By now, nearly everyone has heard of the BRICS. Less known are the CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa) and MIST (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey). These acronyms are the product of brilliant branding, but they tell us nothing about why these countries were chosen as the ones best built to last.

Needless to say, the tone and direction of branding a nation emanates from its top executive or CEO. This is the individual who by being the President, King or Prime Minister of a country carries on his shoulders the unique and challenging responsibility of inspiring citizens towards positivism

Angola has already become a representative brand in the various universal exhibitions held so far, which turns it into a country that is open to the world, the national commissioner to the Expo 2012 Yeosu, Albina Assis, considered this Sunday.

From a global branding point of view what is the worst thing that can happen when you mention the word Finland? The worst thing that can happen is that nothing springs to mind. This is why Finland has become interested in developing its country brand and image over the past few years.

We learnt with disbelief yesterday that the world boxing title fight that was to be the first of its kind to be staged on Botswana soil has been postponed indefinitely for lack of funds...This world title fight would offer a rare opportunity to unfurl the banner of Botswana on the world stage, forever leveraging branding the country for all that it stands for.

In plain language, putting Ghana’s tourism where we want it also demands the active participation of our film makers. Quite frankly, our filmmakers can’t do this alone. They need a nudge and more from our national branding authorities.