country brand index 2014

8/20/2019 Country Brand Index 2014

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/country-brand-index-2014 1/55

3

1

2

CountryBrand Index 2014-15



FutureBrand ©2Country Brand Index 2014-15

Contents

1. Introduction2. Our methodology3. 2014-15 rankings4. Key findings

5. What makes a country brand?6. Regional rankings7. Future focus8. Appendix



FutureBrand ©

1. Introduction

3Country Brand Index 2014-15




Introduction

The Country Brand Index has historically studied perceptions of 118countries around the world in the same way we measure consumer orcorporate brands – ranking them according to strength of perceptionacross association dimensions.

FutureBrand was among the pioneers of this approach, exploring thehypothesis that countries can usefully be understood as the sum oftheir identity and reputation. And, just like brands, strength or weaknessof perception of a country can influence peoples’ decisions to choosethem as places to visit, live or invest in. This was assumed to provide acompetitive advantage in a global market for tourism, education andinvestment, and built evidence for proactive country brand management.

Over the last 5 years, our work in country branding has highlighted theincreasing importance of ‘country of origin’ in understanding country brandstrength. In particular, its role as a driver of consumer choice becameevident in our Made In research in 2013-14. This is not least becausestrong brands associated with a country make a significant contributionto perceptions of it, but also because people actively prefer productsand services when they are from specific countries. Which means everytime they buy a car, eat a type of food or wear a clothing brand, they canbe consciously consuming an aspect of the country that made them.Countries that do not benefit from these ‘Made In’ associations are ata measurable disadvantage to their peers.

Not just that, but we are increasingly interested in the relationship betweenperception strength and behaviour when it comes to country brandmeasurement. In other words, can we prove that strong perceptionslead to decisions to visit, recommend and do business with a country?

Finally, the nature of our study has always implied that countries withstronger perceptions and higher rank position are also ‘stronger’ countrybrands, but that all countries qualify as brands by default. But, we haveyet to explore the idea of a minimum threshold of perception strengthdetermining the difference between a country and a ‘country brand’.

The value of measuringcountries as brands

“Countries canusefully beunderstoodas the sum of

their identityand reputation.”




How is the 2014 report different?

This year, we set out to test an emerging hypothesis that not all countriesqualify as ‘brands’. But when they do, they have a measurable competitiveadvantage over their peer countries.

With this in mind, we evolved our approach to the research in twosignificant ways:

1. We measured attributes relating to ‘country of origin’ as an additional

dimension of country brand strength.2.We increased the focus on specific measures relating to decisions to visit,

invest in and recommend a country.

In an addition to previous years, we also gathered data on cities tounderstand the relationship between country brand strength and cityperception around the world, not least because of the growing urbanizationof both developed and developing countries.

What did we find out?

The results of this year’s research are striking. First of all, of the 75 countriesincluded in our survey, only 22 qualify as ‘country brands’ by our measures.

By this, we mean that people have stronger than average perceptions ofthe country across our six dimensions relating to ‘status’ and ‘experience’.In other words, they perceive it equally strongly in aspects relating to qualityof life, values and business, as they do for its culture, history, tourism and‘Made In’ expertise.

Importantly, we also discovered that when people rate a country as a‘brand’ they are also more likely to visit, recommend and do business with itthan the other countries in the ranking, demonstrating that being seen as acountry brand provides a tangible competitive advantage. Not just that, butour respondents also have more confidence in and feel closer to countrybrands compared to countries in the study.

Critically, the main drivers of a ‘country brand’ are perceptions of making

products of high quality, wanting to live or study there and infrastructure, allof which reinforce the idea that to qualify as a ‘country brand’, people needto want to consume your products and services and prefer you as a placeto live and learn.

Who will benefit from this report?

If you are a country brand manager or work in tourism, trade andinvestment at a national or international level, the Country Brand Indexoffers valuable insights into the levers you can pull for competitiveadvantage. It will also be of use to professional brand managers andleaders seeking to, or already harnessing, ‘country of origin’ associations

for corporate and consumer brands.

The value of measuringcountries as brands

“This year we set out totest the hypothesis thatnot all countries qualifyas brands.”

Introduction



6Country Brand Index 2014-15 FutureBrand ©

2. Our methodology




Our research approach

This year’s fieldwork was designed to test the hypothesis that not allcountries qualify as ‘brands’, but when they do, they have a measurablecompetitive advantage. To do this, we have developed our core countrybrand strength model, including the addition of a new associationdimension, and combined quantitative and qualitative methods tounderstand global perception.

Quantitative Research

FutureBrand collected quantitative and qualitative data from 2,530 opinion-formers and frequent international business or leisure travellers in 17countries (USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, UK, Germany, France,Russia, Turkey, South Africa, UAE, India, China, Thailand, Japan

and Australia).

The questionnaire was developed around our proprietary HierarchicalDecision Model (HDM) to understand how strongly audiences perceivecountries from levels of Awareness to Advocacy. The HDM takes sevenareas into consideration: Awareness, Familiarity, Preference, Associations,Consideration, Decision/Visitation and Advocacy. For the purposeof ranking, the research weights in favour of Associations across sixdimensions and their related attributes – from Value System to ‘Made In’.

This year, we have added a new ‘Made In’ dimension and rationalized ourexisting measures as part of improvements to the methodology. Pleasesee the Appendix for a full breakdown of how our measurements havechanged, including updates to the association dimensions and attributes.

New brand typologies for 2014-15

In addition to an evolved research methodology, the 2014-15 reportoffers a new classification approach to help define countries accordingto perception strength. These are designed to clarify the current positionof each country relative to its peers and map their distribution across oneof four discrete typologies:

• “Countries” – Countries that have below average perceptions in boththe Status and Experience dimensions.

