Ибероамериканские тетради (Dec 2017)
Brand of Spain: perception within the country and abroad
Abstract
The goal of the study was to analyze the perception of the territorial brand of Spain at home and abroad. The theoretical basis of the study is the concept of the national brands index S. Anholt. The study was done with the application of the methods of comparative analysis of empirical data obtained from international and Spanish studies in the area of territorial branding. The research materials are made in the area of territorial branding, representing various approaches, sampling and methodology: the S. Anholt Index of National Brands (Nation Brand Index); Ranking Country RepTrack and researching the external and internal image of Spain at the Royal Institute of Elkano. The ranking analysis showed that in 2016 the reputation of the most authoritative states suffered, but Spain’s reputation began to be evaluated better and for the first time it became part of a group of countries with a stable reputation. The growth of Spain’s reputation in the world is due to the fact that in 2015 the tone of publications about Spain in the international media system had changed - a direct association with the economic crisis had left the narrative. The results of the research in the field of territorial branding confirm the thesis of Carlos Espinosa, the High Commissioner of the state project «Brand Spain» (Marca España), that in Spain the country’s brand is estimated lower than abroad, but at the same time the positive dynamics of the perception of Spain’s image indicate the effectiveness of this project and the competitiveness of the brand of Spain at the present stage. Contrary to the economic and political difficulties that Spain has faced over the past 20 years, regular work to design and promote the brand of Spain has been and has yielded positive results.
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