FEDERAL AGENCY FOR EDUCATION

STATE EDUCATION INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

PLEKHANOV RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS

BUSINESS FACULTY
DEPARTMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LOGISTICS

COURSE WORK
Discipline Brand management
Topic Building a country brand

First-year student
Korostelev A.A.
International Marketing
Supervisor
Saginov Y.L.

Moscow, 2015
1

Table of contents
Introduction...3
1.

Basic theoretical information on country branding

1.1

Definition of country branding and its specificity..4

1.2

Process of country branding....7

2.

Country brand of Bangladesh

2.1

Basic information about Bangladesh.12

2.2

Building country brand of Bangladesh.13

3.

Prospects of country branding

3.1

Prospects and recommendations for country branding17

3.2

Prospects and recommendations for country branding of Bangladesh..20

Conclusion..24
References...26

Introduction
The views and opinions of a person about the state are built on the basis
of the activities of the state in the international arena, statements of the
domestic respected personalities, political and social leaders of the country,
etc.
Each state has a unique set of conglomerate values, national interests,
specific features of the geographical location, characteristics of the domestic
economic system, social and political processes, ethnic and cultural
peculiarities, traditions, manners and customs. The above is somehow
involved in the formation of a country brand in the global dimension, which,
in fact, is the image making abroad. That gives a country a positive impact on
the development of tourism, on attracting investors and on public opinion in
general.
In the era of globalization that erases national and cultural boundaries,
the need to have your own brand is as relevant as ever. And for the country
this task is no less important than for any company. Finally, the state also
offers to foreign companies and foreign citizens a product, namely themselves
as the center of tourism, a suitable place for doing business or investments,
supplier of quality products, etc.
To attract money from abroad, the country should be original,
recognizable and, most importantly, positive image - in short, everything that
is included in the concept of the brand. A number of countries and territories
have already established such brands and now all the rules of conduct
marketing campaign to promote among its citizens and abroad.

1. Basic theoretical information on country branding

1.1 Definition of country branding and its specificity
Among the various definitions of economics in the twenty-first century,
there is the concept of "economy of values", that is an economy which is
based on the unique value proposition of the manufacturers to the client (the
consumer) and the ability to choose a strategic role in social, political, and
cultural processes. In this model economy the fundamental role played by the
brand.
Brand is a term in marketing, symbolizing complex information about
company, product or service; popular, easy-recognizable and legally protected
symbolism of any manufacturer or product.
There are two approaches to brand definition:
Task and also individual attributes: the name, logo and other visual
elements (fonts, design, color schemes and symbols) that allow you to
select a company or product in comparison with competitors;
Image, reputation, product or service in the eyes of customers,
partners, and the public.
The topic of country branding, which emerged in the 1970s in a number
of developed
countries, became especially popular in the last decade. A number of States,
regions and cities have undertaken large-scale projects on creation of own
brands. The founder of ideas to make brands out of state is a prominent
American marketing specialist Wally hlins.
Country (nation) branding aims to measure build and manage the
reputation of countries (closely related to place branding). Some approaches
applied, such as an increasing importance on the symbolic value of products,
have led countries to emphasize their distinctive characteristics. The branding
and image of a nation-state "and the successful transference of this image to
its exports - is just as important as what they actually produce and sell". This
4

is also referred to as country-of-origin effect. Nation branding is still a

developing field in which scholars continue their search for a unified
theoretical framework. Many governments have resource dedicated to nation
branding. Their aim is to improve their country's standing, as the image and
reputation of a nation can dramatically influence its success in attracting
tourism receipts and investment capital; in exports; in attracting a talented and
creative workforce and in its cultural and political influence in the world1.
The creation of a country brand is a very powerful tool to increase the
attractiveness of goods in the country of manufacture, because the brand
carries high profits and ensures long-term development. One of the main
features of the brand is a presence steadily existing of a large number of loyal
customers. The country with the brand not only attracts tourists for its national
business and products receive strong support in the competition.
Any country aspiring to be competitive in the international arena need
to realize that the lack of recognizable brands positive or negative brands is a
serious obstacle to state action. As a result, the state position themselves in the
global market: the brand and image of the country become pillars of the
national capital.
A holistic brand of the state is composed of many components: political
or public figure of the state, separate spheres of state authority, economy,
army, foreign and domestic policy, etc. This is exactly what defines the
reputation it acquires or acquired by the state in the conscience of the world as
a result of interactions of one or other of its subjects, interacting with the
world. Therefore, a country brand is the aggregate indicator of credibility and
the success of its actions in the international arena, the assessment of foreign
public opinion about the country.

