Nation-brandsof the twenty-firstcentury Simon Anholt WorldWriters, 162-170 Wardour Address: Street,LondonWlV 3AT. Tel: +44 171 287 4877; Fax: +44 171 287 6159; E-mail:
[email protected] Received(in revisedform):21st May, 1998 Simon Anholt read Modern Languages at Oxford, and worked as copywriter and international co-ordinator at McCann-Erickson and various other agencies around the world before founding World Writers in 1989. World Writers is the world's only global creative audit, brand naming, multicultural brand thinktank, foreign copywriting hnd creative consultancy service. lts many cfients include Microsoft, Nike, Coca-Cola, American Express, Sony, lBM, Adidas, Visa, Shell, Levi's, British Airways, Nestl6, HdagenDazs, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, P&G, Unilever, Mercedes-Benz and Benetton. marketssuch as Brazil, in preferenceto 'frstworld' nationslike USA. The paper arguesthat exporting brands, as distinctfrom commodities,is part of a packageof development which, together, ean signifcantly accelerate the processoJ emergence from the third world. It alsoproposesthat countrieslike Brazil hauea real ehanceto join the frst world 'club' of global brandproducersin the twenty-frst century. THE IMPORTANCE OF PROVENANCE AS A BRANDATTRIBUTE Few things in marketing are harder to define than the personality of a brand, and seldom Throughoutthe twentiethcentuq!,nrostof the reis this task more complex than when the ally successJul international brands haue come brand is sold in many different countries. A brandsin their brand is always a complex rnixture of attribfrom countriesthat are successJul ou,night, and substantialtransferof imageryand utes: packaging and visual identity form its brandequity can often be seento oecurbetween face, and advertising createsits voice: but its lhc two. actual personality really only exists in the This paperproposesthat a numberof 'amerg- mind of the consumer. ing' markets,and especiallyBrazil, hauethepoOne attribute which is often of fundatentialto produceglobal brands, the mental importance in the complex makeup for following reasoils: of international brands is the influence rvhich the brandt provenance- or its per- because thereis alreadyhigh recognitionof the ceived provenance - has on the consumer's brand-printof the countryitselJ uhich will perception of the brand. eonsequently sllpport the 'rightness'and acA quick poll of successfulinternational ceptabilityoJ relevantcommenialbrands consunrer brands revealsthat the vast majorfront thatcountry; ity of them come frorn countries rvhich - because the economicenuironmentis increas- have a strong and consistent international inglyJauouringan export rnentality 'brand image' of their orvn. In lnany cases, ; - because certaingrotrysoJ consumers in other the inragery used by the cornmercial brands enrergingmarketsntight eventually is closely linked rvith the attributes of therr fauour brands frim emergingor 'recently-enrerged' provenance. Aestnlcr ThcJoumrl ofBrand IUanxgcmcnt Vol 5 No 6 1998, pp 395-406 O Hrnn Stervan Publicarions, 1350-231X in fact. drawing on and extending existing perceptions of brand Japan.Algonquin. as the aut hor of this paper calls them. are now perceived by children around the world as being quintessentially American.At i ts s i m p l e s t l e v e l . and brands in related product categoriesprofit by association. manufacturers of products that are not traditional national products can make highly positive and valuable associationswith perceived qualities in their national brand. The provenance ofcertain brands can also switch with a change of brand owner: characters like Winnie-the-Pooh. owns a successful chewing-gum brand cal l ed ' B rookl yn' . the best whisky traditionally conles from Scotland. By a similar set of associations. a domestic brand would clearly have taken many more years to attain any kind of recognition or brand share. th e French are renowned for their skill in perfumery. These ' cuckoo brands' . the name of the New Hampshire town in which the company is located. Nashua. I guess. and its novelty and glamour derived principally from its provenance.l The Italian confectioner. is a highly intelligent 'brand extension'. a product which bears an image of the Brooklyn Bridge on its packaging. are surprisingly common and have been around for many years. Quasimodo. the UK white goods retailer. because it rightly believed that a British electronics brand would carry little credibiliry. through the power of Walt Disney's branding. many Italians still refer to chewing-gurr' gomma ^s americanaor even in sorne dialects as gingomma.it can quickly obtain a halo of recognition. maturity and respect. It is. and is manufactured in Tirrin. to ABC1 urbanites in Britain. once