Description
The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for nation branding based on the
concepts of co-branding and perceived fit, and to apply these concepts to discuss the type of nation brand
that China may develop and how this brand relates to individual destinations through brand architecture
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Tourism branding and nation building in China
Noel Scott Ann Suwaree Ashton Peiyi Ding Honggang Xu
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To cite this document:
Noel Scott Ann Suwaree Ashton Peiyi Ding Honggang Xu, (2011),"Tourism branding and nation building in China", International J ournal of
Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 5 Iss 3 pp. 227 - 234
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Tourism branding and nation building in
China
Noel Scott, Ann Suwaree Ashton, Peiyi Ding and Honggang Xu
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for nation branding based on the
concepts of co-branding andperceived ?t, and to apply these concepts to discuss the type of nation brand
that China may develop and how this brand relates to individual destinations through brand architecture.
Design/methodology/approach – Branding is a deliberate process applied to the shaping of a nation’s
image and reputation on the global stage, in the heightened global competition for ascendancy. The
paper reviews selected literature of national identity and nation branding to identify models, techniques
and prior research that informs nation branding. This paper examines national branding and nation
building from the perspective of international tourism promotion and development.
Findings – The formation of the Chinese national identity is the result of a complicated historical
progression, as well as current national aspirations, and the process of globalization and the
introduction of the market system. Branding the nation in the globalised world is a strategy or tool in the
competition for attention and wealth, as well as a tool of self-af?rmation. Nation brands are more complex
to develop and less tangible than corporate brands.
Originality/value – The paper identi?es that value of examining nation branding as a formof co-branding,
with the related concepts of perceived ?t, brand architecture as well as existing techniques.
Keywords China, Image, Brand identity, Brand management, Destination management
Paper type General review
Introduction
The formation of the Chinese national identity is the result of a complicated historical
progression and is a new phenomenon for the Chinese people very much linked to the
process of modernity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as is the case for
other developing countries. Over this time Chinese national identity, though often in debate,
has become a core force for national coherence, and plays an important role in the shaping,
enriching and carrying forward of the Chinese national spirit. The identity of China has been
reinforced and reinterpreted under the strong government control of the new China.
China has a central role in world affairs, and in adopting a market economy, has stimulated
the growth of tourism along with many other sectors. In doing so China now competes on
the international stage and must mobilize all its resources to maximize its competitive
advantage. Branding the nation in the globalised world is a strategy in the competition for
attention and wealth, as well as a tool for the self-af?rmation of national identity. Branding is
a deliberate process that shapes a nation’s image and reputation on the global stage, and
in the heightened global competition for ascendancy. This paper examines the concepts of
nation branding and nation building from the perspective of international tourism promotion
and development, and reviews the literature of branding and nation branding to develop a
conceptual framework, which is then applied to the current situation in China.
Increasingly nations are developing nation brands. These countries include Australia (Brand
Australia), New Zealand (100 per cent pure), The UK (Cool Britannia), and India (Incredible
DOI 10.1108/17506181111156925 VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011, pp. 227-234, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
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PAGE 227
Noel Scott is a Senior
Lecturer, Ann Suwaree
Ashton is a Senior Tutor and
Peiyi Ding is a Senior
Research Of?cer, all based
at the School of Tourism,
The University of
Queensland, Australia.
Honggang Xu is a Professor
and Vice Dean at Sun
Yat-Sen University,
Guangzhou, China.
Received: April 2009
Revised: February 2010
Accepted: April 2010
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India). Yet development of nation brands is expensive and not guaranteed to be successful.
Tourism Australia’s $40m ‘‘Where the bloody hell are you?’’ campaign, is generally
considered to have been unsuccessful. The replacement campaign that sought to capitalize
on the launch of the movie epic ‘‘Australia’’ has been criticized on the basis of poor box of?ce
performance. On the other hand, New Zealand’s national brand, introduced in 1999, is still
considered to be performing well. Reports suggest that the government is interested in
taking the brand to the next level in order to get better alignment between all sectors that are
marketing New Zealand products and services abroad (Lee, 2009). Thus New Zealand
provides an example of a nation brand that provides a sense of unity and collaboration
between the various components of a nation’s economy.
Studies on country or destination brand image (Echtner and Ritchie, 1993; Hui and Aung,
2009; Laws et al., 2002; Pike, 2002; Stabler, 1988) indicate that positive destination image
underpins the success of tourism marketing. Nation branding, however is a more intricate
task than branding a product, company or destination. This complexity is due to the many
stakeholder groups involved in developing such a brand; these groups extend well beyond
the tourism sector. Nation branding also encompasses issues of national identity. Chinese
national identity, though often a matter of debate, has become a core force for national
coherence, and plays an important role in shaping, enriching and carrying forward the
Chinese national spirit. Thus the de?nition of the nation brand for China is a political as well
as an economic issue. The assertion of nation as a means to reinforce the common identify of
residents of different ethnicities is adapted so that that the assertion of a nation brand is used
to communicate distinctive, valuable qualities in foreign markets and has become not only a
political process but also a way to survive in the international market system.
