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What does a nation stand for? A question almost as hard to answer as the most

fundamental question about the meaning of life.

On behalf of Austria’s Federal Ministry of Economy the policy consultant imon

Anholt from !reat "ritain dared to tac#le this question in a pro$ect called% &ation

"rand Austria for '().)))%* Euros.

ince +),,% the beginning of this pro$ect% he underlined that it would be nothing

li#e the creation of $ust another logo or another ad-ertising campaign. Anholt%

was focused on a comprehensi-e communication strategy.

 he main reason for this initiati-e/ When neighbouring countries loo# at Austria

from the outside% Austria is mostly associated with its historic heritages% such as

the empress issi and Mo0art#ugeln.

Or e-en worse/ ur-eys showed that the international youth could not associate

with Austria% but rather confused the country with Australia. &o good news%

especially in terms of competing for young talents.

Already in the past endea-ours ha-e been made to brush up its image. At the

beginnings of the ,11)s artists% scientists and politicians were in-ited to 23 the

Waldheim*debacle. his political scandal had made Austria% along with its

inhabitants loo# li#e deniers of their &a0i past. he group e-en discussed to

change Austria’s national emblem/ One politician suggested replacing the

Austrian Eagle with a 4iennese !rilled 5hic#en holding a #nife and a for# in its

claws instead of a hammer and a sic#le. After days and nights of discussions theonly outcome was a new logo for the Austrian Federal 6ress er-ice.

More than two decades later Austria’s image is still lagging behind the present.

&ow the Federal Ministry of Economy wanted to gi-e it another try. Mr.Anholt was

assigned with initiating Austria’s quest for a competiti-e identity. he Ministry for

Foreign A7airs% the Ministry of 8nno-ation and the Federal 5hancellery also too#

part in the pro$ect. he country e3pects to attract more in-estors% companies and

talents from this self*disco-ery process. As Anholt states in one of his 2rst boo#s

95ompetiti-e 8dentity: the public needs to be lured away from its comfort*0one of 

current perceptions towards something more unfamiliar and more ambitious.

O-er the course of two years imon Anholt in-ited a 2nely balanced group of

persons of the public life to so*called 9con-ersa0ioni:. imilar to a psychoanalyst

he held ;) meetings behind closed doors together with more than +')

sta#eholders from politics% economy% art and culture% education% media and ci-il

society. hey elaborated how Austria could place itself as an international brand.

8t turns out that the answers are found in the past. 8t concluded that the country

should continue to be positioned as 9bridge builder:. "etween ,1<1 and the

e3tension of the European =nion in +)); Austria established itself as a hub

between Eastern and Western countries. According to Mr.Anholt’s 2ndings this is

not su>cient anymore. Austria should e3pand its intermediary role to 5entralAsia and &orth Africa.

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 his intermediary role does not only contain measures for its foreign policy but

also highlights Austria’s social partnership. ince the post*war period the social

partnership is considered as an e3emplar functioning% co*operati-e relationship

between employers and employees’ associations. According to Anholt% it is -italto communicate this role model which aims at sol-ing opposed interests through

a consensus*based policy. Austria could become a testimonial of the counter

concept to the Anglo*a3on turbo*capitalism.

ue to their intrinsic communicati-e power symbolic actions will also play an

important role in &ation "rand Austria. imilar to loyalty cards of airlines and

supermar#ets% tourists% #ey employees and foreign students should recei-e the

Austria5ard. 8t will award bonus points. "onus points for what? hat is not clear

yet. he second idea is more related to de-elopment issues and could raiseAustria’s commitment to de-elopment aid. he so*called Aidurance is supposed

to co-er the e3penditures on insurance premiums after natural disasters in

e-elopment 5ountries. 5onsidering Austria’s small and not ambitious budget for

de-elopment aid% this idea is long o-erdue. Another idea% contained in Anholt’s

')*page concept% suggests in-esting into constitutional legality as an e3port

product. A new trust fund will 2nance legal e3perts’ missions in foreign countries.

 hese actions are supposed to add substantial -alue to the communication

strategy.

 he concept further suggests the instalment of three new structures/ a &ation"rand Agency which probably will be the responsibility of the Ministry of

Economy@ a secretariat for public diplomacy under the head of the Ministry of

Foreign 6olicy and the web portal www.austria.eu which currently $ust forwards

you to the website of the Federal 5hancelleryB. he &ation "rand Agency’s duty is

to coordinate the country’s international appearance and to ensure that Austria’s

message to outside countries yields a uniform picture. 8nternally it has to e3ercise

control o-er national sta#eholders not use funds against one another. 8t is

estimated that costs would amount to +) to () million Euros for the ne3t four

years. E3act calculations and &ation "rand Austria’s implementation will be done

by the ne3t go-ernment which is still written in the stars. Other questions remain

open too. Cow long will it ta#e to associate Austria as a bridge*builder on

international le-el? Cow long will it ta#e that more tourists% more in-estments

and #ey labour forces come to Austria? Cow long will it ta#e that Austria’s e3port

rate raises?