1 Wikipedia (2013). Nation Branding,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nation_branding
5

The formation of country branding performs a number of essential

functions in the development of the state.
First, the internal branding of the state helps to overcome conflicts and
absenteeism in the community, development of patriotism and identity.
Second, the international branding of the state helps to create a
completely different perception of their own country, relations of other States
and their own citizens to the state. A positive international image of the state
helps to secure political successes on the world stage, to build the desired
associative array, practically any action of a state.
The essence of the country brand is in the range of enduring values that
reflect the uniqueness, unique consumer characteristics of this territory and
community, widely known and received public recognition. The brand is based
on the pronounced positive image of the country, which is based on unique
opportunities to satisfy those or other needs of its consumers; the brand in the
country is the highest manifestation of the emotional consumer preferences.
In the end, country branding represents a set of features and guarantees of the
realization of essential interests of the members of the various target groups
interested in making the best use of competitive advantages of the territory for
life, business, investment, leisure, study, etc. the image of the country is its
competitive advantage. The branding of countries is a strategic approach to the
development of that advantage and a vision of where the country can move.
Without such a vision, the country will not be able to compete. Thus projected
to the outside world, the brand the country has an effect on its population.
To consider the state as a brand is impossible without the concept of
national identity. This is the foundation on which to build opinions, attitudes
and associations among target audiences. Source of brand identity is the set of
ideas, values, characteristics, culture, words, images that combine to create in
the minds of the target audience certain associations with the state brand.

It is the personality of the state, its identity makes one country different
from another and forms a recognizable image. The reason why States form
and reform their identity is that their realities are changing, and States need to
project this real change through characters on all the audiences they touch.
The basis for the formation of a country brand is the country's
individuality, which includes, on the one hand, the official "distinguishing"
characteristics of the country. It is a complex visual, verbal and other signs
that people identify the country (a place on the map, the name, emblem, flag,
anthem, etc.).
Furthermore, the country personality also includes a characteristic set of
features and resources of the country. These include: natural, demographic,
historical, social and cultural resources; economic characteristics and
resources; organizational, legal and informational features and resources.
Country personality reflects technologies and approaches to work, trust
of partners and expert information, the level and quality of leadership, degree
of corruption, peculiarities of communication and much more. All these
factors affect brand, image and competitiveness of the country. In the West
and the former Soviet Union problems of formation and promotion of the
brand and image of the country today, often interpreted from a position of
strategic priorities of its development and even the formulation of the national
idea.
1.2 Process of country branding
The process of country branding in comparison with the process of
branding products and services solve a similar basic problem: search and
display through different communication technologies exclusivity of a
country.
Leading nation brand specialist Anholt introduced in 2005, the Anholts
Nations Brand Index (NBI) that ranks country as their brand value. Based on
responses from about 25,900 consumers drawn from 35 countries, the index
7

provided a score addressing six core areas of a country depicted through a

hexagon: people, governance, ex- ports, tourism, culture and investment. It
was initially published four times a year. Since 2008 research activities from
GFK Roper Public Affairs and Media and Simon Anholt are joined and
resulted in an expanded version of the index which is since then known as the
Anholt-GFK Roper Nation Brands Index. Published on an annual basis,
20,157 interviews have been conducted with approximate- ly 1,000 interviews
per country for the 2008 index to determine how countries are perceived by
others. People over the age of seventeen have been interviewed in twenty
countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany,
France, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Japan, China, India, South
Korea, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt and South Africa.
According to the Nation Brand Index 2012, the top ten nations who
have successfully meet up the six criteria are United States, Germany, United
Kingdom, France, Cana- da, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden.
The six criteria underlying the Nations Brand Index ranking are explained
below:

People: Measures the populations reputation for competence,

education, openness and friendliness and other qualities, as well as

perceived levels of po- tential hostility and discrimination.

Governance: Measures public opinion regarding the level of

national government competency and fairness and describes individuals

beliefs about each countrys government, as well as its perceived
commitment to global issues such as democracy, justice, poverty and the
environment.

Exports: Determines the publics image of products and services

from each country

and

the

extent to which consumers proactively

seek or avoid products from each country-of-origin.

Tourism: Captures the level of interest in visiting a country and

the draw of natural and man-made tourist attractions.

Culture and Heritage: Reveals global perceptions of each nations

heritage and appreciation for its con- temporary culture including films,
music, art, sport and literature.

Investment and Immigration: Determines the power to attract

people to live, work or study in each country and reveals how people
perceive a countrys economic and social situation2.

