Patriotism, a marketing proposition

'Love for one's country' is taken as being a good characteristic for any person to possess no matter which part of the world you live in. In any country, the government is the biggest promoter of patriotism. Politicians love to make patriotic speeches, exhort citizens to do their patriotic duty, and present themselves as shining examples of patriotism. One political party trying to outdo the other in terms of level of devotion is a common phenomenon in Sri Lanka.

Marketeers

The State, through appeals to patriotism, inculcates an attachment to the State, instead of the nation. The State advocates complete and absolute obedience to the dictates of its leaders as a sign of love for one's country.

The Sri Lankan marketeers attempt to foster the idea 'my country, right or wrong' as a prime example of patriotism. Any rational, clear thinking person can see the foolishness of 'my country, right or wrong', and that it is a recipe for disaster.

While the concept of marketing is about satisfying individual customer needs and wants, the concept of patriotism is about collectivist thinking and action. Patriotism demands that a person subjugates his desires to the collective interest of the nation, even to sacrifice himself, family and friends.

We see an increasing number of marketeers in Sri Lanka joining the 'patriotism band wagon' and riding free for business and marketing reasons. The synergies due to single minded positioning thus communication and influence over consumer choice provide the rationale for this platform. Few people question whether this patriotism is actually in their best interests.

Consumer

My focus is not politics but business and marketing. In the recent past the Sri Lankan consumer has been forced by patriotic product and service brand attributes to achieve business goals.

In many cases, patriotism is used to cover up product or service gaps to exploit the patriotic feelings of the consumer to influence purchasing decisions. Many companies use patriotism as the last refuge to market their products rather than focusing on the right value proposition that will naturally sell.

For the consumer, purchasing local products and services is a good way of expressing his or her love for the country. Most patriotic consumers exhibit an emotional attachment to the brands that offers patriotic attributes.

If patriotism has any value, it would be as friendly competition between equals who have the same rights, where one hopes that all competitors do well, but hopes that his side does the best.

From an economic perspective the merits of patriotism are numerous. However, patriotism is a tool of the State. Most States in the world use it to demand blind, unthinking obedience to the dictates of the leaders. It is used to stifle discussion of issues that the State does not want questioned.

Consumer behaviour in Sri Lanka is 'funny'. Every patriotic Sri Lankan consumer expects everyone else to buy 'local' and he himself buys what offers value to him.

The market share split in every industry bears ample testimony to this. You may search, analyse and be convinced - more importantly use it to formulate wining business strategies. My conclusion is patriotism and real value can make you win; not patriotism alone.