South Africa offers a compelling example of combining purposeful country branding with a strong national identity. What drives their successful brand strategies, and how do they navigate the complexities of global perceptions? We had the privilege of interviewing Sithembile Ntombela in 2019 (here the original interview), as part of our Who is Who series of interviews with place brand impact makers.

In the below, updated, interview, Sithembile shares her journey into Nation Branding, the importance of South Africa's diverse cultural assets, and the role of strategic initiatives in enhancing the country's global reputation.

To be honest, the first time I came across the concept of Nation Branding was in 2010 when South Africa was preparing to host the World Cup. There were several references then, made of how the previous countries that had hosted the World Cup had massive improvements in reputation and image.

I had been working in the FMCG industry for 11 years when I came across an advert for the brand and marketing manager for Brand South Africa in 2011. I got excited because I knew that I needed a change in my career and the universe opened the doors for me.

I knew the purpose behind promoting one’s country brand and how fulfilling that could be, as it requires selfless serving. I was thrilled to join Brand South Africa in 2011 and the Nation Branding journey started. I haven’t looked back since.

Our country stands for bold, diversity, Ubuntu, resilience and inspiration. It is a country that is full of pockets of excellence in multi sectors. Inspiration, talent, innovation, and numerous opportunities. As a country, we are at a stage where we are brave enough to confront our challenges and brand disablers to ensure that we build a purposeful, bright, and inspiring legacy for generations to come.

Our people remain a huge asset as they continue to be such an inspiration, advocating for the nation brands in many ways. Our people have played their part in showcasing why South Africa matters, and why it inspires new and different ways. This ranges from Mama Esther, who painted the UK and US in IsiNdebele art, Laduma Ngxokolo, who made Brazilians insane with his IsiXhosa fashion wear to Professor Mashudu who led the first team in the world to use 3D-printed bones for reconstructive middle ear implants in 2019 at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

Of course, I cannot forget musical artists such as Sho Madjozi, Tayla and Makadzi who have won BET awards, Amapiano taking a global movement sweeping cross-cultural dancefloors and Black Coffee, who are currently taking Spanish music fans by storm. And there are many more talented South Africans breaking new grounds globally.

The same is true in the film industry and creative arts space, which encapsulates our history, culture and have shaped our long competitive advantage in this space.

In terms of investment, the Department of Trade and Industry has introduced the InvestSA One Stop Shop concept to provide convenience for investors who are looking to do business in South Africa, as they find all constituencies in one place. The InvestSA One Stop Shop initiative is geared towards providing investors with services to fast-track projects and reduce government red tape when establishing a business. It is part of the government’s drive to become investor-friendly by improving the business environment, such as lowering the cost of doing business, as well as making the process easier.

We have seen the President’s Investment drive and its successes, underpinned by a strategic and intentional country investment strategy and investment envoys are amongst key interventions that have been put in place to ensure that South Africa’s business and investment climate moves from good to great.

There are still challenges that we are addressing, such as the cost of doing business or complexities with visas and permits. Conversely, there are interventions in place to deal with these minor hiccups which will be the story of the past.

The country-of-origin concept is beneficial to the Nation Brand when used strategically and when stakeholders have rallied behind one central brand idea. This concept has worked well for South Africa, when one considers the role played by the business sector in this space. Tourism has been the driver of our country-of-origin effect for a number of years, as it carried - and continues to carry - the landscapes, culture, image and culture of South Africa.

South African brands, particularly those in consumer products and retail, are locally loved, and many have shown considerable innovation. As South African cultural and business exports change, this impacts the image carried by the South African brand.

Brands, such as Wines of South Africa, have built a strong and credible reputation in the wine industry. The same is true with South African brands such as Rooibos tea, Nandos (South Africa’s biggest restaurant export), SAB Miller, Spar retail stores and many others.

South Africa is such a diverse country and it is often challenging to achieve alignment, especially amongst stakeholders. If we are to create a Nation Brand that inspires our people we have to showcase what inspiration means, so others are able to join us and share their stories.

We have a number of programmes in place to encourage alignment with the Nation Brand. Our approach has been to achieve “mastery” with few but impactful and influential stakeholders that are carriers of the Nation Brand.

Over and above the Nation Brand Forum we have a Brand South Africa masterclass that encourages every citizen travelling abroad to be a good brand ambassador. In this class we go through the nation brand positioning, messaging, reputation and issues of competitiveness.

We also have the Play Your Part and Global South Africa (GSA’s ) programmes that promote active citizenry as well as nation brand pride. Over the years we have seen significant impact and influence through these programmes and they are exclusive to Brand South Africa Inc.

Politics are beyond what Brand South Africa Org. can manage, and they have a huge impact on the perceptions of our Nation Brand, our country reputation and image.

Another challenge has been stakeholder integration and getting stakeholders to believe in one ideology of what defines us as South Africans. This can be rectified, and I do believe that once the Presidency takes a leading role in elevating the work of Brand South Africa, the rest will fall into place. The models that have seemingly worked are the ones where the face of the nation brand is the Prime Minister/President. This works as the tempo is clear, the agenda is set at a high level and permeates at different structures of the provincial, regional and to the citizens at large.

In a nutshell, achieving a more coordinated South Africa strategy has been a challenge. That being said, having initiatives that we champion - such as the Nation Brand Forum which targets strategic stakeholders in business, government, media and civil society and discusses ways of moving South Africa forward. We also have Play Your Part - which is a platform we use to mobilize and engage citizens and get them to rally behind the nation brand. To our surprise, the Play Your Part toolkit featured in the top 10 of city nation place toolkits that work in engaging citizens.

Identity plays a crucial role in strengthening the country’s competitive advantage. There are so many countries to choose from and often the culture and identity carried by these countries goes a long way in deciding which country to visit or to invest in.

Mastering how to deal with policy issues will continue to be a challenge. Managing the country brand requires that destination marketers have access to policy makers, so as to be able to influence the positioning of the Nation Brand.

Entrepreneurship led by citizens and personalities, in the era of growing social media awareness is the next big hit which - if utilized strategically - can carry the country-of origin-effect.