perceived as being quintessentiallyBritish. which borrow brand equiry from more establishedcultural icons. as Wally Olins observedin a recent seminar. has prospered abroad partly as a result of the mistaken belief that it is a Japanesecompany (Nashua is. in a precisely analogous way to the practice of brand extensions. These associationsof qualiry or appropriatenessare powerful enough attributes to make it worthwhile for a manufacturer to claim a fictitious provenance if it appears to lend more credibility than their real provenance.Italy is famous for producing pasta and pizza. Japan is associatedin the minds of Europeans with high-stressurban existence. This bogus provenance no doubt made perfect sensewhen the brand was launched chewing-gum was an US import. likewise. so Italian pasta and pizza brands enjoy more irnnrediate and positive associations than n o n -l ta l i a n b ra n d s . Snow White and Hercules are no longer French. notJapanese).it has been suggestedthat the US laser/fax supplies and photofinishing company. a soft drink associated with stressrelief. Russian. in effect. Dixon's. . for example. th i s associ ati onbetween commercial and national brand is rnerely a caseof positiueassocialions wit]t national produce:a country is famous for producing certain items. where the owner of an establishedbrand can use that equity to leverage acceptance of a new product or sub-brand. For example. Likewise. and the word is. launched its own consumer electronics brand in 1982 under the mockJapanese name Saisho. Perfetti. Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland. a shortcut to well-established brand values for emerging brands: by attaching the emerging brand to an area of establishedcultural reference within the consumert experience. so it is natural that French perfume brands play on their French heritage. but also with ancient wisdom and mystic healing powers: so marketing K3. so stressing the Scottishnessof whisky brands is almost mandatory. a corruption of the English word. PLAYINGWITHPROVENANCE At a more sophisticated level. Anastasia. In such a cultural climate. Even today. but all come from the same global-American culture stable as Mi ck ey M ous e an d D o n a l d D u c k . red-ochre villas) to add glamour by associationto autolnobile rnanuFacturers. threatens to eclipse the power of the label itself. Private domain brands are owned by conrpanies. brands can create or enhance the perception of a country as much as the reverse. perhaps because dry packaged goods have been in commerce. is now attempting to protect itself by copyright law againstunauthorised use. pizza is now generally associated with the USA. demographic groups. and the expectancy of weatherproofness from Gernran or Scandinavian clothes is so powerful that the ManchesterbasedBerghalrs colnpany saw fit to adopt an ersatzGennan name for their brand. in reality. perhaps because the concept of nati onal dresshas all but disappeared. it is indeed a kind of theft. the link between certain brands and thei r country of ori gi n can become so powerful. T h i s phenomenon is the converse of the cuckoo brand effect: here. claiming phoney Italian provenance. that it is difficult to decide rvhether the perception of a particular quality derives rnore from the brand or from its provenance: in other rvords. even though pizza was a national product of ltaly. after decades of unwittingly lending its visual identiry (cy- presstrees. the effect of technology-led international advertising carnpaignson the part of Mercedes. BMW Audi and Volkswagen over the decades is now a significant part of the reason rvhy people associateGerrnany with technologi- . for example. Style is expected from Italian clothes. Since association with a powerful brand effectively borrows equiry from that brand and thus enables the marketer to increase margin on the sale. the cuckoo steals eggs from other birds' nestsand hacchesthem in lts Own. are very often provenance-linked. Branded pizzahas really only existed for as long as people have had freezers. Certain products tend to use provenance within their brand character rnore overtlx than others. public domain brands are items of popular or traditional culture which. Indeed. at least in the strict commercial sense. c i ti e s a n d re g i o n s . through consistent and high-profile marketing. and hence branded for very much longer. if a c ou n try b e g i n s to p ro d u c e and market enough powerful brands in a product category that was previously associated with another nation. ra c e s . outside Europe. even individual people.in order to prevent the unwanted association of brand Diana with a whole host of newspapers. chic frorn French clothes. Fashion labels and cars. this processhas not