When it comes to the complex world of marketing, the business of branding an entire nation comes with its own particular challenges.
And with around 200 recognised nation-states around the globe, the competition to attract an arguably unfair share of resources, trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), overseas talent and tourism is intense.
But what is nation branding, what are countries hoping to achieve from it, and how are they going about it?
Nation states, with few exceptions, harbour aspirations to strengthen economic growth, increase trade and gain a competitive advantage over rivals in economic might and soft power. That’s partially predicated on updating people’s perception of a country; we all have a mental map of countries around the world and what they’re like, but those perceptions are often stuck in the past. What nation branding seeks to do is reboot the global audience’s perceptions of a country and reconnect them more directly to modern-day realities.
Nation branding: a long-term strategy
One of the most revealing examples of nation branding can be found ten thousand miles from the GCC in a narrow, 2,600-mile-long strip of land squeezed between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. As marketing director for Brand Chile since 2015, Jorge Cortes has identified two key actions that have helped lift Chile’s image after two decades of military dictatorship: having a long-term strategy and getting citizens on board. “It is essential”, he says, “to strengthen Brand Chile inside the country in order to effectively promote it abroad”.
Chile’s experience is regularly offered up as evidence of what nation branding can achieve, but for good reason; since Brand Chile’s foundation in 2009, the country’s FDI receipts, a primary key performance indicator (KPI) for economic success, grew rapidly. By 2012, FDI saw a tenfold increase compared to 2003, and by 2017, the country was welcoming record numbers of overseas visitors.
Closer to home, that need for a clear strategy and plenty of patience is evident in Dubai’s long-term tourism plan. It was the establishment of the Department of Tourism and Commerce in the 1980s that really kicked off the long journey to where we are today. In the first four months of this year, tourist numbers grew 11% on Q1 last year, and 2023 saw Dubai’s highest-ever tourist numbers, with 17.2 million recorded and visitors surpassing pre-pandemic levels. But it took until 2014, more than 25 years after establishing its strategic direction, for Dubai to become the fifth most visited city in the world.
What are GCC nations marketing?
It’s important to note that even a massive budget won’t shift a product – in this case, a nation-state – if nobody’s buying. In other words, governments, often in partnership with NGOs, business leaders, tourism experts and corporate sponsors, need to define a country’s positive characteristics and USPs and devise an attractive product to advance your objectives. Key performance indicators (KPIs) in the birth of a brand include national features such as people, culture, global perception and strategic location, as well as infrastructure. And for infrastructure, think economy, ease of doing business, security, safety and tourism.
But creating an enhanced nation brand isn’t an ad-hoc exercise; in-depth academic research has highlighted the science behind the long-term strategies a nation must adopt to strengthen its brand. It’s a well-evidenced fact that the nation-branding strategies that work best, tend to target four key areas: investment, tourism, talent, and goods and services. Countries that attract FDI and domestic investment and hold onto home-grown talent whilst luring skilled talent and foreign students to work and study in their country will do best at enhancing their profiles.
Building a nation brand: the nuts and bolts of execution
Beyond these four pillars, GCC countries that have successfully marketed themselves overseas have pursued strategies that prioritise economic and cultural tools. In the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for example, these have centred around real estate, international sporting events, conferences and, of course, tourism.
Culture and sport
Abu Dhabi has constructed an identity distinct from its friend and neighbour, Dubai. The emirate’s cultural attractions feature heavily, with havens of tranquillity and beauty encapsulated in the Louvre and The Guggenheim. And yet, Abu Dhabi has positioned itself as the ideal place to host high-profile sports such as Formula 1.
Hosting major sporting events is a common theme in GCC nations that have succeeded in enhancing their image. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF) has invested heavily in sports, with USD 5 billion ploughed into sports in the last three years. It has hosted over 80 major events, including golf, Formula 1 racing, the Americas Cup, horse racing and boxing. In 2034, Saudi Arabia will play host to the football World Cup.
Tourism and aviation
GCC nations have now agreed on a unified GCC-wide tourist visa to further promote an already vibrant tourism sector. But strengthening this sector has been a long game, and the success of a tourist industry depends on putting the right building blocks in place. That’s why some GCC nations have actively emphasised and strengthened the importance of the key enabler of tourism: aviation.
In the UAE, state-owned airline Emirates – a crucial tool in the long-term execution of its tourism plan – has pursued, in tandem with the government, a mutually beneficial corporate- and nation-branding exercise.
Emirates has been hugely successful in leveraging the unique culture of Dubai and the UAE, as well as their respective values and perception, to help promote the airline’s services. But on a truly global platform, it also serves as a very successful advocate, promoter and representative for the nation whose flag Emirates bears. Successful flagship carriers such as Emirates embody in microcosm the feel of their country on each and every one of their flights.
As a result, Dubai International Airport has become the busiest in Asia and the second busiest in the world. And with Emirates’ sheer reach and volume – the majority of Dubai’s 87 million passengers in 2023 were transiting onto flights across Emirates’ vast Europe-North America-Asia Pacific network – it’s an indispensable tool for aligning the perception and reality of modern-day Dubai in the eyes of a global audience.
Infrastructure: Real estate and transport
High-profile and newsworthy infrastructure projects also tend to grab headlines and reflect GGC states in a positive light. The recent unveiling of Saudi Arabia’s plans to build The Line, a cognitive 170-kilometre-long city towering 500 metres above the desert valley from the mountains of Neom to the Red Sea, gives some indication of the ambition of some GCC states to establish themselves on the world map. But even lesser projects have done an excellent job changing perceptions and creating tourist destinations, in and of themselves; when the Burj Al Arab opened late last century, its unique 7-star luxury set a benchmark for future tourism. Dubai’s most recent 1,000-metre-tall record-breaker, the Dubai Creek Tower, will be the tallest man-made structure in the world. Set to open in 2025, its ten observation decks and revolving open-air platforms will become a tourist attraction in its own right.
Facts and figures: nation branding works
The complexities of marketing an entire nation have led some sceptics to claim that nation branding does not affect a country’s global image. But various key metrics – tourism, ease of doing business, foreign company ownership and direct investment – seem to tell a very different story in the GCC.
GCC countries that have nailed the art of nation branding with patient, long-term strategies aligned with specific objectives have not just shown that it’s possible – they clearly show exactly how it’s done.