In order to address the complex issue of nation branding in the context of China, this paper
reviews a number of relevant concepts and then examines the literature relating to brand
architecture to understand the relationship between the parts of a nation brand. The concept
of co-branding is introduced as important in understanding this relationship and provides a
framework with which to examine the brand ?t between different components of national
brand architecture. Therefore this paper provides a conceptual contribution to the study of
nation branding by bringing previously separate literatures together, and demonstrates the
advantage of considering co-branding in association with a nation brand. The paper begins
with a review of the concepts of brand and co-brand in the context of nation branding and
then examines brand architecture. The concept of brand ?t provides a practical method for
assessing the contribution of individual brands to Brand China.
Literature review
The word brand, according to Blackett and Russell (1999) derives from the old Norse word
meaning, to burn, fromwhen owners marked livestock to identify or distinguish their cattle from
those of their neighbors Craftsmen applied distinctive marks to their products so customers
could easily recognize them. This word usage underpins the de?nition of a brand as tangible;
a name, term, sign, symbol, or design (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993; Marconi, 2000). A second
psychologically based de?nition by Calkins (2005) indicates that a brand is a set of
associations linking a name, mark or symbol associated with a product or service thus
focusing on the mental effects of the tangible mark. A third de?nition expands the scope of
these psychological associations to encompass the bene?ts and added value that customers
think about when considering the brand (Marconi, 2000). Thus from this psychological
perspective brand names communicate attributes and meaning designed to enhance the
value of a product beyond its functional value. A brand facilitates rapid identi?cation of the
product and its (re)purchase by customers (McDowell and Batten, 2005).
Brands are important because they give consumers information about product quality and
other characteristics (Rao and Ruekert, 1994). The present study adopts the de?nition of
De Chernatony and Riley (1994, p. 18):
[. . .] an identi?able product, service, person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or
user perceives relevant unique added values which match their needs most closely.
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The concept of a brand‘‘lies at the heart of marketingtheory andpractice’’ (Pearson, 1996, p. 6),
and in particular, a new brand concept should lead to consumer satisfaction and to competitive
advantage. Brand orientation involves the processes of creation, development and protection of
brand identity in communication with target market groups (Simoes and Dibb, 2001).
The relevant literature applies the concept of branding to destinations (Crockett and Wood,
1999; Echtner and Ritchie, 1993; Gilmore, 2002; Hui and Aung, 2009; Laws et al., 2002;
Morgan et al., 2002; Pike, 2002; Pritchard and Morgan, 1998; Stabler, 1988) but surprisingly
little discussion of another aspect of tourism branding; the co-branding of tourism products
and services. Tourism service businesses are linked to each other in a chain, for example,
tourists ?rst receive information prior to travel from the travel agent and stay within a hotel at
the destination, eat in a restaurant, go out and interact with locals or visit tourist attractions,
then journey back home (Zehrer and Pechlaner, 2006).
Mostly the tourism literature focuses on functional integration between tourism chain
partners, but the opportunity for development co-marketing alliances also exists. Bucklin
and Sengupta (1993, p. 32) de?nes a co-marketing alliance as ‘‘the mutual recognition and
understanding that the success of each ?rm depends in part on the other ?rm’’. Similarly, the
greatest challenge in implementing a destination branding is communicating the importance
and value of individual operators working together. Outside tourism, the literature includes a
number of cases of companies developing co-marketing alliances. For example, Lipton
increased its sales of tea by 500 percent in the ?rst four years through a partnership with
Pepsi (Keller, 2003). In brief, many different suppliers co-produce the overall tourist
experience, and co-branding is a form of marketing strategy that may strengthen this link to
the bene?t of the two suppliers as well as to the destination overall.
The literature includes no single de?nition of co-branding but co-branding de?nitions have
some similar characteristics. First, co-branding is the conjunction of two or more brands,
both with signi?cant customer recognition; second, all participating brand names are
retained; and third, co-branding applies these two brand names to a separate and unique
product. Examples include IBM with Intel and Northwest Airlines with Visa Card (Leuthesser
et al., 2003; Rao and Ruekert, 1994). The de?nition of co-branding used here is two
recognised brands joined together and located in one perceptual space. The concept of
brand extension is distinct from co-branding. Brand extension involves developing a new
product based on an existing brand name; for example, one brand produces toothpaste and
the extended brand produces mouthwash (Aaker, 1990; Herr et al., 1996). Co-branding
occurs when two or more branded products are integrated together; for example Bacardi
Rum and Coca-Cola (Rao and Ruekert, 1994).
Nation brand, image and identity
Some de?nitional issues still needs resolution in the developing literature of nation branding
(see Journal of Brand Management 2000 Special Issue). The present study seeks to
distinguish between a nation’s image and nation branding (the process of developing a
nation brand). A nation’s image is the total sum of all mental associations about a nation in
the mind of international stakeholders (Fan, 2008) and may have parts or components
related to the political, economic and cultural environment and history of the nation. Nation
branding refers to the application of branding and marketing communications techniques to
promote and manage a nation’s image; thus a nation’s brand may be considered the desired
image. A nation’s brand is what a nation’s people want the world to understand about their
nation and seeks to incorporate its most central, enduring and distinctive features.
Nation identity, based on Albert and Whetten’s (1985) de?nition of organizational identity, is
the collective understanding by a nation’s people of the features presumed to be central and
relatively permanent, and that distinguish the nation from other nations:
National identity embodies the characteristics of a nation that its people perceive to be central,
distinctive, and enduring (CED) in a nation when past, present and future are taken into account.