occurred wich pasta. They incl u d e c ount r ies . Consequently. It is a measure of the power and value of thesepublic brands that iheir 'owners' or guardians sometimes attempt to exert the samekind of restrictionson their use as the owners of commercial brands: the Italian regton of Tuscany. and most of the 'Iralian' pizza brands on the market are cuckoo brands. Indeed.for example. the perceived provenance of the entire category is liable to switch: for example. at times.are nobody's property. bold anti-fashion statements from British clothes.the provenance of one's clothes assurnes a significance which. simply because so nlany of the global pizza brands are known to be American.The trusteesof P ri ncessD i ana' s estate are attempting a similar exercise. EXPECTATIONS OF PROVENANCE There are. Interestingly. rvinding roads. It is alrnost as important for a suit or a pair of shoes to corne from Italy as it is for them to be made by Arrnani or Ferragamo. Arguably.gift crockery and charities. street credibiliry from American clothes. two kinds of brands at work here: private domain brands and public domain brands.German or Greek. Italian brands had time to become establishedlong before the product became adopted as a 'world food'. economy and efficiency from Japanesecars: but the almost universal habit o f c o i n i n g Ita l i a n a n d Ital i anate names for cars.i I tl . i n d i c a te s th a t a me a s u re of sporty styl e or panache is considered an indispensablein- gredi ent i n the brand mi x of any car . Italian words almost invariably end with vowels) and the musical sound ofthe language. Siennesefestival Wind Wolf Conrad (man'sname) Sirocco (wind) Man's name Plate (nameof motor race) Name of race-track Race Steering wheel Lagoon cal excellence: the belief that Italians are stylish and romantic is perpetuated in the way that Italian cars and other products are marketed around the world (and not always by Italian companies): in effect.TneLe 1 Txe TNFLUENcE oF rrALrANrNTHEcAR rNDUsrRy Manufacturer Country of origin Name Italian rneaning Datsun Nissan Nissan Mazda Mitsubishi Daihatsu Suzuki Suzuki Hyundai Daewoo Ford Chrysler Volkswagen Volkswagen Volkswagen Volkswagen Volkswagen Mercedes Porsche Porsche Opel Aston Martin Renault Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan Korea Korea USA USA Germany German Gerrnany Germany Germany Gennany Germany Germany Germany UK France Stanza Serena Figaro Piazza Carisma Cuore Alto Baleno Sonata Leganza Mondeo Pronto Palio Vento Lupo Corrado Scirocco Vito Targa Carrera Corsa Volante Laguna Room (in a house) Serene Opera title Square(in a torvn) Charisma Heart High Lightning Ringing (Eleganza)Elegance (Mondo)'World Ready (or Spanish:soon) Contest. Austin Allegro (merry). the Ford Capri and Ford Cortina. C o n s e q u e n tl y . irrespective of their real provenance. c o n s umers around the w o rl d c o n ti n u e to e x p ect engi neeri ng excellence from German cars. brand owners are helping to perpetuate or create global cultural myths in their own right. rather than any strict association with Italian brand values. I l . It was recently reported that as many as 50 per cent of all new brands in Japan are now named after Italian towns and rivers. safety and ecology from Swedish cars. chic design from French cars. t he habit appeared to take root in this country i n the 1960s and 1970s w i th the Aust in Maestro (master). although this has probably more to do with the glamour of European-sounding names. the fact that Italian words are not too hard for Japaneseconsumers to pronounce (like Japanesewords. but has since become a truly global trend (see Table 1). wood and leather from British cars. America is associated with the definitive youth lifestyle (Coca-Cola. it cannot begin to challenge the dominance of brand America. There are only a limited nurnber of other countries and regions in the world with clear. well-informed Time. Compaq. or Greenland. These attributes can be expressed in many different ways. These and many other attributes make America. ton). American brands can simply hitch themselves onto this powerful national brand.Hollywood . Revlon. or Portugal. despite the evident attractivenessof Italian attributes. France. wealthy and powerful (American Express. and universally understood brand prints. Rockport. PizzaHut. but it is undoubtedly also the result of the fact that American has branded itself so conpetently as a country. China or C hi l e. of which a large proportion are European (England. Il. Timberland. without doubt. Hertz. O'Neill.rvhich for nearly a century has been pumping our two-and-a-halfhour cinema which commercials. the disproportionately large number of global brands which come from Italy. Ralph Lauren. Switzerland). which