The Role of Country Image in Developing Global Brands

Abstract

Korean companies have long developed their corporate and product brands abroad after OEM exportation. However, there remain a lot of work to develop globally competitive brands. We develop a framework for the relationship between brand equity and country image by combining the traditional brand equity concept with that of country image. Based on the matrix, two strategies were identified to develop global brands from less developed countries like Korea. To create global brands `made-in Korea`, a country image-building strategy is essential to a brand image-building strategy which has no emphasis on the `made-in` label. Furthermore, favourable country image can provide positive image infrastructure for small and medium-sized companies lacking the resources to build their own brand names. Government and industry associations should therefore participate in implementing a country-image building strategy to improve Korea`s country image that is lagging behind its competitors.