Summary
The concept of country brand is used to refer to the intangible value of the reputation and image of a country through multiple aspects, such as its products, tourism, culture, sports, companies and public organizations, which determine the values that are associated with that country. This offers added value to companies in the country, especially in the tourism and export sectors, they benefit when this marketing tool is used well.
Introduction
At present, we hear mention in many media of information about country brand, since it seems to be a very recurring term and we create a brief idea about the subject. The truth is that very few are those who really know the subject in depth and benefit from it.
The present work shows the positive influence of this tool in the exports of Costa Rican national products.
Referred events
A few days ago, on September 3, the launch of the new country brand of Costa Rica took place, which gives us the opportunity to analyze what are its benefits for the country in a practical way. With an investment of US $ 650,000 and more than 3 years of research and design, the Costa Rican authorities release "Essential Costa Rica"
"Essential Costa Rica" is the name of the brand that will provide the country with investments from now on, seducing national and international tourists to enjoy the tourist attractions and developing the commercial issue at the local level and exports at the international level, since This newly developed country brand transcends the scope of one sector or another, but encompasses a benefit for all, as Gabriela Llobet, general director of CINDE, has stated in previous days. According to Llobet, this brand seeks a positioning of Costa Rica towards the world.
Country Brand
What is the Country brand?
It is a concept used to refer to the intangible value of the reputation and brand image of a country through multiple aspects,
The most valuable associations to the country brand are ideas such as safe countries free of armed conflict, good places for business, access to important markets, quality of human resources and technology, peace and security. With this premise we know that Costa Rica has been a country that enjoys a positive global reputation in the aforementioned points, which makes it easy to achieve a good result in the development and launch of its country brand. The countries of the region are just beginning this process, and in some cases the initiatives focus more on the tourist identity or "destination brand" than on the development of a country brand. Such is the case of Guatemala, a country that recently announced the creation of a virtual marketing office to help position the “Guatemala,Heart of the Mayan World ”on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Country Brand
What the Country brand is not
It is not only about tourism, the country brand is to develop an identity that includes tourism but also other benefits such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), international relations, exports, culture and sports, among others.
It is not just a logo, a colorful logo and no strategy to support it, it would be wasting money in an absurdity.
It is not only for foreigners, the major shareholders of a country brand project are nationals; Without your understanding, support, and commitment to the brand, all efforts will be doomed.
What has the Country brand influenced in Costa Rica?
The country brand has influenced the general idea of those who look at it from the outside.
They define the country as concentrated, cheerful, educated, proud of its civility and education, in search of opportunities, well located, open, democratic, stable, friendly with nature and peaceful. They see it as a peaceful and quiet destination with a wonderful location as it is very close to the most solvent demand centers. They have applauded many things, among them governance and democratic stability.
However, at this point it is worth highlighting the influence that the country brand has had on the image of Costa Rica for the benefit of the export sector, since Costa Rica is recognized, according to a CADEXCO report, as a country that has had a strong work to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) and its linkage with local industry. The widely diversified exportable offer with high added value is also recognized.
To what extent does it benefit the export sector?
Exporters believe that for the remainder of 2013 and the years to come, the diversification process must be deepened in order to maintain its success, since they consider that the growth rate will be moderate and would not rise significantly compared to previous years, due to the tough economic situation facing the United States and Europe, its main markets.
It is here where the country brand becomes a fundamental strategy for exporters to remain competitive abroad.
Another benefit has been that the productive sectors see the country brand as a way not only to sell the image abroad, but to promote responsibilities in entrepreneurs, since they now consider it necessary to innovate, differentiate products; causing greater global competitive advantages to be added to these.
The Costa Rican export sector has been requesting the launch of the country brand, as a tool for commercial use, for more than 10 years. According to Mónica Segnini, president of CADEXCO, at the launch of the new brand, on September 3 last.
An example of its benefits in traditional export products is the export of pineapple. According to Abel Chaves, former president of the board of directors of the National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (Canapep), the sector is reaching the top of the growing area thanks to 1,250 producers, of which 2.8 % are large companies. The task now will be to maintain that pineapple growing area so that exports that currently go to the European Union (52%) and the United States (48%) do not fall.
For Chaves, the country brand is a “seal of quality” that has allowed and would allow the promotion of pineapple exports so that the country does not allow itself to be overtaken by its Latin American competitors in the sale of pineapple, including Colombia and Mexico. This would add value to the Costa Rican pineapple, as it has environmentally friendly cultivation processes, in addition to other practices such as carbon-neutrality.
Country Brand
Regulations
The use of the country brand for exporting and commercial companies will be regulated through a licensing protocol designed by the Institute of Technical Standards of Costa Rica (Inteco) to verify the correct use of the Country Brand in products and services that they wish to internationalize.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the Country Brand has been generating through its incursion, a wide range of benefits to various economic sectors of the country, because as has already been explained previously, the development of the country brand project is carried out in an inter-institutional manner In the case of the latter, there was the participation of the ICT, Ministry of Foreign Trade, Promotora de Comercio Exterior and Cinde, which makes the country brand a single common thread that allows generating benefits in the sectors involved.
In the case of exports, it has been proven that advertising efforts to position Costa Rican products in competitive markets have been successful. The essential thing is that the exporting companies can identify with the brand.
References
- Marcela Chavarría: "The Country Brand as an instrument to contribute to the internationalization process of SMEs" (2013) Repository of the National University of Distance Education. Available at: http://repositorio.uned.ac.cr/reuned/handle/120809/854 Andrea Rodríguez: "Export and tourism sectors reiterate their support for the new Country Brand." La Nación, September 3, 2013 Page 11 Available at: http://www.nacion.com/economia/Sector-exportador-turistico-reiteran-marca_0_1363863829.html Marvin Barquero: “Exporters have great expectations in the Country Brand ”. La Nación, November 4, 2013 Page 24 Available at: http://www.nacion.com/economia/Exportadores-grandes-expectativas-marca-pais_0_1364063640.htmlDaniels, J.; Radebaught, L. and Sullivan, D. (2010): "Environmental and Comparative Schemes" in: International Business:environments and operations. (12th ed.). Mexico: Prentice HallKotler, P.; Armstrong, G. (2009): "Products, services and branding strategies" in Marketing. Version for Latin America (2nd d.) Mexico: Pearson.
