Sean Roberts has an article up about nation branding and (inevitably) Borat. Upon the occasion of yet another big paid article in the Washington Post, Who Needs Borat? Here’s the Kazakh President, highlighting the President’s new devil may care attitude to the comedian (which itself did not emerge until after Sascha Baron Cohen did an interview in Rolling Stone saying officially that the joke was not on Kazakhstan.

Roberts points out that the article was produced by a consulting company that specializes in nation-branding, East-West Communications. For more on nation branding, see Diplomatic Traffic but it is what it sounds like, treating a nation as brand name that must be promoted, preserved, manipulated. Lest you laugh, let me point out that “PR” and “imeidge” are slipping into the local Kazakhstani newspapers, bulletin boards, and mailing lists and as people discuss Borat, Nomad and the President’s trips here and there. There was a wonderful commercial on Khabar television showing a student giving his graduation speech (in English!) and everyone cheering as he flies into the air. Then the screen flashes up the message that Education is a key part of increasing the economic competitiveness of the nation. Even students are apparently supposed to put the ranking of the nation in the WEF report first!

Overall, the Kazakhstan public seems happy with the idea that Kazakhstan is a brand-name. Roberts discusses the idea of nation as corporation versus ideology (and Borat as marketing!). But it reminded me to post something I’ve been waiting to see in the newspapers: (more…)