Without nation branding, there would be no Singapore. Reputation is precious. Top talent and hot money gravitate only to the most attractive, respected nations. For a country as small and as young as Singapore, its brand is its most valuable asset. Singapore’s stunning ascent from Third World to First World in a matter of 30 years was spearheaded by a concerted, closely-coordinated programme of nation branding. Brand Singapore helped to attract the investments, business, trade, tourism and talented human resources that are the lifeblood of a successful nation. Today, the city-state is known internationally as a dynamic, safe, corruption-free place to do business, a Garden City, and increasingly, a vibrant city of culture and the arts. In global surveys of quality of life, Singapore regularly tops the charts. How did Singapore create this country brand, cultivate and guard it, sell it to its “shareholders”, and make it known to the world? Drawing on two decades in the nation branding game, Koh Buck Song offers an illuminating inside look at – and candid critique of – a country brand that is as rich in resource as it is potent with promise.

How can Brand Singapore renew itself once again, amidst a global pandemic? Reputation is precious, more than ever, in the face of deep global displacements exacerbated by Covid-19. Top talent and hot money typically gravitate only to the most attractive, respected nations. For a nation as small and as young as Singapore, its brand is its most valuable asset, as seen in its stunning ascent from Third World to First World in just 30 years since 1965, spearheaded by targeted country branding that builds on unique, longstanding brand attributes. This fully revised and updated edition of Brand Singapore analyses the challenges and opportunities of its latest repositioning for a post-Covid-19 world. The book also examines major events of the last four years since the Second Edition, including the “Passion Made Possible” country brand concept, the 2020 General Election, the reserved Presidency and the Singapore Bicentennial’s revised perspectives on 700 years of ancient history. “A must-read for all policy-makers and business leaders. The secret of Singapore’s success is precisely uncovered by Koh Buck Song.” – Yasu Ota, Nikkei Asian Review, Japan

Without nation branding, there would be no Singapore. Reputation is precious. Top talent and hot money gravitate only to the most attractive, respected nations. For a country as small and as young as Singapore, its brand is its most valuable asset. Singapore’s stunning ascent from Third World to First World in a matter of 30 years was spearheaded by a concerted, closely-coordinated programme of nation branding. Brand Singapore helped to attract the investments, business, trade, tourism and talented human resources that are the lifeblood of a successful nation. Today, the city-state is known internationally as a dynamic, safe, corruption-free place to do business, a Garden City, and increasingly, a vibrant city of culture and the arts. In global surveys of quality of life, Singapore regularly tops the charts. How did Singapore create this country brand, cultivate and guard it, sell it to its “shareholders”, and make it known to the world? Drawing on two decades in the nation branding game, Koh Buck Song offers an illuminating inside look at – and candid critique of – a country brand that is as rich in resource as it is potent with promise. Since the first publication of this book in 2011, Singapore has celebrated its golden jubilee of independence, undergone a watershed general election and the death of founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and seen its nation brand rise and fall amid the disruptions of an increasingly divisive world (Brexit, Trump, China, etc). This timely second edition explores the implications of all these factors on Singapore’s future.

In today's highly competitive market, many destinations - from individual resorts to countries - are adopting branding techniques similar to those used by 'Coca Cola', 'Nike' and 'Sony' in an effort to differentiate their identities and to emphasize the uniqueness of their product. By focusing on a range of global case studies, Destination Branding demonstrates that the adoption of a highly targeted, consumer research-based, multi-agency 'mood branding' initiative leads to success every time.

This textbook shows how cities, regions and countries adopt branding strategies similar to those of leading household brand names in an effort to differentiate themselves and emotionally connect with potential tourists. It asks whether tourist destinations get the reputations they deserve and uses topical case studies to discuss brand concepts and challenges. It tackles how place perceptions are formed, how cities, regions and countries can enhance their reputations as creative, competitive destinations, and the link between competitive identity and strategic tourism policy making.

Contemporary Singapore is simultaneously a small postcolonial multicultural nation state and a cosmopolitan global city. To manage fundamental contradictions, the state takes the lead in authoring the national narrative. This is partly an internal process of nation building, but it is also achieved through more commercially motivated and outward facing efforts at nation and city branding. Both sets of processes contribute to Singapore's capacity to influence foreign affairs, if only for national self-preservation. For a small state with resource limitations, this is mainly through the exercise of smart power, or the ability to strategically combine soft and hard power resources.

�First independent book about Singapore's national brand�Balanced critique of what has had an impact on shaping the Singapore brand through history�What next? Nation branding in the post- LKY era�What will take for Singapore to reach SG100�Easy-to-read yet incisive insights, drawn from author's over 25 years of practical experience in journalism, public service and communications consultancy