Australia Ranked As World's Ninth Best Brand 1

Australia ranked as world's ninth best brand
- The United States retains the number one position
- Uncertain economic climate leads to shift in rankings for southern European
nations
- Sizable gains seen among BRIC nations, particularly Brazil and China
The United States continues to lead the world in global image and Australia has retained
its ninth position, according to GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications, a
division of GfK Custom Research North America and Simon Anholt, the leading policy
advisor.
Results from the 2010 Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM (NBI), which measures
the global image of 50 countries, shows the United States holding the top spot for the
second year in a row as the country with the best overall brand. Among the top 10
nations, Southern Europe has seen several changes, with Spain no longer part of the
top 10, and Italy overtaken by Canada. France is now ranked lower than Germany.
"After last year, which saw the United States make such a significant leap in its standing
to the top nation spurred by the election of President Obama, the reputation landscape
of the countries comprising the top 20 have remained relatively stable," said Simon
Anholt, NBI founder and an independent advisor to over a dozen national governments
around the world.
"However, the uncertain global economic climate, combined with financial bailouts,
natural disasters and civil unrests have created some interesting shifts, especially
among Southern European nations."
The 2010 NBISM survey was conducted from July 7, 2010 to August 4, 2010 in 20 major
developed and developing countries that play important and diverse roles in international
relations, trade, and the flow of business, cultural, and tourism activities. The survey
Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM
Overall brand ranking (Top 10 of 50 nations)
2010 2009
1 United States United States
2 Germany France
3 France Germany
4 United Kingdom United Kingdom
5 Japan Japan
6 Canada Italy
7 Italy Canada
8 Switzerland Switzerland
9 Australia Australia
10 Sweden Spain, Sweden (tie)
MEDIA RELEASE
14 October 2010
results are based on respondents' ratings of 50 nations on questions in six categories:
Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism and Immigration/Investment. The NBI
ranking is based on the average of these six scores.
"While top ranked nations remain to be developed countries, Brazil and China, boasting
both economic power and increasing geopolitical clout, are the two countries that have
shown some of the greatest NBISM score gains between 2009 and 2010," adds Xiaoyan
Zhao, senior vice president and director of the NBI study at GfK Roper Public Affairs &
Corporate Communications.
"The steady gains of developing economies suggest that the reputation gaps between
the West and the East will continue to narrow. For example, although Japan still holds
the top position on Nation Brands Exports dimension, China the newly crowned
second largest exporter in the world has moved from 21st in 2008 to 14th in 2010 on
this dimension.
Mr Anholt points out the importance of understanding not only the overall reputation
standing of nations, but also individual attributes: "While the United States tops the
overall NBI, it ranks much lower on a few individual questions such as 'behaves
responsibly in world peace and security' (21st) and 'behaves responsibly in protecting
the environment' (26th)."
For more information on the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM (NBI) and Anholt-
GfK Roper City Brands IndexSM (CBI), please visit www.gfkamerica.com and/or
www.simonanholt.com.
About The Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM
Conducted annually, the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM measures the image
of 50 nations. Each year, approximately 20,000 adults ages 18 and up are interviewed
online in 20 core panel countries, both developed and developing all across the globe.
About GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications
GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications is a division of GfK Custom
Research North America. The group specialises in customised public affairs and public
opinion polling, media and corporate communications research, and corporate reputation
measurement in the U.S. and globally. In addition to delivering a broad range of
customised research studies, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications
draws from GfK's syndicated consumer tracking services, GfK Roper Reports US and
GfK Roper Reports Worldwide, which monitor consumer values, beliefs, attitudes and
behaviours in the U.S. and more than 25 other countries. The division also serves as the
official polling partner of the Associated Press conducting the AP-GfK Poll (www.apgfkpoll.
com).
About GfK Custom Research North America
Headquartered in New York, GfK Custom Research North America is part of the GfK
Group. The GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers,
services companies and the media need to make market decisions. It delivers a
MEDIA RELEASE
14 October 2010
comprehensive range of information and consultancy services in three business
sectors Custom Research, Retail and Technology and Media. The no. 4 market
research organisation worldwide operates in more than 100 countries and employs over
10,000 staff. In 2009, the GfK Group's sales amounted to EUR 1.16 billion. For more
information visit www.gfkamerica.com. Follow us at www.gfkinsights4u.com or on Twitter
@gfkamerica.
About Simon Anholt
Simon Anholt is recognised as the world's leading authority on national image and
identity. He is a member of the UK Government's Public Diplomacy Board, and works as
an independent advisor to more than 20 other national, regional and city governments
on identity strategy and public diplomacy. Anholt developed the concept of the Nation
Brands Index in 2005. He is founding editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding and
Public Diplomacy, and the author of Brand New Justice, Brand America and Competitive
Identity - the New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions. His latest book,
Places, was published by Macmillan in 2010, together with a completely new edition of
Brand America. Anholt was awarded the 2009 Nobels Colloquia Prize for Economics.
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Media enquiries:
Derek Brown
Coyne PR
973-316-1665
[email protected]
Elizabeth Tillman
GfK Custom Research North America
212-240-5300
[email protected]