UK Remains World's Favourite Nation in International Poll; Brand UK Worth US$ 3.5 Billion

London, May 31st, 2007 – In the biggest international analysis of its kind, the United Kingdom maintained its number one overall ranking as the world’s favourite nation in the latest quarterly Anholt Nation Brands Index (NBI, Q1 2007) powered by global market intelligence solutions provider GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.) The index analyses the results of how a 25,000-strong international panel perceive in detail the value and appeal of 40 developed and developing world nations. In addition this quarter, a financial valuation of all NBI nation brands was carried out by Brand Finance, estimating the UK’s brand worth at US$ 3.5 billion.

Conducted using GMI’s market research software and global respondent panels, the Anholt Nation Brands Index is the only analytical ranking of the world’s nation brands. The UK’s number one ranking is based on high scores for how other nationalities value the UK’s cultural, political, commercial and human assets, investment potential and tourist appeal.

The Anholt Nation Brands Index both confirms and confounds received wisdom about how the rest of the world sees the UK. For example:

• Whilst actual UK mass manufacturing has declined, products with a Made in Britain stamp are likely to be bought ahead of those made in the USA, Switzerland and France. Only products with German (1) and Japanese (2) origins are more highly valued by foreigners.
  
• Unsurprisingly, UK arts and culture are ranked highly. A surprise is that when asked which countries excel at sports, the UK is ranked fourth (USA is first, Germany second and Russia third) despite the actual performance of its national teams and sportsmen. The UK’s great sporting rival Australia is ranked tenth. However, on contemporary culture, including popular music, the French (2) overtake the British (3). The USA are number one.
  
• When asked what nationality of friend they would like, Britons ranked third behind Canadians (1) and Australians (2). But foreigners believe Britons are less welcoming than other nationalities, with Britons ranking 14th behind the Swiss (13th) and the Norwegians (12th). The Canadians (1), Australians (2) and Spanish (3) are perceived as the nationalities most welcoming to foreigners.

Commenting on the UK ranking, Simon Anholt, the index’s founder and an adviser to governments on nation branding and public policy, explained: “The UK keeps its number one spot because it consistently ranks high in all the areas of the survey. Negative perceptions about UK foreign policy in Iraq are reflected within these findings, but they do not exert a strong enough force to bring down the UK’s overall positive score. In fact, the UK’s overall score improved by over 2 percent quarter on quarter compared to a 1.2 percent improvement by Germany, its closest rival.”

The 2007 Nation Brand Value League Table by Brand Finance plc

For the second consecutive year, Brand Finance plc has conducted a brand valuation for each nation featured in the NBI, using an adapted version of the ‘royalty relief’ method, a valuation technique widely used in commercial brand valuations.

To undertake the brand valuation, Brand Finance first determined the five-year forecast GDP for each nation. It next produced a Brand Rating for each Nation brand using seven economic performance measures (source: IMD), eight infrastructure and efficiency measures (source: IMD) and six consumer perception measures (source: NBI). The resulting Brand Rating is therefore based on robust and objective measures to score each nation brand. Finally, Brand Finance identified a notional Brand Contribution or Brand Royalty for each nation brand and produced a brand valuation for each one.

In Q1 2007, nine of the Top 10 nation brand financial valuations remain the same compared to Q4 2005, with USA topping the chart, and the exception of China taking

Australia’s place. The UK remains in 4th position behind Germany with a nation brand worth of US$3.5 billion, an increase by 2.4 percent since last year.

(Source: Brand Finance plc)

In addition to insights into how the rest of the world sees the UK, the Anholt Nation Brands Index also reveals how the reputation of the USA continues to be affected by its foreign policy and government. For example, when asked about whether they judged that a country acted responsibly on international peace and security, the USA rated 37 out of 40 countries with China (38), Israel (39) and Iran (40). The UK was ranked 16th – its lowest specific ranking.

The index confirms Iran as the least popular nation in the NBI by a large margin. This is based not just on Western opinion. For example, the Egyptian panel gave Iran an overall ranking of 37 and other predominantly Muslim countries in the panel were even less generous.

The other top 10 nation brands, in descending order, are: Germany, Canada, France, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands. The USA is ranked 11 th overall out of 40.

About the Anholt Nation Brands Index

The Q1 2007 Anholt Nation Brands Index polled 25,756 consumers between March 2nd and 19th, 2007 on GMI’s online data collection platform. A 200-1,000 representative sample based on age, gender, and where applicable, geographical region, race and ethnicity, was collected in each of 35 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the USA. For further information about the Anholt Nation Brands Index methodology, please contact GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.) at info@gmi-mr.com or visit www.nationbrandindex.com.

About Simon Anholt

Simon Anholt is recognized as the world’s leading authority on the branding of countries, regions and cities. He is a member of the UK Government’s Public Diplomacy Board, and works as an independent advisor to around 20 other national, regional and city governments on brand 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. For further information about Simon Anholt, please visit www.earthspeak.com or email speak@earthspeak.com.

About GMI

GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.) is the only provider of integrated solutions for global market intelligence for market research firms and Global 2,000 companies. Solutions include market research software, desktop analysis tools, 24x7x365 service bureau, and one of the world’s largest, highly profiled, double opted-in managed panels, providing reach to six million consumers in 200+ countries. Founded in 1999 with world headquarters in Seattle, Wash., GMI has operations on five continents. In 2006, the company ranked #93 in Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 500. For more information, please visit us online at www.gmi-mr.com or email us at info@gmi-mr.com.

About Brand Finance plc

Brand Finance is a leading independent intangible asset valuation and brand strategy firm that helps companies manage their brands more intelligently for improved business results. Since 1996, Brand Finance has performed hundreds of brand valuations with an aggregate value of over $150 billion. The company is headquartered in London, UK, and has 18 offices around the globe. For more information on the Nation Brand Value League Table methodology, please visit www.brandfinance.com or email us at info@brandfinance.com.

Media contact

Grant Butler Coomber
+44 (0) 208 322 1922
gmi@gbc.co.uk