Corporationalism

subjective creation of national identities and nation-brands

In many cases the problems of creating a meaningful national identity are almost overwhelming, especially for the new countries whose borders have been carved without any regard for tribal, cultural or even geographical factors, but merely as a political compromise between two or more major colonial powers. Most of the new leaders of the 'new nations' understand that a nation is defined more in psychological and emotional terms, than in tangible terms and characteristics. Moreover, such 'new leaders' have made subjective attempts to develop new, or bring back long forgotten identities that will create a feeling of distinctiveness, pride, and unity because they want to show the outside world that they are independent. The past decade represents a turning point in the methods used by various nations to manage their reputations. In increasing numbers, governments now hire public relations firms and apply brand management theories, which were formerly the domain of corporate communications departments within the business sectors. And as a result 'nation branding' has become an application of corporate branding techniques to countries.

Corporationalism

Design, branding and identity

Design and brand communication strategies that create specific perceptions of a particular identity within a desired audience are similarly applicable to corporate organizations, small businesses or individuals, as well as for nations, regions or cities and even religious institutions. In all cases, the identity serves as a foundation on which a 'brand image' is built. A positive or a favourable brand image can be a valuable asset for any organization, and as a result, corporations and countries are equally concerned with their identities and images and they both try to shape them or improve them if a need arises. The reason why similar communication strategies and especially propaganda can be applicable to what it might seem as vastly diverse concepts, could be attributed to the fact that people are primarily guided by their emotions and they will behave or react in the same manner to the same or similar stimuli. Therefore, for a brand to be successful, it needs to be able to grasp the complexities of human behaviour and acknowledge the aspirations of particular groups of people that the brand wishes to address and to convey that knowledge into the brand's identity. The visibility and the symbolic association of the identity are key aspects of the brand's 'success'. In any case, the fundamental idea of the identity lies in that everything, which is related to the brand, needs to be consistent in purpose, performance and appearance. Such consistency always derives from the vision or the central idea and is almost always the base from which a successful identity program can be developed.

The developments of brand identities embraces a complex network of managing disciplines such as organizational behaviour, marketing, communication and research, and always design in its various relevant forms. However, although design is important, it does not always enjoy the primary or the central position in this process, but it is usually the primary means by which the identity is presented. For example, in the context of a nation, the flag, coat-of-arms, coins and bills, postage stamps, and military and police uniforms are only some of the visual identity elements that require design expertise. Other obvious and recognisable ways in which national identity is performed is during national ceremonies, when the nation and its symbolic attributes are elevated in public display. In highly choreographed performances during those events, the soldiers, police, marching bands, commanders of horses, government ministers, honorary officials, members of royalty (if applicable) and functionaries, as a cast of actors that carry out specified and pre-ordered manoeuvres. Such events are a display of legitimacy, power, military might, legal process and the institutional apparatus of the nation-state. Such ritualised ceremonies that aim to depict the historical grandeur of the ancient empires re-emerged during the era of nineteenth-century Romantic nationalism (especially between 1870 and 1914), along with the erection of national monuments, the establishment of museums, collections of folklore and canons of national literature, instalment of public holydays, and the a??scientifica?? classification of cultures and races. With a use of carefully designed and orchestrated 'occasions', specific costumes, a rigid order of events, pseudo-antique carriages and artefacts associated with ancient rituals, such proceedings symbolize timelessness. This action inculcates an aura of grounding the nation in history by implying continuity with the past, symbolising community and legitimising the current state authority. Such 'invented traditions' seem to be devised by almost all nations. Today, celebrations such as an independence day, presidential inaugurations, flag-raisings, anthem singing, religious occasions, funerals of important figures, military parades, and 'archaic customs' are common sights across the world, and they tend to follow the same ritual year upon year, inscribing history on space.

World leaders throughout the history whether intuitively or consciously, have understood that an effective visual identity not only makes the nation recognizable, but that it also serves as the first level of communication between the nation and its people. Many historical key figures, from Alexander the Great and Caesar to Napoleon and Hitler understood only too well that national identity is not a static phenomena and consequentially identity could be pre-defined, managed, designed and communicated in such a way as to create a specific image.

