Digital country index 16 executive summary

Developed by: Bloom Consulting and Digital Demand - D2©

Global executive summary

The Digital Country is the Real Country.

As expected, the world’s strongest economies are also the ones with a larger volume of searches by international investors and companies, but some more discreete economies begin to enjoy an increasing number of interested global citizens. This tells us two important facts, the digital world rewards the performance of established Power Houses, and it predicts the ascension of new important players.

The same principle applies to international tourists, where well established destinations tend to take the lead, but up-and-coming countries and territories are claiming their niches and uniqueness towards international tourists. Universities, Workplaces, and Culture, are all issues in the minds of global citizens, translating into what they are looking for online.

The Digital Country reacts to policy changes via negative or positive queries, as it also reacts to international events, to news, to war and peace, and this is not as obvious as one might think.

One of the most surprising revelations has to do with the occasional positive side effects to negative scenarios: increase of investors’ interest towards countries which present negative financial results, boost of searches about local culture in war-afflicted countries and even some countries that are dealing with corruption scandals can still attract interest towards some of its national industries.

In 2015, the Digital Country was deeply influenced by its leaders and governance. Actions, activities and policies carried out by countries and territories were fundamental to their establishment as references in the digital world. Welcome to the #DigitalCountry.

Global Executive Summary

Overview

2016 © Bloom Consulting and Digital Demand - D2© [email protected]

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Figure 1: The Top 15 Performers of the first edition of the Digital Country Index©


The top spots of the Index


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1st place: United States of America

The United States of America claim the 1st spot in the first edition of the Index and remain as the pace-setters of the digital world.Figure 2: United States of America Country detail results

The American leadership of the ranking is based on an excellent performance throughout all the key-areas of the ranking, none of them as relevant as “Prominence”.

It seems like major breakthroughs in the USA’s foreign policy in 2015, such as the intermediation of the Iran Nuclear Deal, Paris Agreement and the restoration of ties with Cuba had a major influence on global citizens’ interests and positive perceptions about the Obama Administration, and consequently about the United States of America.

The USA is also the most searched country to “Live” and to “Study”, proving that the “American Dream” is still alive and well in the minds of international talent.

As the data solely consists in 2015 searches, it will only be possible to fully understand the “Trump Effect” in the next edition of the Digital Country Index to be released in November 2016.


The Global performers


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2nd place: Japan

Japan is the only country in the world to reachtop levels of international interest in every single dimension of the index.Figure 3: Japan Country detail results

To “invest in” a new generation of renewable energies, to import cars and machinery, to eat traditional food, to see, watch or read art, to look for a place to work and study. All these actions were searched time and time again by business people, investors, tourists, workforce and general citizens interested in getting to know or interacting with the nation of Japan.

All this makes the Asian nation an excellent performer in all the dimensions of the index and one of the countries that is capable of triggering the largest volume of proactive interest from global citizens towards their country.

Japan is a clear example of a great Nation Brand




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3rd place: Australia

Australia presents solid results throughout the dimensions in 2015, however, the country’s legacy plays the main part in this resultsFigure 4: Australia Country detail results

While it is easy to find parallels between the results from countries like the USA and recent events associated to main issues being searched for, Australia shows a dichotomy between its legacy and the uniqueness of some of its characteristics. The over-the-years policies on environmental protection and social well-being, the association of Australia with health and adventure justify the constant interest of global citizens towards the country, proving that Nation Branding is a result of the consistency of Actions Activities and Policies and not sporadic news.

On the other hand, uniqueness goes a long way and nothing is more unique than Australian sports: adventure and extreme, Olympic sports and of course the Ozzy Rules Football, which is only played in Australia.




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4th place: Germany

German leadership is becoming one of the key points about one of the world’s countries with the most appealing industries Figure 5: Germany Country detail results

Despite the 2015 Scandal with Volkswagen, cars and other German-made products continue to be a decisive factor for international recognition among the companies that consider importing from Germany and workers that feel the call for the countries industries.

Indisputably, the most prominent European country of the decade, Germany’s political leadership was on the spot in 2015 in the mediation of the eastern Ukraine conflict, in leading the plans for the integration of refugees and dealing with sensitive economic issues such as the Greek crisis. Despite playing a “villainous” role in southern European austerity, Angela Merkel and the German government are regarded by international citizens as great figures of Governance. For this reason, Germany received the award “Digital Country for Leadership”.

With the developments of the migrant crisis and progressive actions, activities and policies taken by the German government, it will be possible to confirm – in the next edition of the Digital Country Index - the correlation between the highest volume of searches and the most sensitive political and social moments in Germany.




