Expanding Nation Branding to City Branding

Simon Anholt's Nation Branding Index has been tracking global attitudes of 50 countries with the goal to help governments, organizations and businesses understand, evaluate and ultimately build strong country images.

This year, the study gets a new feature. For the first time, the research will also evaluate the image of 50 key cities in 20 countries.

"By partnering with GfK, we are able to provide deeper analysis and offer more comprehensive city-to-city comparisons," says Simon Anholt. "The new study not only creates an opportunity to better understand a city's brand, but also provides a picture of where it stands against other key global destinations." (…)

Selected based on objective measures such as infrastructure, climate and population size as well as political, economic and cultural strengths, the cities included are listed below:

• Western Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Geneva, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, The Hague, Vienna
• Central/Eastern Europe: Budapest, Istanbul, Moscow, Prague, Warsaw
• Asia Pacific: Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo
• North America: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver,
• Latin America: Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro
• Middle East/Africa: Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Johannesburg
  

Each city is rated by approximately 6,000 respondents worldwide across the following six dimensions:

• Presence: Knowledge of the city, perception of its global contribution to science, culture and governance, along with city "brand signatures".
• Place: The overall cleanliness of the environment, its climate and other aesthetic qualities.
• Pre-requisite: Affordable accommodations and quality standards of public amenities.
• People: General nature of the population, how they make visitors feel (i.e. safe, welcome, etc.), work ethic and cultural diversity and sophistication.
• Pulse: Ability to attract visitors and residents, availability of interesting events, food, fashion, arts, culture, sports, shopping and nightlife.
• Potential: Perception of the city as a good place to do business, go to school and/or work.

I think it is interesting to look at the differences between the country’s image and the respective city. As we touched upon in class discussion, sometimes the image of a city or a State within the country takes on a completely different direction as the overall country image. However, with regards to nation branding, I am skeptical on how the image of a single city can impact the image of a whole country. After all, a city is always embedded in the nation’s context.

For more information see Press Release: "GfK Roper and Anholt Partner to Offer More In-Depth City Brands Index(SM)"

Playing Nation Branding

The Cinderella Castle in Bavaria, Germany. Is this all that brands Germany? photo by: Storem

In the scope of our nation branding discussion in class, we learned that images of nations don’t change from one day to another. On the contrary, the images are very persistent. Over the last century there are only two countries that have experienced a tremendous change in image: Japan and Germany.

One way to at least influence the depicted image a bit and to learn about a country such as Germany are games. Yes, the good old board games. The German game company Ravensburger is known for its puzzles and parlor games for all age groups. One of the famous games is “Germany Pairs,” a card game in which 104 cards are laid face down and two cards are flipped face up over with the goal to turn over pairs of matching cards. The “Germany Pairs” shows 52 different pictures and photos of what is typically and descriptive for Germany.

The first version of the game was launched in 1985, a second updated version was introduced in 1992 and in 2006 Ravenburger introduced the latest one. The 52 images used for the game have changed a lot over the years, partly because of historical events such as the end of the Berlin Wall, partly because of a changed perceived image of Germany.

Only six images have made it through all three versions of the game and therefore are the most persistent images others have about Germany. Among these images are a photo of a German shepherd, the Cinderella Castle and a freshly tapped bear. New photos in the latest version include a photo of the ICE 3, a German high-speed train, and a photo of Dornfelder grapes, a vine typically grown in Germany.

From a nation branding perspective I would argue that there has definitely been effort put into reshaping the perceived image of Germany and reframing the country as a technological-savvy and wine growing country. I think it is interesting that even games targeted towards kids all over the world can influence the way people think about a country.

For more infos: http://einestages.spiegel.de/external/ShowTopicAlbumBackground/a3926/l0/l0/F.html#featuredEntry (in German)