On Thursday 16 July 2015, Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry of Economy announced the results of the process to define the county's Nation Branding initiative.
The consultative process involved Luxembourg and foreign residents of the population as well as cross-border workers, as well as key actors from the fields of economy, finance, culture, tourism and civil society. From this process involving 1,000 people, around 200 people from different sectors were invited to attend workshops to discuss the image of Luxembourg; another 8,000+ opinions were received online. Then, in May, a second survey was commissioned, asking for feedback on the outcome of the workshops.
Three main differentiating features of the country emerged for an authentic and credible brand image:
• Reliability that is characterised by political stability, security, quality of life and solid infrastructure;
• Dynamism that is manifested especially by the resilience of the country that has mutated from an agricultural regime, through the steel industry, to a financial centre of international importance;
• Openness that is reflected by multiculturalism, the large proportion of foreigners in the resident population and multilingualism.
These three reference values answer the question of "what to say" and constitute the main content of the communication of the brand. Moreover, it ttranspired that the term "ally" best reflects the personality of the country and therefore the brand. This archetype is characterised by his ability to create cooperation and alliances, through its mediator talent, for its open-mindedness, sense of responsibility, integrity and its primary motivation to move forward together. Intrinsically linked to the openness and reliability values, all the characteristics of the "ally" archetype set the tone of the brand and its communication.
Earlier today, the Secretary of State for the Economy, Francine Closener, presented the results of the "Nation Branding" initiative at the Chambre des députés to members of the Committee for Economic Affairs and the Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Cooperation and Immigration. Francine Closener said: "By means of a survey of a representative sample of the resident population, it has been verified that these components of the brand meet a very broad approval. The respondents mainly adhere to the profile and are arranged to use the reference values to promote the Luxembourg image."
The use of various elements of the brand support the tagline "plus loin ensemble" (further together), a summary of the message, but should in no case be considered as a slogan. One can for example attribute to this promise the dynamism of the country and its orientation towards the future, based on what it has accomplished to date.
Responsible for providing the country with a real brand, the inter-departmental and inter-institutional "Nation Branding" coordination committee will continue its work by communicating the reference values to all stakeholders and develop key messages for various sectors.
Photo (below) by MECO (L-R): Francine Closener, secrétaire d'État à l'Économie ; Franz Fayot, président de la Commission de l'Économie
