Zagreb - Croatia needs a single, all-encompassing national strategy of how to become a brand, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Monday, underscoring that Croatia has to highlight its diversity and should not base its image simply on tourism and natural attractions.
"Branding a country means defining an all-encompassing strategy whose implementation involves all stakeholders in state authorities, domestic and foreign policies as well as the non-governmental sector, various agencies and the culture and sports sectors, with marketing and advertising tools being only a part of the process and not shaping the strategy," the President said at a conference on branding Croatia, organised by the Vecernji List daily.
Jandroković underscored that "strengthening one's own identity, creating an image and finally, branding, have to be harmonised and coordinated at all relevant levels from where messages about Croatia are sent to the world. That is an essential task in successfully branding the country in the future."
Other speakers at the conference, including Božo Skoko of the Zagreb Faculty of Political Sciences and diplomat Zvonimir Frka Petešić, underscored the importance of a single, all-encompassing national strategy with a clear framework and harmonised messages.