Nation Branding in A Transnational Marketing Context: Serbia’s Brand Positioning Through Food and Wine

Abstract

Food and gastronomic values of a country are distinguished assets in marketing places. The aim of this article is exploring the ways in which Serbia rebrands itself through promoting the local food and culture and positions the nation brand in a transnational marketing context. The key concepts for this research originate from the literature in place marketing and branding. The gastronomic offer is an instrument shaping people’s perceptions about Serbia that is represented and communicated through values, narratives and manifestations. Accordingly, semiotics is adopted for analysing the data, which builds on three levels: axiological, narrative and discursive. Content analysis is used as a supportive method to infer meanings from codes and to determine emerging themes overarching the units of meaning. The tourism marketing strategy of The National Tourism Organization of Serbia (TOS) is closely examined through the touristic promotion materials (i.e. catalogues, posters, Soul Food video). In sum, the analysis results reveal how the country branding strategy of Serbia is handled in terms of the impact on the perceptions with a focus on food as a tourist attraction. The research is valuable for place-marketers, strategists, governments, and scholars from different fields of academia.

Gastronomy Tourism and the Perceived Image of Serbian National Cuisine: Structural Equation Modeling of the Main Determinants

“…Educational initiatives are essential, targeting institutes, schools, and universities to underscore the health and economic advantages of choosing healthy Serbian food. Concurrently, efforts are geared towards establishing a positive image of Serbian food, both domestically and internationally, with key responsibilities assigned to ministries, institutes, media, and other relevant organizations (Dogan and Petkovic, 2016).…”

Country-of-origin effect and millennials’ wine preferences–a comparative experiment

“…Moreover, the terroir concept, which has been extended to other products/markets also, is typical for wine (Festa et al , 2015). The country-of-origin effect seems to maintain some appeal for wine consumers (Dogan and Petkovic, 2016), though with different specifications (Bresciani et al , 2016), mainly due to the evolution of the sector itself, from the Old World (Europe in general) to the New World (USA, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand) and Third World (China, India, Brazil, Russia and others) (Hussain et al , 2008; Banks and Overton, 2010; Sam and Thompson, 2012; Saenz-Navajas et al , 2013).…”

When Geography Matters: The potential role of Saudi Arabia’s Geographical Branding in Promoting FDI

“…Branding is carried out by following a systematic approach that requires communicating the value proposition of the country for long-term goals (Dogan & Petkovic, 2016). Achieving and creating brand image is particularly easier for the countries that enjoys stability in terms of politics and economy.…”

“…Achieving and creating brand image is particularly easier for the countries that enjoys stability in terms of politics and economy. However, other countries with irregular economic and political instability are required to exert greater efforts to promote their brand image (Dogan & Petkovic, 2016). This implied that the country image could be considered as a branding determinant with a direct effect on the country's reputation and its investment profile.…”

“…As a consequence, countries are encouraged to consider rebranding as a tool to aid them creating a fresh image through their positive values and ownership advantages (Dogan & Petkovic, 2016). In such context, the example of Denmark can be of significance, who lost its brand image after the Cartoon Crisis in 2005 (Merkelsen & Rasmussen, 2015).…”