Presenting the ‘real’ Pakistan

Would you be willing to visit a country known as the hub of suicide bombers? Where rapists live in each part of the country? Wait. Isn’t Pakistan an Arab country in the Middle East? It is in the middle of nowhere with no Internet. Most Pakistanis are uneducated, right? These are few misconceptions among many regarding Pakistan due to absence of proactive brand management.

For developing sound economic strategies, a region’s leaders do not only focus on the financial and the economic aspects but also on the cultural and political influences. To attract national and international investment, there is a dire need to restructure the national brand image of Pakistan by minimising the effects of its negative PR and by amplifying the potential Pakistan as a nation has. We are constantly exposed to national brands through various media channels; ‘There is nothing like Australia’, ‘What happens here stays here’ (Las Vegas), ‘Malaysia, truly Asia’, just to name a few. These catchy marketing campaigns have yielded handsome results for the mentioned regions. For instance, India has similar socio-political issues as Pakistan yet it is an eminent brand in the global marketplace. ‘Incredible India’ was an initiative taken by the central government after the 2002 tourism crisis. The campaign reflected unity in India’s diverse values and culture.

Pakistan also needs to step up its game to international level and establish a unique value proposition. It involves telling a compelling story that must have great substance, as it needs to hold value for the myriad and diverse target market. It is imperative to identify that there is lack of necessary marketing savvy used by our country’s leaders to promote a powerful and a unique national image of Pakistan. In order to create a national brand, one must be fully acquainted with what the term place branding entails. According to Peter van Ham, place branding goes beyond mere slogans or old-fashioned ad campaigns; it involves more than gloss or spin or the placing of a territory on the map as an attractive tourist destination. It is more fruitful to consider a place brand as intellectual property, that is, “the totality of the thoughts, feelings, associations and expectations that come to mind when a prospect or consumer is exposed to an entity’s name, logo, products, services, events, or any design or symbol representing them” (Lindsay 2000). It is an umbrella term which goes beyond treating a municipality like a product.

For Pakistan, to become a success story, awareness needs to be created and all the stakeholders must be on board by being tolerant to the evident diversity in the residents. This will deliver a coherent message to the potential investors. For instance, Pakistan is the hub of Sikh holy sites and the Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage spots are some of the most neglected aspects of the country. The problem is that Pakistan is portrayed solely as a residence of Muslims and lack of religious tolerance has led to movements like rejection of visa for non-Muslims to visit these sites. The Katasraj temples, the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the Hinglaj Mata temple are some of the underrated sacred sites, which can otherwise be pearls for tourism.

Most importantly, there is lucrative private sector potential, which can be used as an asset to focus on the core benefits of Pakistan as a national brand. Private sector businesses, the tourism industry, the fashion industry, the film industry, etc, need to be backed with collective PR efforts on a national front. In short, it’s high time to activate a national effort for promoting Pakistan with all its heavenly uniqueness and promote the deserving face of the country to the world side!

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2017.

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