برندینگ کشور و استراتژی بازاریابی کشور برای مبارزه با بحران گردشگری و یکنواختی مقصد Nation branding and marketing strategies for combatting tourism crises and stereotypes toward destinations

1. Introduction Positive and negative stereotypes and generalizations of any country and its people exist whether rightly or wrongly. As can be expected, these perceptions serve as a key mechanism to categorize and help us deal with the enormous volume of information, which flows from various sources (Adler-Nissen, 2014). But how should marketers, diplomats and countries’ leaders react when these stereotypes constitute barriers to tourism, investments, commerce and international status (Nikolova & Hassan, 2013; Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009)? This issue is even more frustrating and challenging when, for example, officials feel that the perceptions of their country as “dangerous”, “primitive”, “dull” or “grey” are wrong and have no connection to reality (Adler-Nissen, 2014; Dinnie, 2008). Despite the fact that stereotypes can lead to serious marketing challenges, comprehensive studies that focus on strategies used by countries’ leaders and marketers to overcome negative perceptions have rarely been conducted. Most of the studies conducted in this field have focused mainly on a qualitative content analysis of individual cases and have barely relied on the use of image restoration and crisis communication theories and models (Mair, Ritchie, & Walters, 2016). The result is a shortage of wide-ranging, comprehensive studies based on the theory of image restoration that also combine quantitative and qualitative content analyses. Using the “multi-step model for altering place image” (Avraham & Ketter, 2008; p. 188), enables an examination of strategies countries have chosen to counter stereotypes, stigmas and negative perceptions toward them. Until now this model, as many models in the field of image repair, was used only in qualitative research in order to analyze image repair strategies (Avraham, 2015). Here we are also including quantitative content analysis for the first time. Combining two research methods within the model is innovative in the field of image repair and will expand the discussion beyond the strategies used (as was done so far) and take into account the context in which these image repair efforts were used, as was done in one or very small number of case studies (Adler-Nissen, 2014; Walters & Mair, 2012). In other words, the use of quantitative research will allow us to gather information on the types of dominant stereotypes faced by many nations and the most popular repair strategies chosen to meet these challenges. The study will also provide information regarding the many countries’ characteristics that affect the choice of strategy to combat their stereotype; for example, is there a connection between the strategy selection and countries’ location or their type of regime. The study will analyze seventy commercials both quantitatively and qualitatively. These ads try to deal with negative perceptions created for countries due to two kinds of image crises: a short-term crisis (such as a terror attack, war or natural disaster) or a long-term crisis (such as involvement in prolonged violent conflict, high crime rate, or socialeconomic challenges).