BDA Expands Global Listening Initiatives & Previews Anholt NBI Research
Business for Diplomatic Action Expands Global Listening Initiatives
& Tunes Into Findings of Latest Anholt-GMI Nation Brands Index
Keith Reinhard & Simon Anholt to present and conduct media roundtable event at the
New York Foreign Press Center
NEW YORK, July 28, 2005 ¿ Keith Reinhard, president of Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA), and Simon Anholt, BDA advisor and nation brand expert, will provide an advance briefing today on America¿s ranking among 25 other nations as measured by the latest Anholt-GMI Nation Brand Index (NBI) survey, www.nationbrandindex.com. The briefing is part of a broader progress report on Business for Diplomatic Action initiatives.
¿The U.S. rankings indicate that in certain respects, Brand America is still envied. But the historic love affair that has been waning over the past several years has now ended,¿ said the survey¿s co-author Simon Anholt. The survey finds that the U.S. is still recognized as the leading place to do business (#1), the home of an attractive popular culture (#4) and the creator of desirable brands (#2) being best known across the world for its technology.
The country also still ranks high as a tourist destination (#6), but what is perhaps surprising, is that according to the survey, America ranks dead last in cultural heritage (#25) and very low on governance (#16). American people also fare poorly in the survey coming in at #13, based on a hospitality ranking. Anholt notes that, ¿Younger generations around the world do not have a historical reservoir of goodwill towards the U.S. to draw upon.¿ He believes, ¿Herein lies a real opportunity to build on the positive qualities associated with America that are still admired globally.¿
Keith Reinhard commends the new research saying, ¿I have long admired Simon Anholt and his work. We welcome this new study (NBI) and look forward to the insights we can glean from it as we continue our drive to build bridges of mutual understanding and respect between the U.S. private sector and its international counterparts.¿ Reinhard emphasized that the first step in any such effort is an active listening program in order to fully understand the positive and negative aspects of how America is currently perceived and why.
In addition to analyzing third party research, BDA has been conducting its own listening events in Europe, the Middle East and the United States. In turn, these exercises have guided business-led initiatives aimed at reducing widespread anti-Americanism and raising the standing of the United States in the world. Reinhard noted that in recent sessions in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, ¿the arrogance of the American people, exacerbated by our current visa policies, were seen as key drivers of anti-American sentiment.¿ BDA is also in the process of completing a listening exercise in the United States to gain and assess the perspectives of U.S. businesses and thought leaders about anti-Americanism and its effect on U.S. business abroad. According to Reinhard, results of this study will be released in early September.
Information about BDA programs as well as an advance copy of Anholt¿s NBI executive summary can be found at www.businessfordiplomaticaction.org.
The Nation Brands Index, developed by Simon Anholt in partnership with GMI (Global Market Insite) - www.gmi-mr.com - is the only analytical ranking that analyzes the consumer attitudes and perceptions of 25 countries. The gathered data provides a unique measurement of national brand power which provides a barometer of global opinion.
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**FOR A COPY OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY VISIT THE RESEARCH SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE AT http://www.businessfordiplomaticaction.org/learn/research.php **
Contact
Business for Diplomatic Action: Cari Guittard at 415.732.3620 or cari.guittard@sf.ddb.com.
Anholt-GMI Nation Brand Index: Kate Brooks at 415 339 1600 or kateb@chocolatecom.com
To access a copy of the Anholt-GMI Exxecutive Summary please visit the BDA website at www.businessfordipplomaticaction.org/research for full access to the entire Anholt-GMI Nation Brand Index - available August 01, 2005 - visit www.nationbrandindex.com
