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Instruments of nation branding
A number of international political and sporting events and institutions 
can have an influence on how a country is seen overseas. These include the 
following:
political – influence with other heads of state;
economic – for example membership of the WTO;
entertainment – the development of a national film industry with export 
potential, such as Bollywood in India, French and British cinema, and 
Hollywood in the USA;
sport – hosting a leading international sporting event, such as the World 
Athletics Championships, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and 
the Olympic Games.
Anholt has evolved the concept of the nation brand hexagon. A country’s 
image is formed by a wide range of factors represented in the hexagon. 
These are six natural ‘channels’ through which countries typically convey 
their images to the world:
tourism;
exports;
people;
governance;
culture and heritage;
investment.
In another work, Competitive Identity, Anholt replaces the term ‘national 
brand strategy’ with ‘competitive identity’ as the core of the hexagon. He 
defines ‘competitive identity’ as: ‘The synthesis of brand management with 
public diplomacy and with trade, investment, tourism and export promo-
tion’ (2007: 7). He makes the change in emphasis as the term ‘brand’ is 
misleading, since it can also have negative and emotive associations. His 
‘Competitive Identity Model’ has been extended to cities and regions of 
countries, covering images, identities and the reputation of places. His more 
recent work, Places (2009), provides insight into how countries, regions and 
cities can begin to understand, measure and manage their international 
standing and identity. It focuses on examining in what ways it is actually 
possible to influence a national image.
Anholt’s Nation Brands Index (2005) is an extensive social survey which 
has been used by many governments and other agencies. It is based on the 
premise that the way in which a country is perceived can make a critical 
difference to the success of its business, trade and tourism efforts, as well 
as its diplomatic and cultural relations with other nations. A similarly 
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Cultural Diplomacy and Nation Branding 235
extensive survey is his City Brands Index, which covers how the world 
views its cities.
Nebenzahl (2001) considers that: ‘Country image is not a static pheno-
menon but country images are long- lasting and difficult to change. That is 
why in order to improve a country’s image it may be easier to create new 
positive associations rather than try to refute older ones.’ This has been the 
aim of successive German governments since 1945 and has also been the case 
in Spain from 1975 onwards after the Franco regime. Another example of 
rebranding is that of the Lebanon after the 1975–1990 civil war. This 
consisted of the widespread use of the logo of the national flag, promoting 
the Lebanon as a desirable tourist location and as an important financial 
centre. Lebanese food and famous entertainment stars such as Shakira were 
also publicized.
The UK has a unique cultural identity based on its monarchy, traditions 
and pageantry. It also had an empire lasting 250 years, which made it one of 
the leading and most powerful countries in the world. The UK (and in parti-
cular London) is still seen as one of the leading global tourist destinations. 
London is also viewed as a major international financial centre. The value of 
the monarchy as a long- term, politically neutral guide to national strategy and 
purpose is of great importance. In 1999/2000, the British Council commis-
sioned a survey of overseas attitudes to Britain entitled ‘Through Other Eyes’. 
Broadly, it concluded that Britain was suffering from an identity crisis, bound 
by its past but uncertain of where its future lay. This perception implied that 
although Britain is one of the most open and progressive developed countries 
in the world, its image is too often associated with the past. It can be seen by 
some foreigners as a rather large theme park. In fact, its success has derived 
from fostering innovation with which to challenge the future.