Why is 海角大神 Science in our name?
Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we鈥檝e always been transparent about that.
The church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we鈥檝e aimed 鈥渢o injure no man, but to bless all mankind,鈥� as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
Here, you鈥檒l find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences 鈥� a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.
Explore values journalism About us
Why national identities get the 鈥榖rand鈥� treatment
Clayton Collins
Brand-building is about making quick and positive associations. It鈥檚 why you might associate Volvo with 鈥渟afety鈥� or 鈥� more imaginatively 鈥� Subaru with 鈥渓ove.鈥�
As with cars, so too with nations. It matters.
鈥淐ountries that perform well across any variety of brand measures can gain a variety of advantages,鈥� says Rina Plapler, a partner at MBLM, a brand agency in New York, 鈥渇rom increased tourism and foreign investment to a greater sense of national identity.鈥�
Germany, for example, rides on a reputation for quality engineering. Estonia (digital hub!) and Costa Rica (sustainability leader!) are often as winners.
Bhutan, a tiny country on the China-India border, recently engaged in an exercise that got it to 鈥淏elieve,鈥� a reach for 鈥渆ngaging youth and renewed love and appreciation for the country,鈥� . (You might recall that Bhutan coined the success metric 鈥済ross domestic happiness鈥� in the late 1990s.)
Rising unrest (see our story today) stands to affect perceptions of China.聽Where else is the action?聽聽
鈥淩ussia鈥檚 brand has clearly been tarnished, without question externally, and even, perhaps, internally,鈥� notes Ms. Plapler, whose career background includes having once run the country brands index for the global consultancy FutureBrand. 鈥淥ne could say Iran is currently facing upheavals internally that are impacting the nation and its reputation.鈥�
Different ranking bodies use different methodologies. Books have been written about whether nation-branding is a critical positioning play, a cheery form of boosterism, or something tinged with nationalism. Perception does influence reality, though. No nation鈥檚 鈥渂rand鈥� is immune from volatility.
鈥淭he U.S. brand is going through some turbulent times,鈥� Ms. Plapler says, with concerns about crime and safety and the effects of divisive discourse contributing. Her take: Given the 鈥渕ore 鈥榤oderate鈥欌�� than anticipated midterms, 鈥減eople may feel less alienated than a few months ago.鈥�
So what鈥檚 America鈥檚 prevailing brand 鈥� its unique value proposition 鈥� today? Tell me what you think, at collinsc@csmonitor.com. I鈥檒l report back.