periodically launches a rocket into space. Germany. they are best understood by their near neighbours. NASA. Donna Karan. MTV Levi's. Tommy Hilfiger. Holiday Inn. the same set of Swiss attributes always comes up. with technological supremacy (lBM. and.euters). Little wonder that so many brands from other countries are keen to borrow American attributes. Shera(CNN. Thco Bell etc). Newsweek. but just like successfulprivate-domain brands. Pepsi. Avis. and their answer will be neither long nor fluent. indeed. albeit of the convenience variety (McDonalds. the key attributes of these brands are known by consumers more or less throughout the world. Microsoft). Whether one asks the question in Australia. naturally. the worldt most powerful public domain brand. Brand America also employs such high-powered salespromotion agenciesas NASA. England and tradition. Diner's Club. Dell. National Geographic. consistent. Marriott. Citibank.AT&T Motorola. an American or a Sri Lankan what qualities they associatewith Belgium. THE IMPORTANCE OF SWISSNESS Switzerland is in many respectsthe classic wel l -establ i shed E uropean brand. This may be merely one of the privileges of being a powerful and productive nation. Intel. Max Factor) and even food.But. HewlettPackard. Western lJnion). America appears to be blessed with a huge range of positive brand attributes: one only has to observe its more successfulexport brands to see the expressivepower of these attributes. beauty (Elizabeth Arden. or Liberia. and have decidedly few internationally-understood attributes beyond their immediate neighbourhood: ask a Mexican. BRANDSFROMAMERICA More than any other country. Scandinavia and cleanliness. Brand America enjoys the servtces of the rvorldt best advertising agency . Spain. such as fashion (Calvin Klein. and i t seems that no matter rvhom one asks around the rvorld. Naturally. the sarne basi c associ ati onsexi st: Switzerland and wealth. and. Consequently. Italy. Forbes. KFC. Nautilus). America is well-travelled (BoeinB. The Gap). It is equally clear that other countries are not brands. . and a cultural and commercial trail is instantly blazed for then around the world. E_ consurners around the world have enthusiastically paid to watch. NBA. with sporting prowess (Nike. Ireland. Wrangler). Scotland. Coming from America even lends authoriry in areas that were once considered quintessentially European. in order to communicate the superiority of American technology and industry. Reebok. NBC. Italy and style. physically. (e) The Swissare dependable. familiarity breeds contempt: the nearer people are. they are neither particularly profound nor necessarily accurate.The Swissare verv attachedto traditional values. It is most striking how central the image of the impenetrable Swiss bank is to most peoplet view of Swissness:it appearsto be as durable and widespread an icon as cuckoo clocks. (10) The Swissare arrogant. ()\ The Swissare methodical. (4) Switzerlandis efiicient. Switzerland. They are never in a hurry. and in the context of selling financial services. The principal Swiss myths. Once in North America Switzerland seemsto embody a very full sei of virtues. certainly enjoys one of the clearestimages in other parts of the world. but the kev values are still there. yodelling and fondue.They are solid and trustworthy. 11\ Switzerland is rich. but moving further and further away. but the basic ideas are always remarkably similar. appear to be those listed in Thble 2.They all speakmany languages. of all the European countries. The Srvissare never lively or exuberant. The French. . it is found that although they change remarkably litde in substance.Swissbanks are legendaryfor their discretion. and are commonplaces or clich6s rather than observations based on understanding or familiarity. to Switzerland. There is no poverry in Switzerland. As might be expected. (s) The Swissare diplomatic.Taele 2 Txe Swrss: AccoRDrNG To MYTH (1) Srvitzerlandis boring. As is often the case in international relations. the more likely these myths are to be expressedin cynical or chauvinistic ways. Germans. as the following informal survey suggestS.They think that all thesequalitiesmake them superior to other nations. They play a key role in international affairsbecause they are alwaysneutral. in Asia. (7) Switzerland is conservative. (8) The Swissare internationalists. they are expressed in more and more re' spectful ways. ranging from the insulting to the adulatory. Austrians and ltalians seem most likely to turn these 'brand attributes' into insults. (6) The Swissare secretive. certainly the most appropriate. Everything in Srvitzerlandruns like clockwork. as expressed by small groups of mixed age and mixed inc o m e g ro u p re s p o