• “Status countries” – Countries whose perception strength is biasedtowards attributes relating to Value System, Quality Of Life andBusiness Potential.

• “Experience countries” – Countries whose perception strength is biasedtowards dimensions relating to Heritage & Culture, Tourism and Made In.

• “Country brands” – Countries that have above average perceptionsacross both the Status and Experience dimensions and have measurablecompetitive advantages over their peers as a result.

Our methodology


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/country-brand-index-2014 8/558Country Brand Index 2014-15

QualiQuant™ sample criteria

As in previous years, our global research sample of 2,530 respondentswas selected according to the following screening criteria:

• Aware of and familiar with all the countries covered.

• Interested in travel abroad.

• Have travelled internationally at least once in the last year, mix ofbusiness and/or leisure.

• 21-65 years old.

• Balanced between male and female.

Expert insight

In addition to our quantitative and qualitative fieldwork, we drewon the expertise and insight of FutureBrand practitioners in Europe,the Americas and Asia to inform the future focus section of this year’sreport. We supplemented this with external expert advice. Specialthanks go to Ian Kirk in London, Enshalla Anderson in New York,Gustavo Koniszczer in Buenos Aires, Dan Dimmock in Singaporeand Dr Pawel Surowiec from the University of Bournemouth.

QRi Consulting – our independentresearch partner

QRi Consulting is FutureBrand’s independent global research partnerfor the Country Brand Index. Working in close collaboration, QRi helpedto define the research approach against FutureBrand’s initial hypothesis,as well as managing recruitment, questionnaire development, and providingin-depth analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data underpinning thereport. This is informed by QRi’s extensive research, country brand andsector knowledge and experience as well as their proprietaryQualiQuant™ methodologies.

Our research approachOur methodology


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/country-brand-index-2014 9/55FutureBrand ©

Association dimensions

HIERARCHICALDECISION MODEL (HDM)

FutureBrand's proprietary model for determining

how key audiences perceive a country's brand.

AWARENESSHow well do people know the country and

its offerings?

FAMILIARITY

What qualities come to mind when

people think of the country?

ASSOCIATIONS

How highly do audiences esteem the country?

Does it resonate?

PREFERENCE

Is the country considered for a visit?

What about for investment, to acquire or

consume its products?

CONSIDERATION

To what extent do people follow through

and visit the country or establish a

commercial relationship?

DECISION/VISITATION

Do visitors recommend the country to family,

friends and colleagues?

EXPERIENCESTATUS

VALUESYSTEM

QUALITYOF LIFE

BUSINESSPOTENTIAL

HERITAGE& CULTURE

TOURISM MADE IN

Political

freedom

Health &

education

Good for

businessHistorical pointsof interest

Value formoney

Make productsthat areauthentic

Environmental

standards

Standard

of living

Advanced

technology

Heritage,

art & culture

Range

of attractions

Make products

of high quality

ToleranceSafety &

security

Good

infrastructure

Would like tolive/study there

Naturalbeauty

Resort &

lodging options

Would like tovisit for avacation

Food

They create

unique products

Would like tobuy productsmade in thatcountry

Our methodology




1

2

3

FutureBrand ©

3. 2014-15 rankings




Japan1 Switzerland2 Germany3 Sweden4 Canada5

Norway6 United

States7 Australia8 Denmark9 Austria10

New

Zealand11 United

Kingdom12 Finland13 Singapore14 Iceland15

Netherlands16 France17 Italy18 United Arab

Emirates19 South

Korea20


Top 20 countries2014-15 rankings



12 FutureBrand ©Country Brand Index 2014-15

Japan2014-15 rankings



1 Japan

Political freedom Environmentalfriendliness

Food

Would like to visitfor a holiday

Resort andlodging options

Range of attractions

Value for money

Natural beauty

Heritage, artand culture

Historical pointsof interest

Tolerance

Health and education

Standard of living

Safety and security

Would like to live in/study there

Good for business

Advanced technologyGood infrastructure

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Respondent opinion on Japan Respondent opinion on Japan

It is a uniquecountry, not just formaking deals, butalso culturallyspeaking. Being in

Japan is unique.

It's a country thatis improving and notstanding still; it issurpassing the whole

world in robotictechnologies andengineering.

TECHNOLOGY

C U L T U R

EFOOD

BEAUTIFULADVANCED

S A F E

DISCIPLINEDSUSHI

Q U A L I T

Y

T R A D I T I O N

S A M U

R I

ELECTRONICS

RESPECT C A R S

GEISHA

EDUCATION

CLEANLINESSI NT E L L I GE N CE

DE DI CA T I ON

BEAUTIFUL

T OY OT A

FRIENDLY

SAKURA

HERITAGE

MONEY

MOUNT FUJI

ANIME

TOKYO

BLAND

MANGA

ISLAND

TSUNAMI

NATURE

LEISURE

GASTRONAMYSAKE

CIVILIZATION C ONT R OL

R I T UA L S

FASHIONCHERRY BLOSSOM

SHOPPING

EXCELLENCE BASEBALLNIGHT LIFE TEA CEREMONYHIROSHIMA

ORIGAMI

CALMS A F E

Value system

Quality of life

Business potentialHeritage and culture

Tourism

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

What are the key associations with Japan? How does Japan perform by dimension?

What words do people use to describe Japan?


Japan - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings



1 Japan

What brands do people associate with Japan?

What are the perceptions of ‘Made in Japan’? Where does Japan have most momentum?

Makesproductsof highquality

They createunique products

Makes products that

are authentic

Would like tobuy productsmade inthat country

Technology& Innovation

Political &EconomicInfluence

Sustainability &EnvironmentalFriendliness

CulturalSignificance

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

70%

68%66%

64%

62%

60%

58%

56%

54%

52%

What is Japan most expert at?

