The government has commissioned three government agencies to develop the "New Zealand Story" as an aid to export growth but it says the new tools don’t signal the end of 100% Pure as a national brand.

This really is most likely the initial national slogan which turns the spotlight around the people and also the human spirit as opposed to the country, its natural marvels or history. This can be a quite strong and assured statement of Kosovos attitude like a country as well as its future intentions.

The first weekend in August proved to be one huge celebration for the Caribbean country of Jamaica. While the success of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the 2012 Olympic Games might have garnered most of the attention, the country was already firmly in the process of celebrating a rather more important milestone: fifty years of Jamaican independence.

While the athletes have been competing for medals at the London Olympics, their countries have been duking it out in a different type of games. Think of it as the Branding Olympics, with the competitors being more than 40 national hospitality houses set up across London to host VIPs and medalists, welcome visitors and showcase what the countries have to offer.

...the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games is estimated to have been watched live by more than 1 billion people. Therefore, for a few hours on the night of July 27th, Britain enjoyed a complete monopoly of television sets across the globe. Through its narrative in the opening ceremony it was able to highlight specific features of Britain and either introduce or remind the world of these.

Legendary former Singaporean PM Lee Kuan Yew was way ahead of his time. He was the world’s very first Marketing Director for a country brand. He believed in the power of country marketing long before the Mad Men of Madison Avenue even thought about it.

Israel’s brand used to be a producer of conflicts and bad news. ...he thought Israel should focus on building a relationship that is meaningful to both the country and consumers by broadening the conversation beyond conflicts and finding ways through research to better communicate Israel’s assets such as creative spirit and innovation.

As Jamaica celebrates its golden anniversary of independence on Aug. 6, its Olympic sprinters look set to dominate in London...Beyond Jamaica's impressive national branding and Olympics fame, how would you describe the country's feeling of accomplishment, and perhaps also disappointment, as it approaches its 50th anniversary?