It refers to the essentially irrational psychological bond that binds fellow nationals together and
which is supposed to constitute the essence of national identity (Fan, 2008, p. 3).
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Triandafyllidou (1998) considers that this psychological bond is similar to the concept of ‘‘a
sense of belonging’’ and points to an important relationship between an individual and the
nation. More specially, national identity has the following key elements: an historic territory, or
homeland; common myths and historical memories; a common, mass public culture;
common legal rights and duties for all members; and a common economy with territorial
mobility for all members (Smith, 1991, p. 14). A nation’s identity, image and brand are all
mental associations generated by knowledge and past experience. A nation’s image exists
without conscious effort and every country has a current image that is projected to its
international audience, even though this image may be strong, weak, clear or vague (Fan,
2008). Several studies on nation branding, country of origin effects and destination image
have demonstrated the marketing values of positive nation/destination image on consumers’
purchase decisions. Country image can therefore affect attitudes towards product brands
(Tse and Gorn, 1993) as well destinations.
Nation brands and brand architecture
Developing a nation brand is a purposive process in some ways similar to the development
of a corporate brand (Balmer and Grey, 2003; Van Riel and Balmer, 1997), but signi?cant
differences exist between the two (Dooley and Bowie, 2005, p. 403). The development of a
nation brand is far more complicated than the change of a corporate brand. In fact
O’Shaughnessy and O’ Shaughnessy (2000, p. 58) consider that ‘‘the image of a nation is so
complex and ?uid as to deny the clarity implicit in a term such as brand image’’. A country
may have a strong awareness overseas but internal political events may affect parts of the
country’s overall identity. Thus communicating a coherent image of a country is a dif?cult and
complex process, because of the continual rearrangement of the country’s attributes due to
uncontrolled (and uncontrollable) events.
A second issue the present study addresses is the variety of stakeholders involved in the
development of a nation brand. Relevant industry groups involved in the effort to develop a
nation brand, and hence improve a country’s image, include chambers of commerce,
councils, tourist boards from various destinations within the country, government agencies
and representatives from a variety of sectors such as mining, agriculture and sport.
Countries seeking to brand themselves effectively face a major challenge attempting to
accommodate such diversity. For example, a major challenge for Scotland, is to forge a
national brand that promotes not only the traditional sectors for which the country is known
but also the high-tech sector for which the established image of Scotland has little
resonance. New Zealand has a similar dilemma in attempting to develop and implement a
national brand which can encompass suf?ciently the promotion of strong primary industries
(sheep, rugby and trees) as well as pharmaceutical and high-tech industries.
Identi?cation of some sort of brand architecture provides a possible solution to this problem.
Brand architecture originated in the initial discussions on the structure of brand portfolios
and considered brands to be stand-alone entities. A pioneer study by Olins (1989) depicts
three basic portfolio structures; monolithic, endorsed and branded. In a monolithic structure
sub-brands are merely an extension of the corporate umbrella brand. In a branded structure
the opposite is true: sub-brands are very much separated from the corporate brand and
each brand has its own name and visual identity. The endorsed structure lies between the
monolithic and the branded structures. In this case each brand possesses a unique identity
but is also af?liated to a certain degree with the corporate identity (Dooley and Bowie, 2005).
Brand architecture of nations and regions
The architecture of a nation is organized in terms of its relationship to its component parts (in
this case a region).This can be analyzed using the Brand Box Model of De Chernatony and
McWilliam (1990). These authors used two dimensions to describe a brand, the symbolic
dimension and the functional dimension. The symbolic dimension has ‘‘value-expressive’’
aspects whereby people choose to visit a place to display their own self-concept. The second
dimension, functionality, captures the consumers’ concern for the performance of the place
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(for example, weather, beaches, mountains and sky, museums, shops). A number of authors
examine how nations and regions map onto these two dimensions using this model (Clarke,
2000; Caldwell and Freire, 2004). The results indicate that because of their functional diversity,
countries should focus on the emotional or representation dimensions of their brand. Regions
and cities, however, which are smaller in scale and more speci?c in nature, should focus their
brand building efforts on the more functional facets (Caldwell and Freire, 2004).
These emotional or symbolic dimensions of the nation brand are at a higher level of
abstraction than the physical attributes of the individual brands. These dimensions are not
pegged at the level of individual companies, attractions or features, but arise fromits people,
culture, mentality and styles of doing business (Papadopoulos and Heslop, 2002). Mans?eld
(1992, p. 415) argue ‘‘if there exist universal attributes to be considered at the country level
then the smaller the perceived destination, the more likely it is that it will be considered by
rather speci?c, non-universal characteristics’’. Conversely, citizens of different countries can
perceive a particular destination country in a wide variety of ways, but views regarding a
region tend to be more stable and are therefore easier to manage (Mans?eld, 1992).
Given the complexity of developing a brand image with parts linked through a brand
architecture, are any tools available that can help to analyze and diagnose the best
arrangement for the architecture of a portfolio of brands? The following section discusses an
approach based on the concept of brand ?t, the concept of co-branding and the degree of
synergy between two brands. The section provides a de?nition of perceived brand ?t,
discusses methods for measuring perceived brand ?t and provides a comprehensive
framework of perceived brand ?t components.
