Rebuilding brand America: what we must do to restore our reputation and safeguard the future of American business abroad

305 Pages·2007·1.06 MB·English

by  Dick Martin

R E B U I L D I N G
B R A N D
A M E R I C A
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R E B U I L D I N G
B R A N D
A M E R I C A
★
What We Must Do to Restore Our Reputation and
Safeguard the Future of American Business Abroad
DICK MARTIN
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
NewYork★Atlanta★Brussels★Chicago★MexicoCity★SanFrancisco
Shanghai★Tokyo★Toronto★Washington,D.C.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Martin,Dick,1946–
RebuildingbrandAmerica:whatwemustdotorestoreourreputationand
safeguardthefutureofAmericanbusinessabroad/DickMartin.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-10:0–8144–7333–4(hardcover)
ISBN-13:978–0–8144–7333–7(hardcover)
1. Brandnameproducts—UnitedStates. 2. Internationaleconomic
relations. 3. Anti-Americanism. 4. Anti-Americanism—Arabcountries.
5. UnitedStates—Relations—Foreigncountries. I. Title.
HD69.B7M375 2007
658.8(cid:2)27—dc22
2006026851
(cid:2)2007DickMartin
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PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
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Formyparentsandmybrother,
whoneverhadtheopportunitiesIhad.
LauraBrisetteMartin(1919–2003)
LucienHenriMartin(1916–1991)
DavidMartin(1952–2005)
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C O N T E N T S
★
INTRODUCTION TheAnti-AmericanCentury 1
PART ONE
CHAPTER 1 Tilting at Windmills 15
CHAPTER 2 The Queen of Branding 24
CHAPTER 3 Charlotte in Wonderland 34
CHAPTER 4 The Prince of Pollsters 43
CHAPTER 5 Measuring Distance in Kilograms 51
PART TWO
CHAPTER 6 Why Do They Hate Us? 63
CHAPTER 7 The Pictures in Their Heads 72
CHAPTER 8 The Business of America 84
CHAPTER 9 The Power of Brands 95
CHAPTER 10 Brand America 105
CHAPTER 11 CEOs in Handcuffs 115
CHAPTER 12 Plague or Paranoia? 125
PART THREE
CHAPTER 13 In Search of Anti-Anti-Americans 141
CHAPTER 14 The Path to Happy 150
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CHAPTER 15 Sink Roots, Don’t Just Spread Branches 162
CHAPTER 16 Go Glocal 175
CHAPTER 17 Share Your Customers’ Cares 187
CHAPTER 18 Stiff-Necked, Tree-Hugging Critics 201
CHAPTER 19 Share Your Customers’ Dreams 213
CHAPTER 20 Myth America 223
CHAPTER 21 A Lever to Move the World 233
CHAPTER 22 Waging Peace 246
CODA The Last Three Feet 257
A NOTE ABOUT THE ENDNOTES 262
NOTES 263
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 289
INDEX 291
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INTRODUCTION:
THE ANTI-AMERICAN CENTURY
“Theterroristattacksof11September2001sharplypunctuated
theendoftheAmericancentury.Indeed,theerawearenow
enteringmaywellcometoberecalledas‘theanti-American
century.’”1
—IvanKrastev,researchdirector,RemarqueInstitute,NewYorkUniversity
T
HE WORLD, WE’RE TOLD, IS FLAT. IT’S ALSO TIPPING, AND NOT
inAmerica’sfavor.PollsterstellusthatUnitedStates’foreignpolicy—
especiallyintheMiddleEast—accountsfor35percentofanti-American
feelings around theworld.2 Whether the true proportion is35 percent
or 75 percent is small comfort for U.S.-headquartered businesses,
which once happily rode on America’s coattails but have grown tired
of recent bumps. The question businesses should be asking is how
much blame they share for the balance of the ill feeling and whether
theyaresomehowcontributingtothetilt.
Thosearetheissuesexploredinthisbook,alongwithbestpractices
indealingwiththem.Butfirst,IshouldmakeitclearthatIamneither
a foreignpolicyexpert nor aneconomist;Ispentmost ofmycareerin
the worlds of advertising, public relations, and brand management.
This book starts from the premise that America is a “brand,” not in
the sense that the name itself has commercial value (though it does),
but because the notion of America occupies a special place in the
hearts and minds of people around the world. American businesses
sharethatspaceand,ifithasbecomeabitshabbyandlesswelcoming
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