A brand's national identity is more than a ‘ploy’ to attract customers. According to expert Nguyễn Phi Vân, it is also a form of ‘soft power’ when the brand gains recognition by representing an entire country.
In May 2016, as the United States buzzed with excitement over the approaching presidential election, Budweiser, a famous American beer brand, announced that it would change its packaging and even its brand name to “America.”
Since 2011, the brewery has released specially designed summer cans featuring the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, or blue, white, and red stripes to express patriotism. Tosh Hall, creative director of branding company JKR, said: ‘We think nothing is more iconically American than Budweiser.’ Holding a Budweiser can means ‘America in your hands.’ This is one of many marketing campaigns based on patriotism.
In the United States, surveys have even sought to identify the most patriotic brands, with names such as Jeep, Disney, Levi Strauss, Ralph Lauren, Ford, Coca Cola, and Jack Daniel’s topping the list. A brand’s national character is not merely a ‘tactic’ for attracting customers. According to expert Nguyễn Phi Vân, it is also a form of ‘soft power,’ when a brand earns recognition by representing an entire country. To achieve this ‘soft power,’ a marketing campaign based on national sentiment needs the following characteristics.
National Pride: A nation’s pride and spirit are the key elements and foundation of a marketing strategy based on national sentiment. They are also the main psychological appeal used to invite customers to choose a product. For example, Myanmar’s City Mart supermarket chain recently ran a major advertising campaign called ‘Pride of Myanmar.’ All goods labeled ‘Pride of Myanmar’ were domestically made, with a focus on the country’s traditional signature products. This promotional program will help domestic businesses develop through a shared national spirit.
Protecting domestic goods: Part of this factor has an anti-foreign character, urging and rallying consumers to buy and use domestic goods to support and protect local businesses. For example, the Dicksmith brand in Australia ran marketing based on the concept of ‘buy Australian,’ opposing the entry and dominance of foreign brands and the disappearance of domestic brands and products.
Territoriality: Holidays and strongly local cultural imagery provide material for marketing based on national pride, such as the Statue of Liberty in the United States. These occasions and images appear throughout advertising and promotional content to connect with consumers’ patriotic feelings. Budweiser’s renaming of its bestselling beer as ‘America,’ or placing the Statue of Liberty on bottles, clearly illustrates this strategy.
According to communications and marketing expert Nguyễn Đình Thành, the Japanese have been very successful in appealing to consumers' patriotism and national pride. Many retailers arrange products in two distinct sections: 1 labeled made in China and 1 labeled made in Japan, with the latter priced twice as high. Japanese consumers tend to buy domestic goods to support their country. Koreans have succeeded by showing domestic films during prime time on TV and imposing quotas for Korean films at favorable cinema times to accustom audiences to watching them. Actors in these films also use Korean-made goods (for example, Samsung phones instead of iPhones).
Mr. Thành also noted that alongside successful campaigns, many attempts at this type of marketing have failed. Examples include Trung Nguyên urging patriotic consumers to drink its coffee amid the arrival of foreign coffee franchises, or Ngô Thanh Vân crying when ‘Tấm Cám’ was not shown at foreign-owned CGV cinemas. In the US, McDonald's ‘We remember 9/11’ campaign commemorated 9/11 to promote unity and national spirit, but consumers accused it of ‘using a disaster to sell products.’
Discussing this question, expert Nguyễn Phi Vân says that before considering any kind of marketing, businesses first need to research, innovate, and produce quality products or services that can compete on equal terms with others in the same sector, particularly imported products and services.
Consumers buy products and services. If these do not meet their needs, even if they buy once out of national pride, how many more times will they keep buying that emotional value? Or will they support the company’s patriotic spirit on Facebook while ‘quietly’ buying foreign products to use? Why not, if imported goods are better and cheaper? Does that make them unpatriotic? The first necessary and sufficient condition is to create competitive products that benefit consumers. Drawing on national pride comes afterward; it is only a communications approach for attracting consumers, not the foundation of marketing and branding.
Businesses need to “include,” not “exclude.” Inclusion means bringing more and more people together with us and with one another around a shared goal of liking, loving, and supporting the national spirit. When consumers see a declaration, a flag, a spirit serving a purpose greater than selling, they will come voluntarily and want to join that shared movement. Those not yet included should be thanked and engaged in dialogue just like those already in the movement. They will understand when the business does better and tries harder. If our dialogue and communications become extreme and exclude those who do not follow, the business is dividing the spirit rather than building it.
The use of national imagery, culture, and identity should also be subtle, like South Korea's Hallyu wave gradually permeating and deeply engaging its fans. The most effective marketing based on national sentiment uses “soft power,” rather than loud calls, waving flags, mass demonstrations, or openly declaring opposition to foreign brands. Sustainability comes from gently earning others' affection and support. Stirring consumers with high-profile campaigns only makes them overexcited at a particular moment before the enthusiasm fades. If we keep repeating “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” as a slogan, soon there may be no Vietnamese brands left. Does the press not report daily on foreign goods dominating Vietnam's market? Unless we start at the roots by building sustainable domestic brands, understanding consumers, and continually benefiting them, national sentiment will eventually wither too.
Marketing based on national pride is no longer new, but perhaps it will never be considered old. National pride is deeply rooted in every country and binds individuals within a nation. Yet implementing this approach successfully has never been simple. Merely printing a national flag on product packaging will not invite customers to stay with you for the long term.
