[Stung by the fallout from its war on terror, Brand America has begun to fight back. Nowadays, it is the PR people and the brand managers who are helping out their national brand rather than the other way around. Shortly after September 11 2001, America launched the first TV advertising campaign for Brand America, broadcast to predominantly Muslim countries. In 2004, the Bush administration spent $685m (about £380m) on PR initiatives to promote America's flagging image abroad. Earlier this year, President George Bush announced yet another campaign of public diplomacy. America, it seems, is to be a listening brand.] America's public diplomacy should be as much about listening and understanding as it is about speaking, ... I'm eager to listen and to learn.
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