Nation As A Brand - Importance Of Branding Of Places & Destinations

India is an extremely diverse country with a long history of experimenting with branding. The country has come a long way, trying to understand the barriers in brand building. Since the western world has been the arena where many brands and technologies have been born, it makes it vital to understand their ideas of branding.

Peter Knapp, Chairman, Landor & Fitch, UK explained the importance of branding places and destinations while speaking at a recent industry event. Knapp stated how the concept of nations being represented as brands is very complicated. However, if one understands the basic concepts of branding, it can become a lot simpler.

“The role of the brand is to create deeper relationships with various audiences via a series of unique and memorable associations, at the right time, at the right place, and to the right audience,” Knapp added.

Knapp also emphasised the importance of uncovering the authentic truth while branding a nation. He pointed out how something that has cultural currency, something that is unique, something that is enduring and not just a fashion or a trending issue would make all the difference.

“The art of storytelling needs to be inculcated within branding. Human nature is predicated on telling stories. From campfires to social media, stories have always been viral. It is the essence of humanity,” explained Knapp. He said how amazing experiences generate fame. It becomes important to consider oneself in the entertainment business, battling for eyeballs, hearts and minds to bring out good branding for the nations. “Undifferentiated experiences count for nothing,” he added.

Knapp furthered how brands should emerge as flexible and responsive. “A brand is now expected to have multiple conversations at any time with many audiences. Hence, it becomes important to hold fascinating and relevant conversations at the right time, and the right place, with the right audiences."

He spoke about how some brands need to be promoted before they have been built/completed, in which case, it is integral to ensure that the future stories that are promised are valid as there is only so much scope for credibility before trust wanes. “Capture the imagination of the audiences by balancing new, inspiring aspirations of a new vision supported with tangible benefits and hard facts to substantiate the promise,” he suggested.

He concluded by speaking about the importance of technology and how data must be used for the benefit of the nation, which is being branded. “As technology has become commonplace, enhancing the experience of any brand, any nation, any destination, is now an expectation and an obligation. The data can add value, dimension, and stickiness to the brand and now personalise it to create a deeper more meaningful relationship with the brand,” Knapp said. He explained how the history, culture, entertainment, politics, technology, and science of the nation can now be a part of a curated and personalised brand experience.