BRANDING THE NATION OR BRANDING THE COUNTRY?
The following essay seeks to yield another reading of the topic of identification of origin - an issue that is currently a matter of discussion all over the world- by taking it further than the economic sphere.
Firstly, and in relation to the title of this
article: what is the difference between a country and a nation? From an
etymological point of view, it might simply be a debate concerning
form, where the neutral idea of countries as cartographic spaces
inhabited by certain people or groups of people is separated from the
concept of a nation, the latter being one's own place of birth or
adoption.
However, this slight difference is what
relates the idea of nation with feelings of belonging and of a common
sense, recalling learned stories and constructed stories together with
individual ways of seeing and feeling collectively. It is from that
difference that identity can be re-thought.
Brands of Origin
It
is well known that the present context in which countries are immersed
makes every nation give symbolic visibility and clarification to the
exchange contents they offer, enabling them to successfully interact
within the global scenario. The symbolic value of the representation of
origin, then, becomes part of the strategic resources of national
economies and policies. The productive sectors, the tourism supply, the
investment incentives and the credibility of domestic policy within the
international scenario articulate themselves in the same cause.
Who needs to have a brand?
Thus,
those who have the legitimate need to internationally validate the
positive aspects of the origin of their production and supply may
initially be found among the ones who want to find a brand of
reference. Businessmen from the export trade and the tourist services
are commonly detected within this group, since it is both fair and
understandable that they foster the issue as seekers of new markets and
horizons.
Furthermore, the national public sectors feel
the logical political and operational need to join efforts and
resources in order to frame the private sector and the social,
political and economical organisations within an appropriate policy
projected by all of their members. Besides, the Nation States have the
legitimate right to be the spokespeople of the national interest inside
and outside the boundaries of the country. Government also needs
branding.
But, in another respect, since there is no
identity without material references, the national idea or the idea of
the nation setting will be comprised of both the natural and cultural
aspects of each country in only one representation; it will comprise
multiple collective identities in a single representation, and reflect
some elements of contact between them. In other words, that
representation might well be seen as part of the resources that make
the social bond linking all the members of any nation at a certain
moment in history become visible.
Going deeply, if
collective identity is understood as being intermingled discourses that
are assumed as belonging to each of us, and if individual identity is
taken as a set of identifications, we are likely to find that those
discourses that people identify with are the ones that structure their
identities in general terms, and their national identity in this
particular case.
Consequently, no matter what the
causes that give rise to the fiction guiding the national identity in
each context are, and what the discourses emitted by the
representatives are, it should be recognized that this collective
identity affects the parameters of the individual identity of those
citizens inhabiting that nation at the present moment as well as the
matrix where the new generations will develop. Just see the
nationalisation mechanics exerted by images at school in nations so
distant from each other such as England, China or Uruguay to try to
understand this process. Consequently, present and future citizens will
also need brands.
What brands, images and discourses and what identities?
The
relation between image and identity can be thought of as a dynamic
process that leads to the closure or structuring of totalities such as
people's, organisations', companies', or objects' identities. It is an
automatic process of confrontation between the images that start to be
taken as one's own, and the rest of the existing images, identities and
concepts. It constitutes a dynamic struggle that is not naive at all,
and which unveils ideas, values, beliefs and interests. It is within
this struggle - and such as Foucault states it - that the image's
design or production becomes powerful when entering the domain of other
discources.
It is within those discourses represented
by the image where the synthetic form of one or more myths is
activated; the myth being understood as the story or tale that is
naturally believed to represent its bearer. In this case, the message
offered by the country's myth creates the expectation of a series of
hypothetical answers to which the owner of the myth is awoken when a
relation between them is established. As a matter of fact, myths spread
information about what a country and its people can or cannot offer,
and they make us decide whether or not to be on the defensive,
depending on which country the person we are talking to comes from,
like in this case when the reader is in front of something written by
an Argentinian.
Consequently, the entity in charge of a
nation's image will suture a sense that will speak in the name of
everybody, but always using a single voice. That entity will
deliberately project myths from the image that is validated as a brand,
from its metaphor, from the act of showing actions and choices, a
presence or an absence, from the possible act of appealing at
individuals as subjects of that reference. That voice will, in part,
affect what the person - as long as he or she is defined as having that
origin - will believe and value in his or her environment and in his or
her relation with others, as an expanded identity.
