"A journey of a 1000 miles begins with one step." Lao Tzu. Changing perception about people is tough, changing perception about countries is perhaps the toughest. However, conquering the Everest also starts with some initial steps in the right direction. Pakistan's main problem of getting international credibility has been its main bottleneck in convincing foreign opinion makers of how different perception from reality is. Click Google with the country name and all you see is negative images. Try doing that with India or even Bangladesh and different pictures emerge. These pictures are the images the world carries in their mind when they make decisions to invest, visit, write and talk about Pakistan.
Recently, a small step in changing perception of Pakistan was taken by the British Member Parliament Faisal Rashid. He is the Chair of APPG, ie., All Parliamentary Group for BRI and CPEC in the British Parliament. They organized the premiere of a video titled "Changing Perceptions of Pakistan". This video was created by a young British Pakistani who had taken a team of bloggers to the various sites of Pakistan and filmed it. This was the second video in the series. The event was attended by a variety of people including the media, travel agents and members of business community. The overall impact of the event was very encouraging and indicated that the world is interested to find out if Pakistan is really what the media makes it out to be.
Such occasions highlight two things. Firstly, the unleashed potential in the country and secondly, that these feel good events can taper off into little impact if not developed into strategy designs and actions. Perceptions are based on product attributes and even more brand impressions. As they say a bad product well-advertised will sell for a season maybe, and a good product badly advertised will find it hard to find buyers eventually. Pakistan as a country and as a product suffered severe damage post-9/11. Security is the first product feature that visitors see when they plan to come to a country. The rising incidents of terror attacks in the post-2000 era severely affected Pakistan's investment, economy and tourism. This insecurity was cashed in on by India in particular.
Any product that is scandalized becomes vulnerable to avoidance. Pakistan, unfortunately, became a destination unwanted. However, in the last 5 years the situation in the country has changed. Due to a very concerted effort by the army and the government the security and law and order situation has almost returned to normality. The product has improved but the brand has a long way to go. Every blogger who was present at the event of the launch of "Changing Perception of Pakistan" mentioned that when they told their families that they were going to visit Pakistan, they were told not to go as the country was unsafe and dangerous. Every blogger also said that after visiting the country they felt that it was perhaps one of the safest, most beautiful and most hospitable countries in the world.
This changing of perception happened because they visited Pakistan. Very few can and thus the word of mouth is a very slow way of changing perception. What is needed is an effective product and brand plan that changes the click images of Pakistan on social media, and other forms of non-traditional communication. The product safety features need to be highlighted at every influencing point of the perception development chain. There are three main features that need to create positive buzz about the country. The first is that Pakistan is safe and those who had deserted Pakistan are back. This factor is true but the truth needs to be told to those who are the opinion leaders and those who can form the opinion of the opinion leaders. Recently, the UN declared Pakistan a family station, British Airways is back, Portugal removed travel restrictions to Pakistan. All these are certifications of increasing international credibility.
Product improvements are normally highlighted by facts and figures. Pakistan has made huge progress as far as overcoming terrorism is concerned. According to SATP Index (South Asian Terrorism Portal) terrorism in Pakistan is down by 89% in 2017 since its peak in 2009. This itself is a story to tell that will sell. But for it to sell it cannot just lie on a portal or be in the minds of people living in Pakistan or by some visitors testifying safety when they visit Pakistan. It has to be expressed by those who matter. More needs to be discussed in global circles on how unique this achievement is. There are more people dying of gun violence in the US than in any other form of violence, however every shootout, and there is one nearly every month in US, is just a matter of a few days news. Pakistan needs to tell the world how they have managed Peace better than many others. Recent index showing India as the most dangerous place for women and Pakistan way more safer at number six is another product feature that very few people know about.
Secondly, the brand needs to reflect the changing perception in main markets. Aside from the US, the UK is a main influencer. The Pakistani-born British MPs are the voice and this voice needs to be aligned to the changing perception scenario. The High Commissions in these countries can act as a bridge and make sure that the main political voices, think tanks and media pundits are being connected and influenced through lobbying, personal connectivity and political communication.
Thirdly, the focus on working on targeted search engine strategy on social media platforms is mandatory. This requires positive image placements on search keys. The click and get the first impression strategy needs to be very well crafted and followed up. The first impressions on major search engines like Google and frequently visited sites are key to creating a visual scenario of a country that is safe and worth visiting. A designed content calendar of positive articles by bloggers, videos and independent celebrity endorsements placed on the first view of clickers is the first cut to making people wonder more on the positive potential of the country.
Some of the above steps are already being taken but for a 1000 steps, more steps and support of people and platforms existing in the support pockets of Pakistan internationally are required to give momentum to this march towards a "Pakistan-the place to be in".
(The writer can be reached at [email protected])
Comments
Comments are closed.