Bipul Chatterjee

• Strategic marketing to promote a country’s image
•
The need for countries to brand themselves on four different dimensions: tourism, public diplomacy, exports and foreign direct investment
•
Three important things to remember:

State branding is no longer a choice but a necessity
 No longer a function to be performed by the state or individual companies but to be an integrated efforts by all interested stakeholders

Soft power

•
Consumers and investors rely heavily on country images to make their economic decisions.
•
Effective state branding not only serves to re-impose positive images but also helps to fight negative ones
•
A major factor of competitiveness in world markets

•
Country image is a mental picture of a country – beliefs and impressions people hold about places.
•
Country identity is what a country believes it is.

•
Tourism: Mass marketing approaches by government and industry associations
•
Public diplomacy: Range of interactions on the part of a government with not only its counterparts but primarily with non-governmental individuals and organisations aimed at furthering its image and reputation through mutual understanding.
•
Export: Promotional activities carried out by exporters with government and industry associations acting as facilitators
•
Investment: Personal selling nature rather than mass marketing

•
How a country manages its reputation abroad
•
Three dimensions of public diplomacy:
 Communication on day-to-day issues – aligning traditional diplomacy with the news cycle
 Strategic communication – managing overall perception of a country
 Developing lasting relationships with key individuals through various means

•
Governments should engage with mass audiences not through embassies on the ground but working through foreign correspondents in capitals
•
Governments need to change the tone of public diplomacy, so that it is less about winning arguments and more about engagement
•
Public diplomacy should be focused on the countries that are more relevant to a country’s interests
•
Conspicuous government involvement in public diplomacy can be counter-productive; working through third parties
(NGOs, diasporas) is more likely to build trust

Brazil S.
Africa
6.9
Starting a business (% gross national income per capita)
Dealing with licenses
(Procedures and days)
Cost to export (US$ per container and days)
Registering property
(Procedures and days)
Enforcing a contract
(Procedures and days)
Closing a business (Year)
Overall Rank
9.9
19
(460)
895
(18)
14
(47)
42
(616)
4
121
17
(174)
850
(31)
6
(23)
26
(600)
2
29
China India OECD
9.3
20
(270)
335
(18)
3
(32)
31
(292)
2
93
73.7
29
(367)
864
(27)
6
(62)
56
(1420)
10
134
5.3
14
(150)
811
(11)
5
(32)
22
(351)
1
--