Figure #1. Nation Branding Hexagon

A powerful country brand translates into a better perception of the

country. South Africa launched the Brand South Africa Project in August
2000. In New Delhi, over 100 people work full time on Brand India as India
2 Anholt, S. (1998). Nation Brands of the Twenty-first Century, Journal of Brand
Management,
9

Brand Equity Foundation with the goal of modifying critical stakeholders

attitudes towards this diverse country. Malaysia, Egypt, Costa Rica, New
Zealand and many more countries have active nation branding programs in
spite of the existence of state institutions such as investment, tourism, exports
and public diplomacy dedicated to country products, services and reputation
management. Many of them have created slogans and symbols in order to
fulfill current business needs.
The organization, Future Brand introduced another nation brand index
that is known as Country Brand Index in 2005. From 2005, it is published
annually and based on both qualitative and quantitative research. In 2012-13,
it has collected quantitative data from 3,600 opinion formers and frequent
international business or leisure travelers. It also have collected qualitative
information from a carefully selected and diverse panel of experts in policy
and governance, international relations, economic and trade, international law,
national security, energy and climate change, urban and regional planning,
immigration and the media. The main tool of determine the nation brand
index is Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM). It deter- mines how key
audiences including residents, investors, tourists and foreign governments
perceived a countrys brand, from a baseline of awareness all the way up
to brand advocacy. This model takes seven areas of consideration: Awareness,
Familiarity, Association, Preference, Consideration, Decision / Visitation and
Advocacy3.

3 Kotler, P. and Gertner, D. (2002). Country as Brand, Product and Beyond: A

Place Marketing and Brand Management Perspective, Journal of Brand
Management, 9:249-261.
10

Table #1. Hierarchical Decision Model

Awareness

Do key audiences know that the brand exists?

Familiarity
Associations

How top of mind is it?

How well do people know the country?
What comes to mind when people think

Preference

of the country?
How highly do audiences esteem the brand?

Consideration

Does it resonate?
Is this one of the countries being thought about

Decision / Visitation

for a visit?
To what extent do people follow through and

Advocacy

visit the country?

Do they recommend the country to family and
friends?

In this model, only the third stage Association deals with five
components: Value System, Quality of Life, Good for Business, Heritage and
Culture and Tourism. Each component is divided into some parts. Value
System consists of political freedom, tolerance, stable legal environment,
freedom of speech and environmental friendliness. Quality of Life consists of
most like to live in, education system, healthcare system, standard of living,
safety and job opportunity. Good for Business consists of skilled workforce,
advanced technology, investment climate and regulatory environment.
Heritage and Culture consist of natural beauty, history, art and culture and
authenticity. Tourism consists of value for money, resort and lodging options,
attractions and food. According to Country Brand Index 2012-13, the top ten
nations are Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia,
Germany, United States, Finland and Norway.
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2. Country brand of Bangladesh

2.1 Basic information about Bangladesh
Bangladesh is located in a disaster prone delta at the center of Bay of
Bengal and surrounded by the massive India on three sides and the introvert
Myanmar on the south, is known to the world as a backward developing
country. Bangladesh is seen as a country afflicted with many problems like
political instability, hunger, population growth, corruption, natural disasters,
illiteracy, human rights violation and a country heavily dependent on foreign
donations. This international image of Bangladesh has been initiated mainly
by the international media notably BBC, CNN and VOA.
Bangladesh is a country bestowed with the gifts of nature. It has
nurtured some of the most ancient civilizations of this continent. The young
country came into existence after a blood-spattered liberation war in 1971. But
the pace of growth and development has been impeded by many factors.
Bangladesh, as a Least Developing

Country (LDC), faces a reputation

challenge which is popularly known as its image problem. Bangladesh has

gained the image of a country with too many people, too much poverty, too
little resources, too frequent disasters and too little ability to change for better
(Yunus, 1992). Recently poor law and order, bad investment climate and
Islamic terrorism have killed its image more. To remove all the negative
aspects and image surrounding Bangladesh and to make it as a beautiful
and prospective country

it

is

highly

recommended

to

branding

Bangladesh.
In 2008, Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed launched the first country branding
for Bangladesh. The logo of the branding includes a rising sun above waves of
seawater with the slogan Beautiful Bangladesh beneath. The image problem
of Bangladesh made a low ranking by organizations as diverse as the World
Economic Forum, UNDP, UNCTAD, Transparency International Bangladesh
12

and Goldman & Sachs.

objective

These rankings are usually based on a mix of

measures and

stakeholder

perceptions.

