Association of Pakistani Professionals

Rebranding Pakistan (The NEWS - June 6th ' 2006)

View from the West

Ethan Casey

This past weekend I flew across North America twice in three days, in order to be a panelist at an all-day workshop in New York. "Brand Pakistan: Developing & establishing a positive brand" was conceived and organised by the Association of Pakistani Professionals, a US-based group founded after the World Trade Centre attack to help foster more accurate and constructive coverage of Pakistan in the Western media.

The panel was moderated by Adil Najam, a journalist who is now a professor in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Panelists included Mahreen Khan, former host of the BBC World show "Question Time Pakistan" and now Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's media advisor, who flew from Islamabad to take part; Danny Schechter, executive editor of MediaChannel.org; and Robin Thompson, senior branding advisor at Landor Associates.

I was invited because my travel book Alive and Well in Pakistan aspires to humanise Pakistanis for a Western readership and to bridge the gulf in understanding and perspective between the West and the Muslim world -- as I also try to do weekly in this column. More than 100 Pakistani expatriates of all ages and walks of life attended and participated in the brand-building exercise in the afternoon.

To kick things off, each panelist was asked to speak for about five minutes. "We don't give ourselves enough credit for what's good in our country," said Mahreen Khan. "We need as a country to have a debate about how we want to be portrayed." She also recommended being assertive in complaining when media coverage is unfair. "Editors are human beings as well," she said. "They think twice next time (if they get letters)."

"We're not just up against hostility -- we're up against ignorance," said Danny Schechter. "Credible communication has to rest on a basis of understanding. It's about respect, ultimately."

Robin Thompson's comments were the ones that were most to the point of the workshop. "Part of the process of branding is to decide where you are and where you want to be," he said. "And you've got to accentuate the positive and reduce -- not necessarily hide -- the negative. Branding at a national level used to be very simple: you had a flag, you had an anthem, you had an airline. What's happened since then is that multiplicity of media has happened. There are literally thousands of ways of communicating. You have to decide: what is the 'brand platform' that you want to create and build upon? Branding is just about communicating. But it's one of the early things that you want to get right. What branding can do, if it's built correctly on the right platform, is really about the future. It's built on the basis of consultation, just as you're doing today."

Predictably, Mahreen Khan took some heat for representing the government of Pakistan, but she spoke eloquently and persuasively. "The reason I think you should do this largely on your own is that when governments get involved, politics gets involved," she said.

When the panelists were asked to name three things we would have people do to help Pakistan improve its brand, I stressed digital media -- the Web, email, podcasts -- as creative and inexpensive ways to bypass mainstream news outlets, and the importance of a "do-it-yourself" attitude; I urged Pakistanis to be assertive, like Indians, Jews and Cuban-Americans, rather than waiting to be covered fairly and only reacting and complaining; and to seek and seize opportunities to influence individual Americans face to face, one on one.

After lunch, we broke into smaller groups and did classic SWOT analyses -- strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats -- on the Pakistan brand, and each table appointed a spokesperson to report its brainstorms. Here are a few:

• An annual Pakistan mela or Pakistan week, to be observed and promoted by all Pakistani groups in the US.

• Inviting non-Muslims to break the fast during Ramazan, celebrate Eid, etc. "It should be the duty of all Pakistanis to at least do that once a year," said one attendee.

• One table made what I thought was the brilliant suggestion of holding free or subsidized clinics for Americans without health insurance, staffed by volunteer Pakistani doctors.

• Visible involvement in American civic life: "Feel that this is your home too, and get involved. Make your voice heard and get involved in American issues, not just Pakistani issues.

• More effective promotion of Pakistani visual and performing arts: "We don't get the same publicity [as India] because we don't have Bollywood. We need a Paki-wood, or something like that."

• The government of Pakistan should have public relations training for all its officials working or travelling abroad.

The AOPP plans to hold similar workshops later this year in Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles. Visit www.aopp.org for updates.

The writer is the author of Alive and Well in Pakistan: A Human Journey in a Dangerous Time. Email: ethan@ethancasey.com. www.ethancasey.com

Daily Dawn
http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/05/top14.htm

Efforts urged to dispel negative impression

By Our Correspondent

UNITED NATIONS, June 4: Participants in a seminar dubbed ï¿½Brand Pakistanï¿½ on Saturday stressed the need for efforts by the diaspora to project the countryï¿½s image worldwide as a moderate and progressive state and dispel the negative perception through coordinated efforts of community activists.

