Nation branding and integrated marketing communications an ASEAN perspective 科技英语论文.docx

 Nation branding and integrated marketing communications  PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 7 Nation branding and integrated marketing communications: an ASEAN perspective Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to examine the extent to which the nation branding activities of export promotion organisations (EPOs), investment agencies (IAs), national branding activities (NTOs) and embassies follow the principle of coordination that characterises an integrated Marketing communications approach. Originality/value – This paper extends previous work on the need for countries to adopt a coordinated approach to their nation branding activities. the paper is also original in its reporting of findings from a region (ASEAN) that is under-researched relative to other areas, such as Europe and North America. Keywords Brands, Marketing communication, Exports, Tourism, Investments, South East Asia Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction While the need for different state-level organisations to integrate their nation branding activities in a coordinated manner is widely accepted, very little research examinesactors’ perceptions of the optimal degree of coordination that should occur. The locus of the research is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. ASEAN comprises ten member countries – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This paper is structured as follows. First, we review the key elements of IMC and indicate the challenge inherent in applying an IMC approach in a nation branding context. Then, we review conceptualisations of the nation branding construct, with a particular focus on the degree of coordination that is desirable between different organisations engaged in nation branding strategy. 2. IMC: the principle of coordination The concept of IMC has become established in the marketing literature as an integral part of brand strategy (Cornelissen a