FHG Shortlisted for Jamaica's Nation(al) Brand Project
After submitting an expression of interest, and passing the initial evaluation, Findlay House Global (FHG) has been shortlisted and invited by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) to submit a proposal for the World Bank-funded assignment Development of a Nation Brand Strategy and Brand Identity in Jamaica.
The objective is to develop an overall Nation(al) Brand Strategy for Jamaica, that targets a global audience in a way that is inspirational to Jamaican nationals and drives global awareness and commerce for Jamaica.
FHG is one of six firms that have been invited by PIOJ to submit a proposal.
Proposals are due at the end of October 2022. The tentative PIOJ schedule includes an expected decision announcement in January 2023 and an assignment start date of April 2023.
WHAT IS A NATION BRAND
A Nation(al) Brand is how a country positions and promotes itself as a place in order to build a good reputation. The optimal global reputation includes being recognized as having high quality goods and services and top talent; as well as being an esteemed place for people to do business, invest in, visit, and live.
The process of Nation branding can be summed up as aiming to build, manage, and measure a country’s reputation. A strong nation brand contributes significantly to a country’s socio-economic development.
ABOUT FINDLAY HOUSE GLOBAL
Powered by a vision of impacted and underserved people leading the discussion on development, FHG collaborates with community members to assist them in providing community solutions. We are a Jamaican woman-owned, small business that provides Development and Communications consulting to governments, international non-governmental organizations (iNGOs) and non-profits, and the private sector. Using our people-centered, Re-Power Development® approach, FHG mobilizes people in targeted communities and countries towards ownership of development processes, thereby increasing the effectiveness and sustainability of development projects, programmes, and services.
FHG’s founder, Principal Consultant, and Nation Brand Project Team Leader—Cara-Marie Findlay—is Jamaican-born with deep roots in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica.
Cara-Marie's Master's Thesis in Communication for Development, entitled, "Towards Decolonisation: Afro-Caribbean Philosophy and Development in Jamaica", explored the current (2022) perceptions of Jamaicans, both at home and abroad, in regard's to Jamaica's socio-economic development process based on Vision 2030 Jamaica; and its intersection with Afro-Caribbean values.
We want a project team that showcases Jamaica’s best and brightest! Our goal is to create an authentic Nation(al) brand that is truly designed by and for Jamaicans. This means recruiting Jamaicans to fill the key paid positions, and ensuring that the voices of ‘ordinary’ Jamaicans (“the people,” especially those in rural areas who have been traditionally excluded) are centred and amplified in this Nation(al) brand creation process.
Since the nation brand will directly affect the country’s socio-economic development, it should be the people of Jamaica who control the development of the brand strategy and identity—from start to finish.