''We have a vision for the future," President Jacob Zuma told international business and government leaders at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town yesterday. But, given the bad press the country has been getting, much of it due to Zuma himself, it will take a whirlwind of spin to make people believe in that "vision".Enter Thebe Ikalefeng, t he founder and managing director of Brand Leadership Group and Brand Africa. He recently worked on the Nigerian elections and is on the board of South African Tourism and Brand South Africa.Selling a national brand is no easy task, he says. ''The citizens, government and visitors should all be involved. We can't just rely on the government; everybody needs to be on board."Branding is about having a story that everyone agrees on.''If we aren't all on the same page, no one will believe our brand promises."Ikalefeng believes that Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana have clear cultural identities. This is not the case in South Africa, but we have other virtues, he says.''Unity and diversity have always been this country's motto. We're the only country that has inspired the world by solving our conflicts."So how would he reverse the recent negative press?"No campaign can change our reputation as a country. Only the actions of South Africans, all of them, and their acceptance of unity and diversity will change things.''No amount of money or any clever idea can fix how South Africa looks in the eyes of the world. Everything we do as a country is out there on front pages, on social media and on television screens. We can't spin that image around," Ikalefeng says.The Times asked a leading advertising expert if he could think of a way to spin our negatives into positives: Sure, he answered.All one has to do is concentrate on the fields in which South Africa "excels".He says ''We're the best at funding the African diaspora; we're in the top five countries when it comes to paying our president's salary; we're one of the top countries at implementing the most onerous visa regulations; and we deliver the most realistic outdoor adventure experiences in the world."..