Transportation

Technology

Retail

Personal & Household Care

Media

Luxury

Internet Services

Household Appliances

Food & Beverage

Financial Services

Fashion

Energy

Consumer Electronics

Automotive

Alcohol

37%

78%

17%

25%

31%

33%

47%

25%

17%

59%

28%

65%

24%

Countryexpertiseaverage

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

21%

6%


Japan - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings




Switzerland2014-15 rankings



2Switzerland

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%


Food




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


Good for business


Value system

Quality of life


Tourism

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BEAUTIFUL

CLEAN

ADVANCED

P O L I T I C A L

QUALITY OF LIFE

T E CHN O

L O GY

TOURISM

SCENERYSTRONG E X P E N S I V E

S T A NDA R D OF L I V I N G

E NV I R ONME NT A L OP E N

TRANSPORTATION

ECONOMY

CHOCOLATEHEALTH CARE

I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

C O U N T R Y S I D E

FINANCIAL

SOCIAL

TECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL

SAFE

EDUCATION

STANDARD OF LIVING

NO CRIME

ALPS

INDUSTRY

MODERN

N A T U R A L

ORGANIZED

S K I

C O M F O R T

AMAZING

MOUNTAINS

FOODRESPECT

EFFICIENCY

ATTRACTIVE

WATCHESACCOMMODATION

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING

STABLE

RESPECTEDINNOVATIVE

A L P S

EXPENSIVE

QUALITYWARMTH

SNOW

H I G H

E M P L O Y M E N

T

P U N C T U A L

S P O R T S C A R S

F O N D U

R E S C U E

MONEY

Respondent opinion on Switzerland Respondent opinion on Switzerland

Highly efficienttransportation,business acumen,banking industry, gorgeous scenery,

high standard ofliving, warm people.

It’s a very stableeconomy with

political freedomand has good natureand high qualityof life.

W hat are the key associations with Switzerland? How does Switzerland per form by dimension?

What words do people use to describe Switzerland ?


Switzerland - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings



2Switzerland



Makes products that

are authentic






0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

90%

80%70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

22%

16%

13%

57%

56%

9%

22%


0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

12%

31%

17%

12%

14%

39%

17%

16%

What brands do people associate with Switzerland?

What are the perceptions of ‘Made in Switzerland’? Where does Switzerland have most momentum?

What is Switzerland most expert at?

Transportation

Technology

Retail


Media

Luxury

Internet Services


Food & Beverage

Financial Services

Fashion

Energy


Automotive

Alcohol


Switzerland - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings



Germany2014-15 rankings



3Germany

Respondent opinion on Germany Respondent opinion on Germany

Value system

Quality of life


Tourism

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

It sustains the European Economic zone and as aconsequence, all of Europe.

And also because after thedevastating second world war,it has to reinvent itself and in

few years it positioned itself as the indisputable

worldwide leader.

According to what I haveas a reference, Germany isa country that has the virtuesto choose from. Developed,organized, safe, public healthis looked after very carefully,education, low levels of orvirtually no poverty.

TECHNOLOGY

BEER

AUTOMOTIVE

CULTURE

C

A R S

SOCCER

ORDER

S A F E

T Y

CLEAN

EFFICIENT

HI

S T OR Y

RIGOROUS

STABILITY

FOOTBALLQUALTY OF LIFE

EVOLUTION

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

ADVANCED

CASTLES

E D U CA T I ON

M O N E Y

POWER E U R O

F A M I L Y

TRUST

H A P P Y

COLD

HUMAN RIGHTS

AWESOME

SERIOUSNESS

WWIIRURAL

KNOWLEDGE

RAILWAYS

TRUST

SOLAR POWER

BEERFEST

INTEGRITY

PEACE

SAUSAGES

ON TIME

MEDICAL SYSTEM

ACCOMODATION


Food



Value for money


Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


Good for business



Natural beauty


80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

What are the key associations with Germany? How does Germany perform by dimension?

What words do people use to describe Germany?


Germany - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings



3Germany

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

80%

70%

60%



Makes products thatare authentic






0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

40%

13%

28%

15%

26%


11%

58%

15%

20%

38%

27%

31%

38%

77%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

27%

What brands do people associate with Germany?

What are the perceptions of ‘Made in Germany’? Where does Germany have most momentum?

What is Germany most expert at?

Transportation

Technology

Retail


Media

Luxury

Internet Services


Food & Beverage

Financial Services

Fashion

Energy


Automotive

Alcohol


Germany - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings




Sweden2014-15 rankings



4Sweden

Value system

Quality of life


Tourism

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Respondent opinion on Sweden Respondent opinion on Sweden

A country with a highstandard of living, a

good level of equalityamong its inhabitantswithout pockets of povertyand with general well-being.

Good industry and goodlabour and social laws.

Free society,tolerant andvery friendly

people, highsocial standard. BEAUTIFUL

ORDER

BEAUTY

IKEA DESIGN

FREE

FRIENDLY L A N D S C A P E

TECHNOLOGYSNOW

FREEDOM

VOLVO

RESPECT

MUSEUM SCHOOLS

JUSTICE

OPENESS

ETHICS

CULTURE

ECONOMY

NOKIA

WATER

BANKS

S E X

OLD LIBERTY

WALLANDERCLEANLARGE

INFRASTRUCTURE

WRITERS P A S S I O N

FRIENDLINESS

SKIING T R U S T

S Y S T E M A T I C

C H O C L O A T E

ALPINE

S CA NDI N

A V I A

IMAGE

R I G O UR

P E A C E

CARE

NICE

COMMUNISM

B L O N D

DIET

R O Y A L T Y

I ND U S T R Y

I NT E R E S T I N G

B L UE

ABBA

E C ON OMI CA L L Y S T R ON G

FORESTS

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%


Food




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


Good for business


What are the key associations with Sweden? How does Sweden perform by dimension?

