Wherever you turn (in Denmark, anyway), someone is talking about branding Denmark. Recently, there was even a whole conference about it.

I was particularly interested to hear what the nation branding expert Simon Anholt had to say. We’re on a quest to find out how Danish companies can base their communications on being Danish. Simon Anholt seemed like the perfect person to provide answers to our questions. But instead of hearing great insights and wisdom into how countries can build and improve their brands, he said that nation branding was quite useless. And that you can’t really shift perception anyway - without some sort of revolutionary change.

A slap in the face to all marketers?

Then he asked the audience why Danes aren’t satisfied at their current ranking of no. 14 in his most recent nation brand index. Isn’t that good enough? He teased the Danes for wanting to move into the top 10, because Denmark is doing terribly well in the big scheme of things. I think it’s since slipped to no. 15 – but it’s still well ahead of a lot of other powerful countries.

Well, I think it’s great Denmark is so ambitious. What better way to break free from the grip that “Jantelov” has over the country? Anholt has a point, however, when he says it’s no use for countries to try to change perception simply by advertising or with a clever tagline (that no-one will really believe).

I wonder, too, if the efforts of nation branding are misguided. Surely, it’s mainly down to the actions of individuals and groups who happen to represent the country. Their achievements and results reflect on the country – and boost its brand.

For example, have you heard of the “All Blacks”? Probably. Know what sport they play? Maybe. Where they come from? Probably not (unless you’re from the UK, Australia or South Africa).

The All Blacks are a strong, memorable brand, which is built on consistently high performance and unrivalled success in the sport of rugby. Since they have a close association with the country of New Zealand, they boost the brand of New Zealand. But New Zealand does not boost the All Blacks’ brand. The brand is not any stronger simply because it comes from New Zealand.

I believe that a country’s brand is made by the individual performance of companies, teams, artists, musicians, writers, politicians, journalists, and the like. And of course people who just travel and interact with others around the world. So instead of Denmark putting so much effort into branding the nation, when even Simon Anholt says it’s not going to have much effect, isn’t it best to invest in the individual efforts of its champions?

How should we communicate Danish values internationally? Can we use Danishness as a competitive advantage? The answers are probably ‘with great care’ and ‘no’. But you can still get real value from remembering your Danish roots - just don’t mention ‘Denmark’.

Read why - and blog your thoughts here.

The branding consultant Martin Roll says that Danish companies can use their “Danishness” to their advantage. In an interview with the Danish business newspaper Børsen, he advises Danish companies to stand up for their Danish values.

Denmark has many great values that can be relevant to people outside of Denmark. The challenge as I see it is communicating them in a way that the rest of the world can understand.

It’s not about imposing these values on others, but more about putting them in the context of what is important. Companies are experiencing that, yes, they can use Danish values - but they just shouldn’t call them “Danish values”. Instead, these Danish values need to be described specifically and in context using clear, concise language. This is the big challenge facing many Danish companies.

This was one of the questions asked during our seminar yesterday, “Boost your brand with great writing”. At the seminar, we looked at how messaging platforms, tone of voice guides and style guides are essential tools for marketers and communicators. As communications managers, everyone could see the value in these. But afterwards, a few people asked me basically the same question: “How do I convince company management?”

I can see the problem. To someone who doesn’t prioritize communications, it seems like a lot of resources to allocate to preparation and planning. “Can’t we just get this campaign rolling next week?” management may ask.

The point is, of course, that it’s much easier to produce any campaign if you’ve done the planning and set specific, long-lasting guidelines. For each campaign, you’ll greatly increase your chances of success – such as increased response and more sales opportunities. It also ensures your company’s communications remain ‘on message’ and that no rogues appear from different corners of the organization.

With a firm eye on the bottom line, top management wants to see financial benefits. Yes, investment is required upfront, but in the not-so-long term, there should be savings as marketing materials are produced faster and more consistently. A challenge for communications and marketing managers is to document results and, wherever possible, show the numbers.

Another important argument is that the leading brands do it. Why is it that GE’s ads, website and other external communications continue to build a homogenous picture all based on the same story? You can say the same about Apple, Microsoft, LEGO and many others. Look at the effort that goes into communications planning – and look at the value of their brands.

Burning issues
At our seminar yesterday, there were lots of other interesting questions. We always learn a lot hearing about the real issues facing companies today. And with company sizes ranging from over 90,000 employees to less than a hundred, we heard a fascinating mix. Some of the issues that spring to mind are:

Are a company’s values the same as the company’s tone of voice?
We use our style guide, but no-one else in the company knows it exists
When we have the tools in place, how do we make sure they have the right effect in our local offices around the world?

We’ll be holding more seminars about these and other communications topics, so let us know if you’d like to be kept in the loop. And we’ve also written a WordSpin article on a similar topic. Check out Who’s telling your brand story?

Last week, The Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv) held its 2008 annual conference. These conferences can be deathly boring and it’s always a question of what value they have to my daily work. But I’m happy to say that this was well worth attending. The theme was Corporate Social Responsibility, or “Doing well by doing good”, as they called it.

It was good to see that the overall standard of communication was high. Also interesting that two of the guest speakers were writers – Zac Goldsmith and Tor Nørretranders. Who else but a writer would tell a story about “One man’s crap is another man’s food” as Nørretranders did? That aside, they kept excellent company alongside the Danish Prime Minister and an Olympic gold medal coach.

The highlight for me was Ulrik Wilbek’s talk. He is an exceptional sports coach whose handball teams have won Olympic gold medals, World Championships and European Championships. He spoke for half an hour on “Management and Winning”. At the top of his agenda was communication, and this actually anchored his entire talk. Wilbek reckons communication is a vital management tool.

