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Nation branding, place branding, destination branding, country branding, Competitive Identity ... what does it all mean?

Ever since Simon Anholt coined the phrase 'nation branding' back in 1996, these terms have become very widely used, and much misunderstood.

His first paper on Nation Branding in 1998, Nation Brands of the Twenty-First Century, pointed out that just like corporations, countries depend on their good name, reputation or 'brand image'. What the article didn't say was that countries or cities can be branded like soap-powder, or that marketing communications can change the image of a place. Places acquire their images very slowly, as a result of the things their governments, businesses and people do, the things they make, and they way they do and make those things. If a country wants to change that image, it must change what it does and what it makes, and change the way it does and makes things. There's no magical shortcut through marketing or advertising, logos or slogans.

Today, in each country where he works, Simon Anholt leads a small team consisting of the head of government and/or head of state, key ministers, CEOs of major companies and civil leaders, helping them to plan and execute the policies, strategies, investments and innovations which will lead their country, city or region towards a rapidly improved profile and reputation. This process usually takes place during a number of half-day or full-day sessions over a period of 8-12 months.

What Simon Anholt doesn't do for countries is design logos, write slogans, plan advertising campaigns, develop PR or public affairs programmes, or create 'spin' for politicians. These things are fun to create, expensive to buy, and generally do almost nothing to change the way the world looks at a country.

Destination marketing or destination branding is a fancy word for tourism promotion. Proper brand management is certainly a a powerful tool for tourist boards and is long overdue for adoption in many countries, but it has always been Simon Anholt's belief, confirmed by his research and experience, that the overall reputation of the country has to be measured, managed and influenced by a partnership between tourism, culture, government, business and civil society. Simply doing better tourism promotion might attract more tourists, but it won't do nearly as much to affect the 'nation brand' as when all the stakeholders work together around a single, visionary national strategy.

Country branding is a synonym for nation branding. Nation branding is a better term because it shows a clear understanding that it's the people who brand their country, who benefit from an improved national reputation, and who truly 'own' that national brand.

Place branding is simply a broader term which covers nations, regions, cities - and even towns and villages, if you so desire.

Competitive Identity is a term coined by Simon Anholt in his latest book in an attempt to simplify some of these complex issues.