Q3 SEES LARGE SWINGS IN BRAND PERCEPTION SCORES

By Thomas Cromwell

In the third quarter, Malaysia maintained its number one ranking in the East West Global Index 200, thanks to the repeal of its Internal Security Act and a refugee exchange pact with Australia, along with a regular stream of upbeat news. 

The Index ranks perceptions of 200 countries and major territories, including all UN members, based on analysis of coverage in major international English-language publications.

South Korea moved back into the number two slot thanks to a strategic energy partnership with Australia. France moved up four places to the number three slot, with positive coverage coming from the Tour de France and Nicolas Sarkozy’s work with Angela Merkel to propose the next stage of European integration. 

Canada moved to the fourth spot because of an official visit from the royal newlyweds that generated a flood of ‘feel good’ news, while stocks rose in September, improving the economic outlook

The other top ten countries in the third quarter were Australia in the fifth spot, followed by Thailand, New Zealand, Brazil, United Kingdom and Ireland.

The mass shooting in Norway over the summer by a radical nationalist caused Norway to fall to the bottom of the rankings in the third quarter. It was the largest shift experienced by any country with a fall of 176 places from a rank of 24 in Q2. 

The continued violent crackdown by the government in Syria led to its second to last place finish, while the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and the growing problems with Pakistan placing those countries in the bottom five after Norway. The bottom 10 included Libya, Iran, Somalia, Mexico and Greece, all of which have been in the news because of conflicts, widespread violence or, in the case of Greece, the collapse of the economy.

Japan, on the other hand, had the largest move upwards, improving its score by 141 places thanks to its recovering from the Tsunami and earthquakes, and a win by their women’s soccer team at the 2011 World Cup games over the United States. 

Socialist countries Cuba and Venezuela both enjoyed large improvements in their scores. For Cuba, this was due to in part to a decision to allow Cubans to purchase their own homes, as well as a ‘No Reservations’ program on Cuban food by Anthony Bourdain. Venezuela got a boost by replacing Saudi Arabia at the top of the list of nationals with large oil reserves. 

The East West Nation Brand Perception Indexes is ordered by perception score, mention volume, and alphabetically. They are also organized by regional groupings. 

Of the regions, Brazil scored the highest for the South American countries, while Kuwait topped the list for Middle East countries, Grenada did best amongst Caribbean nations, Costa Rica rose to first place in Central America and Turkmenistan took the lead from Kazakhstan among the Central Asian nations. 

To see how a specific country has fared in 2011, look up the alphabetical index: http://www.eastwestcoms.com/global_alpha.htm. 

Thomas Cromwell is president of East West Communications and can be reached at tcromwell@eastwestcoms.com.