What words do people use to describe Sweden?


Sweden - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings



4Sweden









0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

16%

30%

18%

28%


20%

40%

21%

20%

24%

32%

24%

25%

36%

15%

25%

What brands do people associate with Sweden?

What are the perceptions of ‘Made in Sweden’? Where does Sweden have most momentum?

What is Sweden most expert at?

Transportation

Technology

Retail


Media

Luxury

Internet Services


Food & Beverage

Financial Services

Fashion

Energy


Automotive

Alcohol


Sweden - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings




Canada2014-15 rankings



5Canada

Value system

Quality of life


Tourism

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Respondent opinion on Canada Respondent opinion on Canada

Because it isan innovativecountry with alot of technology.

It's always atthe forefront.

Because it is a countrythat seems very stable,economically andsafety-wise. Those are

two important aspects for me for both leisureand business.

CLEAN

WATERFALLS

FREEDOM

B E A U T I F U L

S N OW

G R E E N

MONEY

ALPINE

FRIENDLY

FUN

RESPECTFUL

SCHOOLS

QUALITY OF LIFE

TECHNOLOGY HAPPINESS

MOUNTAINS

VASTMAPLE

F A M I L Y

F O R E S T S

MAPLE SYRUP

WORKPEACEFULGOOD

DEMOCRACY

E C O N O M Y

C UL T UR A L

FRENCHPEFREEDOM

ENGLISH

LANDSCAPES

MONTREAL

TORONTO

RED F R E S H

A I R

F A S CI L I T I E S

P L A CE

NA T UR E E

N V I R O N M E N T A L I S T S

GL OB A L

I N F R A S T R U C T

U R ENORDIC

M O O S E

ICE HOCKEY

B E A R S OPPORTUNITIES

SALMON

OUTDOORS S N

OW

S A F E T Y

TOURISM

NORTH

FREEDOM

ADMIRE

NA T I ONA L P A R K S

S T A NDA R D OF L I V I N G

C UL T UR E

CYCLING

MOVIES

SPACIOUS

DYNAMIC

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%


Food




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


Good for business


What are the key associations with Canada? How does Canada perform by dimension?

What words do people use to describe Canada?


Canada - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings



5Canada

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

80%

70%60%









0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

33%

28%

23%

25%

30%


11%

44%

23%

27%

18%

28%

40%

23%

15%

13%

What brands do people associate with Canada?

What are the perceptions of ‘Made in Canada’? Where does Canada have most momentum?

What is Canada most expert at?

Transportation

Technology

Retail


Media

Luxury

Internet Services


Food & Beverage

Financial Services

Fashion

Energy


Automotive

Alcohol


Canada - Summary of perceptions2014-15 rankings



1 New York

2 London

3 Beijing

4 Washington

5 Moscow

6 Tokyo

7 Paris

8 Berlin

9 Shanghai

10 Dubai

11 Hong Kong

12 Singapore

13 New Delhi

14 São Paulo

15 Rio deJaneiro

16 Los Angeles

17 Rome

18 Toronto

19 Seoul

20 Mumbai

This ranking shows which cities will bethe most influential in three years’ timeaccording to our respondents.

Top 20 most influential cities2014-15 rankings





4. Key findings

1. Japan tops the ranking for the first time.

2. Awareness alone does not make a strongcountry brand.

3. Country brand strength is connectedto how many consumer brands youare known for.

4. Strong country brands are seen to

have expertise across multipleconsumer categories.

5. Country brands have mostmomentum in technology,innovation and sustainability.

6. An influential city is not enoughto make a strong country brand(but it helps).




Key findings Key findings

1. Japan tops the ranking for the first time.Japan tops the ranking for the first time this year and sets a new benchmarkfor country brand strength. It enjoys a top five ranking in the Heritage &Culture and Tourism dimensions and leads perception strength in BusinessPotential and the newly created ‘Made In’ dimension. More than 65% ofour respondents would consider visiting the country in the next five yearsand 90% would recommend it to family and friends. Nearly nine out of tenof those asked think Japan is a good country to do business with and 63%are prepared to buy its products and services compared to the ‘countries’average - 20%.

Whilst Japan has always enjoyed strong perceptions in the minds of

international travellers, these results secure its place as the strongest‘country brand’ by our measures. It is joined by other strong Asiancountry brands in the top 20 including South Korea and Singapore, eachof which show perception strength in the Business Potential dimension,but are given particular credit against the ‘advanced technology’ attribute.

Otherwise, the top twenty is dominated by European country brands,led by Switzerland and Germany but supported, as in previous years, byScandinavia. Whilst we are not able to make direct ranking comparisonsagainst previous studies, it is interesting to see that the addition of the‘Made In’ dimension has bolstered the relative performance of countrieslike Japan within the top 20 and introduced new middle eastern leaderslike UAE, but the members of that group remain fairly stable year on yeareven if rank positions change slightly.




2. Awareness alone does not make a strongcountry brand.

This year’s study reinforces the perennial paradox of awareness: beingwell known does not always correlate to strong positive associations.For example, Italy enjoys higher awareness levels than Japan in our sample(89% compared to 84%) but is seventeen places lower in the rankings.Similarly, Mexico enjoys 80% awareness but is in the bottom third of therankings. Conversely, Finland, Singapore, Iceland, the UAE and SouthKorea are all in the top twenty, but have awareness levels below 70%.So if being well known is not enough to drive positive perceptions,how should we understand the impact that global events can haveon country brand strength?

