As the Executive leader of a country, it is the leader’s responsibility to keep a nation’s brand strong. As spokesperson for the nation brand, a leader must also ensure that brand perceptions align with brand performance. President Uhuru Kenyatta has done so with grace. He is telling Kenya’s story across the nation, within the region and on the global platform.

Japan is poised to project a global reality that the world has come to expect: leading-edge high tech, from the world’s fastest and safest trains to robotics, electronics and (my personal hope) free WiFi everywhere. Combine this with 21st century high touch – omotenashi (hospitality) safety, polite society, humility, modesty, and a green, sustainable economy – and you will really get the world enraptured by your stories.

In the post-Cold War international system, and an increasingly globalised world, 'soft power' has gained prominence. However, 'soft power' has always been significant for post-WWII Japan, which renounced military 'hard power' as a means of pursuing state policy, embracing pacifism. With a wealth of 'soft power' resources, Japan continually strives to enhance the attractiveness of its image overseas through human, cultural and intellectual exchange, and public diplomacy. 

Kenya is set to use social media to promote its tourism industry that is currently on its knees due to security challenges posed by terrorist attacks. The East African nation will in the next months start using Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Instagram to reach out to potential tourists across the world in new and traditional source markets. 

“I’m here as an official representative of the state of Israel to say thank you to the Jewish National Fund for all the great work that they’ve done, and bring the message from Israel to the students,” Ido Aharoni said. Aharoni cultivated the concept of “nation branding” and founded the organization “Brand Israel,” a coalition of seven marketing and communication executives. The organizations aims to redirect the existing conversation about Israel.

Egypt’s tourism industry, battered by three years of political upheaval, violence and street protests, could fully recover by the end of next year if regional turmoil does not spread to the Arab world’s biggest country, the tourism minister said. 

Where in the world is Armenia? It’s a question that the country’s President, Serzh Sargsyan, is hoping to get more people around the globe to answer correctly. He wants to mobilize the 10 million Armenians living abroad for a global internet publicity campaign to boost tourism and influence foreign investors. Referring to the “One Armenian, One Article” campaign, the BBC reminds that the idea is to get expatriates to write positive stories about the country.