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Secondly, the 20-30% of the population is comprised of first to few generation immigrants and their extended families that have settled primarily within urban sectors and have succeeded in commercial enterprise, focusing on growth. They make up a significant portion of the economic pillar in society,
and are forced to keep a close eye on global affairs, which may directly or indirectly affect their ventures. They are active on the global scene.

Then, there is an extremely small remaining percentage of people comprised of the administrative gatekeepers, residing within each state capital, overseeing the remainder of the population with specific agendas to lead the country. This power group has become so preoccupied with identifying an evil that exists outside its doors, that it has lost the capacity to identify any possible evil within.

These three groups of the nation are co-existing despite their three very separate directions. There is nothing wrong with this as similar breakdowns exist in majority of the other hundreds of nations.

Trillion Dollar Mask

Can this badly damaged image of America be fixed today and by whom and at what cost? What must it include - a new costume, a new mask or a new heart? These are very important underlying questions, but the biggest question remains - can an entire country be branded to the rest of the world in the same fashion as a breakfast cereal or laundry detergent?

The answer is a flat no. Only the branding-circus would come up with such a fake, superficial, logo-centric-slogan-happy attempt to rebuild a nation painted with banners and billboards. In reality, countries cannot be branded in such a simple process from the past; firstly, nations are already branded over decades and centuries by their histories and cultural interactions and exportable identities.

A global image is not in the hands of a polling company or controlled by a branding agency, rather, they take form in the minds of the global masses, who paint their own mental picture based on their own interpretation of a nation. Therefore, it demands an awesome force, as the global public will not be swayed by ad-campaigns, rather by the exuberance of sincere and honest truth and internal fixing leading to an inviting charm. After all, this is how American image was build in the first place.

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Naseem Javed, recognized as a world authority on corporate image and global name identities, is a harsh critic of casual and accidental naming. He is a dynamic speaker on corporate image and branding issues, and is also the author of Naming for Power. He founded ABC Namebank International, an image and branding consultancy over 25 years ago.
Website: www.abcnamebank.com