Branding is simply a marketing strategy that involves creating a differentiated name and image – often using a logo and/or tag line – in order to establish a presence in the consumer’s mind and attract and retain customers. Your brand tells the customers what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors.

Many Namibian products have quite smart and eye-catching brands and logos. We think here of Namibian meat under the brand “Natures Reserve”; one of Namibian fish products is branded as “Tjao”; and Namibian beer with its “Pure Beer” brand clearly distinguishes it from that of our competitors. Then, of course, retail and other service providers cannot do business without their brands. Banks, especially, make all kinds of daring statements with their brands, such as “together we can do better” or “make things happen” or “how can we help you?” and so forth. And, Air Namibia is still “carrying the spirit of Namibia.”

But, have we ever asked what brand Namibia has as a country? This is called Nation Branding. There have been attempts in the past to design and introduce a unique Namibia country brand, but we still do not seem to have reached the stage of designing, introducing and launching it. The Namibia brand should not be confused with Team Namibia. Team Namibia plays an important role to mobilize Namibian consumers to buy local, as well as driving the promotion of the production of quality local products and services. Moreover, Nation Branding is not simply a sticker on our products indicating “Made in Namibia”, as I will explain in due course.

After the global downturn, governments around the world started scrambling to rebuild economic strength and reputation. Many countries have begun to initiate public relations (PR) campaigns, hoping to communicate an attractive global image that will attract business, tourists and investors. Nation Branding basically aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries, which is closely related to place branding. The branding and image of a nation-state and the successful transference of this image to its exports can open up new export destinations. This is also referred to as country-of-origin effect, which we see with Namibian beef and beer. An effective Nation Brand can also improve a country’s ability to attract a talented and creative workforce and add weight to its cultural and political influence in the world.

In many ways, countries can be understood as the sum of their identity and reputation. And, just like brands, strength or weakness of perception of a country can influence peoples’ decisions to choose them as places to visit, live or invest in. Therefore, a country’s identity – whether conveyed by a brand or otherwise – and reputation can provide a competitive advantage in a global market for tourism, education and investment, and built evidence for proactive country brand management.

Nation Branding appears to be practiced by many countries. There is increasing interest in the concept from developing nations on the grounds that an enhanced image might create more favourable conditions for foreign direct investment, tourism, trade and even political relations with other states. Developing nations are creating smaller Nation Branding programmes aimed at increased overall image. Nation branding takes the idea of niche marketing to a new level. Countries with only a few major assets to promote to the rest of the world are seeing the benefits of positioning themselves in a particular niche and then initiating a global PR campaign to communicate that branding.

A Nation Brand usually portrays a typifying image of the country, its government and its people accompanied with a slogan. The new slogan of the South African brand, for example, indicates “inspiring new ways” and it was designed to capture the spirit of South Africa in the slogan. Similarly, the brand of Egypt is “where it all begins,” that of Morocco is “essence of mystery” and in Canada you can “keep exploring,” while Japan promises “endless discoveries.”

International ‘best country brand’ assessments have emerged as a result of work done in this area. One prominent research poll – the Country Brand Index (CBI) – has emerged as an expert at ranking countries’ brands. For example, according to 2014-15 CBI world rankings, Japan leads. Within our region, South Africa is ranked in 40th position.

I urge all stake holders in Namibia to come together and come up with a National Brand. Government through the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development can coordinate the drive towards branding of Namibia together with key stakeholders, such as Team Namibia, Namibia Tourism Board, Namibia Trade Forum and NCCI. What is needed is a nationally coordinated umbrella strategy to brand and position Namibia as a source of quality goods and services and as a tourism and investment destination. Of course, such an exercise does not come cheaply, but the ultimate benefits will outstrip the costs by a huge margin. Our country needs bold ideas if we are to succeed to secure market access for domestically produced products and services.

By Right Honourable Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila

Prime Minister of the Republic Of Namibia.