In fact there is some evidence to suggest the opposite: between 2005 when the Anholt Nation Brands Index was launched, and the latest study in October 2008, there has been no detectable correlation between changes in national brand value and expenditure on ‘nation branding campaigns’. Several countries which have done no marketing (apart from normal tourism and investment promotion) during this period have shown noticeable improvements in their overall images, while others have spent extremely large sums on advertising and PR campaigns and their brand value has remained stable or even declined.
It’s more accurate to say that ‘nation branding’ is the problem, not the solution. It is public opinion that “brands” countries – in other words, reduces them to the weak, simplistic, outdated, unfair stereotypes that so damage their prospects in a globalised world – and countries need to fight against the tendency of international public opinion to brand them. Governments need to help the world understand the real, complex, rich, diverse nature of their people and landscapes, their history and heritage, their products and their resources: in other words, to prevent them from becoming mere brands.
