The idea that peoples thoughts and perceptions of a region, country or city can be influenced by various types of communications, comes from the ‘logos and slogans’ school of thought, something that Anholt contests as he argues the ‘policy based’ approach which states that products and corporations are separate from the reputations of places. He argues that trying to change someone’s perception of a place is a waste of time and that these perceptions come from the reality of the place rather than any other sort of communication or advertising. (Anholt, 2009, p31) In order to change any sort of perception governments would have to change the thing that created it in the first place. Nevertheless, Anholt does acknowledge that public perception can change through the means of dialogue and cultural relations. (Anholt, 2009, p32)
The ‘branding Thailand’ study showed the competitive positioning of Thailand in the global marketplace; however it also drew attention to the negative image associated with Thailand and its problem of sex tourism. Anholt claims that negative branding makes news as opposed to ‘positive qualities’, therefore it is essential that Thailand works hard in addressing the root cause of their sex trade and provide conditions to eliminate this. (Krittinee Nuttavuthisit, 2006)
It is clearly difficult to change public perception if this perception is a negative one, Denmark for example, as a result of numerous studies is known amongst its European neighbours as the country whose people are the happiest, however, Denmark is now associated as the place where a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed was published in the news, causing outrage across Muslim communities around the world, therefore overshadowing any positive image of Denmark. This further emphasises Anholt’s claims that negativity makes news whereas positive aspects aren’t as intriguing. Nevertheless, what a country does to eliminate or change the root cause of the negative branding can help bring the positive aspects to the forefront.
Anholt, S. ‘Places : identity, image and reputation’ Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, c2010
Anholt, S ‘Competitive identity : the new brand management for nations, cities and regions’ Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
Nuttavuthisit, K., ‘Branding Thailand: Correcting the Negative Image of Sex Tourism’, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2007
I agree with what you are saying: I think that a country can create a brand which can then be undermined by the policies of the Government within that country. Looking at the Denmark cartoon incident, it would appear that Danish Government's failure to react appropriately caused further damage to the Danish brand. By refusing to meet leaders of the Muslim community the Danish leader further isolated the country in the view of the Muslim. Comparisons can be drawn with the US and their policies: while the USA has a widely recognised strong nation brand, their actions relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have served to damage the public's perception of the country and its leaders. The damage has been done to the US reputation in the Arab world but also in Western countries including those in Europe. So while the development of a nation brand is important, the policies of those in power can serve to undermine the image that the brand has sought to create.
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