Nation branding and sustainability: A comparative analysis of European countries

Abstract

The environmental problems of the 21st century have led countries to pay attention to issues of sustainability. The UN Sustainable Development Goals have encouraged member-states to strive for social, economic, and environmental objectives through policies that address nature, poverty, peace, equality, and diversity in society up to the year 2030. In recent years, sustainability became one of the leading discourses of a commercial culture shaped by brands, in addition to political, social, and economic fields. In this period, sustainability has also been applied to the countries’ nation branding strategies. This article aims to analyze the impact of sustainability on the formation of nation brand identity based on European countries. As the research sample, the nation branding websites of 27 European Union countries and Great Britain, Norway, Switzerland, and Türkiye were analyzed by a thematic analysis with a qualitative methodology. The research highlights that Northern European nations, which have high scores in the Sustainable Development Growth Index, are more successful in linking sustainability to their nation brand identities. Ultimately, this article highlights the expanding importance of sustainability in nation brand communication in an effort to contribute to existing studies and practices in the field.

Keywords

• Europe
• nation branding
• nation brand identity
• sustainability
• thematic analysis

Ulus markalama ve sürdürülebilirlik: Avrupa ülkelerinin karşılaştırmalı bir analizi

Abstract

21. yüzyılda dünyada yaşanan çevresel sorunlar, devletlerin sürdürülebilirlik kavramıyla yakından ilgilenmelerine zemin hazırlamıştır. 2015 yılında Birleşmiş Milletler tarafından ilan edilen “Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Hedefleri”, üye devletlerin toplumsal, ekonomik ve çevresel hedefler doğrultusunda doğa, yoksulluk, barış, eşitlik ve çeşitlilik gibi alanlarda politikalar üretmesini teşvik etmiştir. Son yıllarda ise sürdürülebilirliğin politik, toplumsal ve ekonomik alanların yanı sıra, markalar aracılığı ile şekillenen tüketim toplumunun da önde gelen söylemlerinden biri olarak yerleştiği dikkat çekmektedir. Bu süreçte sürdürülebilirlik olgusunun, ülkelerin ulus markalama stratejilerine de entegre edilmeye başlandığı görülmektedir. Bu çalışma sürdürülebilirliğin ulus marka kimliğinin oluşumu açısından ne derece etkili bir rol üstlendiğini Avrupa ülkeleri bağlamında analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma kapsamında 27 Avrupa Birliği üyesi ile Birleşik Krallık, İsviçre, Norveç ve Türkiye’den oluşan 31 ülkelik bir örneklem belirlenmiş, bu ülkelerin ulus markalama web siteleri nitel bir tematik analiz yöntemiyle çözümlenmiştir. Gerçekleştirilen çözümleme sonucunda ulus markalar ve sürdürülebilirlik bağlantısı dört farklı seviyede kategorize edilmiş olup, Küresel Sürdürülebilirlik Endeksi’nde üst sıralarda yer alan Kuzey Avrupa ülkelerinin sürdürülebilirlik hedeflerini ulus marka kimliklerine daha etkin bir biçimde entegre ettikleri ortaya çıkmıştır. Sonuç olarak sürdürülebilirliğin ulus marka iletişiminde belirginleşen rolüne dikkat çeken bu çalışma, sürdürülebilir ulus markaların oluşturulması çabalarına katkı sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

• Avrupa
• ulus markalama
• ulus marka kimliği
• sürdürülebilirlik
• tematik analiz

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