National branding requires our commitment

The position taken by the government of Zimbabwe to champion the national branding of this Jewel of Africa, was long overdue and must be taken seriously by all stakeholders and more importantly by the citizenry.

This is not a mean task as it is an all stakeholder driven exercise that should be well co-ordinated and executed with the government playing a central role. It is in this context that Government through the Ministry of Information and Publicity must be applauded for taking a bold step towards this noble initiative.

Zimbabwe has to increasingly make conscious efforts to brand itself in order to effectively stimulate investment, boost exports, attract foreign direct investment FDI, attract tourists and get positive global attention.

Due to changes in the social political and socio-economic environment, more intense competition, the existence of too many alternatives, countries have to adopt conscious branding efforts if they are to position themselves and compete effectively on the global arena.

Above all, it is important for Zimbabwe to brand itself with the main objective being to reorient prejudiced thoughts and to project a new image on the international scene.

A strong nation brand strategy increases the awareness of a nation and its offerings which result in strong feelings and reactions and a favourable perception towards the nation in its entirely.

Successfully outcompeting competitors is a sustained and continuous battle for hearts and minds of tourists, investors, talent and all those interested in the nation.

The position that the Zimbabwe’s brand strategy makes must be very compelling, attractive and unique among nation competitions and should position the country strategically to reap the benefits being of a participant on the global stage.

Nation branding involves careful thinking about precisely what the nation should evoke in people’s minds, selection of appropriate features to present to the market and employing the appropriate communication techniques to attract the right people as effectively and as persuasively as possible.

Powerful brands provide security for demand and competitive differentiation.

Nation brands should be consistently reviewed and updated to make sure they remain relevant and useful. They should always reinforce their presence.

A superficial mental association tourists make with brands is not sufficient in modern days. The needs and wants of visitors are continuously changing across the world.

For nations to remain relevant and become destinations of choice, their offerings should continually address the changing needs and wants since dialling into emotions of nations and cultures, you wish to reach is critical to the branding success.

The perceptions of a tourists of any country is determined by his/her own experience, by what other people say or what the media portrays about the country. It is also determined by how the country portrays itself, the only thing that the country has total control over.

Consequently, branding a country can be complex and multifaceted. Increasingly, countries are marketing themselves aggressively on the global arena, creating challenges and greater threats to countries that do not review their outdated and tired images or counter on a continuous basis any negative perceptions that are based on ignorance or lack of information.

A nation possesses a unique and distinctive image. It is a brand on its own, with its own brand personality. The pertinent question is whether it has its own fair share of the market amidst intense global competition.

The internet has revolutionised branding. In tourism for example, the coming up of new media, cheaper forms of transport, diversified choices, enhanced prosperity, dynamic and evolving expectations and new demands, have added to the branding revolution.

Consequently, attitudes to destinations are changing on a continuous basis. Perceptions change virtually everyday. The speed of the blog, sms or email are having a strong impact on nations’ images and brand status that there is need to respond to issues with an equal speed and detail.

The speed should not be threatening to destinations. It facilitates the discovery of new opportunities everyday acquiring new means to exploit them.

These fundamental nation branding principles and many others that will be unveiled in the subsequent series of national branding articles are supposed to form the bedrock upon which Zimbabwe’s branding success is hinged upon.

Zimbabwe is richly endowed with prime tourist attractions such the Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Manna Pools, Kariba, Eastern highlands and many tourism gems across the country. This Jewel of Africa is also richly endowed with natural resources in terms of minerals, agricultural related endowments very good wealth patterns, hospitable people, low crime rape, peace and tranquillity, a diversified economy and many other positive attributes that make its competitiveness and differentiation easier ant strategic.

The good co-ordination, execution selflessness, government support as well as demonstrated at the launch, Zimbabwe will reclaim its place on the competitive global arena. With NDSI in place and Devolution in operation, nation branding of Zimbabwe has the right ingredients to success.

Dr Musekiwa Clinton Tapera writes in his personal capacity. He has a PHD in marketing. His research work and thesis focused on the destination branding of Zimbabwe. Dr. Tapera areas of interest include general destination marketing of cities and towns, tourism destinations, corporate reputation and communications projects, public relations and investment attraction programs. He can be contacted on email: taperamc@gmail.com. Mobile 0772 920 617-ebusinessweekly