country brend index 2008
Posted by popkitchen | Filed under advertising
A week ago, I got an e-mail from a friend, sending me the latest report “Country Branding Index 2008”, issued by the Future Brand agency. As I participated in the poll, I was particularly interested in the results.
The methodology FB employs is trying to be really precise – they interview 2,700 travelers (both business and leisure), plus send a questionnaire to a worldwide selection of different people (experts them call them, I am still laughing to be called an expert, but here it is) to identify emerging trends and comment on the latest developments in the fields of travel, hospitality and branding. The results in all categories, plus accompanying comments are available here. Check out whether your country made the list.
For the third year in a row, Australia tops the charts, followed by Canada, USA, Italy, Switzerland, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan and Sweden. In their view, a strong brand will “communicate with power and economy, attract talent and investment, promote sources of economic value, enable and endorse change, brand exports profitably, redress stereotypes and clichés, express a unique core idea, build competitive advantage, serve as a source of differentiation and link distinct country offerings”.
For some of these countries, I have no doubt about the their place on the coveted list, but for example Italy “enabling and endorsing change, redressing stereotypes and cliches ….” I beg to differ. In my analysis, I stated that Spain, instead of Italy deserves a spot on the charts, as its promotion is showing the continuous effort to blend traditional strengths (cultural heritage, lively way of life) and modern tendencies, while Italy is resting on the laurels of having the majority of world cultural heritage right in its backyard.
China is among emerging countries for obvious reasons. Also, the world is seeing an influx of tourist from countries such as Russia, China or India. Nowadays, more women are traveling, people adopt spontaneous attitude towards planning of trips (last minute offers), eco tourism is coming in demand. As well as “poor tourism”, people looking for authentic experiences in places such as Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai or Cuba. The publication brings the study of the Olympic effect on China and looks into the contradictions that comprise brand of USA.
Also, a very interesting comparison between Italy and China (internal and external branding), documenting the known fact that Italians are proud of their lifestyle but dissatisfied with their standard of living (compared to other EU countries), their efforts in tourism are weak (they have been making the main tourism website for the past five years), whereas Chinese are exceptionally proud of their country and are exhibiting it both internally and externally.
Close to home
Serbia is not included in any of the categories. Not even as emerging country (Ethiopia, Uzbekistan and Libya are listed there). There are two reasons for that in my opinion.
1) There is no strategy. Branding is a buzz word among marketing people, politicians and media people, but not enough is done apparently to get us on the list. I do not want to disparage all the efforts by tourist organizations and individuals, but more should be done on all levels. CBI shows various brand councils set up in different countries.
2) Heritage of recent wars rests solely on the shoulders of Serbia. Just type in Serbia in any search engine or newspaper website - war criminals, Kosovo, nationalism are likely results. Until, we settle all these issues in the country itself, get positive response from the EU, start the accession process and basically lay low when all crises are concerned, nothing will change. We would like to think that someone else would do it for us, but people who have heard of the tennis players or follow Eurovision are not a majority in the world.
All which is a shame, as we pride ourselves are being a real hospitable country and there are some pretty amazing sites to see and things to experience in Serbia.
In the neighborhood, Croatia is seen as the country on the rise, well deserved, as they have worked on their promotion continually (note to my fellow countrymen – it is not just about the ad on CNN). Of course, Croatia is endowed with the most beautiful coast, so every year more and more people come to see it, creating a lasting memory for travelers, while its Government successfully is working towards removing all obstacles on its path to EU (it is expected that Croatia will become a member in 2010). Interestingly enough, most people associate war with Serbia (where there wasn’t one, I can not count the times when I heard “How was it during the war?”), not with Croatia, where the war actually took place.
Albania associated itself with “symbol of newness in the region”. Montenegro is mentioned in relation to countries, which try to identify themselves with the striking nature.
It seems that the region is slowly getting more attention, which I think can be used to our benefits.
The case of the UK
This year, UK dropped from the third onto the eight position. “The UK is well thought-out and executed brand the effectively utilizes all the natural and cultural resources of the country”. I take the credit for that (statement, not the fact).
What I meant when I wrote that is that UK, established itself as the center of cultural industry, with quite 
expectedly London in its centre. The shift from Rule Britannia to Cool Britannia. Some may think it is joint Blair’s Government and media ploy, but seriously, services comprise the major part of UK’s economy, a significant portion of it comes from cultural industries (entertainment, music, advertising, fashion, design). In his last column in Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash writes about cultural icons still recognized worldwide, originating from UK and the effect that the UK creates by opening up its higher education system, which is widely praised, resulting in communities of people dispersed around the globe, who spent their formative years in the UK and continue to spread its cultural influence. When I wrote that statement, I am sure I was under that influence.
Tags: country brend index, italy, nation branding, serbia, uk