There is no doubt that major international sporting and cultural eventshave a positive impact on awareness of the host country. We saw thiswith South Africa and Canada in 2010, which enjoyed significant uplift inawareness following the FIFA World Cup™ and Vancouver 2010 WinterOlympic Games respectively in our study. Importantly, however, SouthAfrica’s ranking position remained the same whereas Canada improved.This is particularly important in 2014 in light of the Sochi Winter OlympicGames and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. Both countries enjoyeda positive increase in their levels of awareness from 2012, with Russiaincreasing from 63% to 80% and Brazil leaping 17 points to 83% awarenessyear on year. This must correlate to international coverage of their events,both positive and negative.

However, whilst we cannot make absolute ranking comparisons with 2012,Russia’s perception strength against equivalent dimensions has improved,whereas Brazil now has weaker perceptions in attributes like Standard ofliving, Safety and Value for money. And both countries continue to sufferfrom relatively weak perceptions in important areas like Quality Of Lifeand Value System. We can perhaps understand this in terms of improvedunderstanding of each country, in which familiarity creates a more realisticimage of a country, and tempers idealised traveller perceptions that mightartificially improve scores. But Canada offers a valuable case study of acountry that deliberately used a major event to shape perceptions against

its brand strategy and managed to connect improved awareness to thestory it was keen to tell – all of which ultimately correlated to improvedbrand strength against our dimensions.






3. Country brand strength is connected to howmany consumer brands you are known for.

There is a strong correlation between the ‘country brands’ in our studyand spontaneous awareness of consumer brands associated with them.On average, our respondents demonstrated awareness of a larger numberof brands across more categories for the 22 country brands, and thosebrands were often more international or global in reach. For example,Japan elicited associations with Toyota, Nintendo, Honda, Sony, Toshibaand Panasonic, reflecting perceptions of strong category expertise for thecountry in technology, consumer electronics and automotive. Conversely,countries with weaker perceptions in the ranking also tend to elicit fewerspontaneous consumer brand associations. Interestingly, flag carrying

airlines were very frequently mentioned in association with countries acrossthe study, and in the case of countries like Indonesia and Egypt, were theonly brands respondents were able to recall, underscoring the importantcontribution air travel brands make towards building country brandperceptions.

4. Strong country brands are seen to haveexpertise across multiple consumer categories.

We asked respondents to tell us how far each country has ‘expertise’across fifteen categories of products and services – from alcohol totransportation. Interestingly, the average score of ‘country brands’ is higherin all categories than the average score of ‘countries’ with the exceptionsof Retail and Food and Beverage where most countries in the rankingget some degree of credit. The United States leads, enjoying better thanaverage perceptions across fourteen categories and being strongestin Technology (72%).

And different countries are more strongly associated with different things.

For example, France is most strongly associated with Fashion (65%),Germany with Automotive (77%) and Japan with Technology (78% - thehighest score of a country in a category).

The ‘country brands’ also all benefit from stronger than average perceptions(23%) of creating ‘products of high quality’, with Germany and Japan leadingthe group. So it would seem clear that country brand strength stronglycorrelates to perceptions of expertise in the categories of goods andservices that global consumers purchase every day.

One anomaly in the research is the occasional gap between spontaneouscategory associations and brands among our respondents. For example,the word ‘beer’ was most frequently mentioned in descriptions of Germany,

but no respondent offered a German beer brand as an example of this.Which indicates that sometimes a country is associated with a productor service generically, without people connecting that place directly toconsumption choices.



FutureBrand ©


5. Country brands have most momentumin technology, innovation and sustainability.

Perceptions of momentum – how far a country is moving forwards and inwhat ways – are an interesting bellwether of future success. Conventionalwisdom might suggest the strongest country brands are those with greatestmomentum in political and economic influence or cultural significance.Interestingly, our study shows that most of the top ten country brandsare seen to have more momentum in technology and innovation orsustainability and environmental friendliness, or both. In other words, thefuture drivers of competition for countries relate more to the contributionthey are making to global progress and better management of the world’sresources, and ‘country brands’ are more keenly associated with these

forces. Conversely, those ranked as ‘countries’ in our study are most likelyto have the strongest momentum in cultural significance.

6. An influential city is not enough to make astrong country brand (but it helps).

Commentators sometimes assert that countries like the UK and the UnitedStates are synonymous with their most famous cities in people’s minds. Totest this, we asked respondents to tell us which cities in the world will bethe most influential in three years’ time – indicating their current strengthand potential. Their answers demonstrated some interesting differencesbetween country and city perception strength.

For example, our list of the twenty most influential cities does not includeany in Norway or Denmark – both top ten country brands in this year’sstudy. And seven of the most influential cities are not even in the top

twenty country brands, meaning that some cities rank higher in influencethan their respective country brand position. Rio and São Paolo stand outagainst Brazil’s overall ranking of 43rd, New Delhi is the 13th most influentialcity compared to a bottom quartile country performance for India, andBeijing is seen as the world’s third most influential city compared to China’soverall ranking performance at 28th. Overall then, it seems that havingan influential city does not guarantee country brand strength and brandstrength does not depend on city perception alone.

The UK is often strongly identified with London, not least in the afterglowof the London 2012 Olympic Games, but London far out-performs theUK overall. However, like London, the majority (13) of the most influentialcities are either the capitals or second major cities of top ten country

brands, which is a strong reminder that country brand strength and cityinfluence, whilst not the same thing, are often part of the same story inpeople’s perceptions.




5. What makes acountry brand?



75Countries includedin our survey

22Only 22 qualify as‘country brands’by our measures...


