One key to a successful nation branding is to separate it from government communication programme, according to Wendy Tlou, Chief Marketing Officer of Brand South Africa.
She explained at the second Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) annual public relations gold medal lecture that the inability to separate the two distinct functions can hamper nation brand building project.
Drawing from South Africa’s experience in building “Brand South Africa”, a project marketing and communication programme she spearheaded, Tlou noted that while government’s activities and achievements can support nation brand building, having the managers of that process to also act as mouth pieces of the government can be counter-productive.
She said: “The secret of successful destination marketing lies in separating national communication from government communication. The mistake we all make is to assume that government is the only source of information about the country. Government is a great source of information in terms of how it is running the country; it is not however the only source.
“The role of government is to communicate the steps and programmes, what service delivery it is putting in place to ensure that the lives of the citizens are improved every single day, while the role of the nation brand builders is to position the country to the world as a destination for tourism and investment, irrespective of what administration is in power at any particular point in time.”
Tlou said although ‘Brand South Africa’ is the brain child of former President Thabo Mbeki and also reports directly to the Presidency, it operates independently as a private enterprise.
She argued that building a successful nation brand is not about geographical location but about the people in that location, and the government must obtain the buy-in of the citizens, who then naturally become the project’s ambassadors.
“At the heart of nation brand building must be the people of the nation. If the people are not convinced to buy into the dreams that the country is selling to the world, the whole effort will be nothing but a waste of resources.”
Tlou recalled that one mistake Brand South Africa made at the initial stage was to ignore South Africans themselves – the citizens, business organisations, civil organisations and the media – and to run off, trying to sell their country to the international community.
John Ehiguese, Mediacraft Associates Chief Executive Officer and PRCAN President, said there are lessons to learn from South Africa which has successfully turned itself into a tourism and investment destination of choice in Africa.
His words: “The choice of this year’s theme was informed by the simple fact that over the years our country Nigeria has made several efforts at destination marketing, but it does appear those efforts have not been particularly successful.
“On the other hand, South Africans who came out of the harrowing experience of apartheid have successfully turned their country into a destination for tourism and investment. So we said to ourselves that perhaps there are some lessons we can take home from them.
“Hence the choice of Wendy Tlou, who happens to have been deeply involved in the whole process in South Africa.”
The annual public relations gold medal lecture is a thought leadership initiative of PRCAN to stimulate public discourse on national issues that have direct bearing on Nigeria’s economic, political and social well-being.