I was recently interviewed by the ICP Forum, an Athens-based organisation who take a keen interest in nation branding. Their questions were interesting and ranged over a wide variety of nation branding-related issues. You can read the complete interview by following this link: http://icp-forum.gr/wp/?p=1048.

Just after that interview was published, I came across an unintentionally hilarious version of the same interview on Le Blogue du Quebec. The interview consists of pure gibberish (granted, some people might think that of the original version) which I can only assume was fed from a Greek translation into machine translation software that rendered it back into English and in doing so spewed out such surreal oddities as the following:

“The goals of polity branding are hellishly multiform and repayment for some of those goals the power of advertising is purposes choose measly.”

(Original version: “The goals of nation branding are extremely diverse and for some of those goals the power of advertising is probably quite limited”)

“Instead, they benefactress face-to-face meetings and fiction networking with what it takes investors into their boondocks.”

(Original version: “Instead, they advocate face-to-face meetings and continual networking with potential investors into their country.”

“As repayment for a fix award, my judge is that it is unattainable to encapsulate the aromatic multiformity of a predominantly polity in a fix award or battle-cry.”

(Original version: “As for a single message, my view is that it is impossible to encapsulate the rich diversity of a whole nation in a single message or slogan.”)

“Could you momentarily dilate on your overtures?”

(Original version: “Could you give us some concrete examples?”)

If you would like to read the complete text of this gibberish in its full glory, follow this link: http://greeceriots.quebecblogue.com/2009/07/04/forum

Much as I would like to dilate on my overtures, that will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, the gloriously surreal mistranslation of the interview has given me food for thought regarding possible titles for a future book on nation branding. Maybe, ‘Nation Branding - Achieving its Hellishly Multiform Goals’, or perhaps ‘Brand the Nation! Battle-cry for the aromatic multiformity of a predominantly polity’. I can hear publishers beating a path to my door already.

Two reviews of my book ‘Nation Branding - Concepts, Issues, Practice’ appear in the Journal of Marketing, May 2009, Volume 73, Number 3. One review is written by Marc Fetscherin and the other review is by Alan T. Wood.

Fetscherin states that “Keith Dinnie’s book is both timely and relevant… With plenty of information on the context and nature of nation branding, his book makes a valuable contribution to the emerging literature on nation branding”, whilst Wood in his review comments that “This book by Keith Dinnie is an excellent introduction to the wide contours of this subject… Dinnie sets ambitious goals for himself at the beginning but makes good on his promise. There are two specific strengths to this book: its global coverage and its interdisciplinary approach… Can present-day marketing experts contribute to this enterprise of both nation branding and Earth-branding? Keith Dinnie’s fine book, with its cosmopolitan outlook, is a great beginning.”

Both reviewers also make constructive suggestions regarding possible additions and modifications to the book. I am grateful to both reviewers for their thoughtful and thorough reviews. You can read the complete reviews by following this link:

http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/AMA%20Publications/AMA%20Journals/Journal%20of%20Marketing/JournalofMarketingBookReviews.aspx