Brand Recognition- Where does your country rank?

FutureBrand and PR firm Weber Shandwick have released their annual country branding index. The rankings are drawn from a survey of 2,700 global travelers, and incorporates factors such as ease of business, culture and the arts, and advertising campaigns in measuring the top countries by brand recognition. Australia tops the overall list for the third consecutive year, followed by Canada and the US. Rising stars include China, the UAE, and Croatia.

Countries differentiate themselves through systems of political representation, economic opportunity, and social protection. But they distinguish themselves by reputation and image. Since la cocarde tricolore, "branding" has been central to modern national identity.

Obama's election has been heralded as a "re-branding" of the US. So much of this election's commentary focused on the opportunity American's faced to improve their image abroad, and many outside the US projected their best impressions of the country onto candidate Obama.

Surely, many of his policies will differentiate him from his predecessor. His camp is already telegraphing an immediate use of his executive authority to reverse Bush's more controversial (or just plain conservative- lets not put Obama above partisanship) executive orders. His stance on Iraq, Guantanamo, and climate change endeared him to an international audience disillusioned by the Bush presidency.

But Obama's youth, oratorical skills, color, and image are magnetic. Brand Obama has become the most powerful (positive) American political image since "Camelot", and accounts for much of the support his candidacy gained around the world. Think "change". Or, "yes we can". These simple statements carried more meaning than Obama's health care or tax platform. The Obama campaign grasped the power of branding from day 1, and rode it all the way to his victory speech in Grant Park.

It will be interesting to see if the US gains from an "Obama bump" in next years index.