In the Global

Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 by World Economic Forum, Bangladesh

ranked 118th among 144 countries in terms of 12 indicators institutions
(127th), infrastructure (134th), macro-economic environment (100th), health
and primary education (103rd), higher education and training (126th), goods
market efficiency (95th), labor market efficiency (117th), financial market
development (95th), technological readiness (125th), market size (47th),
business sophistication (108th) and innovation (130th).
2.2 Building country brand of Bangladesh
After independence in 1971, Bangladesh moved to a private sector led
export oriented economy in late 1970s from a highly protected government
led economy in search of prosperity and growth. From 0.2 percent in 1980s, it
came to 75 percent in 2004- 05 of countrys total export. This industry
employs 1.8 million people of whom 90 percent are women. Out of the total
textile export RMG (knit & oven apparel) export was equivalent to USD 19.09
billion which is equivalent to 89.60% of total textiles export. In relation to the
total export from Bangladesh, the contribution of RGM export is equivalent to
78.78%.
The readymade garments industry of Bangladesh has grown, despite
multifarious problems and challenges. The country has become the third
largest Ready-Made Garments (RMG) exporter in the world, with annual
export rising from $116 million in 1984-85 to $18 billion in 2012-13,
accounting for more than 78 per cent of its total export. The quantum index of
RMG production increased to 1,643.19 in 2012-13, as compared to the base
year 1989-90. If RMG can be branded, people across the world will know
Bangladesh as the country of choice for garment items.

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Peacemaking mission
Bangladeshi UN peacekeeping forces engaged at various trouble-torn
areas of the world are earning nearly Taka 38 billion (some $500 million) a
year as pay and allowances, experts said on Saturday. It is not the earning, but
the participation in the world peacekeeping through improvement in
professionalism is important. The earnings by the peacekeeping forces also
supplement the remittances sent by some seven million expatriate workers,
which amounts to nearly Taka 912 billion ($12 billion) annually, officials of
the ministry of Expatriates.
Branding Bangladesh with Jute
Jute made carbon materials are achievements of jute resources after
comprehensive exploration and utilization. Usually, activated carbon is made
of charcoal and coal. It is estimated that the market size of bio composite will
increase from the level of USD2.1 billion in 2010 to USD3.8 billion in 2016.
According to the Redbud, China, currently the global annual vehicle
production is between 6,000 and 7,000 million. Jute is unique to the country in
terms of quality and productivity as it has been titled golden fiber of
Bangladesh.
The growth rate indicates that Bangladesh has a potential for increasing
the value of jute exports in the international market year by year and that
indicates the jute has a bright future for the economic development of
Bangladesh. Over the years, Bangladesh has become the export power
house. Countrys ICT software exporters have aimed to attain US$ 1 billion
software export landmark within five year, as the country has already achieved
US$ 100 million milestone. To reach the goal, Bangladesh needs to develop
1.5 to 2 lakh IT graduates with global standard skill and expertise, they said.

14

Bangladesh is becoming a popular destination for Global IT companies to

outsource their work in recent years.
Tourism
Bangladesh is rich in both natural and cultural heritage and its tradition of
hospitality is a potential additional attraction for tourists and travelers. The
pristine beauty of fauna and flora in Sundarban and Bandarban, the worlds
longest beach in Coxs Bazar, the majestic panorama of sky, sea and sun in St.
Martins and Kuakata and the lush green in Sylhet4.
In 2006, the winning of Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Yunus, was a great
achievement for Bangladesh. In fact, the cricketers of Bangladesh also made
us proud by making a significant position in the World Cricket. In the Nation
Branding Hexagon, the researcher has replaced Governance with Sport as
the governance of Bangladesh has mostly bad impression around the world
due to poor law and order, corruption, political violence, etc. whereas sport
has already achieved a good feedback from the world, specially cricket.
These achievements sometimes reduce the bad impression of Bangladesh and
help to achieve a good impression in front of the world.
Nowadays, according to the Country Brand Index 2014, Bangladesh stood
110th position among the 118 countries that is diminution from 2013 (107th)
and 2012 (102nd). Till now, Anholts Nation Brand Index (NBI) does not
include Bangladesh. But Bangladesh can be analyzed based on the six criteria
of Nation brand Index.
People: Bangladesh has demographic dividend for last few years.
Population aged 60 years and above is likely to exceed the population
aged below 15 years in 2046. Demographic dividend results in
economic return like labor supply, savings and human capital. The
urban growth rate is 3.5% per annum. This high rate of population
4 Hanif, S. M. (2012). Branding Bangladesh. The Executive Times
15

