Michael
Jul 30th 2009, 11:54 AM
Frankly, IKEA is doing more for the image of Sweden than all governmental efforts combined.
That might be a sad statement coming from a governmental official tasked with enforcing “the brand of Sweden.” But IKEA’s 285 stores in 37 countries feature the blue-and-yellow national colors, serve Swedish meatballs and sell blond-wood Swedish designs and books about Sweden. To visit IKEA is to visit Sweden.
Every “nation brand” is a simplification. But even though it may be paradoxical in a globalized world, most countries have found that they must stress their individuality to be able to compete. Reputation is the new currency now that countries are beginning to understand that soft power can be more forceful than the hard power that has so often failed.
Read Article (http://publicdiplomacymagazine.com/case-study/the-symbiosis-of-sweden-ikea/)
Nothing earth-shattering here, just an interesting article on how public diplomacy and Swedish furniture design intersects.
(full disclosure: I have lots of stuff from Ikea - I love the place)
That might be a sad statement coming from a governmental official tasked with enforcing “the brand of Sweden.” But IKEA’s 285 stores in 37 countries feature the blue-and-yellow national colors, serve Swedish meatballs and sell blond-wood Swedish designs and books about Sweden. To visit IKEA is to visit Sweden.
Every “nation brand” is a simplification. But even though it may be paradoxical in a globalized world, most countries have found that they must stress their individuality to be able to compete. Reputation is the new currency now that countries are beginning to understand that soft power can be more forceful than the hard power that has so often failed.
Read Article (http://publicdiplomacymagazine.com/case-study/the-symbiosis-of-sweden-ikea/)
Nothing earth-shattering here, just an interesting article on how public diplomacy and Swedish furniture design intersects.
(full disclosure: I have lots of stuff from Ikea - I love the place)