Corporationalism

Subjectivity of identity

Human beings are identity-seeking animals, both as individuals and as collectives and the idea of identity will not wither away; if old identities disappear or recede, new ones will be invented and constructed. In line with that national identity represents more than a set of ideas to which individuals and groups can relate, and by which one country can distinguish itself from another country. In relation to nations, Jaffe and Nebenzahl argue that a nation's image and identity is comprised of the subjective perceptions that the people have about those nations. Furthermore, they argue that the beliefs, ideas and impressions are mental images that may or may not be congruent with the objectively defined attributes of the nation. They also argue that the object does not have to exist in order for a person to form a mental image of it. This is important to note, since national and corporate images are similarly defined as mental pictures that exist in peoplea??s minds. In this sense it is the overriding influence of the mind image which motivates human behaviour as opposed to what may be construed to be the 'real' or 'true' attributes of the object (nation/ corporation/ person) in question. As such the designing of identities are significantly dependent on knowing what strong mind images exist and how these can be translated into an image that subsequently becomes a brand. And that is what motivates human behaviour, rather than the 'true' attributes of the object in question.

Social scientists in general, agree that a nation is defined more in psychological and emotional terms, rather than with tangible characteristics. For example, Anthony Smith has listed six basic characteristics that constitute the identity of an ethnie: collective name, a common myth of descent, a shared history, a distinctive shared culture, an association with a specific territory and a sense of solidarity. T. K. Oomman argues that this characterization equally fits the concept of a nation.

This phenomenon can be observed in the formation of the new post-colonial Asian and African countries, as well as the post-communist Eastern European countries that felt the need to invest in new names, new flags, new rituals, and new traditions. Sometimes looking deep in the past, and sometimes trying to create something completely new, they commemorate their new identities with large-scale stage production representing historical or legendary events, especially local ones, in scenes or representations in which dramatic interests are less important than the spectacle itself. Many countries have invested in erecting national monuments, ranging from large-scale statues to power stations, steel mills and dams, whose symbolic value is infinitely more significant than their economic good. The change of country names like Rhodesia to Zimbabwe and capital cities from Salisbury to Harare is based on symbolism. Robert Mugabe and his colleagues were inventing new traditions in order to create new nation-states and to reinstate the pride of an African past that had been taken by the colonisers. What those leaders had in common with every other leader of every new regime in every new country was the intuitive understanding that people need to belong. People need to know where they stand, they need their loyalties underlined and emphasized, and as Wally Olins says, they need the 'magic of symbolism'. Such constructions of identity are also applicable to long established nations, and are still implemented today. Perhaps the strongest example of this in the twentieth century world history is Hitler's creation of Nazi Germany. His extensive use of symbolism was evident in every segment of his governance, which was not at all different from the way in which Lenin and Stalin used symbolism in the Soviet Union, the British Royal family in the United Kingdom and throughout their colonies, Napoleon Bonaparte in his Empire, and further back in history when Caesar used it in the Roman Empire and Alexander in the Macedonian Empire.

Corporationalism

Image management: the case of the Republic of Macedonia

During my PhD fieldwork on national identity formation and promotion in Eastern Europe from September 2007 till April 2008, I established a close communication and collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for the purpose of developing a nation-branding case study. In regards to my research I had frequent meetings and interviews with government officials from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agency for Foreign Investments and the Ministry of Culture, as well as with experts on Political Science and National Security from the state university where we discussed in detail the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats regarding the Macedonian national identity and the Government's efforts to promote the country as a nation-brand to the world. One of the key issues that we addressed was the question of the country's image.

For the majority of people, including many governments, the concept of a nation as a brand is difficult to grasp, and therefore they do not invest in the development of their identity, which is a precondition for a positive image. Regardless of that, most nations, with some exceptions, already have an image in the eyes of the world, whether is it positive, negative or mixed. Furthermore, the image of a less known country may be influenced by the country's category in which the country is classified. For example, a developing African country has a different image to a developed Asian country. In the European context, a Balkan country is considered to have a very different image to a Mediterranean country, or an Eastern European country, although some countries can belong to more then one category - and Macedonia is an example of a country which simultaneously belongs to all three categories of Balkan, Mediterranean and Eastern European.

