BRAND PAKISTAN

Understanding Nation Branding

Branding is the way in which an organization communicates, differentiates and symbolizes itself
to all of its audiences. There is no single definition of Nation branding. To some, it is simply
another term for country of origin effect or place marketing (Kotler, 2002). To others, it refers to
a consistent national brand strategy which determines a realistic, competitive and compelling
strategic vision for the country, and ensures that this vision is supported, reinforced, and enriched
by every act of communication between the country and the rest of the world (Anholt, 1998). In
nation branding, the aim is to create a clear, simple, differentiating idea built around emotional
qualities which can be symbolized both verbally and visually and understood by diverse
audiences in a variety of situations. To work effectively, nation branding must embrace political,
cultural, business and sport activities.1 Nation branding is doing the same thing, but to a whole
country with diverse audiences. Nation branding is a field of theory and practice which aims to
measure, build and manage the reputation of countries. The concept of measuring the global
perception of a country in several spheres has been developed by Simon Anholt. A subsequent
ranking of nations, following his surveys, was first released in 2005 known as the Anholt Nation
Brands Index and was initially published four times a year.
Nation Brands Index (NBI), a project run jointly by Simon Anholt and a polling firm called
Global Market Institute (GMI), is the only major source for numerical data on the relative
strengths of national brands. Every three months, Anholt and GMI record the opinions of
consumers in thirty-five different countries, mainly in developed markets, tracking their
perceptions of several different aspects of a countrys image. Anholt divides the idea of nation
branding into six main subfields
The criteria underlying the NBI ranking are:
People: Measures the population's reputation for competence, education, openness and
friendliness and other qualities, as well as perceived levels of potential hostility and
discrimination.
Governance: Measures public opinion regarding the level of national government competency
and fairness and describes individuals' beliefs about each country's government, as well as its
perceived commitment to global issues such as democracy, justice, poverty and the environment.
Exports: Determines the public's image of products and services from each country and the
extent to which consumers proactively seek or avoid products from each country-of-origin.
1

Fan, Y. 2006. Branding The Nation: What Is Being Branded? ; Journal of Vacation Marketing.

Tourism: Captures the level of interest in visiting a country and the draw of natural and manmade tourist attractions.
Culture & Heritage: Reveals global perceptions of each nation's heritage and appreciation for
its contemporary culture, including film, music, art, sport and literature.
Investment & Immigration Determines the power to attract people to live, work or study in
each country and reveals how people perceive a country's economic and social situation.
The goal of this index is to give an overall sense of the strength of international opinion on a
given country, positive or negative. This system does not meet uniform approval. Cromwell says
he finds the Nation Brands Indexs methodology pretty weak, noting the enormous
undertaking it would require to comprehensively understand global perceptions through polling
data. Still, he concedes that there isnt much else to go on at this point. He points to foreign
direct investment, tourism arrivals, and trade levels as potentially useful metrics.
Discussion
Countries across the globe have always been interested in projecting a positive image. However,
the methods used to manage reputation in the global arena have significantly changed over the
last decade. Globalization can be cited as one of the reasons behind this occurrence. Every
country today is competing for a greater share of the global consumers and marketplace. A
number of countries around the globe have hired PR firms and consultants to help them develop
and launch impressive brand campaigns. Nation branding influences decisions of people and
other nations around the world to visit, to invest in, and to buy products of the country that is
being branded.
Branding a nation and positioning it positively in the world is not only being recognized by the
various country heads but also by the United Nations. One of the UN agencies World
Intellectual Property Organization works actively to help developing countries brand themselves
and their products better. The idea has also caught the attention of Philip Kotler and together with
Somkid Jatusripitak and Suvit Maesincee, he has written a book titled The Marketing of
Nations: A Strategic Approach To Building National Wealth.
A number of countries such as United States, England, Canada, Greece, Germany, France,
Portugal, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Oman, South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania, India, Thailand,
Malaysia, etc. have all taken serious steps towards building a strong profile and a powerful
country brand. Generally speaking, there can be multiple objectives behind such efforts, ranging
from luring foreign investment to attracting tourists, from countering a negative perception to
promoting trade, from projecting a very modern and liberal image to breaking free from a

