in 2005. The campaign was named Colombia es pasin and was
enforced until 2011, when Colombia Country Brand was officially created.
Unlike "Colombia es pasin", the new campaign, Colombia is the answer, is not
focused on a specific socioeconomic or political aspect, it instead shows the country
as a whole, highlighting all its strengths in terms of culture, biodiversity, tourism,
foreign investment, among others.
Conclusions
In conclusion, nation branding still stands as an extremely wide and difficult subject to
research define and proactively apply from country to country. It is thus a complicated,
multifaceted and interdisciplinary construction that varies due to the national context
and current framework each country faces. Moreover, its defiant task is how to
communicate, in a coordinated and consistent way, a single image or message to
different audiences in different countries at the same time. This means, having one
slogan, one campaign, no matter how clever or creative, cant sell everything to
everyone (Fan, 2010, pag. 7). In this sense, nation branding could be more
meaningful and relevant if it was conceptualized, measured and executed separately
at each one of sublevels (as a place brand, event brand or export brand) because in
reality, it is impossible to develop such a simple core message about a country that
can be used by different industry sectors in different countries (Fan, 2010). In despite
of the challenges and limitations nation branding might have, its impact should not be
exaggerated or dismissed, it should be instead updated and widely shared with the
rest of the world so it seize its opportunities and expand its effects. As to the
Colombian case regards, one can say that although Colombia still faces several
challenges on the issue; recent public-private partnerships, government efforts and
national commitment have helped improve national image internationally, allowing
better and more opportunities to enhance sustained growth and development for the
country as a whole.

References
Aaker, D. A. (1996) Building Strong Brands, Free Press, New York.
Anholt, S. (2007) Competitive identity: The new brand management for nations, cities
and regions, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
Fan, Y. (2010). Branding the nation: Towards a better understanding. Place Branding
and Public Diplomacy, 6(2), 97-103.
Fetscherin, M. (2010). The determinants and measurement of a country brand: the
country brand strength index. International Marketing Review, 27(4), 466-479.
http://scholarship.rollins.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=as_facpub
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FutureBrand (2014). Country Brand Index 2014-15. Retrieved on February 2nd of

2014 from http://www.futurebrand.com/
Ministerio de Industria y Comercio (MINCIT), (2014)