n d e n tsi n vari ous countries. People often argue with their neighbours over the garden fence. and is perceived as being the principal 'national produce'of Switzerland. the Swiss 'brand' appears to be fainter with distance. tradition. bur it does tend to confirm the feeling that if any one country has a clear head start rvhen it comes to credentials for banking services. the listed are those which were selectedby at least30% of the total group.ogrn.rergy. Sio Paulo andBoston rvere each e-mailed a list of 14 possiblenational characteristics*and asked to match two of them to each of a list of 12 countnes.cHARAcrERrslcs Tnele 3 AH rnronMAL suRvEy oF pERcErvEDNATToNAL 60 ABC1 respondents... Very mixed resultsor a preponderanceof 'Don't Knows' are marked as 'I. Clearly. It sbould be srressedthat Table 3 is a highly unscientific and informal survey. horvever.laziness. London.that country is Switzerland.Jnclear'in the table.10 each fror. efficiency. there is no great chalIenge in developing 'national produce' brands . Inoderniry. Copenhagen.squalor.moderniry Britain Arrogance.squalor Italy Style. laziness Spain Inefficiency. inefiiciency. laziness Switzeiland Wealth. orilet Belgium (Unclear) Netherlands** Moderniry arrogance Portugal Poverry backwardness Denmark Cleanliness. Colombo.wealth. and are in characteristics order ofpreference: "Ar. tradition BraztI Sryle. order. cleanliness. er.order Sweden Efficiency.nHong Kong.moderniry humiliry. povercy. clear results were only obtainable for the Netherlands rvhen it was (incorrectly) referred to as 'Holland'. and it is debatablervherher rhere is any point in doing it more thoroughly.such as Swiss financial services companies into international brands . t* Perhaps predictably. France (Unclear) Germany Arrogance. sryle.aged25-39. lawlessness. drugs.banking and rvatches). Brand Brazil is strongly biased towards youth markets: samba. Predictably.rvithin the brand print of Brazil is not necessarilya causefor great concern. as a basic watch brand. Brazil. BRANDSFROMBRAZIL By contrast to Switzerland and its various successfulinternational brands. but this does little to diminish its attraction: especially when one is dealing with younger consumers. . ecology. music. sport and adventure could be the brand print of almost any successfulyouth product on the market todav. these clich6s may be depressing. and the Brazilian government is actively encouraging an export mentality in its industries. combined with the rvorld ecology summit being held in Rio de Janeiro.but there a re i n d i c a ti o n s th a t e xtensi ons to the national brand are beginning to develop through the activities of S'uvatch. poverfy. at least from the branding point of view. has begun to push Brazil into the ecological limelight. but they are undeniably a fine platform on which to build a believable global brand. one of the most 'strongly branded' countries in the world. lJntil recently. Now. This is surprising. more fair. overpopulation.since the correct brand associationsare already in place.as the writer of this paper has observed in a previous issue of this journal. gaie\. not least because the brand print of Brazil is unusually compact: it is associated with a fairly homogeneous and coherent set of values.pollution. Swatch. Certainly. A vista of possible Swiss brand extensions opens up. and w-orldwide awarenessof the importance of the Amazon rainforest to global ecology. The brand equiry of the USA would appear to contain a significant proportion of negative elements. who wish to challenge and be challenged. economic problems have meant that merely surviving in the domestic market has been the main concern. just an update of the national-produce paradigm 'lvatches come frorn Switzerland': but the company does appear to be starting to blaze a trail for a genuine development of Swissness. most of the international brands from Srvitzerland come under the category of national produce (chocolate. The branding equation runs something like this: Switzerland : watches -Swatch : Swiss watch -Swatch : youth brand ->Switzerland = youth brand. is not really a country-brand exercise at all. beaches. Brazil. Brazil is u'idely perceived as being a natural ecological centre for planet earth: expressionslike 'the lungs of the planet' are commonly used around the world when speaking of the Amazon. becauseof its 'natural' image. more substantial. the suggestion of risk is highly attractive. and richness implies a complex and satisfying rnix of many different elements. sex. ranging from Swatch-branded snowboarding equipment to Swiss Army-branded worldwide adventure holidays. even insulting. carnival. through brand extensions such as pagers or the Swatch/Mercedes-Benz 'Smart Car' concept. after all. to