Italy Ranked Number One “Country Brand”

Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 12.02.05 | 11:56 AM ET

Australia took the runner-up spot, and the United States rounded out the top three in a recent global survey conducted by FutureBrand and its sister company, public relations firm Weber Shandwick. It also named China as the “most improved” country brand.

How did they arrive at these conclusions? And what exactly does it mean? I’ve read FutureBrand’s press release twice, and I’m still not 100 percent sure. It says that FutureBrand is “a leading strategic brand development firm,” and it has created the FutureBrand Country Brand Index which consists of “a three-tiered analysis of statistics, a global quantitative survey, and expert opinions of international travel professionals.” That statement has two footnotes that I haven’t included. The press release says the entire survey can be found at the FutureBrand Web site, but I can’t locate it.