Not all countries are country brands

1. Not all countries are country brandsThe central hypothesis behind this year’s research was that not all countriesqualify as ‘brands’, and the findings are striking. First of all, of the 75countries included in our survey, only 22 qualify as ‘country brands’by our measures.

Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Norway, United States,Australia, Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Finland,Singapore, Iceland, Netherlands, France, Italy, United Arab Emiratesand South Korea.

By this, we mean that people have stronger than average perceptions ofthe country across our six dimensions relating to the balance of ‘status’and ‘experience’. In other words, they perceive it equally strong in aspectsrelating to Quality Of Life, Value System and Business Potential, as they dofor its Culture, History, Tourism and ‘Made In’ expertise.

Those countries with a bias in favour of Quality Of Life, Value System andBusiness Potential are classified as ‘status countries’, and they includeBelgium, Qatar and Bahrain. The brand development opportunity forthese countries lies in perceptions of Culture, Tourism and ‘Made In’.

Those countries with a bias in favour of Culture, History, Tourism and‘Made In’ are classified as ‘experience countries’ and include placestraditionally strongly associated with Tourism. The brand developmentopportunity for these countries lies in perceptions of Quality Of Life,

Value System and being Good for business.

The remaining ‘countries’ have weaker than average perceptions overallagainst both status and experience dimensions, although some arestronger than others. For example, Russia and Taiwan sit at the thresholdof country brands in terms of perception strength, whereas Nigeria,Ukraine and Bangladesh have the weakest perceptions overall.

What makes a country brand?



60%

Visited / Consider visiting in the next 5 years:

Country Brand vs Country Average

Recommended for Tourism & Business:


COUNTRY BRANDS

COUNTRIES

COUNTRY BRANDS

COUNTRIES

COUNTRY BRANDS

COUNTRIES

COUNTRY BRANDS

COUNTRIES

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

VISITED IN THE

LAST 5 YEARS

WOULD CONSIDER VISITING

IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

WOULD LIKE TO BUY PRODUCTS MADE IN THAT COUNTRY:

Would Like to Buy Products Made in that Country:


60%

Closeness & Confidence:

Country Brands vs Country Average

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

RELATIONSHIP:

FEELPASSIONATE

RELATIONSHIP:

FEELDISTANT

RELATIONSHIP:

HAVE VERY

HIGH CONFIDENCE

RELATIONSHIP:

LOW CONFIDENCE

100%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

RECOMMENDED TO

FAMILY & FRIENDS

GOOD TO DO

BUSINESS WITH

60%

70%

80%

90%

41%

20%

27%

18%

48%

14%

7%

7%

3%

15%

91%

73%

85%

62%

46%

39%

56%

49%


Country brands have acompetitive advantage

2. Country brands have a competitive advantage

Strong positive perceptions are always desirable, but we wanted to test if‘country brands’ actually have an advantage over their peers. Will peoplechoose them when it comes to visiting and investing?

It is perhaps unsurprising that when people rate a country as a brand they havemore confidence in and feel closer to it than the other countries in the study.

Most significantly, however, our research shows that people are also more

likely to visit, recommend and do business with a ‘country brand’. And twiceas many people say they would buy products from a country brand than theywould from a ‘country’. Which means that country brands have a tangiblecompetitive advantage over other countries in the areas that are most likelyto drive future success – from visiting for a holiday to business investmentor daily consumption of products and services ‘made’ there.


FutureBrand ©



60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

10%0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Nigeria Ukraine

BangladeshPakistan

Ghana

Iran

Zimbabwe

Cambodia

Indonesia

Bulgaria Kenya

Romania

Vietnam

LebanonSolvakia

Malaysia

Estonia

Uruguay

Columbia

MexicoEgypt

Greece

PeruMorocco

IndiaTurkeySri Lanka

BrazilJordan Thailand

SpainPortugal

Puerto Rico

Costa RicaSouth Africa

Fiji

Malta

RussiaTaiwan

Panama

Czech Republic

ArgentinaJamaica

ChileCroatiaHungary

Poland

Saudi Arabia

Ireland

Qatar South Korea

Belgium

United Arab Emirites

France

United KingdomIceland

New Zealand

Finland

Denmark

Australia

SingaporeNe the rl ands Aus tr ia

United States

Norway

Germany Japan

Switzerland

CanadaSweden

STATUS COUNTRIES

EXPERIENCE COUNTRIES

COUNTRY BRANDS

COUNTRIES

ItalyIsrael

Oman

Bahrain

China

Which countries are‘country brands’?

A v e r a g e p u r p o s e s c

o r e

Average Experience Score






Rankings by dimensionWhat makes a country brand?



6. Regional rankings




In addition to overall perception rankings, we are able to show the relative

regional performance of each country, including the regional leader andtheir strengths against the average. For example, we can compare Japan’sscores against the average for Asia-Pacific.

Each regional summary presents the country ranking, how many ‘countrybrands’ each region has, the strengths and weaknesses of the region acrossthe dimensions and attributes, and a visual comparison (radar map) of theleading country attribute scores with the regional average – e.g. against‘value for money’ or ‘food’. The strongest perceptions by attribute in eachcase are highlighted using a coloured circle. We also show the awarenesslevels for the top and bottom ranked country by region.

