Bridenstine: "The NASA brand is the most valuable brand America has"

Keith’s note: Yesterday at the STA luncheon Jim Bridenstine said that “the NASA brand is the most valuable brand America has” – Inside – and outside our borders. In October I cited an example of how NASA’s logo – its brand – has a ubiquitous, global reach – and that it is associated with exciting, hopeful, advanced things with no known downside.
“This is a perfect example of so-called “soft power”. This costs NASA virtually – literally – nothing. Having worked with folks in Nepal on things related to this, the mere visibility of the NASA logo and recognition by NASA is enticement enough to generate in-country resources and support. Done properly you can have a global awareness of what NASA is and does and spark interest in other nation’s space efforts. And the cases where a country has no space activities, spur their development. One would hope that this becomes part of what NASA includes in its Artemis outreach activities – since the ultimate goal is to go there with other nations.”
NASA has done a good job – an increasingly good one – at allowing the logo’s use – and not discouraging its use when the its is used in a positive and inspiring context. This is a consumate, textbook example of soft power. One would hope that NASA can continue along this path and that legislation that currently hinders NASA’s ability to project its message via advertising and other venues – can be lifted by Congress.
– NASA’s Global Branding Reach Is Often Under Appreciated, earlier post
– Understanding NASA’s Global Reach, earlier post
– NASA is Still A Potent (If Underutilized) Brand, earlier post
– Using NASA’s Logo: Expensive T-Shirts Or Global Soft Power?, earlier post
– NASA’s Pervasive Brand Recognition, earlier post
– One Major Road Block To Bridenstine’s Advertising Ideas, earlier post