Unapologetic, and unabashed, Wally Olins speaks on the branding of nations (Note: .pdf file.):
“And the rebranding of France has proceeded sporadically and often violently ever since. Napoleon’s Empire gave way to the restored Bourbons, who were overthrown and replaced by a bourgeois Monarchy, which was followed by a Second Republic which turned itself into a Second Napoleonic Empire. In an attempt to recreate the glory of his uncle, the first and incomparably greater figure, Napoleon III and the Second Empire went down to humiliating defeat by Prussia in 1870. By the time the Third Republic emerged from the ashes of the Second Empire, French politicians had become the worlds specialists at branding and rebranding the nation.”
And further draws parallel between the brand strategy of nations and businesses:
“Businesses have to create loyalties; loyalties of the workforce, loyalties of suppliers, loyalties of the communities in which they operate, loyalties of investors and loyalties of customers. In creating these loyalties they use very similar techniques to those of nation builders. They create myths, special languages, environments which reinforce loyalties, colours, symbols, and quasi-historical myths. They even have heroes.”
Here in Alberta, there are ongoing concerns with presenting the province to the world in a positive light, sometimes controversial, sometimes regarded as expensive and ultimately unsuccessful. This has resulted in a multi-front war of words divided amongst the Provincial government, advocacy groups, environmental stewards and the news media.
(Suncor Energy upgrader and tailings ponds. Fort McMurray, AB. Photo by Edward Burtynsky.)
For some, Ed Burtynsky’s aerial photos of the tar sands are the only insight into the operations happening in our own back yard. Or, they would be if anyone here had paid attention.
“The value and importance of the oil sands will make that much harder the choices that Albertans and all Canadians suddenly face. Canada has now become a major-league merchant of one of the most desirable—and dirtiest—sources of energy. The money is flowing in, and the profits are rolling out—good news for stockholders, the Canadian dollar and government coffers.
“But there are environmental and social costs to stuffing our pockets while the oil speeds south. And Canadians will have to answer a question already being asked by many Albertans: When does a boom become a burden?” —Erin Anderssen, Shawn McCarthy and Eric Reguly, An empire from a tub of goo, Globe and Mail.
See also: Better Nation Building Through Design, via Design Observer.
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