World Loves Canada: Voted Second Best Nation
Canada Ranks #2, after Australia, in global ranking of country brands: beats out U.S., UK and other western nations
Seattle – August 1, 2005 - The Anholt-GMI Nation Brand Index (NBI), the only analytical ranking of the world’s nation brands, found that Canada is the second most favorite country in the world. This second quarterly NBI surveyed 10,000 people in 10 countries on 25 nations in six different areas, including investment, tourism, people and culture. Canada, a new country in the poll, overtook second place from the UK, which ranked number two in the first NBI in May 2005.
In most areas - best places to work and live, expand business, people, and governance – Canada came in right after Australia, showing that the country’s positive reputation continues to remain strong.
Unlike Canada’s neighbor and close ally the United States, which ranks 11th; globally, the government is seen as neutral, with the majority of those polled describing the government as trust-worthy. Adding to this perception, is the fact that Canada ranks number two, after Switzerland, on overall governance, as well as on how much people around the world trust the country’s government to make responsible decisions and uphold international peace and security. But, it might appear that a large part of the world’s perception of Canada can be attributed to how they feel about Canadians: the people came in second place in the hospitable category, right after Australians.
"The NBI is designed to measure the real underlying brand power of each country, something that takes generations to build and change," said Simon Anholt, co-author of the NBI and leading nation brand expert. "With a stable, liberal and democratic government and a healthcare system envied by its neighbors –justified or not – Canada is clearly a strong brand that goes beyond the borders of its hemisphere."
Canada’s Global Rankings in Six Areas
1. Investment & Immigration Overall 2
-- Live & Work 2
-- Expand Business 3
2. Tourism 3
3. People 2
-- Hiring 3
4. Cultural & Heritage Overall 18
-- Popular Culture 14
-- Cultural Heritage 20
5. Governance 2
6. Exports
-- Brands/Products 11
Although Canada ranked high in certain areas, it didn’t fair so well in culture, coming in towards the bottom five at 20th place, after Switzerland, Mexico, New Zealand, and Germany. Furthermore, with respondents ranking it 14th when asked if they would be interested in cultural activity (e.g. buying a record, going to a show) coming out of Canada, this is not a strong area for the country. Despite popular icons and activities, such as Sarah McLachlan, Keanu Reeves, Neil Young, ice hockey and a thriving film industry – these factors haven’t impacted how the world sees Canada in either heritage or pop culture areas.
Anholt adds: "Canada’s low ranking in culture is somewhat troubling, considering this is a real indication of how people feel about a country. On the flip side, it seems that Canadians have made quite the positive impression. This could be attributed to Canadians who have traveled the world, worked abroad, or from foreigners visiting the country. These factors obviously have had an enormous impact, but Canada could work harder on improving its product brand image."
An area where Canada ranked relatively low was in product branding, coming in 11th place, after South Korea, Sweden, The Netherlands and the U.S. One of the reasons may be due to the fact that when most respondents think of Canadian products, they chose the non-consumer category - heavy industry – and product brands in this category are generally not well-known (e.g. Alcan, Inc., Zenon Environmental).
"The NBI is just one example of how technology can help poll a broad base of the world’s population to get an accurate reading on something as important as global opinion of nation brands," said Mitch Eggers, Ph.D, vice president of global research operations for GMI. "As this becomes one of the world’s largest regular polls, gauging consumer attitudes in incredible detail and quality, the more valuable it will become as a tool to help governments and organizations develop a plan of action to address these strongly held perceptions."
