With the America’s Cup show in town, powerful brands are everywhere. Anyone watching the racing this weekend will encounter names such as Louis Vuitton, Land Rover, SoftBank, Emirates, BMW and Bremont. All global brands, words or phrases that carry an intrinsic message. Names that their owners can leverage to attract business and charge us more for their products and services than rivals with lesser-regarded brands.

The America’s Cup itself is a top-tier brand and it should not be surprising that many of the sponsors and partners it attracts are luxury names. That top executives from BMW and Louis Vuitton will be watching the racing, along with much of Bermuda this weekend, illustrates the importance those companies attach to their association with this prestigious event in what is effectively a brand-enforcing exercise.

These multinationals spend lavishly on marketing to build up their brand, as they believe it has true value in generating custom. Brand Finance puts a dollar value on global brands and ranks Apple as the world’s most valuable brand with a value of $128.3 billion. BMW ranks fifteenth with a value of $33.1 billion, while Land Rover is 204th ($6.5 billion) and Louis Vuitton 217th ($6.1 billion).

It is not only companies that have brands; cities, countries and even people have them, too. Bermuda has its own brand that punches well above its weight for a tiny and geographically isolated island. The message this brand portrays to the world is of great value to our economy. FutureBrand, a company that specialises in brand evaluation, has argued that a country can be understood by the sum of its identity and reputation.

“And, just like brands, strength or weakness of perception of a country can influence people’s decisions to choose them as a place to visit, live or invest in,” FutureBrand adds. “This was assumed to provide a competitive advantage in a global market for tourism, education and investment, and built evidence for proactive country brand management.”

As an island whose prosperity relies almost entirely on the combination of international business and tourism, the health of our brand is paramount. Bermuda was ranked 24th in the world in FutureBrand’s 2012-13 country brand rankings, remarkable for a place our size. Large businesses, such Fairmont hotels and the airlines that fly in visitors, use the Bermuda brand to lure customers. Smaller businesses use it, too — from Gosling’s and Horton’s rum cakes to jeweller Alexandra Mosher and The Authentic Bermuda Shorts Co (Tabs).

The cross-fertilisation occurring right now between the America’s Cup and Bermuda brands will breed a beefed-up Bermuda brand. The global exposure that the sailing itself gives the Island will significantly raise awareness of Bermuda and its beauty around the world. But the intangible impact of Bermuda rubbing shoulders with the huge global brands associated with the Cup may help to plant in the minds of potential visitors and investors the perception that Bermuda is a high-end tourism destination and a serious business centre. That is certainly what the Bermuda Government is hoping, given its financial backing of the event.

As reported in today’s Business section, Grant Gibbons, the Minister of Economic Development, said the America’s Cup effect was already having a beneficial effect on business. Tabs-owner Rebecca Hanson, who successfully applied for a licence to use the America’s Cup logo on her products, effectively backed up that view in an interview with this newspaper this week.

“Now when I speak to retailers overseas, I have a bit more cachet,” Ms Hanson said. “I say ‘the America’s Cup is in Bermuda’ and they say ‘yes, Bermuda’, and they immediately make the connection. Everyone knows the America’s Cup is happening — the process of people coming down here, spreading the word and the synergy between Bermuda shorts and the Island is connecting all the dots.”

The great thing for island businesses is that use of the Bermuda brand is free. Imaginative use of it by the likes of Tabs and Ms Mosher has shown how entrepreneurs can turn it to their tangible advantage. A stronger Bermuda brand will have benefits for the whole community if it brings in more visitors and investors.

Brands, however, are notoriously fragile. Brand Finance calculated that the scandal involving Volkswagen using software fitted on about 11 million diesel vehicles to deceive emissions testers knocked more than $190 billion off Germany’s brand value.

This weekend is a pivotal moment for Bermuda and how it is perceived by the world. While we cannot ensure blue skies and a stiff breeze to facilitate exciting sailboat races, a large turnout of spectators and a smoothly run event can bolster our reputation. If there are problems this weekend with logistics or transport, or if there is a pitiful turnout, the impact could be very different.

The stakes are high. The eyes of the world will be upon us.