Empowering Saudi Arabia's Brand Through Culture: A Strategic Communication Approach

Saudi Arabia has announced a strategic shift toward a diversified economy that includes not only oil and petrochemicals but also global tourism and foreign investment. Achieving these goals requires rebranding the nation’s global image and dismantling negative stereotypes that may hinder progress. This aligns with a broader global trend in which countries leverage cultural promotion activities to strengthen their national brands. This paper investigates the role of cultural diplomacy as a tool for Saudi Arabia to develop its nation brand by promoting the Saudi culture globally. Given the Kingdom’s recent strategic pivot toward a diversified economy—anchored not only in oil and petrochemicals but also in global tourism and foreign investments—the importance of rebranding and shattering negative stereotypes is paramount. This research is critical due to the scarcity of studies measuring the effectiveness of nation branding and cultural diplomacy strategies. This study addresses a significant gap in the literature regarding practical implementation, and evaluation of nation branding and cultural diplomacy, particularly within the underexplored Saudi context. Given the limited research on Saudi diplomatic actors and their roles in shaping international cultural narratives (Papadopoulos, 2004; Vanc & Fitzpatrick, 2016), this dissertation adopts a qualitative approach to examine current practices and contribute to the development of more robust frameworks and evaluation methods. Using a qualitative methodology, the researcher conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 29 participants. These participants included both official actors employed in Saudi governmental organizations—domestically and internationally—and unofficial actors from civil society institutions, individual initiatives, and private enterprises. Participants shared their experiences promoting Saudi culture globally and aligning these efforts with Vision 2030. The study found that Saudi Arabia’s cultural diplomacy activities were largely ineffective for several reasons. Participants lacked adequate qualifications to represent their culture effectively, failed to set long-term goals, and did not coordinate their efforts with each other or with Vision 2030. Cultural diplomacy was largely reactive rather than strategic, and there was no clear, unified cultural brand representing the nation. To address these shortcomings, the study proposes an integrated model that combines Gienow-Hecht and Donfried’s framework for cultural activity analysis with the mutually beneficial relationships (MBR) model from public relations theory. This new model conceptualizes cultural diplomacy as a multistage process involving message development, strategic communication, and continuous evaluation. It shifts focus from isolated events to a cohesive system of branding efforts, enabling a more nuanced understanding of how cultural narratives are created, communicated, and adapted for international audiences. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for Saudi Arabia to develop a cultural diplomacy plan as part of its rebranding efforts. Based on participants’ experiences, the study proposes updates to both Gienow-Hecht and Donfried’s model and the MBR model. Future research is encouraged to explore the applicability of the updated model in developing and evaluating cultural diplomacy and branding initiatives.