Launching in 2017, The South African Brand Summit & Awards will provide a unique platform to begin but probably not finish a series of important conversations about branding [...] The summit will culminate in a gala awards dinner at which brands that make South Africa shine will be celebrated. The summit will also look at how brands that operate in South Africa contribute to the country’s brand narrative.

The news cycle about Brazil’s abundant economic and political problems – combined with issues during the Olympics – have damaged Brazil’s national brand. Latin America’s largest country dropped to 23rd place in the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index. It is Brazil’s worst ranking to date. NBI rates the image of 50 countries based on interviews and panels held in several parts of the world. It evaluates nations in six different criteria: politics, culture, population, tourism, the potential for immigration, and business friendliness.

How did Brand Dubai rise in such a short time span? Three elements sum it well. Passionate people, great products with a global connect, and popular annual events like the Dubai shopping Festival and Dubai duty Free tennis. The city embodies a rich character with a pioneering spirit, a commitment to innovation, the pursuit of excellence and prosperity, while embracing vast cultural diversity.

Zimbabwe needs to manage its brand imaging properly as this has a huge bearing on the country's ability to attract investment and developing its economy, a senior Government official said. [...] Why manage the country's image? We cannot afford to be isolated, we are a global player. That means countries are competing. 

“A Handbook on Philippine Public Diplomacy” is a compilation of articles written by active public diplomacy practitioners. As a pioneering work, the articles contain first-hand records of experiences in handling various issues in which Philippine diplomats needed to apply public diplomacy skills learned on the ground, such as in nation branding, online engagement, Filipino community relations abroad, and crisis management.

Creating a strategic communications plan for Ukraine was a hot topic at the 5th annual Tiger Conference, organized by the Kyiv Post on Nov. 29 in Kyiv. Communications experts discussed how the nation can go from zero to an internationally recognized brand by asserting clear and positive message about its identity, history and values.

Branding is all about perception and Nigeria’s is not where it should be by a long stretch. We can no longer afford to leave Nigeria’s branding in the hands of anybody with an opinion on the country. Is it that the government does not know we should brand the country? Do we not know that it has been proven that having a strong country brand, will enhance our respect in the political arena.