stereotypical image etc. Specifically, the objectives can be grouped under five heads as identified
by Ying Fan in his research paper in 2006 titled Nation branding: what is being branded?
1. To use a nations image to promote exports, to emphasize a products country of origin (COO),
e.g. Rover cars use the Union Jack as part of its logo - The New Zealand Way
2. To promote a country as a tourist destination or an opportunity for foreign investors (place
marketing), e.g.; 100% pure New Zealand
3. To promote the people, culture, etc, e.g.; Cool Britannia, Incredible India, Malaysia; Truly
Asia.
4. To manipulate ones own countrys image against enemy countries (political marketing) e.g.;
from the evil Soviet Empire in the Cold War to the recent labeling of three countries as Axis of
evil.
5. To promote a region, e.g.; The Four Dragons in Asia, a term coined in 1980 to symbolize the
newly industrialized countries, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore.
There are multiple examples of successful branding campaign that have done good to a number
of nations. Post Yugoslav countries Slovenia and Croatia launched campaigns soon after their
secession and were able to attract a significant number of tourists as a result. Another example is
that of South Africa. According to the Apple and Pear Growers Association, exports from the
country to Britain have increased by 10% after they started labeling each fruit with the Proudly
South African labels.
Country Branding Campaigns may seem as a very simple formula to a positive image projection,
however, there are examples where countries have been disappointed with the branding
campaigns, Switzerland being a case in point. The country approached a consultancy firm to help
counter the public accusation of holding Nazi Gold and saw limited success. Similarly the Cool
Britannia campaign launched by Tony Blair in the late 90s was disliked and discontinued soon
enough.
Teslik quotes Van Ham and Cromwell as saying that countries need to give their brand
campaigns time to show results. It is more like watching a flower grow that requires patience.
Other reasons quoted for country branding failures are the poor coordination among different
ministries of a country to project one big positive image. There needs to be collaboration of
purpose amongst the higher ups in a country both from the government and the private sector.
Nation Branding is a fairly complex task that involves sustained and concerted coordination at
multiple levels.
Designing of a fine branding campaign is a systematic process that begins with the assessment
of the distinctive qualities possessed by a nation, followed by an understanding of how the

country is perceived in the world and eventually the coordination among all important ministries
of the country, private businesses, cultural centers, sports teams, etc. to project a coherent image
of the country. Once a brand is developed for the country, it needs to be reinforced, enhanced and
enriched through every piece of communication that goes out to the world at large.
Although core marketing practices are increasingly being applied to create a brand for a country,
there are fundamental differences between product branding and country branding. The most
significant difference is the intangible nature of the nation. As there is no tangible offer in a
nation brand, its attributes are difficult to define or describe. The only benefits a nation brand
could create for its audience are emotional rather than functional. A brand here is built upon
diverse set of associations; hence, it is quite common for the audience of the message to be
confused. It is therefore extremely important to understand the audience of such Nation
Branding efforts. The audience is generally divided into two categories: the citizens of the
country and the rest of the world.