movement and pace of urbanization can be regarded as a driving force

of modernization and center of economic growth and development
Governance: In order to improve public financial management, the
government of Bangladesh has taken a comprehensive Public Financial
Management Action Plan. With a population of 140 million, it has only
1.4 million registered income tax payers and 300,000 businesses
registered for value-added tax. The government approved a strategic
development plan aimed at a tax administration modernization project,
fostering tax-payer service and ensuring uniform and equal treatment of
business. The government is also trying to build capacity of Board of
Investment and Export Processing Zone Authority to reduce
administrative barriers in attracting foreign investment.
Exports: Bangladesh has become the export power house. Made in
Bangladesh labels are now common in American and European stores.
McKinsey, the consulting giant, has called Bangladesh the next china
and predicted that Bangladeshi garment exports, now about $18 billion
a year, could triple by 2020. It has already underscored the importance
of exports for creating dynamism in the manufacturing sector and for
the provision of high productivity and high-income jobs. Along with
ready- made garments, tea, jute, leather, handicraft, fish, dry food, etc.
have earned good reputation from the world.
Tourism: Bangladesh is a combination of forests, river line countryside,
long stretches of sun-bathed beaches, fearsome wilds, venerable shrines,
etc. The worlds longest unbroken beach of Coxs Bazar (120 km) is
situated on a clean stretch consisting of miles of sands. Sundarbans,
worlds single largest mangrove forest,

is special to catch a rare

glimpse of the Royal Bengal Tiger in its natural habitat. Bangladesh is

also crisscrossed by a network of rivers and creeks. It has rich
archeological sites like Paharpur, Mahasthangarh and Mainamati.
UNESCO has declared Paharpur as a World Heritage Site. In the capital
16

of Bangladesh, it has also some outstanding monuments like Lalbagh

Fort, Sonargaon, Ahsan Manjil, Husseni Dalan, Dhakeshwari Temple,
etc.
Culture and Heritage: Ekushey February has got worldwide recognition
as the International Mother Language Day. Pohela Baishakh displays
our rich and vibrant culture and heritage. Our food culture can be
focused as cuisine can be a powerful agent for shaping public
perception. Bangladesh has also a diverse culture of tribal people that
can be promoted as well for nation branding.
Investment and Immigration: In order to provide infrastructure
facilities, government has established Industrial Park, High Tech Parks
and EPZ. Economic zone can be set up by local or foreign entrepreneurs
or organizations. To reduce power shortage, the government invites the
private sector power generation companies. Special incentives have
been announced for using Biomass, Solar and Windmill based power.
The government has also introduced tax holidays for developed and
underdeveloped areas. FDI has increased significantly over the years.
Flow of remittances in Bangladesh is around six times higher than it
was a decade ago. In 2012-13, it was $ 12.17 billion that made possible
to earn positive balance of payments.
3. Prospects of country branding
3.1 Prospects and recommendations for country branding
New brands need to be promoted, could rapidly and effectively be
developed on the basis of old and well-known brands positively. For countries
with a low level of recognition in the world, it is vital to find your unique
advantage.
Core values of the national identity of new brands will help to identify
competitors, target audience, what messages and channels of communications
17

necessary to effectively influence them, to combat negative stereotypes and

nurture positive perceptions. Based on the key ideas of national identity
requires the development of positive elements of brand identity: logo, tagline,
visual language used in every context, etc.
Besides the visualization of brand and all resulting design works,
creation of events, attracting everyone's attention. The practice of recent years
shows that in the field external interactions the greatest effect on the
perception of the image of the country in other States provides a
comprehensive large-scale events and campaigns with the participation of a
large group of countries and with the involvement of wide circles of
international community.
Core values of national identity will allow us to identify the positioning
of the country. It is a difficult task, as the positioning at the country level
should be inspirational, differentiated, desirable and, most importantly, must
be understood in the languages of different audiences.
It is also advisable to identify potential areas for country branding, which
should be actively developed in the future. On the basis of these areas and will
create a new brand of the country5.
The main objectives of the concept of the new brand in the country can
be the following:
The establishment of the new brand, able to neutralize existing
negative stereotypes and views about the country, strengthen the
positive image and reputation, to occupy its own niche in the world
community.
The development of sustainable mechanisms and permanent
channels of development of the concept of the new brand. The
development of a national marketing tool to promote both the
5 Heslop, L. and Papadopoulos, N. (2002). Country Equity and Country
Branding: Problems and Prospects, Journal of Brand Management, 9:294-314.
18

