Brand South Africa

Ten years ago Brand SA was establish to position SA internationally for what the country truly represents. South Africa was indeed alive with possibility. The tag line is soon to change and the time has come to show growth by evolving past the initial aims. Today, the aim of Brand SA is to establish SA as the 20th must successful nation brand by 2020. South Africa is currently ranked 34th out of 134 countries. Working on the brand of a country is still a relatively new concept and includes an array of elements, thus it can become quite tricky to manage all the various factors in order for a congruent image to emerge as a result. One of the current challenges for SA is to change the perception of SA as an events destination, a particularly strong perception held by the world post Soccer World Cup 2010, to a country ripe with investment possibilities.

For long term sustainability, South Africa as the leading Nation Brand in Africa has to become internationally competitive. Aligning with stakeholders, focusing on what SA has that differentiates the country, amplifying the positive to the national and international community and constantly monitoring South Africa’s reputation are ways in which Brand SA aims to do the previously mentioned. The bottom line of country reputation remains that no country can establish a positive reputation nor can it climb the country brand ranking in isolation; it has to occur in comparison with other countries.