As Britain slides down the rankings from position 10 to 13 in the Future Brand’s Country Brand Index, a global study of country brands, it shows how factors such as economic problems and unrest have a negative affect on a country’s brand.
It’s not surprising. One minute Britain is basking in the pageantry of the Royal Wedding, relishing our history and sense of occasion. The next, the streets are full of rioters and unrest.
Having a strong country brand is pivotal as it influences the perception of tourists, investors and buyers of British products. Can we recover? The signs are positive having just won the bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championship, and Brand Britain marketers are hoping that the London 2012 Olympics will give us an opportunity to showcase a fresh image.
Let’s take inspiration from the countries who’ve improved their brand. Japan’s increased its ranking despite the earthquake, and Thailand is showing a strong performance in tourism despite political upheaval in the country. Brazil has seen a boost following successful bids to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, and Canada which took full advantage of promoting its natural beauty throughout the 2010 Winter Olympics tops the Index.
I’m hopeful that next year Britain will have a fantastic year. With campaigns such as Visit Britain’s tourism campaign to inspire the tourism industry to promote our country in the run up to the Olympics, we’re heading in the right direction.
I’ll be playing my part by working with British companies to help them market themselves effectively. Read more…
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Here’s something to get your teeth into! The chocolatiers at luxury brand 
If you haven’t been to one of Hotel Chocolat’s stylish shops, it really is a must. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere and discover their devotion to making exciting, adventurous chocolate by unearthing exceptional ingredients and using plenty of passion. Hotel Chocolat continues to be a British-owned phenomenon brazenly committed to real, authentic chocolate.
Last night I watched “Made in Dagenham”, the true story of the late sixties campaign by women at the Ford car plant in Dagenham for equal pay. It wasn’t until 1970 that the Equal Pay Act was passed by the UK Parliament – a fundamental right that we now all take for granted.
This was certainly the message given by Giles Pavey from dunnhumby at the CIM Summer Marketing Conference in Chelmsford last month. Giles talked enthusiastically about the good old days when the owner of the corner shop knew all his customers personally and this desire for detailed customer insight is really the driving force behind the success of the Tesco Clubcard.
There’s a lot more to it than vouchers and price promotions though – if you want to know more you will find a copy of Giles’ presentation on the marketing conference 
Gain two CPD hours and a whole lot of knowledge from attending this event arranged by the Croydon and South London team.
August 29, 2011
A word from Phil Preston
by CIM GLR
in Chairman's comment
Of course there’s only one thing to write about this month … my summer holiday. I have just returned from two weeks bobbing about in the Mediterranean on a big boat. The big boat in question was the Celebrity Eclipse, a 122,000 gross tons floating luxury hotel cum resort catering for nearly 3,000 demanding passengers.
This wasn’t the first cruise ship my wife and I have been on – over the past 8 years we have been happy to spend as much of our children’s inheritance as we can on cruise holidays, alternating between P&O and Princess Cruises, but this year we fancied a change.
From the fully grown tree suspended in mid-air in one of two 12 deck atriums, the modern art and sculptures that adorned the stairwells and The Lawn Club (it really was grass) on deck 15 where we played boules each evening before getting ready for dinner, the only way to describe the on-board experience was “cool”.
I think it was Tom Peters who once said, “Design, as I see it, is arguably the #1 determinant of whether a product-service-experience stands out … or doesn’t”, so making something “cool” seems like a pretty good marketing strategy to me.
The second part of our cruise experience story relates to the Pool Butler “service”. On the basis that there were not enough sun beds for every passenger Pool Butlers would remove towels from any beds that were unoccupied for more than 30 minutes – freeing them up for other passengers to use.
Not a problem if you are taking a quick 10 minute dip in the pool, but what if you want to take more than 30 minutes for lunch and don’t want to have to search for another premium spot on the sundeck when you get back? You are on holiday – you don’t need this stress! Why should you have to leave a note on your bed saying “Gone to lunch, back soon” (yes, I actually tried this).
To cut a long story short, on two occasions my wife fell victim to over-zealous Pool Butlers removing her towel from her sun bed even though she had not exceeded the 30 minute limit, and when she complained to the officer in charge of the sundeck she got little sympathy.
Fortunately, guest relations were more understanding and not only apologised but also instantly provided us with two large, extra-soft gold coloured bath towels, normally reserved for passengers occupying suites, to use on our sun beds for the rest of the cruise. We were assured that the Pool Butlers, or “Pool Bullies” as we nicknamed them, wouldn’t dare remove them, even after 30 minutes. That evening they also sent a note of apology to our cabin accompanied by a bottle of champagne.
So next year we will be cruising on the Celebrity Silhouette, the newest ship in the fleet – essentially the result of a luxury brand living up to and exceeding its promise. We just need to buy a couple of large, extra-soft gold coloured bath towels and we will have another stress-free holiday.
If you are interested in the subjects of Customer Experience Management and Design keep your eyes peeled for two CIM events taking place in London. The first is on 29 September when leading customer experience consultant Mike Ashton, former Senior Vice President, Marketing & Brand Management of Hilton International and Anthony Thomson, Chairman of Metro Bank take to the podium. And early next year the CIM Creative Communications market interest group hope to run a session on Design in partnership with the Design Business Association.