The Foreign Service Journal, October 2008

book, is fascinated by the role of moral authority in the conduct of for- eign affairs. Peter F. Spalding is a retired Senior Foreign Service officer who served in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. What’s Your Brand? Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions Simon Anholt, Palgrave MacMillan, 2007, $35, hardcover, 160 pages. R EVIEWED BY F RANK B AXTER What is a brand? Broadly speak- ing, brands are the images that come to mind when people see, hear or think about products and services. Every company, organization and per- son has one. Successful corporations advertise heavily to reinforce a posi- tive image in as many minds as possi- ble, because people are wired to quickly judge what we perceive. We can’t debate facts and our feelings each time we encounter something, so we “brand” it until conflicting information forces us to alter our per- ception. Simon Anholt, the author of Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions , believes govern- ments and countries also have brands, which need to be defended, improved and managed. A consultant to a dozen governments and organiza- tions, Anholt calls himself the inven- tor of the term “nation-branding.” Yet though he might have coined the term, governments have marketed their brands for ages. As a U.S. am- bassador who is committed to pro- moting the image of his country in Uruguay, I believe we can learn a lot from what Anholt has to say. For instance, he writes: “All responsible governments, on behalf of their people, institutions and compa- nies, need to discover what the world’s perception of their country is” and develop a brand management strate- gy. He’s right. Uruguay, where I cur- rently serve, brands itself as safe and friendly, with the Punta del Este resort area embellishing its image. Anholt states that “the reputation of a country has a direct and measur- able impact on just about every aspect of its engagement with other coun- tries, and plays a critical role in its eco- nomic, social, political and cultural progress.” I agree — but not completely. Consider Israel. The Jewish state has many detractors, yet enjoys a strong, export-driven economy. Israelis are technology innovators with a global reputation for excellence. Their goods turn up not only in hostile countries, but even in states whose governments are their sworn ene- mies. And despite being in a state of war with two neighbors, Israel’s stan- dard of living resembles Spain’s. To use another buzzword, Israel has been able to segment its brand, with different perceptions by different audiences. Anholt is at his best when he dis- cusses the tools a country or city can use to improve its brand. I like his chapter on competitivity, where he urges countries to improve their images by analyzing “precise, relevant data” and avoiding “associations that are out of date.” Likewise, a country cannot market its “benefits and offer- ings” unless they are relevant. Anholt illustrates these points using examples of countries and their images. The legendary U.S. journalist Edward R. Murrow, who stated that “truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst,” is a voice Anholt says we cannot ignore. He urges readers to reflect on whether their nations de- serve a negative reputation. Anholt’s truth-based branding concepts appear in one form or another throughout his book. As a former businessman who believes a person’s word is his or her bond, I agree with him. The United States and Europe fig- ure prominently in Anholt’s case stud- ies and charts. This is, of course, understandable. Londoners and New Yorkers have more money to pay for image consulting than their counter- parts in Kigali or Managua. Unfortu- nately, I found nothing specific on Latin America in Anholt’s book. I think a section on the successful regional marketing of Punta del Este would have been a good case study. Anholt’s Competitive Identity is an important and welcome edition to the small corpus of books on public diplomacy. It’s an interesting read for anyone who wants ideas about how their country is perceived— and what can and should be done to improve its image. n Frank E. Baxter has been the U.S. ambassador to Uruguay since 2006. 72 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 8 B O O K S u Anholt calls himself the inventor of the term “nation-branding.”