the averageBrazilian. there are good reasons why so few Brazilian brands have 'u'entured onto the world marketplace. the environment is changing. a strong brand is a rich brand . Certainly. The global surge in interest in ecology also presents a major opportunity for Brazil at this moment. produces no international commercial brands whatsoever. The fact that there are negati ve associations . These are consumers. nore true.2. as well as the global acceptance of Swatch as a credible youth brand con:ring from Switzerland. It is one of the tasksof advertising and marketing to manipulate these clich6s into something more creative. dancing. After all. fashion. soya oil and sugar) and largely unbranded manufactured goods (such as shoes. It appears. There can be little doubt that Brazil norv L^ nasa hne opportuniry to buy iself a place in th e hear t s and m in d s o f th e rv o rl d ' s c o n sulners. orange juice. distributing and marketing international brands. in Ben & Jerry's ice creams. Clearly. There is no question that if these bulk exports were to be enhanced or. a n d o th e r Rrazllian themes and ingredients feature in the Body Shop's current range. indeed.especially in the food. semi-processedgoods (such as cellulose.and mosr especiallythe all-powerful younger consumers simply by taking a visible and effective srance on these pressingecological issues.even in video games.Ifsuch a gesture was major. almost all of Brazilt export income derives frorn the sale of raw commodities (such as soya beans. After all. cosmetics. but from the export of manufactured items developed into brands by the added value of intelligent marketing. tobacco. the ultimate ecological export. Currently. An economy which depends on income generated by bulk export is caught in the classic third-world poverty trap. and membership is neither free nor automatic for any country. and are thus. and many of these exports contribute directly or indirectly to the depletion of the country's natural resources. and a picture begins to emerge of a growing opportunity for a wide range of Brazrlian brands . and properly managed in PR terms. BRANDEXPORTAS A STRATEGY FOREMERGING ECONOMIES One of the great advantagesof brands over commodities is that they are an infinitely sustainableresource (as long as their equity is maintained through careful marketing). at Ieast in theory. becausethey are made of air. the notion of exporting brands rather than produce is a compelling one for manv countries other than Brazil. Almost . or are they are simply the exploited victims of first-world greed? This uncertainry spells out an additional opportuniry for Brazil's international public irnage . however. and lasting (young consumerscannot easily be fooled by dogma or rhetoric). real. and the level of profit generated by the successof these brands might soon overtake the income created by the export of commodities. sheet steel and automobile tyres). that many younger consumers around the world are still unclear about the exact role of the Brazilian government and population when it comes to apportioning blame for the deforestation and pollution which goes on in their country: are they the perpetrators.Combine this r'vith the fact that young consumers everywhere are ever more attracted by products with a 'green' story. and learning to develop successful domestic brands into global brands is certainly one way out of it. Quite aside from the major investment which individual companiesneed to make in creating. much of the real wealth of 'first-world' nations comes not from the sale of their natural resources (many first-world countries have precious few to export). the country itself needs to make an investment in its image as an acceptableproducer of ecologically-themed brands. music. profits would rise dramatically. steel.perhaps the most urgent one of all. and even automotive and industrial fields. it could pave the way for a real renaissanceof Brazil itself and Brazilian brands around the world. The global brand-owners club is an exclusive one. replaced by the sale ofbranded goods directly to overseasconsumers. The growing acceptance of 'Brazilianstyle' attributes within establishedinternational brands appearsto confirm the point: guarani has all but replacedjojoba and ginseng as a 'must-have' ingredient in ecologyo ri e n t ed f ood and c o s m e ti c s . iron ore and coffee). without stretching the imagination too far. countries become like factories. especially in poorer countries. and ultimately escape from the third-world poverry cycle in this rvay. But Brazil might be the perfect provenance for surf gear or football boots or cocktails. 