Are we talking the Same Language? Challenging Complexity in Country Brand Models

The purpose of this paper is to review recent research into country brand models and identify the most common and shared dimensions. Based on the literature review, this study establishes a conceptual framework to consider the complex interaction between the core constructs of country branding, country brand models and country image. This paper attempts to show that there is no acceptable, concrete and universally theoretical-recognised definition either in the academic literature or in the business and trade arena. The paper is divided into three parts with the first focusing on country branding constructs, branding strategies as well as the importance in the global economy and competitive arena worldwide of the country brand. The second part reviews the conceptual origin of the main country brand models in the last decades. The third part discusses the country image construct, and identifies this as the country brand reflection. The paper summary draws the analysis together to present the exploration of the country brand model dimensions. The purpose of the paper is to determine the most common dimensions in the main country brand models. The findings are that: tourism is the most supported by five models; followed by governance and investment by four models); and exports and immigration are supported by three models. Despite its exploratory nature, this study offers insight for researchers, country brand strategists and communications professionals to rethink the country brand being adopted to comprehend a country image and to invest in either public relation, promotion and advertising worldwide. The country brand models discussed in this paper may be applied to other future investigations regarding the need for a conventional and consistent country brand model, including new dimensions related to the multiple stakeholders and specific country variables

Mapping communication management competencies for European practitioners ECOPSI an EU study

This paper and its findings suggest there is little organised life-long learning in public relations and communication management in Europe. Consequently senior communication practitioners believe there are major failings in the capabilities related to our profession which if not addressed will serve as significant challenges for European organisations over the next 10 years. Longitudinal research further suggests the role of practitioners is changing and they require many more competencies to be successful in their communication roles (Zerfass et al., 2007- 2013). These are some of the observations and conclusions drawn from and supported by an extensive review of theory and practice emerging from the ECOPSI Programme (European Communication Professional Skills and Innovation), which is the largest European Union funded project of its kind to report into strategic communication until now (Tench et al 2012, 2013a, 2013b). There are on-going gaps and deficiencies in the development of the individuals as well as broad variation in how practitioners identify needs and access appropriate interventions. This presents numerous opportunities for deeper and on-going professional training and development to build consistency and support good practice in moving away from a hands-on, learning on-the-job approach to more focused knowledge acquisition and development. The ECOPSI programme is a two-year research project exploring the competencies required by communication professionals in Europe. This innovative programme is a partnership of six leading European universities in communication research and education located in Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the UK as well as the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD). The two-year programme is led by Leeds Metropolitan University and is the first and largest to be funded by the European Union. The study provides in-depth insights into the competencies needed for four communication roles through the Communication Role Matrix: internal communication, crisis communication, social media and chief communication officer (CCO). The Communication Role Matrix captures what it is a communication professional does and the requirement necessary to perform the role successfully by identifying the knowledge, skills (hard and soft) and personal attributes for each role (Tench et al 2013a). This paper: (1) analyses the construction and perceptions about the Communication Role Matrix; (2) highlights current contemporary issues faced by the industry; and (3) presents the transference of knowledge from ECOPSI to the professional field through the Portal (for) Advancing Communication Expertise (p4ace) along with a self-diagnostic tool aimed to engage practitioners in continued professional development

Barriers to obesity communication - Power, habitus and hidden assumptions

Communication on health issues often founders on the avoidance or denial of key messages by intended recipients. This paper explores the development and application of a research methodology combining elements of Pierre Bourdieu’s work on the unconscious nature of practice with Gerhard Maletzke’s psychological model of communication. This combination was designed to elicit deeper responses than those often found in health communication research. This alternative methodological approach was used to evaluate a year-long, city-wide anti-obesity campaign in Sheffield, UK, which targeted key gatekeepers in the message chain; their responses generate useful insights into resistance to uncomfortable communication. The paper concludes with suggestions for addressing communication about obesity and potentially other uncomfortable health and social topics

Social Media: the Wild West of CSR Communications

Purpose - The central argument that this paper posits is that traditional media of old presented a clear, ordered world of communication management for organisations to extol their CSR credentials. In contrast to this, new Web 2.0 social media is increasingly being used by activists and hactivists to challenge corporate communication CSR messages and does so by highlighting instances and examples of Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI) (Jones, Bowd and Tench, 2009; Tench, Sun and Jones, 2012). Design/methodology/approach - The paper reports on research data from the European Communication Monitor 2010, 2011 and 2012 (http://www.communicationmonitor.eu/) and draws on work already published in this area (Tench, Verhoeven and Zerfass, 2009; Verhoeven et al, 2012; and Zerfass et al, 2010, 2011) to illustrate the unruly unregulated Web 2.0 social media communication landscape in Europe. A range of literature is drawn on to provide the theoretical context for an exploration of issues that surround social media. Findings - In late modernity (Giddens, 1990) communication comes in many guises. Social media is one guise and it has re-shaped as well as transformed the nature of communications and the relationship between organisations and their stakeholders. Originality/value - Communicating CSR in the Wild West of social media requires diplomatic and political nous, as well as awareness and knowledge of the dangers and pitfalls of CSI. The data reported on in this paper illustrates well the above points and sets out scenarios for future development of corporate communication of CSR through, and with social media

Nondestructive evaluation techniques for nickel-cadmium aerospace battery cells

The ac impedance characteristics of Ni-Cd cells as an in-situ, nondestructive means of determining cell lifetime, particularly with respect to the probability of premature failure were evaluated. Emphasis was on evaluating Ni-Cd cell impedance over a wide frequency range (10,000 to 0.0004 Hz) as the cells were subjected to charge/discharge cycle testing. The results indicate that cell degradation is reflected in the low frequency (Warburg) impedance characteristics associated with diffusion processes. The Warburg slope (W) was found to steadily increase as a function of cell aging for completely discharged cells. In addition, based on data for two cells, a high or rapidly increasing value for W signals imminent cell failure by one mechanism. Degradation by another mechanism is apparently reflected in a fall-off (roll-over) of W at lower frequencies. As a secondary result, the frequency dependence of the absolute cell impedance at low frequencies (5 - 500 mHz) was found to be a good indication of the cell state-of-charge

Magical Touch of Marketing: Matching Promotion with the 4 R’s of Place Branding

Place marketing has been an object of study since the 1960s; however, even though in the last two decades there has been an increase in research, there is a lack of studies about ‘magic’ in promoting a place because it is a critical topic and an under theorised construct in academia, in general. Debate continues about the marketing strategies and campaigns because of not only the outcomes of continued use of promotional activities of place marketing but also because of the influential aspect of such activities towards emergent countries or cities. The purpose of this paper is to match the P for Promotion from the Marketing Mix model (McCarthy, 1964) with the 4 R’s of the Place Branding model (Aitken & Campelo, 2011) - in order to convey a suggested guideline for the creation of activities in a national park setting. This qualitative research is exploratory in nature, undertaking secondary data collection and content analysis for data interpretation. This paper provides not only awareness of the inappropriate promotion of particular places but also contributes to existing knowledge of place branding literature by providing an understanding of promotion as a potential communication and marketing force – if using appropriate channels and messages – perhaps with a ‘magical’ touch