Correspondence: Anoush Rima Tatevossian, 20 Bell Vista, Foothill Ranch, CA 92610, USA. Tel: +1 703 819 2830; Fax: +1 213 821 0774; e-mail: atatevos@usc.edu

¹received her BA in Government from The College of William and Mary. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. She previously held the position of Executive Director of the Armenian Volunteer Corps, an NGO in Yerevan, Armenia. Her interests are new media and ICTs for global civil society, cultural diplomacy and nation branding.

Received 29 February 2008; Revised 29 February 2008.

Abstract

It is imperative to recognise that nation branding is not only for foreign consumption. This paper seeks to explore the often-neglected interrelationship between civil society and the formation and projection of a nation brand. To provide a framework, it is posited that there are two types of nation branding: a 'brand promise' and a 're-brand'. In either case, the citizens in the country, or the domestic society, have push or pull relationships with the brand. In the case of a brand promise, the brand attempts to pull citizens in line with an ambitious goal or country plan. In other cases, real changes that have taken place in the country and within civil society must be reflected, thus necessitating, or pushing, a re-brand.