Countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and many others, have taken proactive branding strategies, hiring international media consultants to change or improve their national images. So far it is working, and gaining popularity.

Most country images are popular stereotypes developed over a long period of time. Country branding either confirms or counters some of these stereotypes. They include proactive actions taken by the stakeholders (business, government, and citizens) of a nation to achieve one or more of the following objectives.

Change the image of a country
Germany trying to change it's Nazi image, and Japan trying to change its World War II aggressor image, fall in this category. Recently, the Canadian prime minister suggested that their national image was best reflected by a wolverine (not beaver which is their national animal), and asked for a "re-branding" of Canada (The Economist, February 17). The "Smile Singapore" campaign was designed to brand a friendly Singapore, countering the serious-looking stereotype of the Chinese people.

Affect the "country of origin" or "made in" image of a country
Italian shoes, French perfume, Japanese electronics, Swiss cheese, are favourably perceived by consumers because of their country's images. This increases a country's exports earning.

Branding is done to create trust in a country's business, products and people. Hong Kong, Singapore and Ireland have specific strategies to expand their exports. Colombia uses "Café de Colombia" campaign to establish herself as a top quality coffee grower. India's Tea Board markets "Darjeeling Tea" with the same intention.

Attract foreign investment
This is one of the most popular reasons for country branding. Multinationals tend to select those countries that have better images and higher international country ratings (for details please see my article in The Daily Star, May 28). Malaysia, Poland, Scotland, and South Africa have specific campaigns to attract foreign investment.

Attract tourism
Popular "destination branding" campaigns fall in this category. The "Selling Australia: Branding a country" video, using Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) to promote Australia as a tourist destination, is a good example in this regard. "Amazing Thailand," "Malaysia, Truly Asia," and "Everything Under the Sun (Spain)," are successful destination brandings.

Branding a country by taking all the ingredients is not easy. The people, geography, history, literature, art, folklore, music, and culture form a country's image. It is an umbrella concept, where the "spirit of a nation" is depicted. Below are a few issues to consider for (re)branding Bangladesh as a country.

Objective and responsibility of the branding campaign
Our branding campaign can have multiple objectives. It should dispel some of the negatives and underscore some of the positives. The campaign can also be targeted to attract foreign investment and tourism.

Country branding is a combined responsibility of all citizens under a government leadership. The technical details of re-branding Bangladesh can be taken care of by professionally qualified international media firms/consultants, with support from local media/advertising agencies.

The team may consist of representatives from relevant government bodies (Parjatan Corporation, Export Promotion Bureau, and Board of Investment etc.), academia, media, and business. Representation from export oriented firms, and the hospitality and entertainment industries, should be there.

Dispelling the negative stereotype
In certain ways, Bangladesh is stereotyped negatively in the international media. She has been portrayed as a country besieged by poverty, natural disasters, floods and political violence. My daughter tells me that one of her geography teachers in high school called Bangladesh the "flood capital" of the world. The low-lying Ganges Delta gets flooded, and we are not going to escape this reality.

But we can counter and dispel the negative media publicity about floods, and the miseries caused. We could give a positive twist by highlighting our stories of "struggle and survival" against natural calamities. It is not the "story of the flood" but the "spirit of the nation to live, fighting all odds" that needs to be projected. That should be our branding focus.

Highlighting the positives
There are a few positives that we could highlight in branding Bangladesh. First, we need to underscore our language movement and liberation war, the two great events that we are proud of. It is because of Bangladesh that February 21 is celebrated as Language Day by the United Nations. Also, our liberation war symbolises the fighting spirit of an "unarmed civilian population" against an organized, well-equipped army.

The spirit of the nation, fighting against natural disasters, autocratic governments, or an organised army, is our national heritage. It is a common thread that can be tied together in defining the nation.

Second, we are a peace-loving, friendly people. People have lived in this Ganges Delta for over two thousand years. Bengal has never conquered anyone, or been a threat to any of her neighbours. Lately, we have been holding our stance for peace by being the largest contributor to the United Nations' peace-keeping force.

Third, as a nation we are open and hold moderate viewpoints. We have not allowed the extremists, whether from the right or from the left, to capture the mainstream. The two major political parties, Awami League (left of center?) and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (right of center?) are predominantly centrist parties. Our moderation is also reflected in our tolerance for ethnic or religious diversity.

Fourth, Bangladesh is a very young nation, both politically and demographically. Thirty-six years is a very short history for a nation-state. Despite natural disasters and political violence, the country has enjoyed over 5% GDP growth.

The entrepreneurial spirit of the nation, embracing globalisation, should be highlighted. How education and technology are reaching the masses should be underscored. The success of Grameen could be noted in this regard.

Fifth, our culture, literature, poetry, music, folklore, drama and dance are unique. The richness of our culture has not received good publicity. Here I salute Dr. Yunus's effort of taking a cultural troupe to the Noble Prize reception ceremony. The troupe promoted the richness of Bengali culture. A branding of modern Bangladesh should include our cultural heritage.

Sixth, the two recent events that gave us positive international coverage are Dr. Yunus's winning of the Noble Prize, and the Bangladesh cricket team's excellent performance. Both indicate the promise of a modern young nation. Let us underscore these achievements in re-branding Bangladesh.

Attracting tourism and investment
These two are the most common reasons for country branding. We can learn from the experiences of more than 30 countries of the world that have specific programs for attracting tourism/investment. A large amount of literature covers the issue. Parjatan Corporation and Board of Investment should be able to address them separately. I refrain from discussing them for the sake of brevity.

Differentiation is the key
Bangladesh is competing with its neighbours, especially India, for tourism and investment. India's mystic image, rich and diverse culture, popular movie industry, and the recent success of the IT sector, make her a formidable friendly competitor.

We need to differentiate ourselves from India in positioning Bangladesh as a country. Our language, culture and heritage play a significant role in that. We could emphasise the "youthfulness" of Bangladesh as a differentiating point. Our young cricketers have already set some positive examples in this regard.

Mere promotion cannot not do the trick if the product is a not right. Country branding will be successful if "product Bangladesh" is well accepted. That is, offering safety and security, stopping political violence, developing infrastructure, and upgrading the quality of the hospitality and entertainment industry, must be addressed.

The purpose of the article is to raise awareness about the importance of branding Bangladesh in a globalised world. Branding is likely to change our national image, improve our country ratings, and attract investment and tourism. For that, we need to work together as a nation. Resuming the stalled democratic process may just be a good start for the purpose. Hope we realize that soon.

Dr. A.N.M. Waheeduzzaman is a Professor of Marketing and International Business at Texas A&M University -- Corpus Christi, USA.