The fact that Wilbek himself is a communicator made his claim all the more believable. He delivered his talk fluently – without notes – and with skill, confidence and assurance. His winning mentality came across loud and clear, and there wasn’t a hint of the famous Danish modesty. Take note, Danish companies out there!

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister, delivered his talk with little modesty. Key points in his talk were that Denmark needed to be more competitive in the global market and that Danish businesses need to continue acting responsibly. He claims that CSR is a branding parameter for Denmark. We’re keeping a close eye on that, Mr Rasmussen.

His claim was however backed up by Zac Goldsmith from The Ecologist magazine. Goldsmith had apparently read the Danish Government’s newly released action plan on corporate social responsibility. He referred to the style and tone of the writing, which made it positive and interesting to read. (I’m not sure how he managed to read it because I haven’t yet found an English version.) After his positive words, I look forward to reading it myself.

So there were several highlights and it was an afternoon well spent out of the office. However, I do have one major gripe. What’s with the tagline “Doing well by doing good”? Why does it need to be in English? The entire conference is aimed at Danish businesses and all the speeches were in Danish (except of course Goldsmith’s). It’s all about Denmark, so it makes no sense to have an English tagline. Did they fall into the trap of wanting to appear hip?

One of the big problems was that it sounded out of place when people said it in the middle of a Danish sentence. Especially when pronounced “Dooing vell by dooing goood”. This was one of the few instances where the high communication standards of an otherwise good afternoon slipped.

Merriam-Webster has just announced its word of the year. The word is w00t. I guess this reflects the huge influence the Internet is having on our use of language, a tendency that we often discuss on this blog.

Check out the announcement and see the top 10 words.

Well, I’m not sure if it’s the absolute worst. But the English lyrics have got to come close! It starts off with a line that means absolutely nothing:

“I was not looking for arty-farty love”

What’s that all about? There are lots of types of love, but arty-farty is not one I’ve heard of.

This is followed by one bad cliche followed by another - topped off by the brilliantly conceived:

“The wuthering heights,
And the stormy nights”

(Poor Emily Brontë - and Kate Bush, for that matter.)

The song, called ‘10,000 Nights of Thunder’, is by the Danish band Alphabeat.  It still gets so much air time in Denmark, which is pretty sad, don’t you think? But good on for them for making such a success out of a load of drivel. On the bright side, the music is fun, jolly and upbeat, which is maybe meant to cheer up radio listeners amid these dark, grey months.

What are your all-time worst song lyrics?

Watching my ten-year-old son grow up is an amazing thing in itself - and is a source of constant fun, surprises and challenges. A topic of intense discussion in our house over the last year or more has been his fascination with his mobile phone. If you’re a parent, I bet you know what I mean!

Kids’ mobile skills are pretty impressive, to say the least. For one thing, their finger and thumb dexterity is streets ahead of mine!

Over the last few months, I’ve realized that this fascination with mobiles - and for that matter, other communications technologies - has significant benefits to multi-lingual families such as ours. That is, it’s a perfect opportunity for our kids to learn how to read and write in English! Brilliant.

I guess it’s stating the obvious. But, in my situation, where my son is not in the slightest challenged by the rudimentary English taught at Danish ‘folkeskole’ - here’s an opportunity to expose him to real and proper English. I take every opportunity to chat online, write texts and write emails. His English reading is improving, as is his comprehension and vocabulary. And we’re connecting in my own language, which is highly satisfying for me.

Have you noticed a difference in your kids’ communications skills as a result of mobiles, chats, emails and the like?

Today, I went to a fun and well organized family event, Mini Zulu Rocks, in Denmark’s national sports stadium, Parken. Several thousand guests enjoyed a wide variety of good young musicians and entertainers. There were kids of all ages – even new-born babies whose ears were being carefully covered from the loud music by worried parents. My wife and I were there with our two kids of 6 and 10.

It was all great fun – that is until Anna David, a popular and talented Danish singer performed live her infamous song called “F*** you”. I guess, over the last year or so, I’ve got used to hearing this song on the radio. The offensive nature of it is diminished somewhat by radio hosts and guests who use English swear words without a second thought.

But there was something grotesque and disturbing about seeing people singing along to Anna David’s song – every last obscenity included. It wasn’t only the kids, but also parents. Do kids know that swearing like this is unacceptable in many social and professional environments? As kids develop their language abilities, both native and foreign, do parents tell them that this particular way of coloring the language should be used with great care?

I’ve been in too many situations, including business meetings, where English swear words have been uttered in inappropriate circumstances to feel confident that people know how important this is.

Once again in the Danish media, the issue of the purity of the Danish language has been brought up.

Brian Mikkelsen, Denmark’s Minister of Culture, commented in yesterday’s Børsen that he wanted to protect the Danish language from being invaded by English words.  In many ways, I agree.  

If we want to make ourselves understood properly, we need clear, accurate language. Using a foreign word is often confusing. You can’t assume that other people know what you mean by it, and, besides, it’s not ‘cool’ to use a word just because it seems trendy. 

In many business situations, I hear English buzzwords thrown into Danish discussions – and sometimes people even switch from one language to another. This often confuses me, as the meaning behind the English buzzword doesn’t often work in a Danish context.

Wouldn’t it be better to use a Danish word that had just the right meaning? Buzzwords are mostly empty and, by the time they’ve reached Denmark, they’re probably outdated in English-speaking countries anyway!

You also have to be extremely proficient, actually near perfect, in both Danish and English to really pull this off. Through Danish in all its purity, you can express some extremely lucid ideas in a way that is quite special. This can’t simply be recreated in English without an intimate knowledge of the language. And maybe it can’t be recreated at all.

So, I say, wise words, Mr. Mikkelsen. Whether you speak Danish or English, keep it pure and perfect!