A large numbers of Pakistanis living in New York participated in the event organised by the Association of Pakistani Professionals.

The event kicked off with a discussion among panelists Robin Thompson, senior branding adviser for the Landor, a global company that has championed in the field of branding; Danny Schechter, an internationally recognised speaker and writer on media issues; Ethan Casey, journalist and writer of the book, ï¿½Alive and Well in Pakistanï¿½; and Mahreen Khan, media adviser to the prime minister of Pakistan.

The Nation
http://nation.com.pk/daily/june-2006/5/international10.php

Pak-Americans to counter negative campaign in western media against Pakistan

From Our Special Correspondent

NEW YORK: - Concerned at the increasingly
anti-Pakistan trend in the western media,
Pakistani-Americans have come together in a move aimed
at changing the negative perception of their
motherland.

They met at the Asia Society Saturday to map out a
strategy to counter the media campaign linking
Pakistan with terrorism, religious extremism and
persecution of religious minorities, among other
charges.

The event titled, "Branding Pakistan" was sponsored by
the Association of Pakistani Professionals (AOPP), a
U.S.-based group that strives for better understanding
of Pakistanis in the western media and governments.

A large number of Pakistani-Americans put their heads
together analysing the trends and coming up with ideas
to try and turn the situation around in what became a
very animated discussion. The participants seemed
committed, indeed, enthusiastic to undertake the
effort to interact with the news media. They keenly
engaged in identifying the strengths, weakness,
opportunities and threats for the country, and were in
agreement to work at Pakistan's weakness and take
advantage of the strengths, especially by making sure
that the good is heard. Rarely, if ever, such a
serious effort is being undertaken by
Pakistani-Americans on behalf of the country of their
birth.

Rafi Shikoh, moderator for the workshop, noted that
despite Ireland being associated with communal
violence, religious tensions, terrorism and bombings
in 80's has successfully re-branded itself today by
attracting and establishing itself as a center of
technology and tourism.

This event was the first in a series of events AOPP
plans to host in major cities across the United States
in a drive to formulate a report containing
recommendations based on the input of the
Pakistani-American community, brand experts and other
key stake holders.

Syed Asif Alam, President of AOPP, said that he hopes
that the report will be a strategic guide to
organizing events and initiatives that deliver the
highest impact in developing a strong brand of
Pakistan.

Earlier, a 2-1/2 hour general discussion set the pace
for the action-oriented workshop. Among those who
took part were: Mahreen Khan, Media Advisor to the
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Robin Thompson, Senior
Branding Advisor for Landor, a global company that has
championed in the field of branding and has been
instrumental in putting Dubai and Qatar in the media,
Danny Schechter, an internationally recognized speaker
and writer on media issues and Ethan Casey, journalist
and writer of the book "Alive and Well in Pakistan."
Panel was moderated by Dr. Adil Najam, Law and
Diplomacy professor at Tufts University in Boston.

Ms. Mahreen Khan lauded the efforts of AOPP and
stressed the importance of Pakistani-Americans taking
the responsibility of portraying Pakistan in the
western world. The government, she said, was ready to
listen to objective criticism and will work
collectively with all Pakistanis to sketch a complete
picture of Pakistan that is "fair and balanced". She
emphasized that Pakistanis need to work with the
government in bringing out the best of Pakistan and
urged the participants to take active part in the
discussions initiated by AOPP on Branding Pakistan.

Robin Thompson, a macro branding expert who has worked
on re-branding of several cities in the United States
talked about taking advantage of a vastly talented
Pakistanis and exposing the reality about the in-depth
raw resources country hold in young people who can
take the country to the next level. He said that
Pakistan has its own culture that goes back thousands
of years. Cultural event can be designed to appeal
specific segments of the US public and media with the
focus on the arts, music, sculpture and new media. He
said that 70% of Pakistani population is less then 30
years of old and Pakistan should do better investment
of education so that the young generation can play
active role in future.

