Branding a nation in time of crisis

Crisis has been identified as one of the most formidable enemies of national economic growth because it weakens the potential for foreign investments and attracts negative publicity. Even more importantly, when endured for a long time in an economy, crisis may damage the self-esteem and confidence of a majority of the population. In such situation, the traditional damage control marketing will be insufficient to tame the crisis because such marketing activities are limited to managing the negative publicity that crisis attracts without dealing with the battered psychological state of the nation that resulted from the crisis. Hence, this book suggests a balanced approach to crisis management with special consideration to internal reorientation of the society as the basis for effective crisis management. An empirical study that involved seven country level DMOs was conducted and consequently, a model for country branding was proposed using Nigeria as a case country.The model is made up of the reformation , reorientation and repositioning phase. This book can be a useful material for government agencies and destination marketers to formulate policy decisions during nationwide crisis.