Research Companion to Language and Country Branding brings together entirely new interdisciplinary research conducted by scholars working on various sociolinguistic, semiotic, anthropological and discursive analytical aspects of country branding all over the world. Branding is a process of identity construction, whereby countries gain visibility and put themselves on the world map as distinctive entities by drawing on their history, culture, economy, society, geography, and their people. Through branding, countries aim not only at establishing their uniqueness but also, and perhaps most importantly, at attracting tourism, investments, high quality human capital, as well as at forging financial, military, political and social alliances. Against this backdrop, this volume explores how countries and regions imagine and portray others and themselves in terms of gender, ethnicity, and diversity today as well as the past. In this respect, the book examines how branding differs from other, related policies and practices, such as nation building, banal nationalism, and populism. This volume is an essential reference for students, researchers, and practitioners with an interest in country, nation, and place branding processes.

Essentials of Marketing Research takes an applied approach to the fundamentals of marketing research by providing examples from the business world of marketing research and showing students how to apply marketing research results. This text focuses on understanding and interpreting marketing research studies. Focusing on the 'how-to' and 'so what' of marketing research helps students understand the value of marketing research and how they can put marketing research into practice. There is a strong emphasis on how to use marketing research to make better management decisions. The unique feature set integrates data analysis, interpretation, application, and decision-making throughout the entire text. The text opens with a discussion of the role of marketing research, along with a breakdown of the marketing research process. The text then moves into a section discussing types of marketing research, including secondary resources, qualitative research, observation research, and survey research. Newer methods (e.g. using blogs or Twitter feeds as secondary resources and using online focus groups) are discussed as extensions of traditional methods such. The third section discusses sampling procedures, measurement methods, marketing scales, and questionnaires. Finally, a section on analyzing and reporting marketing research focuses on the fundamental data analysis skills that students will use in their marketing careers. Features of this text include: - Chapter Openers describe the results of a research study that apply to the topics being presented in that chapter. These are taken from a variety of industries, with a greater emphasis on social media and the Internet. - A Global Concerns section appears in each chapter, helping prepare students to conduct market research on an international scale.This text emphasizes the presentation of research results and uses graphs, tables, and figures extensively. - A Statistics Review section emphasizes the practical interpretation and application of statistical principles being reviewed in each chapter. - Dealing with Data sections in each chapter provide students with opportunities to practice interpreting data and applying results to marketing decisions. Multiple SPSS data sets and step-by-step instructions are available on the companion site to use with this feature. - Each Chapter Summary is tied to the chapter-opening Learning Objectives. - A Continuing Case Study follows a group of students through the research process. It shows potential trade-offs, difficulties and flaws that often occur during the implementation of research project. Accompanying case questions can be used for class discussion, in-class group work, or individual assignments. - End-of-Chapter Critical Thinking Exercises are applied in nature and emphasize key chapter concepts. These can be used as assignments to test students' understanding of marketing research results and how results can be applied to decision-making. - End-of-chapter Your Research Project provides more challenging opportunities for students to apply chapter knowledge on an in-depth basis, and thus olearn by doing.

Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.

With contributions from leading brand experts around the world, this valuable resource delineates the case for brands (financial value, social value, etc.) and looks at what makes certain brands great. It covers best practices in branding and also looks at the future of brands in the age of globalization. Although the balance sheet may not even put a value on it, a company’s brand or its portfolio of brands is its most valuable asset. For well-known companies it has been calculated that the brand can account for as much as 80 percent of their market value. This book argues that because of this and because of the power of not-for-profit brands like the Red Cross or Oxfam, all organisations should make the brand their central organising principle, guiding every decision and every action. As well as making the case for brands and examining the argument of the anti-globalisation movement that brands are bullies which do harm, this second edition of Brands and Branding provides an expert review of best practice in branding, covering everything from brand positioning to brand protection, visual and verbal identity and brand communications. Lastly, the third part of the book looks at trends in branding, branding in Asia, especially in China and India, brands in a digital world and the future for brands. Written by 19 experts in the field, Brands and Branding sets out to provide a better understanding of the role and importance of brands, as well as a wealth of insights into how one builds and sustains a successful brand.

"What corporations fear most are consumers who ask questions. Naomi Klein offers us the arguments with which to take on the superbrands." Billy Bragg from the bookjacket.