Danny Schechter emphasized the need of getting
involved in the new media and focus on the growing
market and point of presence on the internet. He said
that Pakistani American community need to assimilate
in the systems here in a such a way that the culture
and religious faith of the individuals are not only
uphold but exposed in a positive manner to the
mainstream media and general population of the United
States.

Ethan Casey, an American journalist and writer of the
book "Alive and Well in Pakistan" spoke about his
experience while living in Pakistan for eight months.
He said that Pakistani Americans should learn from the
Jewish people and other successful immigrant
communities in the United States who have not only
preserved their culture and religion but has engraved
it as a matter of reality in everybody's mind in the
United States. He said that Pakistani's are generally
too critical of them and should work on getting the
positive side of the country known to the outside
world.

Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)
http://app.com.pk/n89.htm

Pakistani-Americans urged to help improve motherlands image in western media

NEW YORK, June 4 (APP) - The Media Advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister has urged Pakistani-Americans to join in the efforts to project a correct image of Pakistan in the western world. In her remarks at an event held at Asia Society, Advisor Mahreen khan said that the government was ready to listen to objective criticism and would work collectively with all Pakistanis to sketch a complete picture a "fair and balanced" picture of Pakistan.

She was participating in a well-attended day-long conference titled "Branding Pakistan: Developing and establishing a positive brand" hosted by the Association of Pakistani Professionals (AOPP), a U.S based group that strives for better understanding of Pakistanis in the western media and foreign governments. The event was in response to a generally negative image of Pakistan being portrayed by the western media.

Ms. Khan emphasized that Pakistanis need to work with the government in bringing out the best of Pakistan and urged the participants to take active part in the discussions initiated by AOPP on Branding Pakistan.

She urged her compatriots to interact with thenews media in an effort to "make your voiceheard". She spoke of the challenges Pakistan faced and its positive role in promoting regional stability.

Other speakers included Robin Thompson, Senior Branding Advisor for Landor, a global company that has championed in the field of branding and has been instrumental in putting Dubai and Qatar in the media, Danny Schechter, an internationally recognized speaker and writer on media issues and Ethan Casey, journalist and writer of the book "Alive and Well in Pakistan." Panel was moderated by Dr. Adil Najam, Law and Diplomacy professor at Tufts University in Boston.

Robin Thompson, a macro branding expert who has worked on re-branding of several cities in the United States talked about taking advantage of a vastly talented Pakistanis and exposing the reality about the in-depth raw resources country hold in young people who can take the country to the next level. He said that Pakistan has its own culture that goes back thousands of years. Cultural event can be designed to appeal specific segments of the US public and media with the focus on the arts, music, sculpture and new media. He said that 70% of Pakistani population is less then 30 years of old and Pakistan should do better investment of education so that the young generation can play active role in future.

Danny Schechter emphasized the need of getting involved in the new media and focus on the growing market and point of presence on the internet. He said that Pakistani-American community need to assimilate in the systems here in a such a way that the culture and religious faith of the individuals are not only uphold but exposed in a positive manner to the mainstream media and general population of the United States.

Ethan Casey, an American journalist and writer of the book "Alive and Well in Pakistan" spoke about his experience while living in Pakistan for eight months. He said that Pakistani Americans should learn from the Jewish people and other successful immigrant communities in the United States who have not only preserved their culture and religion but has engraved it as a matter of reality in everybody's mind in the United States. He said that Pakistanis should work on getting the positive side of the country known to the outside world.

Panel discussion was followed by a workshop in which the participants keenly engaged in identifying the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats for the country. Participants were in agreement on the need to work at the weakness and take advantage of the strengths in Branding Pakistan, especially by making sure that the good is heard.

Rafi Shikoh, moderator for the workshop, noted that despite Ireland being associated with communal violence, religious tensions, terrorism and bombings in 80's has successfully re-branded itself today by attracting and establishing itself as a center of technology and tourism.

This event was the first in a series of events AOPP is planning on hosting in major cities across the United States and plans to come out with an integrated programmes recommendation report based on the input of the Pakistani American community, brand experts and other key stake holders.

Syed Asif Alam, President of AOPP said that he hopes that the report will be a strategic guide to organizing events and initiatives that deliver the highest impact in developing a strong brand of Pakistan.