BRANDING PAKISTAN
Pakistan is a country that is on the front of post 9/11 US led war on terror. While the political and
economic impact of the war on terror cannot be overstressed, the social impact has been
immense. Pakistanis today suffer from a psychological setback whereby the balance of the
society stands severely shaken. Events unfolding post 9/11 have transferred a global image of
Pakistan to the larger world in a manner that most Pakistanis today would not like to identify
with. A country that was formed with a dream to be a place where tolerance and patience would
be the hallmark, where prosperity and stability would prevail and where security and self esteem
would be looked after, is now marked with internal conflict, social insecurity and political
instability.
The war on terror has changed Pakistan from a country under severe US sanctions and military
restrictions to one of the largest beneficiaries of US military assistance in the world. Pakistan
receives billions of dollars that get directly invested into projects; however, the impact of this
financing is not very clear. The public at large eyes them with mistrust and skepticism. One of
the possible reasons for such an occurrence may be the incomplete or flawed communication that
revolves in various circles of the society. The negatives overshadow the positives and the net
effect is a highly doubtful society that does not believe any good can be brought about.
Through six decades of national voyage, Pakistan has faced several challenges on multiple
fronts. A country that has an immense potential to become one of the fastest growing nations in
the South Asian region is severely misperceived. Some of the questions that are often widely
debated over numerous TV channels, radio programs, conferences, and social blogs are: Who is
to be blamed? Is it the fault of the system or is it the fault of the people? Who is going to fix it?

Where do we start from? Sometimes such debates become an integral part of our dinner table
conversations but do we go beyond the mere discussions and debate is the biggest question that
must be answered.
While we may be debating the image of Pakistan with our friends and family members, we are
inherently more concerned about how this negative image gets transferred onto our individual
images. It is quite common to come across people who are exceptionally critical of the state yet
at the same time would hate to admit that the luxuries enjoyed by them in this country is by far
unmatchable. The tendency to keep declaring that the glass is half empty is rampant. Gripes
about the nation range from calling it a highly unstable country suffering from major leadership
crisis to problems of poverty and poor health standards. From deteriorating law and order
situation to widening gaps between urban and rural income patterns, and from low literacy levels
to higher degrees of corruption. But thats not all. Our perception in the world community is a
derivative of how we feel at home. We have an unrecognizable and negative identity. We are seen
as a dishonest, dangerous, extremist and fundamentalist state. While most of the claims stated
may be true or partly true, does it really mean that Pakistan is all negative with no hope of
bouncing back.
The future of any country is profoundly dependent upon its youth. More than half of Pakistans
population today comprises of individuals who are less than 20 years in age. That is a huge base
of human capital that can be turned into intellectual capital. Most of the enlightened youth from
the country seeks for greener pastures abroad. Their aspiration is to join the global workforce and
progress in life. While there may be nothing wrong with that ambition, there also needs to be a
commitment to do something for the motherland.
Its about time that the youth of this country instead of passing the buck onto someone else, takes
charge of the situation and views the glass as half full. Being a citizen is more than just gathering
in our schools, colleges, universities to sing patriotic songs on the 14 th of August or 23rd of
March. It entails carrying that patriotic feeling throughout the year and becoming agents of
change.
There are multiple positives of the country that need to be highlighted for a better sense of
belonging amongst the citizens as well as for a better projection of Pakistans reality in the world
community. At this point it is important to understand what positive means. Positive is anything
that lends hope. Some of the positives of the country are listed below:
Pakistan has immense natural beauty to offer to tourists, from Thar (one of the largest
deserts of the world) to Haleji Lake (Asias largest bird sanctuary), from Shandur Polo
(worlds highest polo ground) ground to Kan Mehtazai (Asias highest railway station
located 2240m above sea level), from Lalazar to Gwadar (natural deep sea port). Pakistan

is also a land of grand mountain ranges with four out of 14 highest peaks of the world in
the country.
Pakistan is an investor friendly nation. The country ranks 2nd in the South Asia, just
behind India, in the ease of doing business parameter, according to the World Bank
Report on Doing Business in South Asia 2014. Total Foreign Direct Investment for the
financial year 2007-2008 registered an increase of $13.2 million from the previous fiscal
year.

Pakistan is a well recognized name when it comes to the Sports Industry. In June 2002,
the worlds largest football was unveiled in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The football was made
from artificial leather PV-PVC and hand-sewn by staff at Ihsan Sports of Hajipura,
Sialkot, Pakistan, had a diameter of 4m (13ft 1in).