Perceived brand ?t
Perceived brand ?t increases the positive value and reduces the negative outcomes from
co-branding (DelVecchio and Smith, 2005). Aaker and Keller (1990) de?ne brand ?t as when
consumers transfer the perceived quality (or other attributes) of a brand from the original
brand to a second product and perceive that these two ?t together. This paper uses de?nitions
of Simonin and Ruth (1998) and DelVecchio and Smith (2005), and emphasizes perceived ?t
as a match in products and brand image between two partners, where some aspects of the
brand image from the original brand transfers to and af?liates with the second brand.
Aaker and Keller (1990) propose a perceived ?t model that consists of three dimensions;
complementary, substitute and transferability ?t. The ?rst complementary dimension
describes the extent to which two products are consumed jointly to satisfy a particular need
and in order to measure the degree of complementary ?t. The products must be evaluated
on product features, product concepts or schema, product usage and product goals (Martin
and Stewart, 2001). Product features are evaluated on the similarity of the tangible or
physical product characteristics, or the relatedness of two product categories which stretch
the requirement of one product to another product category. Similarity of product concepts
or brand image occurs when related products share product features. Product usage does
not necessarily focus on how the two products’ features are similar, but on how the two
products are used for different occasions. Thus, product usage is transferred from one
product to another; for example, in hotel and restaurant co-branding customers stay in the
hotel and use the accommodation for resting and sleeping and the restaurant will also be
used as they need a place to eat and be entertained. Lastly, product goal similarity is when
two products providing pieces of information which are useful and accessible to consumers
in speci?c circumstances. Thus, consumers receiving information about the association of
two products infer a common goal affecting the behavior of their intention, and are then
ready to transfer from one to another (Martin and Stewart, 2001, p. 474).
The second dimension of ?t, substitutability, is when one product can replace the other and still
provide the same level of satisfaction. The third dimension of ?t ‘‘transferability’’ is how
consumers perceive the link between the skills and assets of two brands, for example, the
quality of the equipment usedand skill of employees’ performance in the secondbrandmay or
may not be of the same quality as the core brand or original brand (Aaker, 1990). These three
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components allow the measurement of the dimensions of overall brand ?t which relates to
intention to purchase for a co-branded product. Aaker and Keller’s perceived ?t model is used
by several researchers including Bottomley and Doyle (1996), Simonin and Ruth (1998) and
DelVecchio and Smith (2005) although not in the context of nation or destination brands.
Discussion
The process of globalization and the introduction of the market systemplay an important role
in shaping the Chinese national identity. The assertion of nation, as a means to reinforce the
common identify of residents of different ethnicities, now also seeks to communicate
distinctive, valuable qualities in foreign markets and has thus become not only a political
process but also a way to survive in the international market system. The discourse of nation
branding in China seeks to obtain a clear and single image of China.
Although the branding of the tourism products and branding of regional tourismdestinations
is becoming popular in China, branding China in the international market has not been
carried out, and little discussion regarding this issue occurs. This paper proposes that one
dimension of this discussion is to consider the development of China’s national brand
architecture and that consideration of the concept of brand ?t to nation branding may be
useful. Prior research suggests that China’s nation brand should be at a higher level of
abstraction than functional features of products, culture or destinations. Through developing
brand architecture, China’s nation brand can then link to destination brands (in the case of
tourism) which depict more tangible features that ?t with the nation brand. The extent of ?t is
then examined by using the model proposed by Aaker and Keller (1990). Therefore a
broader conceptualization of nation branding or indeed destination branding is possible, as
co-branding allows the application of new tools and models for tourism managers.
Co-branding appears to be an area of signi?cant research potential.
Clearly, developing a nation brand is a complex undertaking and can only happen with
widespread support. National branding brings a new urgency and a new language to old
processes such as national identity and nation building. In the case of China, the nation
brand is further complicated by transition China is experiencing and by the special political
image China holds. As China is a new player in the international system, politically and in the
international market, the country’s national identity and branding are not necessarily easily
understood and accepted by international society. The failure of 12 national holiday resorts
designed for the international markets in the 1980s and 1990s is an example of the need for
?t between brand architecture components. This failure was later found due to the image of
China, as a socialist country, in the international world. This image is not consistent with that
of a leisure and consumption-oriented destination.
Similarly, the presentation and interpretation of heritage sites and development of ethnic
tourismmay also raise con?icts. Internal factors, such as historical, psychological and political
events, play important roles in developing national identity and in shaping the development of
contemporary Chinese nationalism. The transition to a market economy therefore highlights
debates and issues in identi?cation of national identity inside China. The diverse differences in
regional experience of the international tourism markets may slow down the process of
reaching agreements on national identity and image. Although the discourse of national
branding seeks a clear and single image of China this result can only happen with widespread
political support, thus the challenge remains as to how to construct and present the brand
image in order to obtain market preference and also followthe process and traditions of nation
building. National branding brings a new urgency and new language to old processes.
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Macmillan, New York, NY.