Regional rankings

How to read the data




North Americaand Caribbean

Region’s keystrengths

Region’s keyweaknesses

CountryBrands

Natural beauty


Visit for holiday

Good Infrastructure

Advanced technology

Food

Heritage, art & culture

Historical points of interest

Value for money2

OverallRanking

5Canada

7United States

51Jamaica

Political freedom

Environmentalfriendliness

Canada

Food




Value for money

Natural beauty

Heritage, art and culture


Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security

Would like to live in

/study there

Good for business

Advanced technology

Good infrastructure

80%

90%

100%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

85%

65%

Awareness

Awareness


North America and the Caribbean Regional rankings

i i



OverallRanking

33Puerto Rico

37Costa Rica

41

42

43

Panama

Argentina

Brazil

46Chile

49Peru

52Uruguay

55Mexico

63Colombia

Latin America

80%

90%

100%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Political freedom


Puerto Rico

Food




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


/study there

Good for business

Advanced technology

Good infrastructure

60%

66% Awareness

AwarenessRegion’s keystrengths


CountryBrands

Natural beauty


Visit for holiday


Political freedom

Health & education

Standard of living

Advanced technology

Good infrastructureN/A

Latin America Regional rankings


R i l ki



OverallRanking

2Switzerland

3Germany

4

6

9

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

10Austria

12United Kingdom

13Finland

15Iceland

16Netherlands

23Spain

27Portugal

29Czech

Republic

30Greece

31Russia

35Malta

44Croatia

45Poland

47

53

56

Estonia

Turkey

Hungary

59Slovakia

62Romania

67Bulgaria

74Ukraine

17France

18Italy

21

22

Ireland

Belgium

Switzerland

80%

90%

100%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Political freedom


EuropeFood




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


/study there

Good for business

Advanced technology

Good infrastructure

81%

65% Awareness



CountryBrands

Visit for holiday


Natural beauty


Heritage, art & culture

Value for money

Food

Good for business

Advanced technology13

Europe Regional rankings

R i l ki



OverallRanking

1Japan

8Australia

11

14

20

New Zealand

Singapore

South Korea

25Fiji

28China

36Taiwan

38Thailand

48Malaysia

50India

60Sri Lanka

64 Vietnam

66Indonesia

68Cambodia

72Bangladesh

73Pakistan

Asia-Pacific

80%

90%

100%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Political freedom


Japan

Food




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


/study there

Good for business

Advanced technology

Good infrastructure

84%

61%

38

48

Awareness

Awareness

Region’s keystrengths


CountryBrands

Visit for holiday


Natural beauty


Political freedom

Good for business

Tolerance

Value for money

Resort & lodging5


Asia-Pacific Regional rankings

R i l ki



OverallRanking

19United ArabEmirates

24Quatar

26

32

34

Israel

Bahrain

Oman

39Saudi Arabia

54Egypt

57Morocco

58Jordan

61Lebanon

Middle East& North Africa

Political freedom


United Arab Emirates

Food




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


/study there

Advanced technology

Good infrastructure

80%

90%

100%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Good for business

71Iran

66%

63% Awareness



CountryBrands

Visit for holiday

Range of attractionsResort & lodging

Historical points of interestHeritage, art & culture

Political freedomWould like to li ve/study there

Value for money2


Middle East and North Africa Regional rankings

Regional rankings



OverallRanking

40South Africa

65Kenya

69

70

75

Zimbabwe

Ghana

Nigeria

AfricaPolitical freedom


South Africa

Food




Value for money

Natural beauty



Tolerance


Standard of living

Safety and security


/study there

Advanced technology

Good infrastructure

Good for business

80%

90%

100%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

72%

58% Awareness



CountryBrands

Visit for holiday

Natural beauty

Advanced technology

Good infrastructure

Political freedom

Tolerance

Safety & security

Health & education

Good for businessN/A


Africa Regional rankings

7 F f



7. Future focus


Future focus



1

2

3

4

5

China

United Arab

Emirates

South

Korea

Israel

Qatar

Ones to watch Future focus

Future focusFuture focus



China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Israel and Qatar are the

countries our respondents felt were most likely to be ‘moving forwards’in three years’ time. These countries have strong perceptions around‘Business Potential’ and are seen to have momentum in innovation as wellas expertise in energy and technology – all of which correlate to countrybrand strength. And more than 50% of our respondents indicate they wouldconsider visiting these countries in the next five years – with China enjoyingthe highest consideration. Of the ‘ones to watch’, South Korea enjoys thehighest ‘Made In’ ranking (#8 overall), perhaps not a surprise when weconsider the significant growth of Samsung and other South Koreanbrands and organizations over the last 10 years. Samsung enjoys a top10 position in the FutureBrand Index study and is one of the largestcompanies in the world by market capitalization.

Future focus Future focus

Ones to watch


Future focus




Dominant themes Future focus

This year’s research has surfaced three dominant themes that we believe

will have an influence on the future of countries as brands:

Extremism

From the increased electoral significance of populist extremist parties likethe National Front and the Austrian Freedom Party in Europe to Islamicfundamentalism and the rise of ISIS and Boko Haram in the Middle East andAfrica, there is a growing preoccupation with extremism and polarizationaround economic, social and religious issues around the world. In thisclimate of uncertainty and social anxiety, we would expect to see anequivalent increase in freedom, stability and security as drivers of countrybrand strength. Countries that enjoy the strongest perceptions in thedimension of Political freedom like Canada #1, Sweden #2 and Denmark

#3, and Tolerance, Safety and security (Switzerland #1) are importantbenchmarks for country brand managers seeking to encourage visitorconfidence.

Migration

The number of people living abroad around the world is increasingevery year according to the UN (232 million in 2013 compared to 154million in 1990). This rise correlates to factors like growing global middleclass discretionary income and low cost travel and accommodation,but also country and regional cooperation around trade and migrationacross borders, driven by the search for the best work and educationopportunities, or flight from economic or social difficulty. These migrants

are naturally drawn to countries they perceive to be more open andtolerant, whose education and welfare systems are the most liberal andthat enjoy the best infrastructure. With that in mind, the brand buildingactivities of countries that enjoy the strongest perceptions in Infrastructure(Japan #1, Germany #2 and Switzerland #3), being Good for business(USA #1, Germany #2 and Japan #3) and Health and education(Switzerland #1, Sweden #2 and Germany #3) offer a guide to thelevers countries can pull to capitalize on this trend.