The seventh largest mosque in the world is Badshahi Mosque, and the 9 th largest is the
Shah Faisal Mosque, near Islamabad, Pakistan. The total area of the Shah Faisal Mosque
is 18.97 ha (46.87 acres), with the covered area of the prayer hall being 0.48 ha (1.19
acres). It can accommodate 100,000 worshippers.

Pakistan is the worlds ninth largest English speaking country.

Pakistan has the seventh largest pool of scientists and engineers in the world.

Pakistan has the largest volunteer ambulance organization. Abdul Sattar Edhi (Pakistan)
began his ambulance service in 1948, ferrying injured people to hospital. Today, his
radio-linked network includes 500 ambulances all over Pakistan, and attracts funds of
US$5 million a year.

Pakistan has the world's second largest salt mine in Khewra. Khewra salt mine has
proven reserves of 300 million tons. This reserve could not be consumed in 600 years
even at the daily production rate of 5 lakh tons.

Pakistan has the world's 2nd Largest Coal Reserves. Thar Coal Reserve is around 850
trillion cubic feet which is equal to 400 billion barrels of oil.

Pakistan has the world's 3rd largest gas reserves.

Pakistan is the world's 4th largest cotton producer, the third largest cotton
consumer, second largest importer of cotton and has the fourth largest cotton area.

Pakistan has the World's 5th largest copper & gold reserves. The most credible
international surveys suggest that Reko Diq is one of the biggest undeveloped copper
projects in the world with over 11 billion pounds of copper and nine million ounces of
gold.

Pakistan has the world's 7th largest army. Furthermore, Pakistan is the world's 7th nuclear
power with delivery mechanisms i.e. Pakistan is capable of launching nuclear missiles on
a short notice of 10 minutes. The ballistic missile inventory of the Army is substantial. It
comprises Ghauri III and Shaheen III IRBM ; medium range Ghauri I and II and Shaheen
II, and short range Hatf I- B, Abdali, Ghaznavi, Shaheen I and M -11 missiles. Pakistanis
also recognized as the worlds 7th nuclear power.

Pakistan is the World's 4th largest milk producer, 11th largest wheat producer and the
World's 12th largest rice producer.

Pakistan also has the honor of producing the youngest civil judge. Muhammad Ilyas
passed the examination enabling him to become a Civil Judge in July 1952 at the age of
20 years 9 months, although formalities such as medicals meant that it was not until eight
months later that he started work as a Civil Judge in Lahore, Pakistan.
Pakistan has recently (2009) been ranked the 4th heaviest SMS user country in Asia
Pacific. With 763 million text messages Pakistan's traffic volume grew by 253 %
compared to last year during the same period.
Contrary to the popular misconception of being as a terrorist state, Pakistan leads in the
list of the 10 main contributors to UN peacekeeping followed by Bangladesh, India,
Nigeria, Nepal, Ghana, Jordan, Rwanda, Italy, providing more than 60% of UN military
and police personnel.

Knowing about strengths is the first step in brand development followed by a systematic
approach in communicating such strengths. Lack of methodical and organized effort has left
Pakistan with mixed up mental associations in the minds of audiences both at home and abroad.
Various steps can be taken at different levels to reinvent the image of Pakistan:
Role of government
The country comprises of culturally diverse segments with majority identifying itself first as
Sindhis, Balochis, Pathans or Punjabis and only later as PAKISTANIS, depicting a clear lack of
common identity and national cohesion. Unequal distribution of opportunity across various
factions of the society can be cited as one of the reasons leading to a disunited Pakistan. The
young citizens of the country have lost hope in the political system as they have seen multiple
democracies failing to address any of these issues.
If Pakistan is to emerge on the world map as a moderate Muslim nation then the role of
government cannot be overstressed. In order to deal with the internal issues of the country,
concrete steps need to be taken to build infrastructure, upgrade the education system, provide
equal employment opportunities and ensure the independence of judiciary. Furthermore, it is

imperative to coordinate amongst all relevant ministries and private businessmen to project a
sound and positive image of Pakistan to the rest of the world. If Pakistan is to be developed as a
brand then we need to identify brand ambassadors, create role models and cultivate our present
strengths of culture, heritage, agriculture, art and tourism.