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5th place: Canada

Canada is the most desired haven by international talent looking for their next job and the opportunity to kick-off a new life Figure 5: Canada Country detail results

The category of Talent brought Canada its best results in the Index. The bilingual nation is the country in the world that attracts the most proactive interest from the international workforce towards the possibility of finding a new job and kicking off a new life in the north of north America.

Besides the creation of policies as the “Express Entry” and the “Employer Liaison Network” and tools designed expressly for the international workforce such as “Come to Canada”, the leadership of Canada itself may be having a positive influence on this results. Surpassing the southern neighbour, with the peak of “Work”-related searches in the last months of 2015, the data leads us to believe that the increasingly international popularity of PM Justin Trudeau and the idea of a new tolerant and inclusive Canada may cause this interest to reach an all-time high in the near future.




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“PIIGS” do fly, quite high!

A definitive blow was given to the negative perceptions of the “PIIGS”. These countries are now sitting among the best performers.Proverbial flying pig (Image: Daniela Romo)

Despite the news of economic recovery post-crisis, there seems to be different rhythms among the 5 countries.

The heated political debate about these countries’ stability seems everlasting both within and outside the countries’ borders. However, in the mind of international tourists, investors and international companies the positives towards Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain undoubtedly and strongly outnumber the negatives.

In no dimension (Tourism, Export, Investment, Talent, Prominence) did any of these countries fall below the global or regional average. Portugal and Italy have shown an excellent capacity of attracting the proactive interests of international companies and tourists. This is an indicator that exports and investment have a tremendous potential to grow in 2016 – unless unforeseen problems arise.

Ireland is perceived as a reference for workers and students, Greece saw the key to attracting the interest of general citizens through its national prominence and tourism assets, while Spain refused to fall from the top spots in every single category, being the most searched tourism destination in the world. This is a great indicator for the future.


The Digital Country shows that…


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The world reacts to Cuba

Cuba’s prospective openness raises the country to the throne of the Caribbean. International companies and tourists are attentive. Cuban President Raúl Castro and President Barack Obama in Panama City (Photo: AP)

The proactive interest of international tourists, investors, companies, students, workers and citizens is highly volatile to sports events, natural disasters and all the happenings that mark first page coverage worldwide.

However, this interest is mostly short-lasting and after the media and social media ceases to cover these events, the searches performed about the nations involved start returning to their average numbers. There are exceptions to the rule. The United State's acceptance of Cuba in 2015 has caused searches to grow exponentially in every Dimen-sion, raising the island nation to the Top of the Caribbean benchmark and to the world’s Top 50 most searched nations by global citizens.




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Culture can’t be destroyed

Conflict Regions are attracting a high volume of negative searches as local culture awareness rises among internationals.Destruction of an ancient temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra (Photo: AFP - Getty Images)

Syria, as predicted, was one of the countries that registered the highest number of negative searches towards violence, terrorism and human rights violations.

What was unexpected in the results of the Syrian Arab Republic was the spike of interest for subjects related to the country’s local culture and products. In a year continuing to be marked by the highest refugee crises since the Second World War, it is possible that these searches are performed by the citizens of host countries in order to inform themselves about the newcomers, as well as by those who wait for the end of the conflict to experience this local culture first-hand in the territory where it was established until a few years back.

This behaviour of global citizens was highly unexpected and a welcomed source of hope for the future in one of mankind’s most challenging present problems.




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Culture can’t be destroyed

The “BRICS” confirm their appeal for potential international investors and companies and start marking their territory. Brick wall

Despite the full-strength of the acronym, it cannot be compared to that of the first decade of this millennia, when 4 promising economies were regarded as the next leaders of the world economy. However, the BRICS still manage to present very interesting results.

Although this promise did not materialize, with several reports announcing the demise of relevance in this group, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa still benefit from this connotation and have obtained positions worthy of mention in the first edition of the Digital Country Index. India and Russia see their sectoral expertise as their main point of appeal. China’s “Made in” effect and proactive interest towards Brazil’s strategic location and market access and South Africa’s socioeconomic factors justify the advantageous positions in the Index.

Despite the questionable economic and military actions and policies taken by both Russia and China, it is surprising to see that the positive demand strongly overcomes the negative queries about both countries.

As for the effects of the Brazilian turmoil of judicial, political and economic crisis, it will only be possible to see those in the next edition of the Digital Country Index to be released in November 2016.




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Size does not always matter

Singapore and Hong Kong are able to establish themselves at the top among some of the world’s most prominent Power Houses.Singapore and Hong Kong location on the map

Singapore and Hong Kong were able to surpass all expectations by landing among 10 most searched countries in the world by global citizens. Thanks to an incredible volume of searches by international investors, students and prospective workers, Singapore became the 3rd most searched country in Asia, and the most searched in the context of Talent in the continent.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, showed a very balanced score throughout the categories, but it is important to mention that in the context of Tourism, it is the most searched country by Youth and Backpackers, making it a reference tourism destination and a well performing #DigitalCountry.

