This podcast series commemorates Bloom Consulting’s 20th anniversary, and Clare Dewhirst, director of City Nation Place, sets the stage for an exploration into the domains of Nation and Place Branding, with each episode focusing on Bloom Consulting’s 14 crucial steps to crafting an effective Place Branding strategy – a journey that will unfold across the series. In this episode, the spotlight is on step’s 2, 3 and 4 to Nation Branding; focused on understanding current perceptions. These steps all share a common thread – Place Analytics which require a strategic approach.
Hosted by Clare Dewhirst, director of City Nation Place, the discussion features Gonzalo Vilar, Managing Partner and Global Director of Nation and Place Analytics at Bloom Consulting, alongside Meira Pappi, a Country Image Specialist representing Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Together they explore these fundamental steps, emphasising the significance of Place Analytics, the crucial role of data, elements of perception, building a robust reputation, maintaining general consistency, and understanding the importance of market size.
Clare: Today we’re going to focus on three of the steps in Bloom’s 14 steps to Nation Branding; step two, understanding current perceptions, step three, establishing target markets and step four, setting realistic objectives. But the one thing that connects all these steps is about having an effective analytical approach. And so, it makes sense that I’m joined today by Gonzalo Villar, who is not only Managing Partner with Bloom Consulting, but also their nation and place analytics expert. And we’re also joined today by Meira Pappi, who is with Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a specialist in country branding for the ministry. So welcome to both of you. Great to have you with us for this conversation. Can I come to you first, Gonzalo, and ask you what are those key reasons why it’s so important to focus on place analytics?
Gonzalo: It’s very important to stress that much like any business strategy, Nation Branding strategies demand well-defined goals and a concrete implementation plan. These KPIs, these place analytics, this data is more important today than ever before and play a crucial role in justifying the investment in a Nation Branding initiative. We need the data to later justify the strategy and the result. These initial steps of the 14 steps to Nation Branding, are crucial in understanding the current perceptions. This means examining the gap between perceptions and reality, not just whether the overall perception of a country is positive or negative, but also the specific elements that constitute that perception. We have developed a Nation Brand Taxonomy model that helps with this. Step three is about establishing key target markets to influence. It’s impractical to be relevant to the entire world, so focusing on key markets is essential. Finally, setting realistic objectives involves deciding which areas of the Nation Brand to work on—tourism, talent attraction, investment, or overall reputation. These three steps are key to Nation Branding. To close this small introduction, you cannot develop a Nation Branding strategy without understanding the current perception. Without a baseline, it’s all based on assumptions and common beliefs. International research and brand assessment provide this baseline. Although it seems obvious, this process is often overlooked, so we pay a lot of attention to this analytical part as it forms the base for strategy and implementation.
Clare: You took the words right out of my mouth, I was going to say, this sounds so obvious, but I know, and I’m sure you know, that not everybody starts here. Meira, let me come to you. I’m fascinated to hear your perspective on this, but perhaps firstly, you can just explain a little bit more about your role within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and what your objectives are around Finland’s Nation Brand.
Meira: In Finland, we have a network approach to country image work. There’s something called the Finland Promotion Board, where several ministries, private companies, and different kinds of organisations are a part of. The secretariat for that network is located in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. I work in that unit, where we take care of the everyday operational side of the Finland Promotion Board business. However, we are not responsible for sectoral operations such as tourism marketing or attracting investment or talent. What we really do is gather information, come up with a strategy, and disseminate information into the network. We try to be the brains behind the operation, keeping on top of what’s going on and what research is saying.
Clare: Thanks for that understanding. You’re there to come up with the narrative and the advice and the guidance while others implement specific approaches around tourism, talent, or investment. Finland consistently performs well in a whole range of Nation Brand rankings and is notably celebrated as the happiest country in the world. How does having this analytical approach that Gonzalo has introduced us to helped you to manage your reputation and develop your narrative?
Meira: The answer is twofold. Internally, we need to know what our actual strengths are and how they are perceived. This is key to promoting those aspects. We also need to understand our weaknesses, which is something we can’t decide internally—we can’t come to our own conclusions on how others perceive us, we need data for that. For example, we now know from research that people are not very aware of Finnish culture, which is a weak point for us. We wouldn’t have known that without research and data.
Clare: How often do you invest in gathering this information? Is it something you do annually or in response to particular circumstances?
