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Denmara Consulting managing consultant Dr Dennis Maravanyika said this at a recent Marketers Winter School hosted by the Marketers’ Association of Zimbabwe.
He said there should be a lot of engagement with the country’s marketers when it comes to the issue of rebranding Zimbabwe.
“Marketers should be included in the rebranding process so that they can also give their input as they are the people who are responsible for changing the negative perception that the country has out there.
“Looking at rebranding there are certain things that marketers know that are not applicable to nation branding.
“For example, in corporate rebranding you are looking at changing the logo of the company in the event that it has been acquired by another company, but you cannot change a country’s name neither its logo,” he said.
Dr Maravanyika added that rebranding is being done by countries all over the world as they are facing a lot of competition in tourism, foreign direct investments and exports, hence the only way is to create a brand that can compete among those available.
He said that Zimbabwe is now ripe for rebranding as it recovers from a decade of hyperinflation.
“Now is time for the country to rebrand even though it is coming from a difficult economic situation. We can safely say we have survived all that.
“We now need to look at the professional point of view if the country is to get back to where it was,” he said. National branding seeks to develop a nation’s identity that is proactive and can be projected internationally in order to gain recognition and able to construct a favourable national image.
Countries rebrand to remove false stereotypes or reinforce some positive stereotypes associated with the country and its people.
Dr Maravanyika said although there are certain challenges that are faced when rebranding there is need to maintain the brand once it has been introduced and walk the talk by ensuring good product quality.