Managing the country's brand (nation branding) in modern times is becoming an indispensable activity that every country must apply in order to compete on the global market and stand out among the competition. It is a process in which a country consciously builds and maintains its image at the global level using different marketing strategies and tools. Nation branding can serve as a tool for achieving country's economic growth goals if it is thought out, well implemented and continuous in all it's communication channels. This thesis explores the conceptual definition of nation branding and presents practical examples of countries that have successfully implemented nation branding activities. Countries such as Great Britain, Germany and Singapore adapted their marketing strategies based on their natural resources, culture and history, but also based on current market opportunities in which they found themselves, thus successfully attracting the attention of the international community and achieving positive economic effects. Furthermore, the thesis examines the brand Croatia in detail and studies its perception on different samples of respondents with regards to the Nation Brands Index methodology. The methodology developed by Simon Anholt investigates respondents' perceptions of a country's tourism, people, politics, exports, culture and investments. The research shows the difference between the perception of the Croatia brand by Croatian and international respondents, where Croatian respondents have the most pronounced negative attitude towards the topic of politics, while on the other hand, international respondents consider Croatian exports as Croatia's greatest weakness. Despite the differences in perceptions, the research also shows positive common perceptions about Croatian tourism and culture that could be used in the further development of the Croatia brand.