“Nation branding is first and foremost about coordination and collaboration.
We all kind of need to have the same mindsets and say, 'This is what we want to portray.' That’s storytelling – what are we about and how do we tell that? And then, we all need to jump on the same train, so that we keep telling that same story – through the tourism authority, through taxi drivers even that show you the sights. You have all these touchpoints (moments of interaction before you arrive and when you arrive) that all should tell the same story, so that when you’re home you can tell that story to your friends. That’s when the brand starts hopefully working for itself,” Guido van Garderen states. ▶️ 15:53
"Every marketer has the opportunity to tell a story on behalf of their country. It doesn't have to just be driven only by the tourism board," Mariam Asmar adds. "Each country has its own barriers as to why people don't want to go there, so you have to think about who the people that you're trying to bring are and what are the barriers for you to conquer. The more challenges, the more creative opportunities you have," Mariam mentions, inviting brands to be creative instead of waiting for someone larger (i.e., the government) to start the planning.
We discussed country branding and the great power that brands possess when it comes to promoting our nations with Mariam Asmar, former planning partner and digital lead at McCann Worldgroup and current strategy consultant at Triller, and Guido van Garderen, course leader for brand strategy at London School of Economics.
