I stumbled upon an organization recently that was focused on strengthening “Brand America”. (http://www.strengtheningbrandamerica.com). Great goal!
As an American who has lived overseas for +9 years working for a Japanese firm, I am very sensitive to America’s brand image. I mean, I have some serious skin in the game pretty much daily - whether I am enjoying sashimi in Tokyo with work colleagues, watching rugby with my Australian mates Down Under or trying to sell my company's services to a local Chinese manufacturer, that Brand-of-a-Motherland is stuck to me like a big Red, White and Blue band-aid.
Luckily, Brand USA is going strong despite some people's best efforts to the contrary! Americans (now!) have a President that has rock-star status around the world, we make the most viewed TV programs and films (nearly everyone can quote "Seinfeld" or their kids can sing every line to “High School Musical”!) and our organizations continue to bring innovation and excitement to the world – Apple, Google and this year's Miss America tiara winner, Twitter!
But the USA has some issues that really need to be addressed from a global context. There are a couple of things that concern me most – I’m not even going to touch the financial markets meltdown…that will be another post!
For one, living in China I can see what our "competition" is doing on a daily basis and I can tell you they are focusing on the FUTURE, which from an Asian perspective is not the next quarter but the next quarter century! Government and firms are making massive investments in infrastructure and quality-of-life initiatives that are implemented quickly and efficiently and add real value. I watch in astonishment as HUGE skyscrapers go up in Shanghai in the blink of an eye. Manufacturing sites are being upgraded to compete not simply outsourced. Customs, port operators, industry and government collaborate to efficiently process shipments in the world's largest port of Singapore.
In China, stimulus money is already pouring into communities in the form of new roads, libraries and public transportation - no year long debates here. And, no, I am not promoting their form of government just a more efficient one in the USA.
The fastest train in the world, tallest building, highest literacy rate, deepest broadband penetration,longest life expectancy – all outside of the USA!
Does this mean the USA is washed up? Heck no! We are light years ahead in most areas. But, the world has us in their cross-hairs. Not in a mean-spirited way. They just want some of the good stuff we have been enjoying for many years. To get it, they know they have to do it better than we do.
So promoting Brand America is an awesome thing to do! But "promotion" isn't enough. We don’t simply need a better jingle or a more clever ad campaign to strengthen Brand USA. We need to do what marketers are supposed to do. Take a real hard look at ours relative to the global market and make the improvements necessary to meet the needs of our customers. Oh, and do it better than our competitors. Or, as the saying goes, our competitors will eat our lunch…or sushi or whatever...
Xie xie,
Jeff McDonald