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Where is Brand America?
Incredible India, Visit Britain, Uniquely Singapore – these are just some of country brand campaigns that nations, like large corporations, have created to establish ownable images and compete for lucrative tourism dollars in an ever-shrinking world. But try to find a United States ad or even a travel poster at home or abroad and the search will prove unsuccessful. The U.S.A. as a country has no brand, no identity, no call to action to lure travelers here and help drive the economy.
Call it an identity crisis. America as a whole entity, has long reaped the rewards of state and city tourism campaigns but no clear Brand U.S.A. has ever been established within the tourism industry. In fact, the U.S. is one of the only major countries that does not have an official government tourism board. What’s more, in this year of presidential elections the American image and brand are more important than ever both at home and on the global stage. So, what’s a country to do?
FutureBrand, a global brand consultancy and the author of the annual Country Brand Index – the premier global study that ranks countries as brands across a variety of categories -, believes the country is drastically in need of one overarching U.S. brand identity and message.
FutureBrand is asking talented students to join the dialog through the Brand America Student Contest. Design students from across the country are invited to get involved and represent their views on one of the most complicated, exciting and polarizing brands around: AMERICA.
“We think it will be exciting to see how young minds consider this difficult challenge and are equally excited to use this contest to broaden the discussion and debate around what America can and should stand for from a brand point of view,” notes Mario Natarelli, Co-CEO for FutureBrand North America and Middle East.
The winning brand identity and select finalists will be published in FutureBrand’s 2008 Country Brand Index when the results are revealed in November at this year’s World Travel Market in London. The winner will also receive a $1,000 cash prize, as well as a paid internship at FutureBrand NY.
To enter, send an email to brandamerica@futurebrand.com for a detailed brief on terms, conditions and eligibility requirements. Deadline for submission of entries is Oct. 10, 2008. To learn more about country branding, visit www.countrybrandindex.com.