Meira: It depends on the situation. There used to be a system in place where every three years we would check up on what’s going on because Finland was not that prevalent in world media, so people’s opinions on Finland wouldn’t change that quickly. But during the past two or three years, with Prime Minister Sanna Marin, our COVID response and then with the war in Europe and Finland’s NATO membership process, Finland has been covered a lot more. We need to gather data and information more often.
Gonzalo: I think this study, and the gathering of data that comes with it, arrived at the perfect moment. It’s remarkable how much has happened in recent years. This is precisely the right moment to gather data and confirm what we can understand and assume about Finland’s strong and solid reputation across several areas. We need to see how recent events are affecting Finland’s overall reputation. Through our research and nationwide model, we’ve analysed data in 13 different areas. We know that the general perception of Finland is very positive, but we need to identify which specific elements in these 13 areas can be improved. I have a question about the level of detail in your data. While we consider areas like education, how do you handle micro-segmentation by factors such as nationality, age groups, and interests? How do you leverage this detailed data in your strategies?
Meira: It was one of the most interesting discoveries from the work that we did together. We got useful information about which age segments in certain countries we didn’t connect with, which was surprising. This is practical for everyone, not only in tourism marketing or sectoral approaches but also our embassies and consulates, to target specific audiences more effectively.
Clare: One of the things we’ve been focusing on recently is how to disseminate data and tell a story with it. Is that a challenge that you face in the ministry?
Meira: Yes, it is. Our main challenge isn’t always the lack of information or data or even how to use it but not having enough people to go through it. I think we may not be the only people with this problem. We have a lot of data from research and media monitoring, but recognising what’s important can be difficult in a flood of information.
Gonzalo: When we engage in any nationwide assessment or strategy development, it is fascinating to consider our international perspective and contrast it with our plans, particularly in the context of the U.S. The findings and discussions about where the substance lies are very interesting and lead to rich conversations about exchanging ideas. We believe there is room for improvement. Here, there is a story about education. You’re already doing the work, but the world doesn’t know, right? So, we engage in many of these conversations. Our job in this process is to help guide the conversation, put the data into perspective, and summarise it so you have the necessary information, digested and ready to make decisions. This is why you are pursuing this research. Sometimes we have so many data points and datasets that it’s not the first time we’ve heard this: there is a lack of resources to distinguish what’s important from what’s not. It’s all information, but what is key? Analytics plays a role, and we began addressing this issue five or ten years ago. In the future, we will be even more overloaded with data than we are now. This is a key challenge and we have enjoyed working with you to help digest everything and put it into perspective.
Clare: Do you think there will be a role for AI in helping to process this data, determining which bits to work with and which are the most relevant, or will it always require human insight?
Gonzalo: Finland is very advanced in future trends. They have, and their mayors are familiar with what the future challenges are. This is one of them. We use AI already in our daily work as a source of information. So far, it’s hard to say how this will turn out in our job, but I think it’s going to be helpful.
Clare: And Meira, from your part, not only do you have a lot of data, but there’s this endless range of questions you can ask to an endless range of audiences. So how do you decide where to focus? Which questions to ask and which audiences to target at the start?
Meira: That’s a good question. Luckily, we don’t commission that much research that we have to think about it often, because we usually buy data from existing studies, so we don’t get to decide as much. But sometimes when we do commission studies, like the work we did with Bloom Consulting, we had a specific reason, such as our NATO process, and knowing how that would affect people’s perceptions of Finland. With that in mind, we chose the countries where we figured this would make the biggest difference or where we care the most, or which were bigger target markets for other activities where we needed to know the baseline. It all depends on why we are asking the questions.
Gonzalo: It’s crucial, when we embark on these commissioned studies tailored for a country, to understand the objectives, which is Step 5. Setting realistic objectives and areas to focus on goes hand in hand with establishing the target audiences. Depending on what you want to achieve, you will research or look for the answers accordingly. This is a very important part of the research. We have specific sessions to discuss and agree on which audiences to target and distribute services to understand perceptions. We back this up with digital tools at our disposal, such as meetings with digital demand tools, to understand the pulse of certain audiences. This helps us narrow down to the specific ones we use for deep dives. However, we always maintain a broader view. Initially, we consider a larger group but tend to narrow it down to 10 by the end. This process helps us understand the broader picture before focusing on specifics. Deciding what is strategic, what is secondary, and what is emerging and interesting involves an initial assessment to understand how we see these things.