'I've always wanted to create a Chinese brand. competing for the same broad groups of consumers. the playing-field is becoming gradually more and more level.By and large. domestic conrpanies and domestic brands (not to mention one of the best advertising industries in the world). be built into valuable 'niche b ra n d s ' S ri L a n k a. Perhaps some smaller countries could.in the recent past. will begin to look for a more sophisticated combination of import-style quality and domestic-style relevance in their imported brands. Poland. and this has enabled the creation of many highly successful entrepreneurs. In some of the emerging markets of Europe. upmarket Chinese stationery or Indian accountancy software might one day seem as natural and appropriate as a Korean television or a Malaysian car do today and both of these seemed strange enough twenry years ago. and many African countries have the potential to build srrong brand associations. owner of the Hong Kong department store Shanghai Tang. The key is simply to be relevant yet imaginatiue. qualiry and sophistication of marketing. there is already evidence of a consumer backlash against the insufficiently sensitive I . they are unIikely to rush out and buy Dutch perfunre or a Brazilian CD player. Not all emerging countries have Brazil's natural advantages:a strong nation-brand. even though it only emerged from military rule and hyperinflation a few short years ago. Brazil has a democratic tradition. with care. their superior qualiry and glarnorous provenance have been sufficient to ensure their instant acceptance over poor-quality domestic equivalents. But those domestic brands which have survived have done so by quickly learning to cornpete on price. wealthier. each factory becomes associatedwith certain strengths and attributes: in the same way that consumers would probably not buy Toshiba shampoo or Mercedes soup. one can see how the principle could apply in the case of other countries: Russia.the list is a long one. China. Naturally. Even so. cornbined with an increasingly healthy economy. has recently opened a branch in New York. more sophisticated in their tastes. consumers around the world have become rapidly more discerning. In today's global village. and is quoted as saying. V i etnam.as they are richly embedded in global culture and history. David Tang. better informed and generally exercise more power than ever before over manufactLrrers.r any 'energing' nation could benefit from a movement torvards global brand export. packaging and presentation. these brands have not been marketed with any great degree of sensitivity to local cultural conditions . It seemslikely then that consumers. Consequently. Tibet . P eru. where geography colrnts for so little. for example. In Hong Kong our shopping malls are overrun with rnore and more 'Western brands. India. becausea too literal-minded approach to the problem will merely result in endlessvariations on the theme of national produce. After all. and matching potential private-domain brands to these public-domain brands is a fascinating and thought-provoking exercise. a government which actively encouragesthe export rnentaliry not to mention considerable domestic experience in brand-building. yet no-one else has applied their minds to evolve the Chinese style'. and a stylish Russian raincoat. GLOBALBRANDSAND THE CHANGINGCONSUMEF During the long years of the American and European domination of global brands. i f not brutacolonisation of large portions of the globe. the good intention must be married to actual knowledge and understanding of the cultures to which the nerv face is to be presented: in branding terms. which may well find that their provenance is not merely an important characteristic of their brand personality. what appears to many to be a mere production detail . and it is no accident that the UK's new government often speaks of the need to 'rebrand Britain'. BRANDBRITAIN:NO EXCEPTIONTO THERULE There is no question that the longer-established nation brands will need to modernise themselvesto match the new order. technologically comperenr. is a meaningless squiggle to the vast majoriry of visitors from countries who do not use the same writing system as ns.cultural sensitivity. The need to present B ri tai n as bei ng more European. and one day Central Asia and South Asia because of their humbler provenance and because of their status as non-imperialist.marketing techniques practised by some foreign brand-owners: the sight of the Latvian Minister for Culture symbolically tearing up a package offoreign coffee on the national television news (because of the 'cultural vandalisri' performed on the Latvian language by the unhappy company's advertising carnpaign)is one of many such indicators. spelt out in Roman letters. they are decidedly limiting for British brands which wish to be perceived as