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National governments around the world are turning to branding consultants, public relations advisers and strategic communications experts to help them ‘brand’ their jurisdiction. Using the tools, techniques and expertise of commercial branding is believed to help nations articulate a more coherent and cohesive identity, attract foreign capital, and maintain citizen loyalty. In short, the goal of nation branding is to make the nation matter in a world where borders and boundaries appear increasingly obsolete.
But what actually happens to the nation when it is reconceived as a brand? How does nation branding change the terms of politics and culture in a globalized world? Through case studies in twelve countries and in-depth interviews with nation branding experts and their national clients, Melissa Aronczyk argues that the social, political and cultural discourses constitutive of the nation have been harnessed in new and problematic ways, with far-reaching consequences for both our concept of the nation and our ideals of national citizenship.
At this workshop, we will discuss Chapter 2 from Melissa’s recent book on Branding the Nation (‘The New and Improved Nation: How Culture became Competitive’).
Registration
To register for the workshop please email mpp-relations@cbs.dk no later than February 26th and we will send you a copy of the chapter. Please contact Stefan Schwarzkopf (ssc.mpp@cbs.dk) if you have any further questions.
Biographical Note on Melissa Aronczyk
Melissa Aronczyk is Assistant Professor in the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers University (USA). She is the author of Branding the Nation: The Global Business of National Identity (Oxford, 2013) and the co-editor of Blowing Up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on Promotional Culture (Peter Lang, 2010). She is currently writing about reputation, measurement and morality in the media. Find more on Melissa’s work here.
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