Complete ranking of all 25 nation brands:
1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Switzerland
4. UK
5. Sweden
6. Italy
7. Germany
8. Netherlands
9. France
10. New Zealand
11. United States
12. Spain
13. Ireland
14. Japan
15. Brazil
16. Mexico
17. Egypt
18. India
19. Poland
20. South Korea
21. China
22. South Africa
23. Czech Republic
24. Russia
25. Turkey
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors:
For more information, go to:
http://www.nationbrandindex.com/
http://www.gmi-mr.com/gmipoll/nbi.phtml
About the Anholt-GMI Nation Brands Index
Each quarter GMI polls 18,000 consumers from its worldwide five million-strong market research panel on their perceptions of the cultural, political, commercial and human assets, investment potential and tourist appeal of several countries. The gathered data is designed to get a clear measurement of national brand power and is a unique barometer of global opinion.
Consumers in the following countries were polled about their opinion on these nation brands: USA, UK, India, Germany, South Korea, Canada, France, Japan, Denmark and China Representative samples of 1,000 consumers (3% margin of error) were collected in each country for a total of 10,000 consumers surveyed. Consumers were not asked questions about their own country.
About GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.)
GMI (Global Market Insite) is the only company that provides a full spectrum of integrated solutions for global market research, including Net-MR advanced software, managed global panels, and 24/7 service bureau capabilities. GMI’s double opt-in managed panels are the world’s largest, with more than 200 participating countries and five million respondents. Its customers include the world’s largest market research companies and Fortune 500 companies.
Founded in 1999, GMI has operations on five continents.
More information is available at www.gmi-mr.com.
About Simon Anholt
Anholt developed the concept of the Nation Brands Index in 2005 and the first Index was published in April 2005. He is recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities on the branding of countries, regions and cities.
Anholt advises a number of national governments and UN agencies on brand strategy, public diplomacy, cultural relations, investment and export promotion, tourism and economic development. He is the editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, and the author of Brand New Justice, Brand America and several other books.
Download the Q2 NBI Report now.
NBI Q2 Australia Press Release
NBI Q2 French Press Release
NBI Q2 Germany Press Release
NBI Q2 UK Press Release
NBI Q2 USA Press Release
http://www.gmi-mr.com/gmipoll/nbi_q2-canadian-press-release.phtml
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/business_telegraph/story.jsp?story=656019
Canada Ranks #2, after Australia, in global ranking of country brands: beats out U.S., UK and other western nations
Seattle – August 1, 2005 - The Anholt-GMI Nation Brand Index (NBI), the only analytical ranking of the world’s nation brands, found that Canada is the second most favorite country in the world. This second quarterly NBI surveyed 10,000 people in 10 countries on 25 nations in six different areas, including investment, tourism, people and culture. Canada, a new country in the poll, overtook second place from the UK, which ranked number two in the first NBI in May 2005.
In most areas - best places to work and live, expand business, people, and governance – Canada came in right after Australia, showing that the country’s positive reputation continues to remain strong.
Unlike Canada’s neighbor and close ally the United States, which ranks 11th; globally, the government is seen as neutral, with the majority of those polled describing the government as trust-worthy. Adding to this perception, is the fact that Canada ranks number two, after Switzerland, on overall governance, as well as on how much people around the world trust the country’s government to make responsible decisions and uphold international peace and security. But, it might appear that a large part of the world’s perception of Canada can be attributed to how they feel about Canadians: the people came in second place in the hospitable category, right after Australians.
"The NBI is designed to measure the real underlying brand power of each country, something that takes generations to build and change," said Simon Anholt, co-author of the NBI and leading nation brand expert. "With a stable, liberal and democratic government and a healthcare system envied by its neighbors –justified or not – Canada is clearly a strong brand that goes beyond the borders of its hemisphere."
Canada’s Global Rankings in Six Areas
1. Investment & Immigration Overall 2
-- Live & Work 2
-- Expand Business 3
2. Tourism 3
3. People 2
-- Hiring 3
4. Cultural & Heritage Overall 18
-- Popular Culture 14
-- Cultural Heritage 20
5. Governance 2
6. Exports
-- Brands/Products 11
Although Canada ranked high in certain areas, it didn’t fair so well in culture, coming in towards the bottom five at 20th place, after Switzerland, Mexico, New Zealand, and Germany. Furthermore, with respondents ranking it 14th when asked if they would be interested in cultural activity (e.g. buying a record, going to a show) coming out of Canada, this is not a strong area for the country. Despite popular icons and activities, such as Sarah McLachlan, Keanu Reeves, Neil Young, ice hockey and a thriving film industry – these factors haven’t impacted how the world sees Canada in either heritage or pop culture areas.