nrould-breaking. It would be precisely the same thing if the JapaneseTourist Authority decided to rebrand itselfas E . Indeed. but since they appear to be intimately and ahnost exclusively associatedrvith the country's past. open-mindedness. There is nothing wrong with the new logo chosen for the BTA .may well prove to be a fundamental first stage in the rebranding of Britain. Latin America. that it is based on the word Britain. but it can only derive from our l ong hi story of determi ned.except.hardly the action of a deterrnined multinationalist. What is now necessaryis for that internationalness to be underpinned by a more modern value-set: wisdom. and willingness to listen and to learn from other coutrtries. non-colonial power. which.Asia. The associationsof Brand Britain are by no means entirely negative.speaking other languages. forward-looking. These are 'colleague countries'. One of the aspectswhich best characterised our aggressiveinternationalism in past centuries was our refusalor inabiliry to . of course. the consurner mllst be understood before considering how to rebrand. more global. However. is certainly a primary need. of course. There is undoubtedly a lingering acceptanceof the British as internationalists. but a fundamental preliminary to consumer acceptance. Eastern Europe. This is at least part of the reason why both Brirish Ainvays and the British Tourist Authority (BTA) have recently replaced the national flag with logos of their to the disgust of many. It may well turn out that Brazilian and other third world brands have a distinct advantage over American and European brands when it comes to making friends among consumers in some of the worldt key growth markets . (2) Anholt. which is why Tony Blair's recent address to the French Chamber of Deputies in French was received with far more delight and surprise than his moderate A-level French would lead one to expect: he sau'the need to make the effort. Of course. are often characterised by their richness and complexiry and provenance. but when trying to interest them in products. Retaining the rvord British in the brand name is enough. TheJournaloJBrand Management. or should the British making the effort to make themselvesunderstood by other nationalities? As with any brand print. and can appear to be multiple. especially successfulinternational brands. For decades. many people around the world speak English. pp. not global brand-building. despite the evidence of decadesof experience in the USA and Australia to prove that it contributes significantly to brand loyalry and despite the fact that a good ten per cent of the UK population does not speak English as its first language: this is further evidence of the lack of importance which the British. Volume 3. Number 6. British Airways noted that Britishness is a valuable attribute for certainaspects of an airline brand .London. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the global brands of the twenry-first century need to acquire a new talent: sensitivity to culture. 357-364. the brand becomes the best kind ofBritish: a Briton who has travelled. the key issue is hardly whether they can understand what the British are saying or not. for the rest. The more important question is: should they be making the effort to understand the British.those parts connected with seryice and reliability .but this is export marketing. the solution will never be simple or pure. The writer has commented elsewhereon the remarkable fact that 'ethnic' marketing has never been seriously practised in the uK.In other words.high product quality. brand management must be informed by deep understanding of the culture of the marketplace as much as by understanding of the culture of the brand itsele and success will be determined by the abiliry to exploit. so the graphic elements celebrate the company's multicultural rather than monocultural aspects. as a nation. RereneHces (1) (1997)D&AD CourseTutors' Seminar. airlines need to be global travel brands rather than national carriers. have tended to place on language as a culturally significant tool and behavioural motivator. Simon (1996)'Makinga Travel'.speak other people's languages.but an airline needs many more attributes for which Britishness can never be adequate shorthand. . The immense good fortune of having a global lingua franca as our native language can make the British dangerously indolent. just like any other brand characteristic. Successfulbrands. such complex cultural mysteries as provenance in the service of brand imase. can exist in degrees. September. competitive pricing. More than ever before. a glamorous provenance and effective distribution have been sufficient to ensure international marketing success. skilfuIly and intelligently.