Although many Holly- and Bollywood scenes are shot in Switzerland, until now the country’s efforts to promote itself haven’t been anything to sing and dance about. The new head of Film Location Switzerland aims to professionalise the sector to attract more producers...

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has called in a British expert on country branding for advice, and the country's tourism industry is now headed by a man who has worked for some of the biggest consumer brands in the world.

In a recent report, SERI analyzed how Korea’s hosting of international events such as the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the 2011 Daegu IAAF World Championships alongside the Korean wave and an upswing in global activities by Korea’s multinational corporations have contributed to Korea’s move up in the rankings of the Nation Brands Index.

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke has emphasised that most of the challenges confronting the country are as a result of the breakdown of our cherished cultural values.

Nations must actively manage their brand, he stressed. Israel is constantly portrayed negatively in the news, and until a few years ago, the nation as a whole wasn’t doing anything to try and promote itself, he added. Branding a nation is “putting a human face on a product."

China’s soft-power offensive is unlikely to succeed if it solely relies on state-controlled media organs to get the message out. These institutions have a serious credibility problem, both inside and outside China. Beijing may choose to increase their budgets lavishly, but the money will most likely be wasted.

Type in the Mandarin words for “invest” and “Canada” into the popular search engine Baidu, and an official Canadian government website doesn’t appear until the 25th link. Lack of easy access to information in Mandarin about investment, education and immigration in Canada is weakening our relationship with China.