Brand South Africa Research Note The Nation Brand Index perspectives on South Africa s global reputation By: Dr Petrus de Kock 18 November 2015
Contents Introduction Findings from the 2015 Nation Brand Index Highlights & Implications from the report Features of South Africa s global reputation The NBI Methodology Introduction This research note intends to share with Brand SA stakeholders key findings from the 2015 Nation Brand Index (NBI) report. Brand South Africa subscribes to the NBI with the purpose of identifying strengths, challenges and opportunities for the enhancement of the nation brand s reputation both at home and abroad. Although it may be a rather simplistic analogy to make, it can be said that the positive or negative impact of a nation s reputation is very similar to an individual citizen. This means that what someone else thinks of you as a person, or the opinion others hold of you, could ultimately impact on and shape your reputation. This furthermore implies that how a person or a nation is perceived, impacts on how decisions will be made, and how you as a person, or a nation will be treated by peers. The NBI measures the reputation of the Nation Brand on six elements, being: Governance; Exports; Tourism; People; Culture; Investment & Immigration. Through a series of sub-indicators the nation s performance on each pillar is assessed through the study. Importantly the range of indicators tested through the research clearly illustrates the fact the nation brand s reputation is shaped by anything from perceptions of people and culture, to the quality of exports and the governance profile of the country. This means that the making of the nation s global reputation depends on perceptions created by actions taken in multiple sectors spanning government, business, civil-society, and generally speaking the people of the country. In a world where natural or human disasters, political and economic news, and opinions regarding countries can literally and figuratively spread around the world in a matter of seconds or minutes, the management of the reputation of a nation brand comes up against several unpredictable external and internal events, or dynamics. The first section below sets out to explore key findings on South Africa s global reputation from the 2015 Nation Brand Index. This section looks into the country s performance in the NBI since 2012 and points out that since then the nation brand s reputation has been quite stable, with incremental improvements on all six pillars of the brand. Against this background the second section will reflect on issues (positive & negative) that emerge from an interrogation of South Africa s performance in the index. The research note concludes with two sections that interrogate highlights from the 2015 report and key features of South Africa s global reputation. After assessing the above, the argument will be made that the future development of the reputation of the South African nation brand is to a large extent dependent on the manner in which the country leverages existing strengths, and to continually emphasise the need for cooperation and collaboration between countries to confront some of the unique regional and global challenges the world is facing in the early 21 st century.
Findings from the 2015 Nation Brand Index In the 2015 NBI South Africa moves down in ranking for the second year. In 2014 South Africa moved down with one position to 37/50; In 2015 South Africa moves down with one position to 38/50. While the country moves down with one position, it is worthy to indicate that the over-all reputation score the country receives improve with 0.17 points on 2014. Table 1 below provides a detailed breakdown of South Africa s performance in the NBI from 2012. It is important to note that while the country s ranking drops from 36/50 to 38/50 between 2013 and 2015, the statistical scores the country receives in each year s study have actually been improving, or remained stable since 2012. For example, in 2012 South Africa saw a drop in the statistical measure on each of the six pillars. We can observe that in 2013 only three pillars (Exports, People, and Tourism) saw a drop in performance, in 2014 only Tourism saw a slight statistical drop, and by 2015 the country improves statistically on each of the six pillars. This means that 2015 is the first year since 2012 that the nation brand improves statistically in performance on all the pillars of the NBI. This implies that since 2012 the country s reputation, in the eyes of those surveyed for the study, remained stable with small statistical improvements on all six pillars by 2015. South Africa NBI 2012 2013 2014 2015 (2012-2015) Overall rank 36 36 37 38 Ranking by pillar Rank Score Difference (2011-2012) Rank Score Difference (2012-2013) Rank Score Difference (2013-2014) Rank Score Difference (2014-2015) Exports 37-1.33 37-0.13 36 0.90 36 0.07 Governance 40-1.44 40 0.08 39 0.93 39 1.83 Culture 28-3.36 27 0.08 29 0.01 30 0.87 People 31-3.32 34-0.64 37 0.45 36 0.06 Tourism 34-2.32 34-0.12 37-0.09 36 1.14 Immigration & Investment 38-3.85 38 0.01 37 0.41 39 0.22 Table 1 South Africa in the NBI 2012-2015 The most notable movements that impacts on South Africa s ranking in 2014 and 2015 pertains to the fact that in 2014 Chile and Peru made some strides and passed South Africa on the rankings, while in 2015 Egypt passed South Africa to rank at 36 th.