Conscious consumptionWe are increasingly preoccupied with the impact our consumption hason the world around us and understand that whilst resources might comefrom specific countries – like food or energy or raw materials – theiruse effects the entire planet, and that some countries and regions havebetter access to those resources than others. In that context, companiesare making an increased effort to improve transparency around theirglobal supply chains, and consumers are taking a more active interest inthe provenance and manufacturing processes behind the products andservices they consume. This is a major factor in the increasing role ofcountry of origin in consumption decisions as consumers and organizationsseek to reconcile our perceptions of expertise, quality and provenance withthe actual ownership and manufacturing base of the things we consume.

In addition to reinforcing strength of perception around category expertisein this context, countries will do well to build stronger simultaneousassociations in Environmental friendliness (Switzerland #1, Norway #2and New Zealand #3) Standard of living (Switzerland #1, Norway #2 andGermany #3) and making High quality products (Germany #1, Japan #2and Switzerland #3) in a world where people still want a good quality oflife without it costing the earth.

Future focus




Country brand drivers Future focus

We already know from our ‘Made In’ research that ‘Country of Origin’ is an

increasingly important driver of consumer choice when it comes to goodsand services. The evidence from this report suggests that the reverse is alsotrue – a reputation for high quality products is a main driver of a ‘countrybrand’. For example, 70% of our respondents believe this about Germany –a top three country brand in this year’s rankings – compared to an averageof 14% for those classified as ‘countries’. The two other main drivers are adesire to visit or study in a country and perceptions of good infrastructure.These three factors make the most difference between a country and acountry brand, and demonstrate the power of consumer desire in countrybrand strength. It is perhaps no coincidence that the top 100 ranking ofWorld Universities is dominated by most of our ‘country brands’ (source:topuniversities.com). With that in mind, we would expect countries thatprioritize developing and promoting high quality products, making it easy

and attractive for visitors to study and work and investing in their coreinfrastructure – from communications to energy and transport links –to have a brand strength advantage over their peers in the next five years.

8 A di



OverallRanking

2Switzerland

3Germany

4

5

6

Sweden

Canada

Norway

7United

States

8

9

Finland

10Austria

11

Netherlands 16

17

Portugal

18

19

Greece

20

Russia

21

22

Croatia

23

Poland

24

25

26

Estonia

Hungary

27

28

29

30

12

13

14

15

1Japan

Australia

New Zealand

Singapore

South Korea

Fiji

China

Taiwan

Thailand

Malaysia

India

Sri Lanka

Vietnam

Indonesia

Cambodia

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Puerto Rico

Panama

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Mexico

Colombia

United ArabEmirates

Quatar

Israel

Bahrain

Oman

Saudi Arabia Egypt

Morocco

Jordan

Lebanon

Iran

Kenya

Zimbabwe

Ghana

Nigeria

OverallRanking

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

United

Kingdom

39

40

41

46

Spain

47

48

Czech

Republic

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

Turkey

57

Slovakia

58

Romania

59

Bulgaria

60

Ukraine

42

43

Italy

44

45

31

OverallRanking

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

France

Ireland

Belgium

61

Jamaica

Denmark

Iceland

Malta

Costa Rica

South Africa

72

73

74

75

Peru

Uruguay


Overall rankingpp

Appendix




Appendix

We have made some improvements to the methodology in this year’s

research to enrich our understanding and definition of country brands.As a result, whilst there are many areas of continuity, this year’s study doesnot include direct like-for-like ranking comparisons with previous years.The major changes are as follows:

1. The addition of a new ‘Made In’ dimension

We have introduced a new dimension to this year’s report assessingstrength of perception around ‘Made in’ for each country. This is madeup of four attributes:

1. ‘Makes products that are authentic’2. ‘Makes products of high quality’

3. ‘Creates unique products’4. ‘Would like to buy products made in that country’

2. Rationalization of existing dimensionsand attributes

This year, we have slightly adapted the existing dimensions and attributegroupings for improved clarity and efficiency. Readers of previous reportsand rankings should check for points of continuity and where things havechanged to make their own comparisons:

Value System:

• Attributes included: Political system, Environmental friendlinessand Tolerance

• Attributes removed: Stable legal environment and Freedom of speech

Quality Of Life:

• Attributes included: Health & education (now merged), Standardof living, Safety & security and Would like to live/study there

• Attributes removed: Job opportunity

Business Potential (formerly ‘Good for business’):

•Attributes included: Good for business, Advanced technology,Good infrastructure

•Attributes removed: Investment climate, Regulatory environment,Skilled workforce

Heritage & Culture:

•Attributes included: Historical points of interest, Art & culture andNatural beauty

•Attributes removed: Authenticity

Tourism:

•Attributes included: Health & education (now merged), Standardof living, Safety & security and Would like to live/study there

•Attributes removed: Job opportunity

3. The sample of countries assessedhas changed

The total number of countries included in the 2014-15 ranking is75 compared to 118 in 2012-13. We rationalized the countriesincluded based on a series of criteria, including perception strengthin previous studies, in order to accommodate more in-depthanalysis of each country.

pp



Thank you!

For further informationplease contact:

Damien Moore-EvansGlobal Marketing Manager DD. +44 (0)20 7067 0595M. +44 (0)7920 590345 Follow: @FutureBrand

[email protected]

2 Waterhouse Square140 HolbornLondon EC1N 2AE

fblog.futurebrand.comwww.futurebrand.com

country brand index 2014

Documents