Public sector brands can be found in every country of the world, whether intentionally created or not. Public sector institutions and organizations all have relationships with individual consumers, businesses, other countries and governments, and so on, and thus they all have images of some kind. Because perceptions held by stakeholders and “customers” are so important in achieving success for the public sector, the need to control, manage and build brand images is of fundamental importance. Failure to undertake branding activity may well lead to negative perceptions and lesser achievement of national objectives.
Branding in the public sector is no longer a “nice to have” but a “must have.” Increased competition in every sector makes branding an imperative. From nations to non-profit organizations, from civil services to cities, from sectors to services, there is no escape from the tough requirement of the need to create a point of differentiation and a positive image. Competition is ubiquitous and every country or public sector entity is fighting for a share of voice, talent, political support and funding. In the age of resource scarcity and constant change, the only way forward in convincing customers and stakeholders that any public sector institution or organization is different and better than others, is through the development of a strong brand. Everything else can be replicated, whether it is services, products, processes, systems, technologies or rhetoric. The only thing that any public sector entity can create that is not capable of being copied, is a powerful brand image.
Until relatively recently, branding was regarded by many as a private sector activity, and the admiration for the world’s top brands has been a global phenomenon. But the public sector has now come to understand that those very same techniques that created corporate and product brands with enormous financial worth – on occasions larger than the gross domestic product of some countries – can indeed be used in exactly the same way to achieve any business or philanthropic goal.
Public sector branding is a fast-growing global trend that is here to stay. If you are in charge of any aspect of public sector development, in particular policy, sector development, corporate affairs, marketing, communications, fundraising, stakeholder relationships, image-building or other activities and initiatives, then this book is for you. You will find that the content covers the huge scope of this subject and the many ways in which public sector branding can be developed and implemented. It will also explain the globally successful techniques of branding developed by the private sector and relate these to many case examples of where the public sector has employed them.
Before I move on, let me first explain what I mean by the words “public sector.” Simply put, the public sector can be defined as anything outside the private sector, but it is not quite as straightforward as that and there are some areas of overlap. The public sector can include nations or countries, public and civil service organizations, government ministries and departments, cities and other destinations, and even industries or sectors under the control of governments. In addition, there are government-linked corporations, non-profit organizations such as charities and foundations, for-profit organizations such as co-operatives, and any other non-commercial institutions or organizations such as the World Bank, NATO, or groups of countries like ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). All of these entities can be classified under the umbrella title of “public sector.” I thus take a very broad view of this area, and will give more specific examples as we move through the chapters that follow.
Why the public sector needs branding
The issue that has caused most concern in every market of the world in recent years is that of parity. Faced with a situation where their products, services, systems, processes and technology are easily replicable, the biggest challenge for corporations in the private sector has increasingly been one of differentiation. How can they appear to be different and better than their competitors when marketing and selling products and services that are so similar? The answer to this question, and the challenge, is that in the world of parity the only true differentiator is brand image. This is why people pay 1000 times the price of a Casio watch to own a Patek Philippe, and why Nike has a commanding market share of the sportswear market. It is why Louis Vuitton sales and profits continue to rise in recessionary times, and why the waiting list for luxury cars rises as prices move upwards. People are not merely buying the products associated with these examples, they are buying brands that generate emotional associations in their minds through skilful image-building techniques. They are buying for the status, prestige, self-expression and other things that they want and feel good about. The “commodity” label can be shrugged off with powerful branding. We can all give our own examples of brands we like and love from the commercial world, but what has this got to do with the public sector?
The examples from the private sector given above are all top consumer brands, but many business-to-business brands also realize the benefits, for example large companies like GE and BASF. Brands that are merely ingredients, such as Intel’s branded products and other ingredient brands such as Lycra® also recognize this fact. The truth of the matter is that wherever you come into contact with a target audience that you want to influence, and whenever people are involved in an organization, institution or entity, image counts.
Let me explain more about this by giving four reasons why the public sector is now heavily involved in the world of branding, and why this activity is likely to increase in the future.
The first reason is that the issue of differentiation affects all organizations and institutions. For example, countries battle for tourists and foreign direct investment, and charities need to appeal for more funds. All are competing for the same target markets – in these cases, people who want to go on a vacation and those who want to be philanthropic and help the less fortunate. Just like corporations in the private sector, they have to attract various customer groups and “sell” similar products, services and ideas; just as companies have found that the best way to do this is not by lowering price, but by creating perceived value, they have to impress by building strong brand images. The perceived value of this consists not just of the tangible aspec...
