Nation Branding and Social Media « A key element of a successful nation branding initiative depends on how well your audience absorbs, understands, adopts and redistributes the message based on their requirements for value. Back in the day this was done at a coffee shop, sundry store, mosque, church, football club or where ever else consumers congregated. Today those same people are increasingly likely to hang out in communities online. But the Social Media rules are very different to the traditional media rules. One country that seems to be doing Social Media right, is the US. At one stage, in November 2008, Obama had 2,155,244 friends on Facebook, McCain had 578,651 and George W. The US has since expanded its use of Social Media to the international arena and the increasing importance of Social Media channels is reflected in the Facebook efforts of the US embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. As a result, the tone of the Facebook site is light and cheerful. Thanks to unspun for the inspiration for this story Like this:
HeadlineSpot Stories of Afghan girls whose lives have been turned around by education revealed In the western world, we take education for granted and often disgruntled children bemoan the fact they they have to attend class and complete homework. But in may other parts of the world girls have to fight for the right to go to school. A new series of portraits of female pupils at two schools in Afghanistan has highlighted the battle that young girls face to be given the right to learn basic skills like reading, writing and arithmetic, and the power that has to transform their lives. Scroll down for video A series of portraits of Afghan school girls show the growing desire in the country for young women to be educated (Left: Zeinab, 12, Centre: Nadira, 10, and right: Gulmakai, 14) Photographer Simon Urwin interviewed young girls and their mothers at a school in Kabul, which teaches equality, tolerance, and human rights, including women's issues, alongside traditional academic subjects like maths and science. Fawzia, 10 years old Fawzia, aged 10 'Literacy and education is as light. Maida:
India’s country brand values can help the world It’s clear that with such a long history, India has an enormous country brand potential – in tourism, culture, diplomacy, international relations, exports, et cetera. What’s less obvious, and yet more important, is how India can play a relevant role in people’s lifes across the globe. And this is entrenched in one of the main concepts of nation branding, which is that you shouldn’t be aiming to make your country famous (which you would attempt to with advertising and pr) but instead struggle to make it relevant, more useful. And don’t worry, if you do that, fame, respect and admiration will follow suit. Just like Finland can be useful in water management, best education practices and in difficult negotiations (just have a look at Finland’s nation brand mandate for details), India can be helpful across many areas, based upon her core values. There are certain Indian ideas, institutions and values following which the world could become a better place. Author: Andreas Markessinis
News 12 New Jersey Everything about Nation Branding and Country Brands - NATION BRANDING NEWS: Atlantic City Press If some state legislators get their way, the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy could bring an end to one Jersey Shore tradition — the beach badge. State Sen. Michael Doherty, R-Hunterdon, Warren, and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, have introduced legislation requiring any town that accepts state or federal aid for rebuilding its beaches to provide beach and restroom access for free. “A beach fee is another word for tax,” Sweeney said Monday. Under the bipartisan legislation, municipalities that accept aid for rebuilding beaches — retroactive to Nov. 2 — “would not be allowed to adopt or enforce ordinances requiring the collection of fees for beach badges or otherwise as a requirement of being allowed to use or access a beach,” Senate Republicans said in a release. In addition, those towns would be required to provide free public restrooms to beachgoers between Memorial Day and Labor Day. “I really have to take a look at the bill,” Russo said.
India missing huge opportunity for country branding & marketing on Twitter Washington Journal OPEN TRANSCRIPTS Why does C-SPAN take viewer calls? One of C-SPAN's founding philosophies was focusing on the viewer and, through our call-in programs, viewers are able to interact directly with elected officials, policymakers and journalists. In addition to our daily call-in program, the Washington Journal, C-SPAN regularly incorporates viewer call-ins into the schedule to allow people to react to breaking news events. How is the Washington Journal staffed and run? Guided by an executive producer, the Washington Journal has a staff of producers, guest bookers, hosts and production assistants who work as a team to decide what topics are covered and which guests to book for the discussion. Why are there different hosts on the Washington Journal? The role of the C-SPAN call-in host is to facilitate the dialogue between callers and our guests. How many calls does the Washington Journal air per day? How does C-SPAN handle calls that are inaccurate or distasteful? Do you screen your callers?
Brand India fails to strike a bond with Modern India Nirmalya Kumar, Apr 24, 2009, 05.56am IST Brand India is currently receiving a lot of positive press. Yet Brand India is weak in many ways. In the minds of most citizens of developed countries, India still conjures up images of exotic lands and customs, or masses of poor. Not surprisingly, this a source of much frustration to Indians who would prefer that Brand India be associated with the more modern India, resplendent with world-class businesses, skyscrapers , and malls. Brand India Constraints In branding, it is what is different or unique vis-à-vis other brands that gets attention. Given this branding principle, it is to be expected that the IT sector, where India is uniquely claiming to be the back office of the world, is the only part of "modern India" that receives significant global press coverage. The Duke of Edinburgh, in one of his many gaffes, once remarked that a shoddily installed fuse box in an Edinburgh factory he was visiting looked "like it was put in by an Indian."