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Further reading
De Chernatony, L. and McDonald, M. (1994), Creating Powerful Brands, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
Corresponding author
Noel Scott can be contacted at: [email protected]
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doc_818384407.pdf
The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for nation branding based on the
concepts of co-branding and perceived fit, and to apply these concepts to discuss the type of nation brand
that China may develop and how this brand relates to individual destinations through brand architecture
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Tourism branding and nation building in China
Noel Scott Ann Suwaree Ashton Peiyi Ding Honggang Xu
Article information:
To cite this document:
Noel Scott Ann Suwaree Ashton Peiyi Ding Honggang Xu, (2011),"Tourism branding and nation building in China", International J ournal of
Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 5 Iss 3 pp. 227 - 234
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Tourism branding and nation building in
China
Noel Scott, Ann Suwaree Ashton, Peiyi Ding and Honggang Xu
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for nation branding based on the
concepts of co-branding andperceived ?t, and to apply these concepts to discuss the type of nation brand
that China may develop and how this brand relates to individual destinations through brand architecture.
Design/methodology/approach – Branding is a deliberate process applied to the shaping of a nation’s
image and reputation on the global stage, in the heightened global competition for ascendancy. The
paper reviews selected literature of national identity and nation branding to identify models, techniques
and prior research that informs nation branding. This paper examines national branding and nation
building from the perspective of international tourism promotion and development.
Findings – The formation of the Chinese national identity is the result of a complicated historical
progression, as well as current national aspirations, and the process of globalization and the
introduction of the market system. Branding the nation in the globalised world is a strategy or tool in the
competition for attention and wealth, as well as a tool of self-af?rmation. Nation brands are more complex
to develop and less tangible than corporate brands.
Originality/value – The paper identi?es that value of examining nation branding as a formof co-branding,
with the related concepts of perceived ?t, brand architecture as well as existing techniques.
Keywords China, Image, Brand identity, Brand management, Destination management
Paper type General review
Introduction
The formation of the Chinese national identity is the result of a complicated historical
progression and is a new phenomenon for the Chinese people very much linked to the
process of modernity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as is the case for
other developing countries. Over this time Chinese national identity, though often in debate,
has become a core force for national coherence, and plays an important role in the shaping,
enriching and carrying forward of the Chinese national spirit. The identity of China has been
reinforced and reinterpreted under the strong government control of the new China.
China has a central role in world affairs, and in adopting a market economy, has stimulated
the growth of tourism along with many other sectors. In doing so China now competes on
the international stage and must mobilize all its resources to maximize its competitive
advantage. Branding the nation in the globalised world is a strategy in the competition for
attention and wealth, as well as a tool for the self-af?rmation of national identity. Branding is
a deliberate process that shapes a nation’s image and reputation on the global stage, and
in the heightened global competition for ascendancy. This paper examines the concepts of
nation branding and nation building from the perspective of international tourism promotion
and development, and reviews the literature of branding and nation branding to develop a
conceptual framework, which is then applied to the current situation in China.
Increasingly nations are developing nation brands. These countries include Australia (Brand
Australia), New Zealand (100 per cent pure), The UK (Cool Britannia), and India (Incredible
DOI 10.1108/17506181111156925 VOL. 5 NO. 3 2011, pp. 227-234, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
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PAGE 227
Noel Scott is a Senior
Lecturer, Ann Suwaree
Ashton is a Senior Tutor and
Peiyi Ding is a Senior
Research Of?cer, all based
at the School of Tourism,
The University of
Queensland, Australia.
Honggang Xu is a Professor
and Vice Dean at Sun
Yat-Sen University,
Guangzhou, China.
Received: April 2009
Revised: February 2010
Accepted: April 2010
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India). Yet development of nation brands is expensive and not guaranteed to be successful.
Tourism Australia’s $40m ‘‘Where the bloody hell are you?’’ campaign, is generally
considered to have been unsuccessful. The replacement campaign that sought to capitalize
on the launch of the movie epic ‘‘Australia’’ has been criticized on the basis of poor box of?ce
performance. On the other hand, New Zealand’s national brand, introduced in 1999, is still
considered to be performing well. Reports suggest that the government is interested in
taking the brand to the next level in order to get better alignment between all sectors that are
marketing New Zealand products and services abroad (Lee, 2009). Thus New Zealand
provides an example of a nation brand that provides a sense of unity and collaboration
between the various components of a nation’s economy.
Studies on country or destination brand image (Echtner and Ritchie, 1993; Hui and Aung,
2009; Laws et al., 2002; Pike, 2002; Stabler, 1988) indicate that positive destination image
underpins the success of tourism marketing. Nation branding, however is a more intricate
task than branding a product, company or destination. This complexity is due to the many
stakeholder groups involved in developing such a brand; these groups extend well beyond
the tourism sector. Nation branding also encompasses issues of national identity. Chinese
national identity, though often a matter of debate, has become a core force for national
coherence, and plays an important role in shaping, enriching and carrying forward the
Chinese national spirit. Thus the de?nition of the nation brand for China is a political as well
as an economic issue. The assertion of nation as a means to reinforce the common identify of
residents of different ethnicities is adapted so that that the assertion of a nation brand is used
to communicate distinctive, valuable qualities in foreign markets and has become not only a
political process but also a way to survive in the international market system.
