Branding Czech Republic Part 1

The most challenging type of branding project is place branding. As such, I have written quite a bit about the unique challenges of that beast. Unfortunately, most of those projects are destined to fail. Months ago, the Czech Republic revealed its new promotional logo. So far, people are still in love with it. Let’s try to figure out why.

Positioning, branding, and promoting a destination require us to go beyond stereotypes, which evoke people’s lower nature. By “stereotype,” we refer to oversimplified ideas or images about a person, culture, or country. The below stereotype maps paint a hilarious YET sad truth: Foreigners think that “Czech people drink a lot of beer, have a dark sense of humor, are beautiful yet inborn pessimistic.” Such beliefs are childishly simple, and building a brand on such primitive ground would be like throwing gas on the fire.

An alternative approach would be to evoke people’s higher nature and talk about the beauty of the Czech Republic and its unique contribution to the world. As David Cooperrider, the founder of Appreciative Inquiry, said, “Human systems grow in the direction of what they persistently ask questions about.” Therefore, the primary job of place branding is to ensure that foreigners and inhabitants question “positive things.” This could happen only if the Czech Republic discovers its “archetypal meaning.”

“Archetype” is a psychological term coined by Carl Jung and refers to recurrent symbols or motifs in literature, art, or mythology inherited from the earliest human ancestors. Archetypes stem from the “collective unconscious.” As soon as two people get together and form a human system, the collective unconscious emerges and affects the way they unknowingly live and experience life. Every human system has a collective unconscious. Cities and countries are no exceptions. Therefore, countries do have archetypes. Then, what could it be that of the Czech Republic?

Try to imagine an archetype as a timeless storyline. It constantly repeats itself. Therefore, a great place to start would be Czech national history. We could spot the recurring themes that are unique to the Czech Republic. Here are some key events or facts that give us hints about the Czech archetype:

• The origin of the Bohemian lifestyle (home of the adventurous and the seekers of the pursuit of artistry)
• Prague Spring (Caring for humanness during Communism)
• Velvet Revolution (Peaceful liberal democracy revolution)
• From Czechoslovakia to the Czech Republic (Peaceful separation)
• Innumerable festivals (Joie de vivre)
• Reputation for excellent beers (the pursuit of perfection)
• Scientific and cultural richness (Creativity)

Let’s pause here today and take some time to reflect on what we heard. In the next article, we will decide what to make of all these facts and determine the Czech archetype.