Anholt adds: "Canada’s low ranking in culture is somewhat troubling, considering this is a real indication of how people feel about a country. On the flip side, it seems that Canadians have made quite the positive impression. This could be attributed to Canadians who have traveled the world, worked abroad, or from foreigners visiting the country. These factors obviously have had an enormous impact, but Canada could work harder on improving its product brand image."
An area where Canada ranked relatively low was in product branding, coming in 11th place, after South Korea, Sweden, The Netherlands and the U.S. One of the reasons may be due to the fact that when most respondents think of Canadian products, they chose the non-consumer category - heavy industry – and product brands in this category are generally not well-known (e.g. Alcan, Inc., Zenon Environmental).
"The NBI is just one example of how technology can help poll a broad base of the world’s population to get an accurate reading on something as important as global opinion of nation brands," said Mitch Eggers, Ph.D, vice president of global research operations for GMI. "As this becomes one of the world’s largest regular polls, gauging consumer attitudes in incredible detail and quality, the more valuable it will become as a tool to help governments and organizations develop a plan of action to address these strongly held perceptions."
Complete ranking of all 25 nation brands:
1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Switzerland
4. UK
5. Sweden
6. Italy
7. Germany
8. Netherlands
9. France
10. New Zealand
11. United States
12. Spain
13. Ireland
14. Japan
15. Brazil
16. Mexico
17. Egypt
18. India
19. Poland
20. South Korea
21. China
22. South Africa
23. Czech Republic
24. Russia
25. Turkey
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors:
For more information, go to:
http://www.nationbrandindex.com/
http://www.gmi-mr.com/gmipoll/nbi.phtml
About the Anholt-GMI Nation Brands Index
Each quarter GMI polls 18,000 consumers from its worldwide five million-strong market research panel on their perceptions of the cultural, political, commercial and human assets, investment potential and tourist appeal of several countries. The gathered data is designed to get a clear measurement of national brand power and is a unique barometer of global opinion.
Consumers in the following countries were polled about their opinion on these nation brands: USA, UK, India, Germany, South Korea, Canada, France, Japan, Denmark and China Representative samples of 1,000 consumers (3% margin of error) were collected in each country for a total of 10,000 consumers surveyed. Consumers were not asked questions about their own country.
About GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.)
GMI (Global Market Insite) is the only company that provides a full spectrum of integrated solutions for global market research, including Net-MR advanced software, managed global panels, and 24/7 service bureau capabilities. GMI’s double opt-in managed panels are the world’s largest, with more than 200 participating countries and five million respondents. Its customers include the world’s largest market research companies and Fortune 500 companies.
Founded in 1999, GMI has operations on five continents.
More information is available at www.gmi-mr.com.
About Simon Anholt
Anholt developed the concept of the Nation Brands Index in 2005 and the first Index was published in April 2005. He is recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities on the branding of countries, regions and cities.
Anholt advises a number of national governments and UN agencies on brand strategy, public diplomacy, cultural relations, investment and export promotion, tourism and economic development. He is the editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, and the author of Brand New Justice, Brand America and several other books.
Download the Q2 NBI Report now.
NBI Q2 Australia Press Release
NBI Q2 French Press Release
NBI Q2 Germany Press Release
NBI Q2 UK Press Release
NBI Q2 USA Press Release
http://www.gmi-mr.com/gmipoll/nbi_q2-canadian-press-release.phtml
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/business_telegraph/story.jsp?story=656019
