At the end of the three-day marketing seminar in Zurich, the host country representative gave each of us a Victorinox fruit peeler, an innovative product of Switzerland. The Victorinox brand itself is also famous globally for its special military knife sets and personal care and household tools. Along with it are sophisticated watch brands, such as Hublot, Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin, chocolate brands such as Lindt and Toblerone, food brands Nestlé, banking brands such as UBS and Credit Suisse, and pharmaceutical brands. Products like Novartis, and Roche, all together created a unique national brand that the Swiss are proud of – Swiss-made.

However, in addition to world-famous brands, Switzerland has long been imprinted in the minds of tourists around the world as the most nature-friendly destination, where mountains covered by snow all year round and clear blue lakes also make this country's smokeless industry grow continuously. With a neutral position, Switzerland also turns its banking system into the most trustworthy place for the wealthy to place their trust. Talking about Switzerland or just witnessing a product of Switzerland, people immediately think of a series of unique values that make this country stand out in the international market and become a beloved image. Switzerland already has a strong national brand, so the country has always ranked in the top 14 or 15 in Brand Finance's Nation Brand Index.

A nation’s brand is the total sum of all perceptions of the nation in the mind of international stakeholders, which may contain some of the following elements: people, place, culture/language, history, food, fashion, famous faces (celebrities), and global brand. The process of building a national brand is selecting the most outstanding and special values of the country, and working to make them perceived, recognised, persuasive, and appreciated in the minds of international friends.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) defines: “Nation branding is how a country or place positions and promotes itself as a place for people to visit, invest in, and build a good reputation for their quality of goods and services as well as talent.” It is also the process in which we have to eliminate awareness of negative values and strengthen and develop positive ones.

The strength of a national brand is a guarantee of the readiness of relevant parties, especially state and social organisations, businesses, and customers, to access experience and use products and services of that country, including important areas such as trade, investment, tourism, education and culture. The national brand is a soft power to enhance persuasion and influence in the international arena.