The purpose of the paper is to discuss concept of place and nation brand, and to analyse attributes which make place unique and differentiate it from rivals. This article presents insights into hidden perception of differential advantages of Serbia, seen through the eyes of internal (Serbian nationals) and the most important external stakeholders – business class in Italy, Austria and Slovenia. The aim is thus to gain from internal and external perception the list of unique attributes that distinguish Serbia from other countries in the region. Qualitative research combined with semantic and sentiment analysis revealed existence of certain similarities and differences in both perceptions. People and unique Serbian mentality were recognized as the greatest differential advantage of Serbia, but also some negative attributes appeared like war legacy in external perception and internal problems in internal perception. Empirical evidence proved the presence of matching differential advantages in both perceptions and pointed to necessity of applying strategic approach in managing perception of Serbia.

This paper offers insights into the differentiation between nation branding and destination branding and how important it is for the successful rebranding of a country with a deteriorated and negative image. It is on the case of Serbia that authors wish to demonstrate how a country engages in competitive marketing strategies in order to boost investments, exports and employment opportunities, but fails to develop a coherent nation branding platform at the highest strategic level. The literature review highlights the differences and relations between three concepts -place branding, nation branding and destination branding. The paper presents the results of the content analysis of key branding initiatives, followed by visual messages, developed and implemented by the Serbian Government and the National Tourism Organization of Serbia in the period from 1996 to 2016. The results are chronologically presented in the form of a discussion, establishing links between destination branding and nation branding practices in Serbia. The conclusion is that none of the branding initiatives have proved successful until now. This is predominantly due to the Government's lack of understanding of the very concept of nation branding and it being mistaken for destination branding and tourism marketing. Current promotional efforts focus on presenting Serbia to internal and external stakeholders primarily as a tourist destination.Key words: nation branding, tourism destination, brand image, Serbia -a post-communist country. Corresponding author. Sociologija i prostor, 55 (2017) 207 (1): 77-99 78S o c i o l o g i j a i p r o s t o r IntroductionNation branding and destination branding are highly valued and potentially conflicting processes in establishing competitiveness of a place. While attention has been paid to nation branding and destination branding individually, not much attention has been paid to how they interact. With governments experiencing increasingly formal expectations that their branding initiatives will result in a strong nation brand to promote specific economic interests of the country, we require systematic knowledge about how different branding practices play out for transitioning countries.At the turn of the new millennium, the emergence of new nations and countries was one of the main trends that gave rise to the creation of nation branding (Yan, 2008). The emerging countries and nations saw branding as a chance to distinguish and position themselves among other newly established countries (Anholt, 2007). However, these nations were not the only ones that recognized and espoused the advantages and possibilities of branding. The world's leading nations also embraced nation branding as a tool for gaining the upper hand in the circumstances of global economic instability. Nowadays, more and more governments are turning to marketing and branding techniques to highlight competitive advantages over their closest rivals (Anholt, 2008) in order to increase investments, attract tourists, exports and talents. Ori...