Marketing a Country

Revised Edition. The new competitive foreign investment environment has prompted analogies between competition among governments for foreign investment and competition among firms for market share. Given the similarities in the nature of the competition, it is not surprising that countries are adopting marketing strategies that parallel those of private companies. Some of the findings of research on company marketing programs can thus benefit countries that are trying to attract investment. Organizations seeking to develop competitive strategies for marketing activities can, to some extent, manipulate three variables in their overall marketing programs, that is, the product, the price, or the promotion. The focus of the research in this publication is on promotion, an aspect of marketing a country that has been neglected until now. In the course of their research, the authors identify and categorize the promotion strategies that are being used by the governments in developing countries. The authors then analyze the various organizational approaches the governments employ to carry out the investment promotion function. Following the analysis, they develop a framework to help determine which investment promotion techniques and structures are effective and under what conditions. The first edition created a language for discussing the investment promotion function and has provided a rationale for successful promotion, especially in developing countries, that has stood the test of time. This new edition benefits from an update by one of the original authors, Professor Lous T. Wells, Jr., who has had the opportunity to observe investment promotion in a number of different settings. He has included this experience in this revised edition. This publication will be of interest to members of chambers of commerce, students and professors in business schools, and government officials.