The ANNOTICO Report

Sweden may have come top, but a global survey shows Brits are first for
intelligence, good manners and honesty

The Observer, UK
Gaby Hinsliff, political editor
Sunday June 5, 2005

Americans are ignorant, Russians violent, Italians fun - and Brits are
intelligent, polite, trustworthy and honest, if a bit boring.

Or so says a global survey of how 'national brands' - the images of 10
leading countries, as perceived by each other's people - are formed.
Perhaps to the surprise of its diffident inhabitants, Britain comes a
triumphant second.

Italy's Renaissance treasures may trump it for tourism, the 'Made in
Britain' tag may be less appealing than rival American goods and the Swedes
may come out top overall - but Britain's people emerge as its greatest
asset in foreign eyes. They are the number one choice for multinational
employers seeking staff, rated more hospitable than the famously exuberant
Turks, while a thriving pop industry sees them beating American for
cultural exports, despite the dominance of Hollywood films and US chart
stars.

How countries are seen abroad may not always be rational, but international
branding expert Simon Anholt says it is the key to understanding everything
from trade flows and high politics to who wins the Eurovision song contest.

'I think of a quote from [American banker] JP Morgan, who said there are
two reasons why a man buys things: a good reason, and the real reason,'
said Anholt. 'Every survey I've ever seen about national competitiveness
and competence is about the good reasons. The real reasons are the
emotional ones: even if you are a professional investor, the heart is still
as important as the mind.'

Consumers who holiday in France, adore German cars, prefer Italian opera or
consider the Japanese ambitious are actually responding to branding in the
same way they react to Nike or Nestlé, he argues.

His National Brands Index uses five million consumers to score countries on
six points, ranging from tourism and governance to its people, culture,
investment and exports.

Sweden is 'universally admired' for its peaceful and just society and
stable government, even though most respondents had no idea who was in
power there. It is considered a romantic holiday destination, rated for
attractions such as the Ice Hotel, and its people are thought to be
hospitable.

The nation of Volvos and crispbread might not have the most exciting image,
but it is hard to criticise. Anholt argues: 'Basically, Sweden is the
country that nobody minds.'

Britain scores highly for people, for tourism and on whether respondents
would actively seek its cultural exports. Britons score 'exceptionally
well' on being polite, educated, intelligent, honest and trustworthy - but
they are also more likely than any other nationality to be judged boring.

Unexpectedly, it also scores highly for governance and guaranteeing
international peace, suggesting Brand Britain was not overly damaged by its
association with George Bush over Iraq, Anholt said. 'The perception here
is that we don't have a leg to stand on in Iraq, but the general feeling
[abroad] seems to be that we are not Bush's poodle but Bush's leash. Things
do look different from a distance.'

Bottom of the list is Turkey - thanks to what Anholt says are rather
ill-deserved associations with Islamic extremism plus poor human rights -
while Russia, marked down as violent, unstable and selling little that is
desirable bar guns and oil, is second from bottom.

Not all the ratings are logical: South Korea is viewed as sinister and
unstable by many American respondents, but Anholt says they might be
confusing it with North Korea.

Brand America however has its own problems: 10 per cent of the world
considers the US government 'dangerous', rising to a quarter of Britons and
Germans, due largely to Iraq.

The report argues that emotional prejudices both drive and are driven by
world politics. Decisions from the awarding of the Olympic bid to
negotiations over accession to the EU are influenced by branding, Anholt
argues.

'Accession is like a big corporate brand such as Unilever deciding whether
to buy a company: the question is will this new one enhance the corporate
portfolio, or not? That's basically one of the questions the EU asks about
Turkey,' he said. 'Olympic bids and the Eurovision song contest are also
good examples of where the decisions are often really softer than you would
imagine. In the end it's got to make good TV and it's got to feel right.'

Which might not augur well for New York's Olympic bid. Americans were twice
as likely to be considered rude as any other nationality, while 15 per cent
of Britons think them ignorant - perhaps not inappropriately, given that 4
per cent of Americans believe that Trafalgar Square is in China.

The US is still rated highest for goods and services, but the study says
its brand has been badly tarnished by the 'deep unpopularity of its foreign
policy'. If that continues, acceptance of American goods, cultural exports
and tourism may be hit, it concludes.

Anholt plans to repeat the index regularly to track the progress of
nations, although competition will be stiffer next time. He plans to
include France and Spain, the world's two top holiday destinations, as well
as Australia among other new entrants.

Downing Street welcomed the recognition for Britain in the poll, conducted
jointly with internet research company GMI, adding: 'We have always said
the British people are this country's greatest asset and it's good to see
this being recognised by the rest of the world.'

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
uk_news/story/0,6903,1499599,00.html