In today’s hyper-competitive world, countries are becoming important brands in terms of tourism and business, and it doesn’t take too many trips out in the world to sense that Brand America is in trouble.
I recently led the first phase of the effort to brand my hometown, Rochester, New York. I’d like to share my thoughts on this ongoing process.
This month the BrandingWire Team has set its sights on Place Branding.
Joao R. Freire recently shared a paper that he wrote on Place Branding with me. It was published in the November 2005 issue of Place Branding. He makes some very interesting points about place branding:
Companies, products, universities, museums, municipalities and individuals brand themselves. Why not nations? After all, they have more at stake then almost any other entity – tourism, exports, foreign direct investment, industry formation/focus, immigration, satisfied citizenry, national heritage and support of domestic and foreign policy, to name a few.
