Does Germany need an ‘Image Shift’? The
Creative Capital Foundation, a newly-founded
initiative of the German-British business, media
and arts community, clearly thinks so – it wants
to change unrealistic perceptions of Germany
and to convey a more comprehensive and
contemporary image. During a conference in
London on 2 July, journalists, business
representatives and marketing and branding
experts from Britain and Germany explored
aspects of the perception of a country’s image
abroad, and looked at the possible value of
concrete initiatives to influence “image” in a more
co-ordinated way. Sessions examined in detail
“Nations as Brands”, “Brands as Nations”,
“Culture as Key Driver of National Brands”,
“People as National Brand Ambassadors”, and
“The Role of the Media in Branding a Country”.
But can you brand a country in the way you can
brand a product? Probably not as you cannot control
brandinginitstotality.Itisperhapspossibleto“nudge”
the way other people see your country, i.e. to re-
balance perception, in order to get away from the
current image of Germany as a mix of “BMW +
Lederhosen + Adolf Hitler”, as one of the speakers
put it. There was consensus that image change is a
long-term process, which needs to happen bottom-
up rather than top-down. And a brand needs to be
anchored in reality tobe believed– as reality changes,
image can change too. Importantly though, the brand
canonlybeasgoodasthe“product”.Itwasinteresting
to hear what German-ness means to the Germans,
and what it means to others. Interesting too, that a
numberofGermancompaniesthatareactiveglobally
donotwanttobeassociatedwithGermany.Similarly,
themostwidely-knownGermancelebritiesthatcould
perhaps act as national brand ambassadors are those
with cosmopolitan appeal that transcends their
German-ness.
The final panel discussion on the role of the media
in branding a country brought together German
and British print journalists – radio was not
represented and TV only in the shape of BBC
presenter Gavin Esler who acted as moderator.
This was one of the liveliest sessions and brought
the whole huge subject firmly back to the level
of reality. And that stark reality is that stories are
dependent on editorial agendas – the press in
Britain on the whole give little space to the subject
“Germany”. There are exceptions, where editors
have a personal interest in Germany, but it is
predominantly stories like those about acts of
right-wing extremism in East Germany that make
it on to the page. So in one sense the media are
blocking by not reporting about all aspects, in
Public Diplomacy, International
Broadcasting and Country Image
particular new, positive ones. While the British
journalists on the panel felt that re-balancing
rather than re-branding was appropriate to
counteract the old stereotypes, their German
counterparts hinted at the danger that the re-
branding exercise might backfire by triggering
an unwelcome response in the British tabloid press.
In Germany itself, the press is still uncomfortable
with branding Germany as a nation – more than
50 years after the end of WWII, Germans still
find it difficult to be proud of their nationality.
Even today, it is their past that holds them back
from selling themselves with the same conviction
as they sell their cars and washing machines.
In the light of this, was this very public brainstorming
bravely breaking the mould, or confirming the old
stereotype of German “
Gründlichkeit”
in wanting to
assess all risks in advance? In any event, it yielded
morequestionsthananswers.Isitconceivable,possible
to rebrand Germany? Should Germany attempt it?
Whomanages branding in relation to a country?What
is the essence of the national brand? A basic tenet of
marketing is ‘make it simple’ – yet how can you
present something that is incredibly rich, diverse and
multi-cultural in simple terms? The challenge is that,
according to a recent survey, over 50% of the British
population have no view of Germany. Image – what
image? There is a lot to be done.
Germany is not alone in seeing its global image as
a problem that needs to be tackled.Amonth before
the Creative Capital Foundation’s conference,
Britain’sWalpole Committee held a symposium to
discuss how best to brand Britain abroad. Walpole
represents what it describes as the “best of British”
– manufacturers of high-quality, high-value
consumer goods – like leather goods manufacturer
Tanner Kroll and suppliers such as BritishAirways
and the Savoy Group of upmarket hotels. The
Walpole believes that there’s a problem with
Britain’s image – it’s too stuffy and doesn’t reflect
current British values. Of course, we’ve been there
before with the ill-fated attempt to make the
country appear contemporary with the “Cool
Britannia” exercise in the late 1990s.
However there is another, more serious side to
this. In the face of increasing hostility, Britainwants
to reach out to those who are disenchanted with
the nation and its values. International broadcasting
plays amajor role in this public diplomacy, a theme
that emerged not just at the Walpole Committee
event, but also at the AIB Global Media Business
Conference in London at the end of April.
According to Sir Michael Jay, the Head of the
British Diplomatic Service, Britain needs to
achieve a positive impression across the world -
the British Foreign Office’s goal is “making the
world safe, just and prosperous”. This is not
straightforward, as there are different audiences
to address. In Saudi Arabia, for example, 40% of
the population is under 15, against 20% in the
UK. Messages need to be appropriate to the target
audience. The USA is going some way to address
this with the introduction of Radio Sawa, designed
to appeal to the youth of the Arab world.
According toSirMichael, public diplomacy is about
communicatingpolicygoals aswell as the projection
and perception of values.And the route is not simply
government to government, but government to
opinion-formers such as academics, journalists,
business people. The Foreign Office has launched
a Public Diplomacy Strategy Group with members
drawn from the private sector and from government
departments and government-sponsored agencies,
like the British Council (which promotes Britain
and the English-language abroad).
It is impossible to tackle the whole world at
once. Key targets have been defined for Britain’s
public diplomacy effort – transitional
economies such as Brazil, China, India, Russia
and South Africa; new members of the
European Union; Islamic countries including
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and
Indonesia; key trade partners including France,
Germany and Japan; and, separately and falling
into no particular category, the United States.
So what of the tools? Wally Olins, the renowned
brand strategist, says that nations project their brands
for tourism, inward investment, export trade and,
to a lesser or greater extent, for political influence.
Olins cited the example of Spainwhich has achieved
amost remarkable brand change following the death
of Franco and the democratisation of the country.
From a perception of complete backwardness and
lackofindustrialprowess,designcapabilityorability
to achieve the simplest organisational task, Spain
has become a benchmark for good design, quality
manufacturing (Seat cars, for example) and
organisational skills (Barcelona Olympics). The
overriding thing to remember, said Olins, is to
determine the audience you’re talking to and then
to note that there are no quick fixes. Rebranding a
country takes time.
The final Walpole speaker was Lord Heseltine,
the former British deputy Prime Minister. Lord
Heseltine talked of the influence of culture –
pop music, for example, is an important export
article - hugely so in the case of Britain. And
again, the role of the media is crucial. “The
BBC,” said Lord Heseltine, “is a wonderful asset.
It is a beacon of hope, it is trusted, it is believed.
The Corporation should enhance its world
presence, to bring benefit to people in the world
at large.” One point that is often overlooked is
that a country’s domestic media also have an
impact abroad - headlines in the popular British
press such as the
Sun
or the
Daily Mail
ripple
into Europe and beyond and shape perceptions
of Britain abroad.
A universally admired product
Publicserviceinternationalbroadcastingisoftenpartofacountry’spublicdiplomacyefforts.
Gunda
Cannon
reportsontworecentseminarsthatexploredtheroleof themedia in“countrybranding”.
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