Branding a Country: Leadership is Everything
- Flore Thevoux
- Sep 25, 2024
- 2 min read
Just as businesses and individuals have brands, so do countries.
Imagine this:
In some parallel reality, you are the leader of an entire country.
This country has its own culture and dialect, borders, and landscapes. As the appointed leader of several hundreds of millions of people, you believe it is time for a rebrand.
You send out an international telepathic signal, and the best brand strategist of the century answers the call.
In the National Palace Headquarters, you, your new strategist, and your most trusted council members gather around a large, oval conference table for the first of many strategic workshops.
Introductions are made. The excitement in the room is palatable, along with a few doubtful expressions.
Your discuss the motivations for the rebranding:
There is a general apathy towards the national identity and the country’s moral isn’t doing so great. You believe that boosting people’s pride in where they come will do wonders for the economy. Your plan is to dust off the cobwebs of the cultural institutions, reinvigorate local traditions, and pour resources into the education system.
Nods of agreement and general sounds of approval fill the room. With that in mind, the strategist stands up, walks over to the white board, and asks you her first question, “Your people chose you as their leader… What qualities do you project that made them trust you with their vote?”
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In this podcast excerpt, Nataliya asks me how I would brand a country. I did my best in our limited time frame to communicate my thoughts on such a nuanced and complex subject, touching on themes of belonging, care, the impacts of leadership, drawing parallels between my home country France and the country I currently reside in — the United States.