Role of the Civil Society

Much can be done at the individual level too. With the explosion in the media industry, there are
multiple platforms through which the positive realities of Pakistan can be communicated.
Internet penetration in the country is significantly high; therefore individuals are free to post their
opinions, views and experiences on blogs. The phenomenon of online citizen journalism must be
leveraged for better image and reputation building of the country. According to Wikipedia,
Reputation is the opinion (more technically, a social evaluation) of the group of entities toward
a person, a group of people, or an organization on a certain criterion. Reputation can be
considered as a component of identity as defined by others.
A number of patriotic Pakistanis have been taking initiatives at their own level to help Pakistan
recover from this prolonged slumber and break free from long-held negative perceptions. Ammar
Jaffri is a case in point. Currently serving in the Federal Investigation Agency, Islamabad, he has
formed a group of persons (males and females) with the aim of bringing about change for the
betterment of our society. Their effort is to make Pakistan a "Bawaqar Pakistan". The only
objective of this initiative is to project GOOD about Pakistan and tell the world that we are not
terrorists or a nation with no vision for the future. Initiative of "Bawaqar Pakistan" has been
taken under a government registered NGO with the name "Pakistan Social Association" having
its branches in all parts of Pakistan and head office in Islamabad.
Role of Media
Media has been evolving at a very rapid pace in Pakistan. Professionals from the industry have
been building brands to effectively position them in a competitive environment such that they get
the biggest share of the consumers mind. A similar effort needs to be taken at a national level if
Pakistan is to get back on the positive track of growth and development. There are multiple ways
of achieving this objective.
An awareness program needs to be designed for the masses to educate them about the positive
effects of a number of funded programs underway. A number of UNICEF and WHO programs
are in progress in Pakistan, totally unknown to the local population. Another aspect of this
awareness campaign could be to address socially challenging issues such that the society

develops an understanding of the right and the wrong, of the benefits of progress and of the
positives of being in the league of the developed nations.
Secondly, a sense of pride needs to be instilled in Pakistani population. A number of Pakistani
men and women have drawn world attention for their exceptional work in the areas of fashion,
music, sports, education, film making, etc. Media needs to highlight their achievements through
print, TV, outdoor etc. to instill a sense of pride and ownership amongst all.
Lastly, there is a need to train the local media in positive image projection of the Pakistani
people, industry and nation as a whole. There is an urgent need to establish Pakistan as a
progressive, modern, tolerant and forward looking Muslim nation in the world community and
media can play a very positive role in doing just that. Consequently, pride amongst citizen is
likely to improve leading to reduced brain drain.

REFERENCES

Sahar J. Malik, Synergyzer, Branding Pakistan: An Idea or An Illusion?

Umair Naeem, July Dec 2007, Business Review, Volume 2 Number 2, Branding
Pakistan For The Future

Marketing Pakistans Image

Lee Hudson Teslik, Backgrounder on Nation Branding Explained from Council on

Foreign Relation, November 09, 2007 - http://www.cfr.org/publication/14776/

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Nation_branding

JIM RENDON, NewYork Times, November 23, 2003, When Nations Need a Little
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Peter Gumbel, Brand Aid, Not Band Aid, Could some of Africas problems be solved by
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FAN, Ying. 2006. Nation branding: what is being branded? Journal of Vacation
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http://bawaqarpakistan.com/articles/3/1/My-First-thought-on-BAWAQARPAKISTAN/Page1.html

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Khurram Jafri, Feb 01, 2009, Pakistans Contribution in Global Peace Efforts,
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