national brand and those of its constituent clusters of products and

services.
A key vector of the new brand has become a new national idea
"competitiveness" that needs to be constantly evolved.
A new brand in the country will need to outline the qualities, character
and individuality of the country. First of all, it needs to be built around those
areas in which the state has already succeeded on its strong competitive
parties. It should emphasize all the best qualities of citizens. At the same time,
it must be true and based on real values.
The country's image is formed not only through promotion and targeted
distribution of information, but is based on all facets of society and the
economy.
Thus, the concept of the new brand will not only help to create a
recognizable positive image of the country in the world, but will contribute to
the formation and development of national identity, the shared sense of
purpose and national pride. The key to its successful implementation needs to
be coordination of involved public authorities and relevant organizations by a
competent person.
Brand promotion of the country is carried out by analogy with commodity
brands. Key elements of its creation are: personality (those landmarks that
distinguish the country from other tourist centres), stereotypes (wellestablished axiomatic notions of the country), emotions ("emotional" image of
the country), attributes brand: common logo and slogan of the country. These
components build most of the marketing strategies of different states.
Implementation and support of the brand is carried out both on the
domestic and foreign markets. In this situation it is necessary at the legislative
level to provide significant benefits to national tour operators.
When promoting the country in the foreign market used typical
communication channels, and each of them is aimed at your target audience.
19

For example, to reach the most potential customers in the priority countries for
the states widely used media of this state.
For the sake of completeness and complexity of providing information to the
largest number of stakeholders are actively participating in international
exhibitions. Great opportunities for branding of the state and attract tourists
opens the Internet.
You also need to conduct large-scale sociological and marketing
researches of the image of the country, existing positive and negative
perceptions of Kazakhstan inside the country and abroad among target
audiences. You must also hold a series of discussions, working groups and
"brainstorm" sessions among groups of people, representing all parts of
Kazakhstani society: business, the arts, sports, politics, mass media, etc. And,
of course, the group vision should create not only realistic and true national
identity for the country, but also to try to find its unique characteristics.
To invest in the brand in the country is beneficial to all: government,
business and society. The experience of developed countries shows that the
government must fund approximately 10-20% of the total budget of this
direction. At the same time, the business may act as the main sponsor, because
of the positive image of the country in the first place, he will win, and then the
state and the population. The business is able to initiate the establishment of
the Fund, which financed the formation of the brand of country.
National brand gives impetus to the development of each cluster and the
necessary flexibility for a positive perception of the consumer, keeping the
acquired image. National brand is a tool that maximizes the use of natural,
human, financial, innovation and integration potential.
Thus, given the above factors, the formation of country branding the
global measurement seems to be a problem of the state and society. It required
the modeling of several most effective concepts of the country and their
further evaluation to determine optimally relevant national interests.
20

3.2 Prospects and recommendations for country branding of Bangladesh

A Country branding enables a country to identify and differentiate itself
on the global market place and enables it to create a competitive position in
order to attract inward investment and tourists, promote products originating
from the country, attract foreign knowledge and skills, and build mutually
beneficial bilateral and multilateral relationships with its trading partners. In
case of increased visibility of perspectives of Bangladeshs country brand, its
better to use SWOT-analysis.
Table #2. SWOT-analysis
Strengths
1. The word beautiful creates an image of
green meadows, blue rivers, golden paddy,
Marvelous rainfall, charming winter, fruity
summer for Branding Bangladesh.
2. Royal Bengal Tiger, Mangrove ,
Sundarbans, Greatest sea Beach, Coxs
Bazar, Sylhet, Rangamati and so on.
3. Human Capital To The World (Manpower).
4. Branding Bangladesh through tourism is one
of the chief sources of earning foreign
currency.
5. Sylhet and Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT)
regions of Bangladesh are paradises for ecotourism activities.
6. The exotic beauty of a place or its people's
way of life becomes causes of attraction for
the visitors.
7. Bangladesh has significant differentiation in
jute as very few products compared to other
countries.
8. Potential application of jute and its
diversified products can be worthy for the
developed world.
9. Tailoring Tomorrow's World (RMG&
Textiles ).
10. Green Packager To The World (Jute & Jute
Bags)
11. Micro - Credit Modeler To The World.
12. Peace Keepers To The World.
13. Labor-intensive industry that creates
hundreds of jobs every year across the world
21

Weaknesses
1. The lack of development of the tourism
industry.
2. Lack of budgetary allocation.
3. Scarcity of trained people in the industry.
4. Lack of publicity and marketing activities.
5. Political mishaps.
6. Inflation.
7. Natural calamities.
8. Lack of extensive research.
9. Financial crisis.
10. Withdrawal of GSP facilities.
11. Inadequate communication.
12. No situation and needs analysis.
13. Lack of consequence.
14. Undefined processes.
15. Fragmented (organizational) structures.
16. Lack of government initiative.
17. Transportation facilities.
18. Lack of educated people.
19. Low knowledge about tourism and
hospitality.
20. Lack of proper maintenance of historical
heritage
21. Negative Country Branding may come from
both inside and outside.

