"A brand is as much an open invitation to complain as it is a promise to deliver," said Simon Anholt in 2003. Anholt, an independent policy advisor, is the founder of the Nation Brands Index (NBI), which was first published in 2005 and is currently available in its Oct. 19, 2021, edition under the name of the Anholt Ipsos Nation Brands Index.
The Republic of Turkey recently announced that in all official communication, including overseas, "Turkey" should be replaced with "Türkiye." This is nothing new at home as it is how the country has referred to itself since its creation in 1923. But the change in spelling for international purposes quickly made headlines – internationally. To quote from only one source, travel advisory website AFAR commented: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announced an official rebranding, saying, "The phrase Türkiye represents and expresses the culture, civilization and values of the nation in the best way."
Please note the term "rebranding" mentioned by AFAR, which directly leads us to today’s topic: Can a country be promoted similarly to a product or service? To what extent can marketing tools support those efforts? And above all else, which aspects and characteristics of a country should be included in that "branding mix"?
Despite being around for almost two decades, Anholt’s approach is still a relative newcomer in the scientific arena. It is not necessarily a must-have university course when embarking on a degree path in, for example, communications or marketing. As a matter of fact, it should perhaps be taught at political science classes instead or as a joint venture between the three of them.
If these first few paragraphs sound somewhat vague let us try and dissect the terminology. A look at CaseReads is extremely helpful in this regard. On Dec. 10, 2020, "What is Nation Branding?" offers a fascinatingly simple explanation: in an imagined conversation Girl 1 starts her reflections by saying "I love Switzerland’s...?" Yet, she is interrupted by Girl 2 replying "Cheese!" Whereas Girl 3 continues by saying "Watches!" Girl 1 now attempts to finish her original sentence and says, "I was going to say Switzerland’s social and economic policies. But yeah cheese and watches as well."
We then learn that this is exactly what nation branding is all about. "Specifically speaking, nation branding relates to managing and building a country’s reputation to increase its strategic advantage. It covers everything about a nation’s image from standpoints such as business, culture, politics and even the environment," according to CaseReads.
And as is inherent in almost all academic disciplines, some countries refrain from using Anholt’s terminology and talk about public diplomacy instead. This is a tricky decision as on the one hand and in the very meaning of public diplomacy the state itself is omnipresent: Diplomacy is made by the government for the people and perhaps about the people, perhaps even above the people? On the other hand, nation branding does not automatically segregate the government from the population; on the contrary, without the active involvement and engagement of citizens, any attempt at nation branding would be futile. Perhaps the best way forward is to get one's people on your side and then approach the uphill struggle of branding your nation together as a team.
Returning to the team efforts mentioned in the last paragraph, the past 20 years or so have shown that the Turkish electorate fully embraces the ongoing modernization and reform strategy as employed by the current government and Erdoğan. Advantage number one: The people are ready and eager for even more success with "Made in Türkiye." Second, the president, the government and the administration themselves have declared that they wish to push the country to new heights of democracy and prosperity. Third, and most definitely a factor with pulling power, as external forces seem jealous that modern Turkey manages to overcome currency exchange fluctuations orchestrated overseas and will see more than promising economic growth rates even during a global pandemic, the country has even more clout over the nation’s increasing reputation abroad, making the move timely and sensible.
Observations four, five and six are intertwined, too. Here we must discuss which products or services can help cement the global relevance of Turkey, the brand. While in the past everyone would have started the same as in the imagined Swiss dialogue above, "Türkiye equals mass tourism," today fortunes have been greatly reshuffled. Several points factor into this: The country produces high-quality, high-end goods, services and technology often geared at the export market; it has a flourishing manufacturing and agricultural sector, the latter however would benefit from focusing more on domestic farming instead of imports. And the tourism sector is not to be side-lined, far from it. While "Türkiye" the brand greatly depends on incoming international tourism, it has diversified its appeal as a destination for all four seasons in all four corners of its land. The term "mass tourism" should be substituted by "affordable top-quality tourism."
Hence, we are left with three more advantages. There is the realization in Turkey that protecting the environment is no luxury but a simple must on the policy-making agenda. Climate change is neither fake nor fiction. It is a real threat to future generations.
This comment is best followed by mentioning that welcoming new arrivals into their midst is a typical hallmark of life on the ground and did not start when the migrant flow of innocent families in distress commenced. Turkey and its people are probably the most welcoming, supportive population one can find anywhere on our shared planet.
Last but not least, it is the young(er) generation paving the way for their children who will be in the driver's seat a decade or so from today. An energetic, enterprising, democracy-loving young generation is in all likelihood the best foundation for a lasting "rebranding," or perhaps creating a brand for the very first time, for Turkey.
These nine observations matter but need to be explored in much more detail. The second set of advantages is irreversibly linked to the nation’s geographic and thus geopolitical location. Consider the supply chain upheavals in China: Turkey could position itself as a logical alternative for East and West, North and South. Consider recreating peace and stability in neighboring Syria and Iraq, perhaps one day allowing for a smaller version of the European Union’s own internal market for goods, people and services.
What I want to say in closing is that branding a nation is no one-sided affair or a one-way street. Figuratively speaking, a "branding for domestic public consumption" alone makes no sense but let us be clear: Before branding a nation for international audiences, the domestic support level must be sky-high.
And is it not accurate to assume that in a globalized world underlining and heralding one's own qualities to become more competitive is a rather promising approach? Competitiveness may sound overly aggressive but is in principle a positive occurrence. It allows us to find out more about what we do best and sell it to our own and then to a foreign audience. As long as we always keep Anholt’s words cited in the first sentence of this opinion page contribution in mind: "A brand is as much an open invitation to complain as it is a promise to deliver." Turkey is ready to deliver for sure!
