The story of how America built - and destroyed - the greatest brand in history.

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Product Description

Countries are among the most powerful brands on the global marketplace. Love it or loathe it, never has there been a bigger, stronger or, arguably, more controversial brand than the United States of America.

More than any other country, America has been blessed with a huge range of positive brand attributes. The country is associated with the definitive youth lifestyle (Coke, MTV, Levi's); with sporting prowess (Nike, NBA, Timberland); and with technological supremacy (Microsoft, Dell, IBM). America is well-informed (CNN, Time, Newsweek) and, naturally, wealthy (American Express, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs). Of the top 100 international brands of 2003, 64 of them are American-owned. (source: Interbrand)

The core of America's potency lies in it being the country of origin for the world's three most valuable and profitable business sectors: entertainment, merchant banking and IT. This makes America the world's most powerful public domain brand. American brands simply hitch themselves onto this powerful national brand, and a cultural and commercial trail is instantly blazed for them around the world.

Today, however, America is a brand in trouble. And Brand America faces its toughest challenge yet. Can it address – and redress – a growing anti-Americanism that is repainting its brand image in harsh and lurid colours? Increasingly, America is also coming to be seen as bullying, polluting, imperialistic, ignorant, fat, selfish, inconsistent, arrogant, self-absorbed, greedy, hypocritical and meddling.

Author and country-branding expert Simon Anholt believes that America has done more to control its reputation than any other place in history: in war and in peace, through words and actions, inside and outside its borders. Anholt believes America needs to move beyond current concerns of crisis management, and take the long view in order to regain its brand integrity. He recommends that America’s brand custodians take themselves to task by asking a few questions that every self-respecting brand manager has to answer. What does America now stand for? Where is it going? What is its future role in the community of nations? Why should it continue to exist? Only then will they be able to define a strategy for recovery. Only then will America once again enjoy its unique status as the mother of all brands.

Ever since the Declaration of Independence, America has deliberately and consciously built and managed itself as a brand. From the start, the noble notions of liberty, of freedom – and enterprise – have been at the heart of America’s identity, its Constitution and its brand; several amendments and two centuries down the line, that essential libertarian ethic remains a paradox.

Brand America is the first book to tell that story from a brand perspective. Starting in colonial times, and spanning two world wars, the Cold War, times of poverty, prosperity and mass immigration, this compelling account concludes with America’s current efforts to restore its fading brand image and draws conclusions about what’s gone right – and more importantly – wrong.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #172006 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Ojars Kalnins, director of the Latvian Institute and former ambassador to the United States.
"Dynamite little book... perhaps the first truly fresh analysis of the United States and US power in half a century."

Philip Kotler, professor of marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
"Anholt and Hildreth are to be congratulated for raising the issue of why Brand America is suffering a strong decline."

The Boston Globe (March 13, 2005)
"It's advice the Bush administration would do well to heed... Even Naomi Klein would have to agree with Anholt."

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Customer Reviews

A unique view of U.S. history
A friend recommended BRAND AMERICA. I read it and was pleasantly surprised by: A new way to think about U.S. history; A generous sprinkling of obscure facts which deepen and broaden understanding; A theme for effective marketing which stresses underlying product quality and integrity, in addition to the usual lessons of mass communication; and A sober perspective on using marketing for politics. I liked the BRAND AMERICA for these reasons and the scholarly effort that went into writing it.

An excellent introduction to an unusual subject
This is a book which proves how much well chosen words can say even in a limited space. The authors present a compelling case for the nature of America's appeal and the strategies various administrations have adopted to export it. Their analysis of the decline of the American brand is particularly convincing and nuanced. Their hallmark is the unusual and entertaining example which penetrates deeply into the subject, without sounding contrived. A definitive mark of quality in a small book such as this one is how many questions it poses. Those who read it will come away with plenty of their own ideas about what Brand America needs to restore its tarnished fortunes.

Completely changed my mind about the USA
I've totally lost count of the number of books I've read about America - Supersize Me, No Logo, Branded, The World We're In, Fast Food Nation, Why Do They Hate Us, etc, etc, but none of them were news to me. This book really is what it says on the blurb, a totally fresh perspective on the US and US power. I thought the "brand" angle was going to be a bit of a gimmick at first but actually it makes perfect sense, america IS a brand and its a brand in TROUBLE. Now how do we get George W Bush to read this li'l gem!!!