Opportunities
1. An attractive destination for investment,
knowledge, tourists.
2. Promote exports and technology emanating
from that country.
3. Robust and positive national brand image.
4. Increases currency stability.
5. Restores international credibility and
investor confidence.
6. Reverses international ratings downgrades.
7. Increases international political influence.
8. Leads to export growth of branded products
and services.
9. Increases inbound tourism and investment.
10. Stimulates stronger international
partnerships.
11. Helps diffuse allegations of corruption and
cronyism.
12. Brings greater access to global markets.
13. The ability of the country to defend its own
markets
14. Gain Country brand strength is a nations
ultimate intangible asset.
15. Encouraging forgiveness in difficult times.
16. Country brands help a company charge
premium and in some cases.

Threats
1. Insufficient Understanding of Branding.
2. Lack of Stakeholder Buy-in. Failure to Grasp
the Scope of Branding.
3. Focusing On Short-Term Results. Forgetting
The Customers View. Disagreeing What is
Being Branded.
4. Insufficient or Irrelevant Research. The
Weak Positioning Trap.
5. Not Following the Strategy.
6. The Lure of Bright Shiny Objects
Forgetting to Deliver What You Promise.
7. Unhelpful Mindsets.
8. Going It Alone as a DIY Project. Not
Engaging Specialist Skill.

Table #3. Problems and prospects.

Problems Analysis
Insufficient Understanding of
Country Branding.

Negative Country image to the

world market.
Lack of proper maintenance of
historical heritage.
Lack of strong country
branding strategies as well as
of publicity and marketing
activities
Lack of promotional measures
to correct this negative image.

Prospects Analysis
The word beautiful creates an image of green
meadows, blue rivers, golden paddy, Marvelous
rainfall Royal Bengal Tiger, Mangrove,
Sundarbans, Greatest sea Beach, Coxs Bazar.
Remarkable growth and development of tourism
has taken place in our country.
Tailoring Tomorrow's World through RMG&
Textiles.
By branding Bangladesh we can easily focus our
self and our country to the world.
Bangladesh has significant differentiation in jute
as compared to other countries.

22

Low knowledge about tourism

and hospitality industry.

Labor-intensive industry that creates hundreds of

jobs every year across the world.

Failure to Grasp the Scope of

Country Branding.
The Weak Positioning strategies
and Focusing On Short-Term
Results rather long term.

Branded Bangladesh can catch a large amount of

FDI.
There is a great potential to promote sports
tourism in Bangladesh.

Disagreeing What is Being

Branded and Insufficient or
Irrelevant Research Regarding
Country Branding.

There is a great potential to take initiatives for

eco- tourism development in the country
especially in Sylhet and Chittagong Hill Tract.

I would propose the following specific areas with appropriate catch

phrases that Bangladesh should work on under the broad Umbrella of
Branding Bangladesh.

If there is any positive growth, Bangladesh needs to undertake

promotional steps so that more growth can be achieved and to make

sure that current growth prevails.

New destinations of country branding elements should be looked

for as we are getting threat openly from the matured manufacturers.

Tailoring tomorrow's world through RMG & Textiles, exporting

manpower and Green packager to the world through Jute & Jute Bags
along with Micro - credit modeler to the world to eradicate poverty with
Peace keepers to the world for prospective future.

Tourism (Participate in international tourism fairs and uses

Bangladesh mission abroad)

Be ready for nurture brands ingredients and think long term for

gaining from country branding

23

Conclusion
There are around 195 nations in the world who are aggressively competing for
the attention of investors, tourists and citizens. So it is time to plan a nation branding
strategy that must consider two objectives. First making the citizens attached to the
brand. Also it is necessary to improve peoples standard of living so that a citizen
really feel proud of his / her country. Second the brand strategists should concentrate
on branding the country beyond the border. Its success depends on how far they can
reduce the gap between a natives perception and a foreigners perception about the
country. Country brand strength is a nations ultimate intangible asset that helps to
stand out regionally and globally and to realize future ambitions beyond its
geographic size, financial performance or levels of awareness. When a product or
service is identified with a strong nation brand, it has a better chance of premium
pricing, longevity and preference in emerging markets. On the other hand, a poor
nation brand leads to poor differentiation, ambiguous meaning and low recall in the
minds of people who travel, consume and do business beyond the border. Nation
branding provides the glue among political, social and economic pillars. It defines
how a countrys own citizens and the world perceive it. It balances substance and
form perception and reality. It enhances a nations ability to achieve its objectives
across foreign policy, FDI, trade, tourism. It delivers a unifying platform that builds
synergy, allowing for cross-promotion and alignment across the public and private
sectors.
The government should come up with an aggressive but distinct nation
branding campaign immediately. The basic principle underlying any success in nation
branding is coordination, a shared vision and a shared strategy for all sectors in the
hexagon. Also clever positioning is important. Bangladesh has to find a niche that it
can truly own, always underline that one strong point and keep repeating this tiny
feature, which is unique, distinctive and good. Only the government is not liable, or
even capable enough to enhance national image. Each citizen should contribute
according to position and ability. Media can play the most significant role in this
24

respect. Therefore, everyone should come forward to make a successful nation

branding platform.