In order to address the complex issue of nation branding in the context of China, this paper
reviews a number of relevant concepts and then examines the literature relating to brand
architecture to understand the relationship between the parts of a nation brand. The concept
of co-branding is introduced as important in understanding this relationship and provides a
framework with which to examine the brand ?t between different components of national
brand architecture. Therefore this paper provides a conceptual contribution to the study of
nation branding by bringing previously separate literatures together, and demonstrates the
advantage of considering co-branding in association with a nation brand. The paper begins
with a review of the concepts of brand and co-brand in the context of nation branding and
then examines brand architecture. The concept of brand ?t provides a practical method for
assessing the contribution of individual brands to Brand China.
Literature review
The word brand, according to Blackett and Russell (1999) derives from the old Norse word
meaning, to burn, fromwhen owners marked livestock to identify or distinguish their cattle from
those of their neighbors Craftsmen applied distinctive marks to their products so customers
could easily recognize them. This word usage underpins the de?nition of a brand as tangible;
a name, term, sign, symbol, or design (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993; Marconi, 2000). A second
psychologically based de?nition by Calkins (2005) indicates that a brand is a set of
associations linking a name, mark or symbol associated with a product or service thus
focusing on the mental effects of the tangible mark. A third de?nition expands the scope of
these psychological associations to encompass the bene?ts and added value that customers
think about when considering the brand (Marconi, 2000). Thus from this psychological
perspective brand names communicate attributes and meaning designed to enhance the
value of a product beyond its functional value. A brand facilitates rapid identi?cation of the
product and its (re)purchase by customers (McDowell and Batten, 2005).
Brands are important because they give consumers information about product quality and
other characteristics (Rao and Ruekert, 1994). The present study adopts the de?nition of
De Chernatony and Riley (1994, p. 18):
[. . .] an identi?able product, service, person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or
user perceives relevant unique added values which match their needs most closely.
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The concept of a brand‘‘lies at the heart of marketingtheory andpractice’’ (Pearson, 1996, p. 6),
and in particular, a new brand concept should lead to consumer satisfaction and to competitive
advantage. Brand orientation involves the processes of creation, development and protection of
brand identity in communication with target market groups (Simoes and Dibb, 2001).
The relevant literature applies the concept of branding to destinations (Crockett and Wood,
1999; Echtner and Ritchie, 1993; Gilmore, 2002; Hui and Aung, 2009; Laws et al., 2002;
Morgan et al., 2002; Pike, 2002; Pritchard and Morgan, 1998; Stabler, 1988) but surprisingly
little discussion of another aspect of tourism branding; the co-branding of tourism products
and services. Tourism service businesses are linked to each other in a chain, for example,
tourists ?rst receive information prior to travel from the travel agent and stay within a hotel at
the destination, eat in a restaurant, go out and interact with locals or visit tourist attractions,
then journey back home (Zehrer and Pechlaner, 2006).
Mostly the tourism literature focuses on functional integration between tourism chain
partners, but the opportunity for development co-marketing alliances also exists. Bucklin
and Sengupta (1993, p. 32) de?nes a co-marketing alliance as ‘‘the mutual recognition and
understanding that the success of each ?rm depends in part on the other ?rm’’. Similarly, the
greatest challenge in implementing a destination branding is communicating the importance
and value of individual operators working together. Outside tourism, the literature includes a
number of cases of companies developing co-marketing alliances. For example, Lipton
increased its sales of tea by 500 percent in the ?rst four years through a partnership with
Pepsi (Keller, 2003). In brief, many different suppliers co-produce the overall tourist
experience, and co-branding is a form of marketing strategy that may strengthen this link to
the bene?t of the two suppliers as well as to the destination overall.
The literature includes no single de?nition of co-branding but co-branding de?nitions have
some similar characteristics. First, co-branding is the conjunction of two or more brands,
both with signi?cant customer recognition; second, all participating brand names are
retained; and third, co-branding applies these two brand names to a separate and unique
product. Examples include IBM with Intel and Northwest Airlines with Visa Card (Leuthesser
et al., 2003; Rao and Ruekert, 1994). The de?nition of co-branding used here is two
recognised brands joined together and located in one perceptual space. The concept of
brand extension is distinct from co-branding. Brand extension involves developing a new
product based on an existing brand name; for example, one brand produces toothpaste and
the extended brand produces mouthwash (Aaker, 1990; Herr et al., 1996). Co-branding
occurs when two or more branded products are integrated together; for example Bacardi
Rum and Coca-Cola (Rao and Ruekert, 1994).
Nation brand, image and identity
Some de?nitional issues still needs resolution in the developing literature of nation branding
(see Journal of Brand Management 2000 Special Issue). The present study seeks to
distinguish between a nation’s image and nation branding (the process of developing a
nation brand). A nation’s image is the total sum of all mental associations about a nation in
the mind of international stakeholders (Fan, 2008) and may have parts or components
related to the political, economic and cultural environment and history of the nation. Nation
branding refers to the application of branding and marketing communications techniques to
promote and manage a nation’s image; thus a nation’s brand may be considered the desired
image. A nation’s brand is what a nation’s people want the world to understand about their
nation and seeks to incorporate its most central, enduring and distinctive features.
