You can think of pretty much anything as a brand these days. Employment counselors tell you to think of yourself as a brand when you’re looking for a job. Learn how to SELL your identity, your skills and abilities, they say.
Companies like Apple manage their brands like they were precious jewels. Well, it turns out that nations have brands as well. Along these lines, let me ask a simple question. What comes to mind when you think of America? Cowboys and the Declaration of Independence or hamburgers and obesity? Probably a mix. And not long ago, when people were asked what they thought of Australians, they said that the Aussies were the friendliest people on earth. Not any more.
Nope, according to a new survey called the Nations Brand Index, the Aussies, who once held the top spot have been replaced by the Canadians. Now, I guess that most people who took the survey have never met my friend Canuck McIre, who is known to possess a feverish hatred of anyone and everything not Canadian. But I digress. More on a travel-related note, the survey found that Italy was the top spot on the globe for tourism followed by Spain and France. The top brand overall…and now this is the really important one…was the United States. Woo hoo!!!! Who needs to be nice when the world buys your stuff?