From image management to relationship building

© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 4, 333–343

www.palgrave-journals.com/pb/

Correspondence: Gyorgy Szondi

Leeds Business School,

The Rose Bowl, 1 Portland Gate,

Leeds, LS1 3HL, UK

INTRODUCTION

Nation branding has become one of the

most popular catchphrases of the last

decade, bringing together scholars and

practitioners not only from marketing,

but also from a growing number of

other fi elds. International relations,

diplomacy, political science, international

communication, human geography

and cultural studies have been quickly

absorbing the principles of (nation)

branding, which have brought some new

and fresh insights into these disciplines.

Nation branding, on the other hand, has

remained relatively isolated and reluctant

to embrace other fi elds ’contributions,

which could further advance its theoretical

foundations. One of the fi elds is

public relations (PR), which remains

underrepresented and often misunderstood

in the academic, as well as popular

literature on branding in general and place

branding in particular. Place branding

scholars and practitioners have so far

ignored the theoretical and conceptual

developments of PR, the central concept

Original Article

From image management to

relationship building: A public

relations approach to nation

branding

Received (in revised form): 28 thSeptember 2010

Gyorgy Szondi

is a senior lecturer in Public Relations at Leeds Business School, UK. His interest and publications include international public

relations, public diplomacy, nation branding, risk and crisis communication. He has designed and led communication training

courses for the School of Government in the United Kingdom; the Government of Estonia, the Estonian Ministry of Social

Affairs, and public diplomacy workshops for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European External Action Service.

His articles and book chapters have appeared in the Journal of Public Affairs, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, The

Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy, The Global Public Relations Handbook.

ABSTRACT This article ’ s aim is to contribute tothe theoretical advancement of

nation branding by focusing on public relations ’(PR) contribution to this fast

developing fi eld. Relationship building is proposed as a new framework for nation

branding, which could replace image management –the current dominant view of

place and nation branding. This article fi rst undertakes a critical review of the

defi nitions and conceptualisations of nation branding. The role of PR in the place

branding literature is reviewed, followed by a synthesis of core models and concepts

of PR with nation branding. Finally, image management and relationship management

are contrasted in the context of nation branding.

Place Branding and Public Diplomacy (2010) 6, 333 – 343. doi: 10.1057/pb.2010.32

Keywords: relationship management ; public relations models ; mutually benefi cial

relationships (MBRs)