Nation identity, based on Albert and Whetten’s (1985) de?nition of organizational identity, is
the collective understanding by a nation’s people of the features presumed to be central and
relatively permanent, and that distinguish the nation from other nations:
National identity embodies the characteristics of a nation that its people perceive to be central,
distinctive, and enduring (CED) in a nation when past, present and future are taken into account.
It refers to the essentially irrational psychological bond that binds fellow nationals together and
which is supposed to constitute the essence of national identity (Fan, 2008, p. 3).
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Triandafyllidou (1998) considers that this psychological bond is similar to the concept of ‘‘a
sense of belonging’’ and points to an important relationship between an individual and the
nation. More specially, national identity has the following key elements: an historic territory, or
homeland; common myths and historical memories; a common, mass public culture;
common legal rights and duties for all members; and a common economy with territorial
mobility for all members (Smith, 1991, p. 14). A nation’s identity, image and brand are all
mental associations generated by knowledge and past experience. A nation’s image exists
without conscious effort and every country has a current image that is projected to its
international audience, even though this image may be strong, weak, clear or vague (Fan,
2008). Several studies on nation branding, country of origin effects and destination image
have demonstrated the marketing values of positive nation/destination image on consumers’
purchase decisions. Country image can therefore affect attitudes towards product brands
(Tse and Gorn, 1993) as well destinations.
Nation brands and brand architecture
Developing a nation brand is a purposive process in some ways similar to the development
of a corporate brand (Balmer and Grey, 2003; Van Riel and Balmer, 1997), but signi?cant
differences exist between the two (Dooley and Bowie, 2005, p. 403). The development of a
nation brand is far more complicated than the change of a corporate brand. In fact
O’Shaughnessy and O’ Shaughnessy (2000, p. 58) consider that ‘‘the image of a nation is so
complex and ?uid as to deny the clarity implicit in a term such as brand image’’. A country
may have a strong awareness overseas but internal political events may affect parts of the
country’s overall identity. Thus communicating a coherent image of a country is a dif?cult and
complex process, because of the continual rearrangement of the country’s attributes due to
uncontrolled (and uncontrollable) events.
A second issue the present study addresses is the variety of stakeholders involved in the
development of a nation brand. Relevant industry groups involved in the effort to develop a
nation brand, and hence improve a country’s image, include chambers of commerce,
councils, tourist boards from various destinations within the country, government agencies
and representatives from a variety of sectors such as mining, agriculture and sport.
Countries seeking to brand themselves effectively face a major challenge attempting to
accommodate such diversity. For example, a major challenge for Scotland, is to forge a
national brand that promotes not only the traditional sectors for which the country is known
but also the high-tech sector for which the established image of Scotland has little
resonance. New Zealand has a similar dilemma in attempting to develop and implement a
national brand which can encompass suf?ciently the promotion of strong primary industries
(sheep, rugby and trees) as well as pharmaceutical and high-tech industries.
Identi?cation of some sort of brand architecture provides a possible solution to this problem.
Brand architecture originated in the initial discussions on the structure of brand portfolios
and considered brands to be stand-alone entities. A pioneer study by Olins (1989) depicts
three basic portfolio structures; monolithic, endorsed and branded. In a monolithic structure
sub-brands are merely an extension of the corporate umbrella brand. In a branded structure
the opposite is true: sub-brands are very much separated from the corporate brand and
each brand has its own name and visual identity. The endorsed structure lies between the
monolithic and the branded structures. In this case each brand possesses a unique identity
but is also af?liated to a certain degree with the corporate identity (Dooley and Bowie, 2005).
Brand architecture of nations and regions
The architecture of a nation is organized in terms of its relationship to its component parts (in
this case a region).This can be analyzed using the Brand Box Model of De Chernatony and
McWilliam (1990). These authors used two dimensions to describe a brand, the symbolic
dimension and the functional dimension. The symbolic dimension has ‘‘value-expressive’’
aspects whereby people choose to visit a place to display their own self-concept. The second
dimension, functionality, captures the consumers’ concern for the performance of the place
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(for example, weather, beaches, mountains and sky, museums, shops). A number of authors
examine how nations and regions map onto these two dimensions using this model (Clarke,
2000; Caldwell and Freire, 2004). The results indicate that because of their functional diversity,
countries should focus on the emotional or representation dimensions of their brand. Regions
and cities, however, which are smaller in scale and more speci?c in nature, should focus their
brand building efforts on the more functional facets (Caldwell and Freire, 2004).
These emotional or symbolic dimensions of the nation brand are at a higher level of
abstraction than the physical attributes of the individual brands. These dimensions are not
pegged at the level of individual companies, attractions or features, but arise fromits people,
culture, mentality and styles of doing business (Papadopoulos and Heslop, 2002). Mans?eld
(1992, p. 415) argue ‘‘if there exist universal attributes to be considered at the country level
then the smaller the perceived destination, the more likely it is that it will be considered by
rather speci?c, non-universal characteristics’’. Conversely, citizens of different countries can
perceive a particular destination country in a wide variety of ways, but views regarding a
region tend to be more stable and are therefore easier to manage (Mans?eld, 1992).
