With every embarrassing moment, wrong statement by a politician, mismanaged celebrity visit, to Will Smith happily posing for a selfie infront of the pyramids with -wide smiles squinting eyed- Egyptians; honestly, who can claim that nation branding was not in the back of the mind? Who wasn’t thinking, this country could do so much more..so much better?
From every slogan and Hashtag, from #TahyaMasr to #ThisisEgypt to #EgyptianandProud, how many times have we questioned if these were actual campaigns with value, meaning and a delivered promise, not just a nice picture and a short lived PR stunt.
Narrative Summit and Nation Branding:
“Nation Branding is the responsibility of every single person in the nation”. With this note Narrative 2016 adjourned and with this note, Narrative 2017 shall begin.
Narrative is an annual PR summit aimed at bringing in the country’s best narrators under one roof to tell stories, discuss topics, and persuasively participate in branding our Nation. If you are looking for a platform where people will come to show face, discuss “PR versus advertising””, “the difference between Charity and CSR” and the great impact of “Media Power” then Narrative will not deliver.
Narrative 2016, narrators and attendees were shaking hands and saying “Hello! We are here. We have caliber. We have challenges and we are aware of them. So let’s narrate.” Narrative 2017 is digging deeper, bringing in the notion of Nation branding into a deeper perspective, dissecting every aspect of our society and how each individual is an integral participant in crafting the message of the nation.
From politics to economic standing, arts to sports, entertainment to academics, philanthropy to crisis management, and from historic events to futuristic approaches, branding our nation is and will be alive and evolving.
Is Nation Branding the responsibility of the government? The people? The legislators?
The individuals? Should the concept be integrated in Schools? Inserted in curriculums? Is it part of a country’s DNA? Is it a state of mind? A plan? or both?
Post 2011, everybody was vying for a voice. Old means of communication were eroding and new notions brought into the light. More than ever, the stage is set; waiting for the game changers to assume their right role and lead.
Aside from bringing in Egypt’s top calibers with the most charismatic regional and global speakers, Narrative 2017 vows to become another inspiring epiphany to all PR professionals. Once again, Narrative is not offering PR stunts.