Re-launching brand USA
President Barack Obama
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Thursday, 19, Feb 2009 11:03
By Alistair Robinson and Benjamin Lickfett
Countries are like brands, they make a promise about what they will deliver to the world and most importantly what they will deliver to their customers, their citizens.
Just like brands, countries are associated with symbols that 'consumers' can understand and identify. These symbols might be a country's culture, history, cuisine, or biggest industry. In many countries, the president's image is such a powerful symbol that it becomes the country's de facto brand image. The USA is certainly one of these countries.
After 9/11, with promises of making the world a safer place, fighting terror and eliminating dictatorships, brand USA developed a positioning based on sheer magnitude. But when the war on terror turned sour and the financial crisis exploded, the disconnection between brand promise and reality was evident to the whole world. And as with any commercial brand, when brand USA failed to keep the promises it made to its consumers, it lost credibility.
Barack Obama can be seen as the new CEO of a big corporation in disrepair. Brand USA's employees are distressed, the category leadership has been lost and the brand is struggling to connect with its consumers.
President Obama is looking to drive real change in USA's brand perception, but he is far from shifting to radical new ground. The new CEO is aiming to take brand USA back to its roots. USA's brand essence has always been about optimism, hope, entrepreneurship, and hard work. Obama is focusing on the brand promise of a great nation that leads the world, looking for a brighter future for everybody.
After only one month, Obama has managed to drastically change the tone and style of communications and interactions of the administration. Through a collaborative, ethical, and committed attitude he is looking to clearly distinguish his brand USA from the unilateral, aggressive and paternalistic brand experience of the previous administration.
But like any great CEO, he knows a brand is about more than just communications, and he is starting to deliver on the new brand promise, by closing Guantanamo, capping Wall Street's pay and pushing through the economic stimulus package.
Of course, like any new chief executive, he is encountering problems. There are the failed appointments of Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer or the lack of Republican support for the economic stimulus package. But so far Obama has managed to stay "on brand" when dealing with these issues. He is honestly and openly admitting his mistakes while taking a tough stance and fighting his corner when necessary.
Obama is headed in the right direction to re-launch brand USA. So far, he has been able to inspire employees and consumers, and he has convinced them that change is possible. However, in order for brand USA to be once again perceived as the great worldwide leader that pushes for a better world, he will have to deliver concrete results when it comes to strengthening the economy, stabilising the Middle East, saving the environment, and leading the world to a better place.
And that is quite a brand promise to keep.
Alistair Robinson and Benjamin Lickfett are consultants at branding, marketing and innovation company Prophet