Regular marketing and strategic excellence groups are the key ingredients to reinstate the true value of the European Project, according to the business school marketing professor.
Having followed the American Dream and now seeking to live the European Dream, the Indian says that Europe's citizens take the unity of the continent for granted and fail to "own it" or nurture it enough.
"Look, Coke and Pepsi, everyone in the world knows Coke and Pepsi, but every day they are still advertising. Somebody would ask that question: Why should Coke and Pepsi advertise? They are so well-known. But every day you still see their ads because that is the measure of communicating, of creating a sense of freshness," Jain said.
People should be proud of what they have achieved, he said, adding that those achieving excellence abroad should come back and explain the uniqueness of the European model.
Jain wants the EU to create a high-powered event through which it would celebrate its own success. "It's not just about Davos and others. We need to create our own event," he said.
According to the INSEAD dean, Europe should communicate better to people what it stands for: Education, Unified vision, Roots, Openness, Positive attitude, Environment. These key components of European identity cannot be left untold.
"You need to communicate it, otherwise you become dormant," Jain said, arguing that communication starts with the arts and culture.
The cultural heritage of Europe is something Europeans should be proud of, and a marketing campaign could promote the continent as the world's cultural and arts centre, he insisted.
The scholar suggests building a network of ambassadors for Europe: well-recognised people across the world who trust and respect European achievements. Jain admits that for any economy to be strong it has to stand on four pillars: democracy, diversity, demographics and dynamism.
"Europe is good in the first two and challenged in the last two. Our demographics are not favourable for the future and dynamism is not there," stressed Jain, adding that India, for example, is strong on all four counts.
Looking at how America made it, Jain said Europe should think about the demographics part of the system: this is where some foreign talent or very well-crafted immigration can play a role.
"You can bring lots of entrepreneurs and have them create jobs here," he said, stressing that immigrant populations can create much-needed dynamism.
"If Europeans are more dormant than others, then you need to inject an immigrant population to create that dynamism. If Americans can do that why can't we do it?" he said.
Dipak C. Jain was speaking to EurActiv Managing Editor Daniela Vincenti-Mitchener.
