The Age of the Brand State:  Implications for Business and Government

About three decades ago some governments began launching country-wide campaigns to help their firms compete against imports at home (e.g., Crafted With Pride in America, Czech Made). Largely a reaction to global competitive pressures, this trend built on knowledge and practices in the field of “product-country images”, which focuses on the significant effects such images can have on buyer behaviour (Japanese electronics, “German-engineered” cars, “100% Colombian coffee”). Gradually, this emphasis on place-based marketing led to the realization that place images have in fact played a major role in several aspects of corporate and government behaviour for some time (e.g., tourism, agriculture). The result, starting in the early 1990s, has been attempts at developing multi-faceted “country branding” programs to promote exports in both agriculture and other sectors (e.g., high technology), protect against imports, attract factors of development (tourism, foreign investment, skilled workers, foreign students, etc.), and position countries for advantage politically in international affairs (e.g., Deutschland Europa, Cool Brittania, Trade New Zealand). The trend has been exacerbated by the opening of “emerging markets” for investment after the fall of communism, the recent drop in international travel due to terrorism, and health scares in the agri-food chain, all of which intensified place-based competion in these sectors. Combined, all these developments have significant implications for developed countries (which are engaged in a race to “brand” themselves), developing countries (which also need to start branding if they are to compete), private firms (which need to re-evaluate their strategies in the light of increasing attention on place images), and researchers (who need to develop a better understanding of how place images work). This presentation will outline the factors that led to the current emphasis on “country branding”, discuss the relative positions of the key players involved, and draw implications for government and business strategy in the “age of the brand state”.

Date : Vendredi  le 26 novembre à 10h.

Lieu : La Salle Demers Beaulne (1er étage, section verte), HEC Montréal, 3000 Côte Ste Catherine.

Dr. Nicolas Papadopoulos (B.Com. & Grad. Dip. B.A. Athens; MBA Washington State; Ph.D. Athens) is Professor of Marketing and International Business at the Sprott School of Business of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada,  which he joined in 1979. He has served as Director of the School (1993-1995), and is Director of the International Business Study Group (which he co-founded in 1984) and Chair of the Sprott Research Committee. He is included in Who’s Who in Canadian Business.

His research and professional interests focus on marketing and business strategy, marketing in the nonprofit sector, buyer behaviour, and especially international marketing and business – with emphasis on market and entry mode selection, segmentation strategy, corporate networks, strategies within and across trading blocs, buyer attitudes towards the images of products and countries, and country equity and branding. He has authored, co-authored, or edited over 160 publications, including refereed journal and conference articles, book chapters, research monographs and technical reports, and eight books. His book titles include Canada and the European Community: An Uncomfortable Partnership? (Institute for Research on Public Policy, Montreal, 1986), Product and Country Images: Image and Role in International Marketing (The Haworth Press, New York, 1993), and Marketing – An Executive Primer (Ottawa, 1994), and other recent publications include Countries as Brands (Ivey Business Journal, 2000), Toward a Tradeoff Model for International Market Selection (International Business Review, 2002), Country Equity and Country Branding (Journal of Brand Management, 2002), and the country equity chapter in Handbook of Research in International Marketing (2003).

Dr. Papadopoulos worked with Exxon (Systems Analyst and Accounting Section Head), 3M (Sales Coordinator, Industrial Tapes Division), and Procter & Gamble (Brand Management) before beginning his academic career, and has kept close ties with the practice of marketing and business since. He lectures and consults in North America and Europe, and has worked with private and public organizations ranging from Bell Canada International, DataForce, Neoset S.A. and Neoset Canada Inc., to such federal departments as Heritage Canada, Justice Canada, Agriculture Canada, and various units of Industry Canada and Foreign Affairs & International Trade Canada.

He has also worked as a volunteer with several professional and nonprofit organizations, including the National Capital Chapter of the American Marketing Association (various capacities on the Board of Directors, including President); the Canadian Fencing Federation (Member, Board of Directors and two terms as Vice President – Marketing); and United Way/Centraide Canada (Member, National Marketing Task Force).

Currently he serves as a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Global Marketing, the Journal of East-West Business, Place Branding (to be launched in late 2004), and Academy of Marketing Science Review, and as on-going reviewer for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and a variety of other journals, annual conferences, and publishers.

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