Nation Branding, Public Relations and Soft Power: Corporatizing Poland provides an empirically grounded analysis of changes in the way in which various actors seek to manage Poland’s national image in world opinion. It explores how and why changes in political economy have shaped these actors and their use of soft power in a way that is influenced by public relations, corporate communication, and marketing practices. By examining the discourse and practices of professional nation branders who have re-shaped the relationship between collective identities and national image management, it plots changes in the way in which Poland’s national image is communicated, and culturally reshaped, creating tensions between national identity and democracy. The book demonstrates that nation branding is a consequence of the corporatization of political governance, soft power and national identity, while revealing how the Poland "brand" is shaping public and foreign affairs. Challenging and original, this book will be of interest to scholars in public relations, corporate communications, political marketing and international relations.

Nation Branding, Public Relations and Soft Power: Corporatizing Poland provides an empirically grounded analysis of changes in the way in which various actors seek to manage Poland’s national image in world opinion. It explores how and why changes in political economy have shaped these actors and their use of soft power in a way that is influenced by public relations, corporate communication, and marketing practices. By examining the discourse and practices of professional nation branders who have re-shaped the relationship between collective identities and national image management, it plots changes in the way in which Poland’s national image is communicated, and culturally reshaped, creating tensions between national identity and democracy. The book demonstrates that nation branding is a consequence of the corporatization of political governance, soft power and national identity, while revealing how the Poland "brand" is shaping public and foreign affairs. Challenging and original, this book will be of interest to scholars in public relations, corporate communications, political marketing and international relations.

Bridging nation branding and public diplomacy, this book presents a cohesive framework. At its core is the introduction of the Model of Country Concept, which illustrates the array of factors, including hard- and soft-power initiatives, that shape how global citizens form their opinions about other countries. Each chapter applies the Model of Country Concept across a wide geographic, methodological, and disciplinary range of qualitative and quantitative research studies. The book offers a framework for future positioning of both practice around and research about nation branding and public diplomacy. Written for a broad audience the book offers a comprehensive yet approachable solution for framing a conversation about the heterodox nature of nation branding and public diplomacy, and advances the field through original research.

This book investigates the political implications of country promotion through practices of ‘nation-branding’ by drawing on contemporary examples from the sports, urban development and higher education sector in Kazakhstan and Qatar. Nation-branding has emerged as a central practice of international politics, where it is commonly understood as a vain, superficial selling technique with little political salience. Drawing on shared insights from practice theory and constructivist notions of nationalism, identity and power, this book challenges this reading and instead argues that nation-branding is neither neutral nor primarily economically motivated, but inherently politicised and tied to the legitimation of current political regimes. The starting point for the analysis is a range of everyday practices and sites long ignored by international relations scholars. In particular, the book traces how the political leadership in Kazakhstan and Qatar have used participation in the international sports circuit, spectacular urban development, and the construction of ‘world-class’ universities to first produce and then stabilize new ideas about their state. Providing a new analytical perspective on nation-branding, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Middle Eastern and Central Asian studies, International Relations, and Cultural and Political Geography.

Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice was the ground-breaking first textbook to provide an overview of this recently established but fast-growing practice, in which the principles of brand management are applied to countries rather than companies. Many governments have invested in nation branding in order to strengthen their country's influence, improve its reputation, or boost tourism, trade and investment. This new edition has been comprehensively revised and its influential original framework modified to reflect the very latest changes to this still-developing field. It remains an accessible blend of theory and practice rich with international examples and contributions. Updates to this edition: New international cases of countries as diverse as China, United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Cuba, India, Great Britain and many more; New contributions from distinguished scholars, diplomats and businesspeople providing a range of case studies, practitioner insights and academic perspectives; New Companion Website to support the book featuring instructor aids such as PowerPoint presentations for each chapter and an instructor manual; This much-anticipated update to an influential book is an essential introduction to nation branding for students and policy makers.

A comprehensive discussion of how countries embrace branding as a crucial element in their pursuit of soft power and why certain nation-branding efforts succeed while others fail through the example of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice is a comprehensive and exciting text that demonstrates why nations are embracing the principles of brand management. It clearly explains how the concepts and techniques of branding can be adapted to the context of nations- as opposed to the more usual context of products, services, or companies. Concepts grounded in the brand management literature such as brand identity, brand image, brand positioning, and brand equity, are transposed to the domain of nation branding and supported by country case insights that provide vivid illustrations of nation branding in practice. Nation branding is a means by which more and more nations are attempting to compete on the global stage. Current practice in nation branding is examined and future horizons traced. The book provides: * The first overview of its kind on nation branding * A blend of academic theory and real world practice in an accessible, readable fashion * A clear and detailed adaptation of existing brand theory to the emerging domain of nation branding * An original conceptual framework and models for nation branding * A rich range of international examples and over 20 contributions by leading experts from around the world Country case insights on nation branding strategies currently being utilized by nations such as Japan, Egypt, Brazil, Switzerland, Iceland, and Russia Clearly and coherently structured, the book is an essential introduction to nation branding for both students and policymakers and will be an essential text for those interested in this fast growing area.

What happens to the nation when it is reconceived as a brand? How does nation branding change the terms of politics and culture in a globalized world? Branding the Nation offers a unique critical perspective on the power of brands to affect how we think about space, value and identity.

By taking corporate marketing concepts and applying them to countries, nation branding is a way for these regions to enhance their reputations and project a desired image for international recognition. New modes of publicity and marketing geared towards geographic location fall into this category, leading nation branding to have vast benefits for the economies and societies of countries. New marketing strategies have emerged and are being adopted to consequently brand countries with the purpose of economic growth. By studying these emerging strategies and methods, nations can best develop a desired brand and reputation to foster growth and prosperity. Global Developments in Nation Branding and Promotion: Theoretical and Practical Approaches presents the functionality of nation branding in benefiting the positioning and identity promotion of nations. The chapters address theoretical considerations of the nature of nation brands and their implications in measuring branding inference. Covering topics such as country of origin association, memory politics, and international relations, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for brand managers, politicians, government officials, marketers, communication consultants, business leaders and executives, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

This open access book examines how creating a national brand assisted Qatar in absorbing the shock and awe following the outburst of the crisis with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates in May 2017. The authors discuss the country's diplomatic performance, which was characterized by five main factors that helped Qatar to deal with the crisis successfully. These factors include the failure of the element of surprise, years of building Qatar’s national brand, Qatar's arsenal of soft power, international alliances, and the opponents’ quandary. This book further scrutinizes Qatar’s role in the region and all questions related to this role through the lenses of its nation brand. The book provides explanations for the success of Qatar in absorbing the “shock and awe” in the early stage of the last Gulf crisis, presenting various arguments on how establishing a nation brand helped Qatar to deal with the crisis successfully. The book follows an original approach that views the Qatari case from a scientific perspective, investigating the art of nation branding. It will appeal to students, researchers, and scholars of international relations, psychology, political science, and journalism, as well as policy-makers interested in a better understanding of soft power, nation branding, Middle East studies, and diplomacy.