Given the complexity of developing a brand image with parts linked through a brand
architecture, are any tools available that can help to analyze and diagnose the best
arrangement for the architecture of a portfolio of brands? The following section discusses an
approach based on the concept of brand ?t, the concept of co-branding and the degree of
synergy between two brands. The section provides a de?nition of perceived brand ?t,
discusses methods for measuring perceived brand ?t and provides a comprehensive
framework of perceived brand ?t components.
Perceived brand ?t
Perceived brand ?t increases the positive value and reduces the negative outcomes from
co-branding (DelVecchio and Smith, 2005). Aaker and Keller (1990) de?ne brand ?t as when
consumers transfer the perceived quality (or other attributes) of a brand from the original
brand to a second product and perceive that these two ?t together. This paper uses de?nitions
of Simonin and Ruth (1998) and DelVecchio and Smith (2005), and emphasizes perceived ?t
as a match in products and brand image between two partners, where some aspects of the
brand image from the original brand transfers to and af?liates with the second brand.
Aaker and Keller (1990) propose a perceived ?t model that consists of three dimensions;
complementary, substitute and transferability ?t. The ?rst complementary dimension
describes the extent to which two products are consumed jointly to satisfy a particular need
and in order to measure the degree of complementary ?t. The products must be evaluated
on product features, product concepts or schema, product usage and product goals (Martin
and Stewart, 2001). Product features are evaluated on the similarity of the tangible or
physical product characteristics, or the relatedness of two product categories which stretch
the requirement of one product to another product category. Similarity of product concepts
or brand image occurs when related products share product features. Product usage does
not necessarily focus on how the two products’ features are similar, but on how the two
products are used for different occasions. Thus, product usage is transferred from one
product to another; for example, in hotel and restaurant co-branding customers stay in the
hotel and use the accommodation for resting and sleeping and the restaurant will also be
used as they need a place to eat and be entertained. Lastly, product goal similarity is when
two products providing pieces of information which are useful and accessible to consumers
in speci?c circumstances. Thus, consumers receiving information about the association of
two products infer a common goal affecting the behavior of their intention, and are then
ready to transfer from one to another (Martin and Stewart, 2001, p. 474).
The second dimension of ?t, substitutability, is when one product can replace the other and still
provide the same level of satisfaction. The third dimension of ?t ‘‘transferability’’ is how
consumers perceive the link between the skills and assets of two brands, for example, the
quality of the equipment usedand skill of employees’ performance in the secondbrandmay or
may not be of the same quality as the core brand or original brand (Aaker, 1990). These three
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components allow the measurement of the dimensions of overall brand ?t which relates to
intention to purchase for a co-branded product. Aaker and Keller’s perceived ?t model is used
by several researchers including Bottomley and Doyle (1996), Simonin and Ruth (1998) and
DelVecchio and Smith (2005) although not in the context of nation or destination brands.
Discussion
The process of globalization and the introduction of the market systemplay an important role
in shaping the Chinese national identity. The assertion of nation, as a means to reinforce the
common identify of residents of different ethnicities, now also seeks to communicate
distinctive, valuable qualities in foreign markets and has thus become not only a political
process but also a way to survive in the international market system. The discourse of nation
branding in China seeks to obtain a clear and single image of China.
Although the branding of the tourism products and branding of regional tourismdestinations
is becoming popular in China, branding China in the international market has not been
carried out, and little discussion regarding this issue occurs. This paper proposes that one
dimension of this discussion is to consider the development of China’s national brand
architecture and that consideration of the concept of brand ?t to nation branding may be
useful. Prior research suggests that China’s nation brand should be at a higher level of
abstraction than functional features of products, culture or destinations. Through developing
brand architecture, China’s nation brand can then link to destination brands (in the case of
tourism) which depict more tangible features that ?t with the nation brand. The extent of ?t is
then examined by using the model proposed by Aaker and Keller (1990). Therefore a
broader conceptualization of nation branding or indeed destination branding is possible, as
co-branding allows the application of new tools and models for tourism managers.
Co-branding appears to be an area of signi?cant research potential.
Clearly, developing a nation brand is a complex undertaking and can only happen with
widespread support. National branding brings a new urgency and a new language to old
processes such as national identity and nation building. In the case of China, the nation
brand is further complicated by transition China is experiencing and by the special political
image China holds. As China is a new player in the international system, politically and in the
international market, the country’s national identity and branding are not necessarily easily
understood and accepted by international society. The failure of 12 national holiday resorts
designed for the international markets in the 1980s and 1990s is an example of the need for
?t between brand architecture components. This failure was later found due to the image of
China, as a socialist country, in the international world. This image is not consistent with that
of a leisure and consumption-oriented destination.
Similarly, the presentation and interpretation of heritage sites and development of ethnic
tourismmay also raise con?icts. Internal factors, such as historical, psychological and political
events, play important roles in developing national identity and in shaping the development of
contemporary Chinese nationalism. The transition to a market economy therefore highlights
debates and issues in identi?cation of national identity inside China. The diverse differences in
regional experience of the international tourism markets may slow down the process of
reaching agreements on national identity and image. Although the discourse of national
branding seeks a clear and single image of China this result can only happen with widespread
political support, thus the challenge remains as to how to construct and present the brand
image in order to obtain market preference and also followthe process and traditions of nation
building. National branding brings a new urgency and new language to old processes.
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Further reading
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Corresponding author
Noel Scott can be contacted at: [email protected]
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