Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States charged with increasing international tourism into the United States, announced it will launch its culinary tourism strategy in conjunction with its participation at the James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception on Monday, May 4, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 

America is a meticulously constructed brand; it is the indispensable nation with exceptional power. There is no country as adept at branding as the United States.

Brand USA, the public-private partnership charged with promoting international tourism to the United States, today announced it has selected Ogilvy Public Relations as its global media relations agency of record following a competitive RFP process.

I received a letter from the U.S. State Department last week. It was from a program officer in the office of International Visitors thanking me for hosting three Chinese journalists who were visiting the United States as part of the State Department’s Edward R. Murrow exchange program. It was a very nice thank-you note. The last line read: “Your generosity and kindness made a lasting, positive impression, helping advance the cause of America’s public diplomacy effort.”

The recent senseless shooting of Christopher Lane, an Australian student athlete who was on a baseball scholarship at a small Oklahoma state university, is so sad and disturbing that it shakes our souls. It is hard to imagine the horror and sadness that his family and friends in Australia and Oklahoma must be experiencing at this moment.