KZBlog

Sean Roberts has an article up about nation branding and (inevitably) Borat. Upon the occasion of yet another big paid article in the Washington Post, Who Needs Borat? Here’s the Kazakh President, highlighting the President’s new devil may care attitude to the comedian (which itself did not emerge until after Sascha Baron Cohen did an interview in Rolling Stone saying officially that the joke was not on Kazakhstan.

Roberts points out that the article was produced by a consulting company that specializes in nation-branding, East-West Communications. For more on nation branding, see Diplomatic Traffic but it is what it sounds like, treating a nation as brand name that must be promoted, preserved, manipulated. Lest you laugh, let me point out that “PR” and “imeidge” are slipping into the local Kazakhstani newspapers, bulletin boards, and mailing lists and as people discuss Borat, Nomad and the President’s trips here and there. There was a wonderful commercial on Khabar television showing a student giving his graduation speech (in English!) and everyone cheering as he flies into the air. Then the screen flashes up the message that Education is a key part of increasing the economic competitiveness of the nation. Even students are apparently supposed to put the ranking of the nation in the WEF report first!

Overall, the Kazakhstan public seems happy with the idea that Kazakhstan is a brand-name. Roberts discusses the idea of nation as corporation versus ideology (and Borat as marketing!). But it reminded me to post something I’ve been waiting to see in the newspapers:

Kazakhstan is starting to get wind that their full-page ads and TV spots are being viewed with skepticism, mocked and even backfiring. CF the Gawker’s post–lost to the bookmark demons–that Kazakhstan sounds wonderful with its giant skating rink, shrinking Aral sea, and polluted polygon! In America as soon as we see those lines and the words at the top ‘Paid Advertisement’, we read with a grain of salt. When we then see at the bottom ‘Produced by East-West Communications’ we skip to the funnies. One can’t blame the government for not being hip to this sooner; in Kazakhstan, paid articles are very common and are not demarcated as such (Not that Kazakhstany can’t spot a blatantly self-interested or biased article when they see one mind!).

To solve this problem, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to hire an International Journalism Board (the actual name escapes me) of well-known and trusted Western journalists to write articles. So even though the articles may still go in the paid advertisement section, it will have a good name attached to it. They will also be written in a natural style, not like ad-copy and they will presumably mix some bad 9or at least some mediocre) with the good. I don’t know who they will get, but the project is underway, and I would like to publicly announce my availability. With several years experience on my college newspaper and several years blogging under my belt, I think I am just the person to write entertaining, flattering stealth ads for the government. If the pay is good.