‘Incredible India’ and the Brand State

The Incredible India campaign was launched in 2002 by the Ministry of Tourism as a nation branding campaign. It was aimed both at extending the business and leisure traveller’s stay in India but also promoting domestic tourism. Typically focusing on the travels of international culinary experts, travel bloggers and in the most recent version a ‘yogi on the racetrack’ through India, thecampaignportrays amazing hospitality in the background of staggering peaks, extended vistas, serene lakes, exotic wildlife and luxurious accommodations. Visualising a joyous colourful celebration of life Incredible India facilitates the idea of seamless communication and global accessibility aimed at creating a relationship between tourism destination marketing and nation branding. The campaign, deemed to be responsible for rise in foreign exchange earnings, increase in tourist arrival and a place for India in the top ten country brands in FutureBrand’s Country Brand Index was, however, aimed at more than just destination branding. It sought to enhance India’s share in key Asian markets and to position and differentiate India from Asian competitors, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, each with its own brand slogan ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ ‘Amazing Thailand’and ‘Uniquely Singapore’ and reflecting the fact that in an increasingly globalized world,the situating of the state within the global space and its ‘image’ in the international community becomes in many ways as crucial as the projection of homogeneity within the state.

Interest in the concept and practice of ‘nation branding’ has proliferated in recent years as more and more governments around the world attempt to harness the power of commercial branding techniques to improve their country’s image and reputation across a wide range of sectors. While it is true that nations have always sought to promote their economic, diplomatic and military interests, it is only in the last decade that nations have turned to the explicit use of the techniques of branding. Terms such as ‘brand image’ and ‘brand identity’ are increasingly being used to describe the perceptions that are held of nations among their ‘stakeholders’. This eruption of the vocabulary of branding into the international affairs of nations has not been without scepticism regarding the appropriateness and relevance of such overtly commercial practices. However, almost every government in the world is now engaged in one way or another with nation branding, more visibly through the commissioning of advertisements in international channels and less visibly though initiatives like the consistent portrayal of certain symbols and images as constituting the essence of the state. The subtle but consistent depiction of yoga and meditation as ways of discovering oneself intermingling with the discovery of India itself, in a recent Incredible India video, is a representative example.

Most of the literature on ‘nation branding’ focuses on one of the three dominant areas: the country of origin effects for export products; branding tourist destinations and getting foreign investments. However, a powerful nation brand image involves much more than simply boosting branded exports around the world. It is now essential for countries to understand how they are perceived by the global public in terms of the reflection of their achievements and failures, their assets and liabilities, their people and their products in their brand image. In the sphere of foreign politics, reputation management and influencing public opinion in other countries have become important, and through public diplomacy a nation’s policies and cultures are communicated to international audiences. The use of its history, geography and ethnic motifs to construct its own distinct image by ‘brand states’ is a benign campaign that often lacks the deep rooted often antagonistic sense of national identity and uniqueness that can accompany nationalism; yet it is quite significant in terms of ‘identity politics’. In fact, place branding specialists emphasize that nation branding encourages one to revisit the debate on nationalism and the role and nature of national identity.‘Chinese Dream’ the brand slogan initiated by President Xi and first used by him at the National Museum’s ‘Road to Revival’ exhibition was as much an attempt at national revivalas a reflection of the aspiration for extension of Chinese soft power through cultural symbols. Yet, the fixing of a particular idea of the nation within a global framework is not without its problems. The task of representing the changing and heterogeneous realities of India, for instance, seems impossible within the visual images used by the Incredible India campaign. Aimed principally at an international audience its essence also often escapes domestic comprehension.

Branding therefore is not just about gaining attention; it is also about managing identity, loyalty and reputation. It plays an increasingly important internal function of identity formation. Although primordialists assume that every nation has deep roots, modern nations are actually based on invented traditions and the continuous mobilization and adaptation of history.  With its flag, anthem and constitution the modern state is nothing other than a brand with a logo and mission statement. It is not surprising therefore that most states, cities, ministries and government agencies now boost their own logos and ‘mission statements’ in order to reposition themselves in a fluid globalizing world. This change implies more than merely window-dressing. It implies a shift in political paradigms, a shift from the modern world of geopolitics and power to a post- modern world of images and influence.

Anita

26 January 2019