Who said branding was only done by companies?

In the last few years there has been a distinct trend for countries to brand themselves in order to foster tourism and domestic industries.

A recent and outstanding example of nation-branding is “Malaysia: Truly Asia”. Since the campaign was launched in 1999, the country has won over 25 international creative and marketing awards, and has established its presence in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and North America. "One of the best barometers of how strong the 'Malaysia: Truly Asia' is is when I travel anywhere around the world and I tell people where I'm from, they sing back to me that jingle," says International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Since the campaign was implemented, Mukhriz reports Malaysia has seen its annual tourists trebling, from 7 million people in 1999 to more than 22 million visitors last year. Malaysia’s revenues from tourism also more than quadrupled last year.

Plenty aware of the importance and benefits of branding to promote the country on the international stage, the Malaysian government has taken their branding efforts one step further. To help Malaysian brands which are flourishing in the domestic market but are not yet strong enough to compete internationally, the Third Industrial Master Plan includes a support program to facilitate branding for domestic firms.

It remains to be seen whether Malaysia will succeed in applying its learning at the industry level to develop powerful international brands. But without a doubt, Malaysia has already succeeded in building a strong national brand to attract tourists worldwide.