Highlights & Implications from the report The NBI team calls attention to the following highlights and implications from the 2015 study: Ranking 38th overall, NBI argues that South Africa has a stable and fairly well-balanced nation brand placing in the 30s on all indices; South Africa posts a modest score increase since 2014 of 0.17 points. South Africa s momentum has helped it hold onto its standing on Exports, Governance, People, and Tourism. Yet, South Africa was overtaken by South Korea on Culture and by Qatar on Immigration in the 2015 report; South Africa s standout strengths centre on its sports, and the country s pristine landscape, a nod to its football and game reserves; Though not as strong as sports or natural beauty, the world has a generally favorable view of South Africa s people specifically viewing them as desirable friends and good employees, which is anchored by their associations with traits like hardworking and skillful ; South Africa receives some of its weakest rankings on poverty reduction and respect for citizens rights a troubling sore spot given the importance that global citizens place on human rights and social inequality. However, South Africa receives some praise for working to protect the environment a top priority among global citizens; Looking across the panel countries, views of South Africa tend to be most favorable among those in Western Europe, as well as India and Australia the latter of which has warmed notably towards South Africa; In contrast, those in other Asian nations like South Korea, Japan, and to a lesser extent China tend to be more critical of South Africa. Notably, there have been sizable score drops among the Chinese; South African citizens are generally extremely favorable toward their home country, ranking it in 6th place or better on People, Tourism, Culture, and Exports. However, they are far more critical than other global citizens on Governance, ranking in the bottomtier; South Africa ranks in the middle of the pack of the selected G-20 competitors: South Africa outranks Indonesia and Nigeria but has a disadvantage versus Turkey and Mexico both of whom have the cultural heritage that South Africa lacks, and an enhanced Tourism appeal. As is the case in the NBI report every year, Simon Anholt provides some country specific comments/analysis as part of the offering. Some important comments made with regard to South Africa s profile, and how the country can/should not create new marketing campaigns, but utilise existing strengths to leverage and build on an already established global reputation. Specific comments to take note of: Anholt notes that a more nuanced picture of Africa is emerging in the global environment. There is a growing awareness of African economic potential, social development. He indicates that South Africa is well positioned to lead the way in terms of presenting a more confident image of the continent. According to the report South Africa should of course continue to work hard to earn the respect and admiration of other populations in Africa and worldwide, but it s debatable whether any very significant uplift in its ranking is possible or even necessary in the short to medium term. As I have commented in previous years, the debate must surely centre around how
South Africa can make the best use of its relatively positive profile rather than attempt to manipulate it. In particular, the idea that a country s image can be boosted through messaging and marketing is one that should be vigorously challenged, and robust statistical evidence of its effectiveness regularly demanded in order to justify the continued expenditure of public funds on such exercises. The main lesson from the above quote is that the development of the country s reputation can/should be linked to leveraging the relative positive profile the country already enjoys globally. Interestingly enough, this leads Anholt to argue that from survey results countries that are perceived to make a positive contribution to global cooperation and collaboration (to find solutions to regional/global conflicts, human development, inequality) will ultimately be more respected than others. Implication: South Africa already emphasises cooperation and multilateralism. The focus on cooperation to tackle developmental, peace & security, and other global challenges can therefore be emphasised more in the positioning and profiling of the country globally. Simon Anholt also argues that South Africa s growing international appeal gives it a measure of moral authority. This means that the country can do more to profile and entrench its position as a nation that seeks collaborative solutions to global challenges. It is also argued that the voice of the developing world is increasingly a voice of conscience in the global environment. Taking the country s membership of BRICS, the role in the AU, G20, and UN into consideration, the message from the report is that these elements can be leveraged to increase the profile and appeal of the nation brand from a reputation point of view. Key features of South Africa s global reputation Strongest associations: Natural beauty Culture & sporting excellence Hard working & skilful people Biggest reputation challenges Governance & especially poverty alleviation Need to enhance profile of exports Need to enhance profile of South Africa s technological readiness While the above key features are extracted from strengths from the country s over-all performance in the index, it is also quite interesting and important to study how South Africa is perceived within specific markets. Some examples outlined below. The figures below capture some examples from South Africa s performance in specific markets.
The NBI Methodology The 2015 NBISM survey has been conducted 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. Given the increasing global role played by developing countries, the survey strives to represent regional balance as well as balance between high-income and middle-income countries. The core 20 panel countries are: Western Europe/North America: The U.S., Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden Central and Eastern Europe: Russia, Poland, Turkey Asia-Pacific: Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico Middle East/Africa: Egypt, South Africa In all, 20,342 interviews have been conducted with at least 1,000 interviews per country for the 2015 NBISM survey. Adults age 18 or over who are online are interviewed in each country. Using the most up-to-date online population parameters, the achieved sample in each country has been weighted to reflect key demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and education of the 2015 online population in that country. Additionally, in the U.S., the UK, South Africa, India, and Brazil, race/ethnicity has been used for sample balancing. The report reflects the views and opinions of online populations in these 20 countries citizens who are connected to the world. Fieldwork was conducted from July 9th to July 27th, 20151. NBISM measures the image of 50 nations. In each panel country the list of 50 nations is randomly assigned to respondents, each of whom (except Egypt) rates 25 nations, resulting in each nation getting approximately 500 ratings per panel country. In Egypt, where respondents are not as familiar and experienced with online surveys, survey length is reduced, resulting in each nation getting approximately 200 ratings. Brand South Africa s Research Notes and Research Reports communicate findings from Brand South Africa research and related panel discussions. The Research Notes and Reports are intended to elicit comments, contribute to debate, and inform stakeholders about trends and issues that impact on South Africa s reputation and overall competitiveness. Views expressed in Research Notes are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of Brand South Africa, or the Government of the Republic of South Africa. Every precaution is taken to ensure the accuracy of information. However, Brand South Africa shall not be liable to any person for inaccurate information or opinions contained herein. Contact Dr Petrus de Kock General Manager Research - petrusd@brandsouthafrica.com