"Ideas move mountains, especially in turbulent times. Lovemarks is the product of the fertile-iconoclast mind of Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi. Roberts argues vociferously, and with a ton of data to support him, that traditional branding practices have become stultified. What’s needed are customer Love affairs. Roberts lays out his grand scheme for mystery, magic, sensuality, and the like in his gloriously designed book Lovemarks.” —Tom Peters Tom Peters, one of the most influential business thinkers of all time, described the first edition of Lovemarks: the future beyond brands as “brilliant.” He also announced it as the “Best Business Book” published in the first five years of this century. Now translated into fourteen languages, with more than 150,000 copies in print, Lovemarks is back in a revised edition featuring a new chapter on the peculiarly human experience of shopping. The new chapter, "Diamonds in the Mine," is an insightful collection of ideas for producers and consumers, for owners of small stores and operators of superstores. So forget making lists! Shopping, says Kevin Roberts, is an emotional event. With this as a starting point, he looks at the history of shopping and how it has changed so dramatically over the last ten years. Using the Lovemark elements of Mystery, Sensuality, and Intimacy, Roberts delves into the secrets of success that can be used to create the ultimate shopping experience.

Germany’s economic miracle is a widely-known phenomenon, and the world-leading, innovative products and services associated with German companies are something that others seek to imitate. In The ’Made in Germany’Â’ Champion Brands, Ugesh A. Joseph provides an extensively researched, insightful look at over 200 of Germany’s best brands to see what they stand for, what has made them what they are today, and what might be transferable. The way Germany is branded as a nation carries across into the branding of its companies and services, particularly the global superstar brands - truly world-class in size, performance and reputation. Just as important are the medium-sized and small enterprises, known as the 'Mittelstand'. These innovative and successful enterprises from a wide range of industries and product / service categories are amongst the World market leaders in their own niche and play a huge part in making Germany what it is today. The book also focuses on German industrial entrepreneurship and a selection of innovative and emergent stars. All these companies are supported and encouraged by a sophisticated infrastructure of facilitators, influencers and enhancers - the research, industry, trade and standards organizations, the fairs and exhibitions and all the social and cultural factors that influence, enhance and add positive value to the country's image. Professionals or academics interested in business; entrepreneurship; branding and marketing; product or service development; international trade and business development policy, will find fascinating insights in this book; while those with an interest in Germany from emerging industrial economies will learn something of the secrets of German success.

Cultural policy intersects with political, economic, and socio-cultural dynamics at all levels of society, placing high and often contradictory expectations on the capabilities and capacities of the media, the fine, performing, and folk arts, and cultural heritage. These expectations are articulated, mobilised and contested at – and across – a global scale. As a result, the study of cultural policy has firmly established itself as a field that cuts across a range of academic disciplines, including sociology, cultural and media studies, economics, anthropology, area studies, languages, geography, and law. This Routledge Handbook of Global Cultural Policy sets out to broaden the field’s consideration to recognise the necessity for international and global perspectives. The book explores how cultural policy has become a global phenomenon. It brings together a diverse range of researchers whose work reveals how cultural policy expresses and realises common global concerns, dominant narratives, and geopolitical economic and social inequalities. The sections of the book address cultural policy’s relation to core academic disciplines and core questions, of regulations, rights, development, practice, and global issues. With a cross-section of country-by-country case studies, this comprehensive volume is a map for academics and students seeking to become more globally orientated cultural policy scholars.

This book provides a unique and intriguing insight into current debates concerning the relationship between nation and state as well as the political management of international image in today's Europe through an examination of debates on nation branding and the Eurovision Song Contest. Europe is a contested construct and its boundaries are subject to redefinition. This work aims to advance critical thinking about contemporary nation branding and its relationship to, and influence on, nation building. In particular it focusses on key identity debates that the Eurovision Song Contest engendered in Estonia in the run-up to EU accession. The Eurovision Song Contest is an event which is often dismissed as musically and culturally inferior. However, this work demonstrates that it has the capacity to shed light on key identity debates and illuminate wider socio-political issues. Using a series of in-depth interviews with political elites, media professionals and opinion leaders, this book is a valuable contribution to the growing field of research on nation branding and the Eurovision Song Contest.

The visual constitutes an increasingly significant element of contemporary organization, as post-industrial societies move towards economies founded on creative and knowledge-intensive industries. The visual has thereby entered into almost every aspect of corporate strategy, operations, and communication; reconfiguring basic notions of management practice and introducing new challenges in the study of organizations. This volume provides a comprehensive insight into the ways in which organizations and their members visualize their identities and practices and how they are viewed by those who are external to organizations, including researchers. With contributions from leading academics across the world, The Routledge Companion to Visual Organization is a valuable reference source for students and academics interested in disciplines such as film studies, entrepreneurship, marketing, sociology and most importantly, organizational behaviour.