Alternatives
In
this sense, when speaking in the name of a nation, there would be
different options. The country could be projected as a stage with no
actors or actresses. This might involve simply having to be either the
person in charge of maintenance of the theatre or the one who turns the
lights on and off.
On the other hand, the country can
be projected as a music box, always repeating the same dancing tune or
depicting the same characters (Samba music or Tango, Mariachis or
Cossacks). This might freeze history or a repetitive joke, implying a
simple anchorage of the idea of a country into being just a reflex of
historical stereotypes defined by the world as typical of the
inhabitants of each region. Then, one can become the image of a mirror
reflecting what the rest supposedly want or understand from us.
Furthermore,
a country could also be projected from a company or from an economy
sector. This would tie the country's fortune to that business in
particular. In fact, Finland's image of a country has been associated
to Nokia, with the consequent direct association that a crisis in the
company (something likely happen to any company) would lead to a crisis
in Finland. However, it might seem that brands and identities are not
the only ideal suit to be worn at a party you have not been invited to.
Because, as Kant said, existence is not a predicate.
Nevertheless,
among other possibilities, you may want to try to define the idea of a
Nation in relation to the topic, and then, like in all definitions, try
and take sides. Particularly, one side is not to see the nation as a
stony whole, but rather as a set of fragments and relations. The nation
is thus defined as the articulation of ventures taken in their broadest
sense - those taken as one's own, along with those taken with
consideration of expectations and shared realities. Markets change and
products change, but the people inhabiting each and every spot of the
Earth - no matter what names they have - basically remain in their
places.
The Opportunity
We
are, at present, facing the possibility of using the power of images
for the nation's projection. Meaning and sense can be set as objectives
by diversifying or modifying myths, prejudices, exportable supply and
the information about a nation, and by making the external (and
internal) perception a topic to construct integrating views.
Positive
self-awareness has to be fostered on the part of the citizens from all
nations. That self-awareness should in itself stimulate collective
reflection regarding what binds them together, what they want to be,
and of what each citizen can do for the rest, without having to resort
to any magical potions.
In terms of the material aspect
of the matter, the resources the inhabitants have should not promote a
single production sector or area in the nation, since it will be the
citizens themselves who will principally spend money on the expansion
of these brands as well as spread or use institutional merchandising or
positive replication in the treatment they give each other.
Conclusion
To
conclude, it can be thought that the challenge of constructing a brand
of origin is bigger than what it may seem at first sight. It can
consequently be found that branding not only concerns itself with
certain businesses or the search for market niches, nor exclusively
with foreign exchange requirements. It does not simply have to do with
others but rather with the self; not only with the identity and the
sense of community existence which every nation as a whole has in terms
of defining its internal and external needs, but with the individual
and collective dreams of the people.
It must be
concluded that those who use images do not have the choice of silence.
Representation can be inclusive or exclusive, but it will have to be
something by action or by omission.
For all this, it
can be concluded that in order to reach the expected result,
intelligence, strategy and expertise will be needed, as well as a
significant commitment to the complex needs that intermingle in every
particular idea of nation.
For more information, contact:
Sebastian Guerrini
E:
About Sebastian Guerrini
Sebastian Guerrini is a Designer in Visual Communication, having completed Postgraduate Studies in Communication Technologies and a Masters Degree in Image Studies.
Born in 1965, Sebastian Guerrini studied in Argentina, the Netherlands and England. He is currently finishing his PhD in Image Studies while researching at the University of Kent on the link between national identity and image.
He has carried out image and identity design works in Latin America, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and England. In Argentina, he designed, among other things, the present visual identity of the National Presidency, Ministries and State Secretary Offices, together with the current version of the Argentinian National Shield.
He has worked for the National State, provincial states and town halls, as well as with organisations such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, UNICEF, the Latin American Social Science Council, and the Pan American Health Organisation. His studio has designed products and their respective identities for companies, banks, universities and schools.
In addition to this, he has taught Postgraduate courses, seminars and conferences in Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Italy and Spain. Articles about his work have appeared in specialised magazines and books in Mexico, the United States, Germany, China and Japan.