25

References
1. Aaker, D. A. (1996). Building Strong Brands, Free Press, New York.
2. Anholt, S. (1998). Nation Brands of the Twenty-first Century, Journal of Brand
Management, 5(6):395-406.
3. Anholt, S. (2007). Competitive Identity: The New Brand Man- agement for
Nations, Cities and Regions, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
4. Bond, R., McCrone, D. and Brown, A. (2003). National Identity and Economic
Development: Reiteration, Recapture, Reinterpre- tation and Reputation, Nations and
Nationalism, 9:371-391.
5. Dinnie, K. (2007). Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice, Butterworth
Heinemann.
6. Fan, Y. (2006). Branding the Nation: What is being Branded?
Journal of Vacation Marketing, 12(1):5-14
7. Fan, Y. (2008). Soft Power: The Power of Attraction or Confu- sion, Place
Branding and Public Diplomacy, 4(2):147-158.
8. Fan, Y. (2010). Branding the Nation: Towards a Better Under- standing. An Online
Article.
9.

Future

Brand

(2013).

http://www.futurebrand.com/wp-

Country

Brand

Index

content/cbi/pdfs/CBI_2012-13.pdf,

2012-13,
retrieved,

January 11, 2013.

10. Hanif, S. M. (2012). Branding Bangladesh. The Executive Times,
11. Hasan, K. (2009). Nation Branding. The Daily Star, August 9.
12. Heslop, L. and Papadopoulos, N. (2002). Country Equity and Country Branding:
Problems and Prospects, Journal of Brand Management, 9:294-314.
13. Jaffe, E. D. and Nebenzahl, I. D. (2001). National Image and Competitive
Advantage, The Theory and Practice of Country- of-Origin Effect, Copenhagen
Business School Press.
14. Khokon, K. (2008). Beautiful Bangladesh: Country Brands for Bangladesh. The
Daily Star, December 7.
15. Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., et al. (2001). Principles of Marketing, Prentice-Hall.
26

16. Kotler, P. and Gertner, D. (2002). Country as Brand, Product and Beyond: A Place
Marketing and Brand Management Perspective, Journal of Brand Management,
9:249-261.
17. Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing Management, Prentice-Hall.
18. Melissen, J. (2005). Wielding Soft Power: the New Public Diplomacy,
Clingendael Diplomacy Paper No. 2, Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Clingendael.
19. Steenkamp, J. B. E. M. and Verlegh, P. W. J. (1999). A Review and Meta
Analysis of Country-of-Origin Research, Journal of Economic Psychology, 20:521546.
20.

Wikipedia

(2013).

Nation

Branding,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nation_branding, retrieved, January 10, 2013.

21. World Economic Forum (2013). The Global Competitiveness Report

2012-

2013,
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenes
retrieved,

January

11,

2013

27

sReport_2012-13.pdf,

Appendix 1
Course paper assessment form
Masters
program/concentration_________________________________________________________
Subject_________________________________________________________________
Topic___________________________________________________________________________
_____
Student______________________________________________________________
Supervisor________________________________________________
Any of the criteria below can be reason to consider the course paper a failure
1
.

Topic or content is not relevant for the subject

2
.

Paper is plagiarized or forged

3
.

Paper table of content is unstructured or absent

4
.

There are no references to sources of information

5
.

Course paper lay-out is not meeting the requirements for written assignments

Course paper assessment (if the paper is a failure this section is not filled)

Grade
Criterion

Satisfactor
y

1.

Topic relevance

2.

Literature review

Independent research

4.

Structure and logics

5.

Rationale and conclusions

6.

Layout, language and style

7.

Using graphs, tables and other illustrations

Good

Additional comments___________________________________________________
28

Excellen
t

29

Assessment of the defence

Grade
Criterion

Satisfactor
y

1.

Area knowledge

Answering questions

Clear authors opinion

Relevant examples and arguments to support

opinion

Definition of research limitations and further

improvements

Good

Grade for the defence ____________

Final grade ____________________
Supervisors signature ____________________________________________

___ ___________________________ 200__.

30

Excellen
t