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Lebanon‘s need for a ‘creative nation’ branding

by Paul Boulos

How a country is perceived on the world stage by its own people or by other nations is crucial to its survival and success in the new globalized model. Nation branding and country positioning is an untapped concept in Lebanon and what it has to offer. While the notion of nation branding is not new on an international scale, on a regional scale it represents a hidden opportunity for Lebanon. Whether based on individual national objectives of trade, investment, travel and tourism, or through NGOs, positioning a country’s brand is more important than ever for small countries like Lebanon.
As a brand, so far Lebanon has been most successful at manufacturing human talent. This talent has demonstrated that it is cultured, competent and cost efficient. It mainly resides in the diaspora, a large pool of potential that has not yet been linked back to the ‘mother brand.’

Arab nation brands
Some Arab localities have made serious attempts to style their countries as brands, according to the national agenda of their governments and international interests. Examples of this include Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Manama. Dubai was sought after for its transit and service qualities; Doha as an international sports and education destination; Abu Dhabi for its culture and Manama as a smart business choice.
We have seen other attempts via one-off campaigns by the ministries of tourism in places like Turkey and Egypt. Yet such campaigns fell short of promoting their country brand under one unifying umbrella. India, China and Australia could serve as good examples of exploiting nation branding by building one unifying brand.

What does it take?
Today, the world we live in has no geographic boundaries when it comes to conducting business, especially when it comes to communication. If we are to shift our mindset and think of Lebanon as a ‘creative nation’ brand, we must first define the key performance indicators. Second, we must identify the industries that are considered ‘creative’ and see what it takes to execute them.
Thinking of Lebanon as a creative nation brand, we must be able to define our brand promise: For what do we stand? What is our cutting edge offering? What is the content that we will offer on the international market? How we will deliver it? What is our target market? Who are our customers and what do we know about them?

The ‘attention age’
Welcome to the ‘attention age’, where before delivering a message in a cluttered environment, countries must rise to the challenge of grabbing attention. Then, they must deliver a promise, live up to it and earn the respect and trust of investors, consumers, media and other nations.
The information age is over. We have officially entered the attention age, whereby attention is won and credibility through creative talent is the only sustainer. Lebanon is an ideal platform for a creative nation brand, as more and more products and businesses export ideas instead of tangible commodities. If we are to think of Lebanon as a cultural product, then this could be a start. The demand for creative products and industries is growing as consumers are more into cultural exchange and social media. In fact, consumers today are using creative products and selling them in order to connect with specific dreams and lifestyles.

Lebanon’s success in creative sectors
Lebanon has made some interesting breakthroughs in various sectors, which could easily be labeled as creative industries or creative sectors driven by talent. Examples of this include advertising, architecture, design, arts, media, film, music, tourism and gastronomy. All these creative industries have as their nucleus the work, ideas, energy and creativity of a small team. Positioning Lebanon as a creative nation brand takes much more than designing just a nice logo with an appealing tag line. It takes having the human talent, the energy, the will and a common vision. The biggest problem with branding a nation like Lebanon is there are many different organizations that operate in a sporadic and slow manner. They do not liaise with other entities such as the ministries of tourism, trade or export organizations. Essentially, everyone does their own thing. It’s nearly impossible to get everything together and host it all under the country’s umbrella. Thus comes the need to define a common vision as to what Lebanon should stand for as a creative brand.

Nation brand assessment measures
The Anholt nation brands index offers a systematic approach to measuring nations’ brand equities in an index that he sets for national assets, characteristics and competencies. These include exports, people, governance, tourism, culture and heritage, immigration and investment.
In essence, countries are a lot like humans. Therefore it is important to consider the emotional attributes of these nations as they are perceived by others in the world. Despite all the chaos that Lebanon is witnessing and the instability that surrounds it, we have no excuse not to think in this untapped strategic and essential direction. As chaotic as our nation is, we have a trilingual culture, competency and cost efficiency. Hence, we stand a real chance to succeed in the emerging new world order where geographic boundaries no longer apply. As for the present and the future, Lebanon as a creative brand must focus all its efforts on harboring, developing and retaining its own creative talent.

PAUL BOULOS is business development director — Middle East & North Africa, at Drive Communication

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