Clare: Given that Gonzalo works in so many other places, Meira, were there any other questions you might want to ask him about how he approaches analytics for other clients?
Meira: One of the questions that is always relevant, I feel, is whether to go wide or to go deep. There are a lot of countries in the world, and it would be fantastic to know everything about all of them and how they perceive Finland. But let’s say we now have a baseline for a group of countries. The next time we commission a study, does it make sense to go for the same set of countries to see the progress, or should we try to go wider?
Gonzalo: It is a very important question and would be the first consideration when commissioning or refreshing data. The general rule is to maintain consistency, otherwise you will not be able to measure evolution. That is a basic premise of any measurement work. Adding and changing certain markets or data sets, or adding questions and topics should be monitored, comes naturally depending on the frequency of the study and evolving situations. Certain markets are more strategic now. You must keep a general consistency in the data set and markets. We’re in a point where we have a lot of digital tools, and when we talk digital, we can escalate research more easily, quickly, and cost-effectively. This flexibility allows us to look at the world and segment it, but we have limited resources. So, we prioritise a few strategic markets rather than trying to be relevant globally.
Meira: That’s helpful, Gonzalo. Hearing concrete numbers of target markets is very insightful.
Gonzalo: You need to keep monitoring because certain studies are just one-offs, right? We know that. Or perhaps you want to see the legacy of certain decisions and situations. As we always say, you need that baseline. Two years later, the conversation shifts more to the impact, the reasons why, and if perceptions have improved. This includes examining different geographies, age groups, and perception elements. It’s about comparing where we are today to where we started from that baseline. This type of study is necessary because it provides you and any other representative working in the country with tools to justify investments, as I mentioned in the introduction. This strategy highlights the importance of the country’s image. We know that countries with better images attract more investments, talent, tourists, and have larger market sizes compared to those with negative images. That’s why it’s crucial to work on improving the country’s image and ensure everyone understands and appreciates the effort put into building that reputation. In the end, a positive image will have significant transactional value.
Clare: I will come back to each of you. Meira, on a practical front, do you have a piece of advice for any Nation Branding team looking to work more effectively with their analysts?
Meira: The key is really delving into analytics. I know it can be daunting because there is so much information out there. The first step is to embrace the world of research and analytics. I also recommend talking to your neighbours. We are all interested in similar questions and can learn from each other. We talk a lot with our neighbours, especially with Sweden. We have regular meetings and exchange information and experiences with different service providers and companies. So, don’t hesitate to talk to your neighbours, even if they are rivals. This is perhaps a Nordic way of looking at things, but it’s very beneficial.
Clare: Brilliant advice, Meira. It’s great to hear about such an open sharing of ideas, even among competitors. Gonzalo, what are your key pieces of advice on working with and delving into analytics?
Gonzalo: In this second episode of the podcast covering the 14 steps, we delve into the foundations. Building on the previous episode’s coverage of foundations, this episode emphasizes the importance of analytics, which cannot be overlooked. Understanding the current perception is crucial for everything, from justifying investments to planning for the future. The Nation Brand has an international aspect, so it’s vital to segment countries, age groups, and examine the gap between perception and reality. It’s essential to see if local stakeholders’ views align with those familiar with the country. This alignment is key for positive perceptions, not just initial impressions. These insights are crucial inputs for the Nation Brands, which help understand how perceptions are shaped. Establishing target markets guides the type of research you can conduct. It’s ineffective to monitor areas you won’t focus on. Given limited resources, decisions must be strategic. Clear objectives are essential for what the brand aims to achieve. Whether improving overall reputation or focusing on a specific dimension, these objectives must be set from the start and can be adjusted as assessments progress. Clear mandates from government officials ensure the project stays on track and relevant to their interests.
As we conclude this episode with Gonzalo and Meira, we’ve gathered valuable insights into the Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs work, exploring the nuances of Nation and Place branding. We thank all participants for their contributions, enriching this episode of Bloom Consulting Conversations and shedding light on the importance of understanding current perceptions for creating a successful Nation Branding strategy. It’s evident that Finland sets a high standard to follow.
In the next episode, we’ll delve into the importance of Crisis Management in Nation Branding.
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