Presented at the International Academy of Business Disciplines 2013 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. After in depth research, an information gap has been identified for a marketing communications driven nation branding strategy for Jamaica.

1. A Case Study in Nation Branding:
Jamaica
Sheryl-Ann Thomas
Emerson College, Boston, MA
MA in Global Marketing Communications & Advertising
Prospective Graduation Date: September 2013

2. Introduction

3. Importance of Nation Branding Research
& Strategy
 Improvements in Image-based place marketing
(Papadopoulos, 2004)
 Globalisation
 Growing power of international media
 Falling cost of international travel
 Rising consumer spending power
 Threat of place parity
 A scarce pool of international investors
 Competition for skilled and professional immigrant ’ s
 Growing consumer demand for a diverse cultural diet
stimulated by low-cost global communication media.
(Hanna & Rowley, 2008)
 An effective tool by which to co-ordinate the management
of the world image of the country both internally and
internationally. (REPORT BY JAMAICA to the WIPO Standing
Committee on the Law of Trademarks Industrial Designs and
Geographical Indications, 2012)

4. Research Questions
To explore the current Brand Jamaica Strategy, the
following questions will be investigated:
 What are the prevailing attitudes towards the current
Brand Jamaica strategy?
 How does the national export strategy support nation
branding?
 What marketing communications tool (nation
branding strategy) is being used and how can it be
strengthened?

5. DEFINITION OF TERMS
 Brand Jamaica
 nation branding: …is much more than just products, it is services, it is culture
and heritage, it is people. (REPORT BY JAMAICA to the WIPO Standing
Committee on the Law of Trademarks Industrial Designs and Geographical
Indications, 2012)
 place branding:… whether at the national, regional, city or town level,
branding is as much a way of planning developmental policies as branding in
the private sector is about business strategy. (Hanna & Rowley, 2008)
 destination branding: … as ‘ name, symbol, logo, word or other graphic that
both identifies and differentiates the destination …while conveying the
promise of a memorable travel experience … as well as serving to
consolidate and reinforce the recollection of pleasurable memories of the
destination experience.’ (Hanna & Rowley, 2008)
 hierarchal decision model: FutureBrand’s proprietary model for determining
how key audiences perceive country brands. (Country Brand Index 2012- 2013)
 Marketing communications: the means by which brands and organisations
are presented to their audiences. The goal is to stimulate a dialogue that will,
ideally, lead to a succession of purchases and complete engagement. (Fill &
Jamieson, 2011)

6. Current Brand Jamaica Strategy &
Government Policy

7. Current Attitudes towards to “Brand
Jamaica”
 “The false assumption is that brand automatically translates
into economic value ... . Without addressing the fundamental
governance issues, the idea of Brand Jamaica will remain as
illusory as fool's gold - promising much but delivering little in
terms of wealth creation.“ (Brand Jamaica Just Can't Cut It, 2013)
 “Who defines BrandJamaica? Who 'owns' the brand? And how
can this brand be best exploited in the interest of the masses of
the Jamaican people?” (Exploiting Brand Jamaica, 2013)

8. Need for Marketing
Communications driven nation
Branding Strategy
 “Because policies alone, even if effectively
implemented, are not sufficient to persuade foreign
publics to part from their existing prejudices and
perceptions, which in the case of national images may
prove exceptionally resilient to change. Substance
must be coupled with strategy and frequent symbolic
actions if it is to result in an enhanced reputation.”
(Place Branding & Public Diplomacy, 2008)

9. Marketing Communications driven
Nation Branding Strategy
Symbolic
Actions
Strategy
Substance

10. CITATIONS
 Hanna, Sonya and Jennifer Rowley. (2008). An analysis of terminology
use in place branding. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 4(1), 6175. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.palgravejournals.com/pb/journal/v4/n1/full/6000084a.html
 Papadopoulos, N. (2004). Place branding: Evolution, meaning and
implications. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 1(1), 36-49.
Retrieved March 3, 2013, from
http://193.146.160.29/gtb/sod/usu/$UBUG/repositorio/10300753_Papa
dopoulos.pdf
 Lofters, O. (2013, March 27). Brand Jamaica Hollow Advertising . The
Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved March 27, 2013, from http://jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20130327/letters/letters3.html
 FutureBrands. (2012) Country Brand Index 2012-2013. New York:
FutureBrands Editorial Team
 Fill, Chris & Barbara Jamieson. (2011) Marketing Communications.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh Business School

11. CITATIONS
 Cooper, Carolyn. "Exploiting Brand Jamaica - Commentary - Jamaica
Gleaner - Sunday | February 10, 2013."Jamaica Gleaner News Online.
N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. Retrieved from http://jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20130210/cleisure/cleisure3.html
 Place Branding & Public Diplomacy. (2008). Place Branding & Public
Diplomacy, 4, 1-6. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
 Boyne, Ian. "Brand Jamaica just can't cut it - In Focus - Jamaica
Gleaner - Sunday | February 10, 2013." Jamaica Gleaner News Online.
N.p., 10 Feb. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. Retrieved from http://jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20130210/focus/focus2.html
 Jamaica Trade & Invest. (2009). National Export Strategy: Jamaica.
 Draftfcb. JTB Brand Guidelines.
 World Intellectual Property Organization. (2012) REPORT BY JAMAICA
to the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks Industrial
Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT). Geneva.
http://www.wipo.int/sct/en/comments/pdf/sct27/jamaicareport.pdf

12. THANKS YOU!
ANY QUESTIONS?

13. CONTACT INFORMATION
 sherylann.thomas@hotmail.com
Sherylann_thomas@emerson.edu
 I-AM-BRANDING.tumblr.com