When a nation belongs to more than one category, what this country will do to position itself is crucial. If it fails to take a stand then other countries will position it and this may not be in its best interests. For example, when it comes to the image of the Balkans in the European perspective, my careful analysis of the foreign policy of the European Union towards the Balkans has brought me to the conclusion that the EU clearly has a need to maintain continuous negative perceptions regarding this region in the eyes of their constituency. In the same manner as the Americans were fostering the threat of the Soviet Union in the past, and the threat of global terrorism today in order to unite their people, the EU feels the need to have a threat as well, and preferably a threat that can be easily controlled - such as the Balkan countries today. And this is not an unusual political decision. The literature on propaganda is specific on this matter - an 'enemy' must exist, even if one needs to be invented, regardless of whether we are discussing this matter in terms of a nation or a corporation. Also the enemy needs to exemplify an exact opposite of the respected party. This is because the social construction of the enemy fulfils several functions; the main one being that the enemy serves as a reference to which the opposite side can be compared. In the case of the EU, the Balkan region serves as a constant reference for comparison. Unfortunately, this region is usually perceived as the European version of the Middle East and the EU has demonstrated numerous times that it prefers to keep it as such (although their official policy claims differently). To them, this clarifies their values or where they stand, and it gives them a sense of selfhood. Another reason for an enemy is that only by reference to enemies people become united, which means that the greater the internal discord within the societies the more powerful the need for enemies becomes. Therefore, it is not unusual why some countries decided to promote their 'Mediterranean' image rather than their 'Balkan' image, like in the case of Greece and Croatia, and recently Slovenia. From this region, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia has been unable to identify that the idea of the 'Balkan country' could endanger the country's image, and they continue to promote Macedonia as a Balkan country. However, in several interviews with various Government representatives and in my report to the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I recommended that they should start adopting a 'Mediterranean' image, rather then fostering 'Balkan' image. Although Republic of Macedonia is a landlocked country by its borders, from a historical and geographical point of view, as well as the climatic zone, the country does belong to the Mediterranean region, which is more than enough for a sound promotional campaign.

Nation branding involves a much larger number of stakeholders and interests. For example, national, regional and local authorities as well as business organizations, manufacturers, tourist agencies, economic sectors ranging from high-tech to agriculture, the public at large, and even individuals should be treated as stakeholders. The ultimate goal in such a campaign is to integrate a variety of different interests into a joint branding process. In order for the campaign to be successful, a core message needs to be developed that can be used by different industrial sectors. They all need to actively participate to form a common set of values that will serve as a basis for the brand. Such a type of campaign is called 'umbrella branding'. Therkelsen and Halkier suggest that applying umbrella-nation branding gives a consistently projected, unified national image to the external world, thus being superior to a fragmented and uncoordinated image. However, the danger of this campaign is that if one set of interests is over emphasized to the detriment of another set of interests, an important stakeholder might be alienated. For example, tourist and potential investors have different interests and needs. It is also worth mentioning, that practically all of the emerging economies are trying to position themselves as being modern, innovative and technologically advanced. Jaffe and Nebenzahl suggest that in todaya??s competitive global village, it takes more than just a slogan about being innovative. Advertising and public relations campaigns can only support 'real' improvements in products and services. By themselves, they are insufficient to bring a significant change in attitudes. Along with the campaigns, a support systems needs to be designed and introduced that will make sure that the promoted improvements are genuine. Having that in mind, Macedonia will need to continuously invest in the development of the logistics structure necessary for establishing and managing a business.

Corporationalism

Conclusion

Think of a country as a highly diversified multinational corporation. This corporation has international trade agreements, seeks international partners to grow its businesses, depends on its reputation for business development, and it knows that in order to develop more it has to attract the best talent necessary for success. As with any other corporation, it strives to secure excellent financial ratings, industry recognition and respect in the marketplace. This corporation offers a very diverse range of products and services, as well as a unique set of opportunities for business development. Its core international agenda is to establish a good reputation in the world, to export its products and services globally, and to attract investments.

In the same manner as multinational corporations, all nations without exception need strong identities. Countries, in the same way as corporations build their image around their identity, and this image can be shaped and improved if needed. Some countries are seen as generous and progressive, others as repressive. Some countries are renowned for their engineering competence (like Germany or Switzerland), while others for design skills (like Italy and France). Whatever these views are, they define the perception of the nation-state as a nation-brand. Positive brand image can be a valuable asset when addressing onea??s audience or stakeholders and such perceptions can partly determine the "branda's/country's marketability", whether in the form of export, establishment of subsidiary, tourism, or encouragement of cooperative alliance between business firms. A nationa's 'image' is a representation of national culture, and a successful management and communication of that image can determine country's success in every area of interest.

Copyright by Gjoko Muratovski 2004 - 2006; Beyond Design; Nampress Publishing. This paper was prepared for the ACUADS 2008 Conference in Australia, where the paper is to be published in full including the references and the bibliography.