While these results are aligned with Singaporean well perceived governance since Lee Kuan Yew’s transformation of the country, Hong Kong’s tensions with mainland China - in the aftermath of the Umbrella protests of 2014 – does not seem to have negatively influenced the global citizens’ intention of visiting, studying, working or investing in the country.




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Africa still to become new Asia

African results show that there is still a long way to go for this continent to become the new “Asia” for international investors.Africa is still “small” when it comes to FDI appeal

In the north, south, east and west of the continent, five countries are making the difference in provoking proactive interest from international investors. South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana and Kenya figure among the Top 50 countries with the most FDI related searches.

Export appeal tells us a similar story, featuring only two countries among the 50 best performers: South Africa and Egypt. In two Dimensions massively composed of Asian nations, it is still not possible – and nothing leads us to believe – that Africa is becoming the “new Asia” in the minds and agendas of international investors and companies looking to import from these countries.

Kenya and Egypt experienced a particularly challenging year in 2015 in terms of international image, Kenya with one of the most shocking attacks in a state University in April and Egypt’s bombings, shootings and even an airplane destruction.

It is interesting that the stories and images that circulated the world in 2015 did not deter the interest of interna-tional investors and business people from wanting to invest or do business with these countries.




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Africa still to become new Asia

Spain wins the dimension of Tourism, breaking the bipolarity of Dimensions’ leadership between the United States and China.Promotional campaign about Spain released by Turespaña

Spain sits at the throne of international appeal towards their tourism products, assets and activities, yet #DigitalSpain is not the leader of any of the Brandtag Family within the Dimension: Turkey is the most searched country in the category of “Visit”, Italy leads the interest in “Cultural Assets”, “Outdoor and Nature” is geared towards Australia, Singapore attracts the most searches towards “Leisure” and the interest towards “Niche Markets” is led by Thailand.

By reaching the top spots in every single category within the Dimension Tourism, Spain is able to attract the proac-tive interest of tourists from all over the world, regardless of their holiday preferences, making it the world’s most complete destination in the minds of international tourists.

Turkey’s leadership of the Brandtag Family “Visit” is fairly unexpected - considering the Istanbul, Suruç, Doğubeyazıt, Siirt, Mardin and Ankara attacks in ongoing conflicts with the PKK and the Daesh – that visiting Turkey would be at is not uppermost in the mind of international tourists. It seems that neither terrorism nor the controversies of Erdoğan’s office constitute reason enough to discourage or disinterest international tourists in visiting Turkey.Let’s see how recent events may affect this scneario in the next edition of the index in November 2016.




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A lesson from Uruguay

The legacy of President Mujica’s inspiring actions and policies place Uruguay at the forefront of prominent countries for Governance President Mujica in his famous Volkswagen Beetle (Photo: Reuters)

Looking at the of most searched countries in the context of “Governance” it may seem strange to see Uruguay claiming the 5th spot between Germany and France. However, this result should come as no surprise for those familiar with the inspiring speeches and policies of President José Mujica.

Attentive to working conditions, human rights and social stability, the Uruguayan statesman distanced himself from the traditional luxuries and controversies that characterize most heads of state in the region, becoming a symbol of humanism, integrity and responsible governance not only at home, but all over the world.

Being replaced as head of state by Tabaré Vázquez, we will need to wait for the next edition of the Digital Country Index in November 2016 to see if the new Uruguayan executive will keep gaining recognition with Mujica’s political legacy.




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Colombia is on the rise

Colombia shows surprisingly good results and may very well be a case study for export success in a near future

President Santos and FARC leader “Timochenko” shake hands in Cuba for the peace treaty. (Photo: Reuters)

Although it seems unlikely to see Colombia among the top spots for export volume, this Latin American country whose exports rely mostly on mineral products (crude oil, coal and refined petroleum), is increasingly attracting the proactive interest of international companies looking to import these products from Colombia.

Being the 2nd most searched country in the world in the category “Companies” and 3rd in “Export Policies”, it is likely that these searches will convert into business opportunities and we can expect a significant growth in Colom-bian exports in the years to come.

Despite names like FARC and EPL causing chills even to the bravest global citizens, the interest in Colombian products seems to be raised to an all-time high and it seems that the uniqueness and value of these products overcomes the reputation of being unsafe.




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“Green” & “Pure” reputations

Although surprises make the highlights, it is importantto state the confirmations: Costa Rica and New Zealand claim the “Nature” perception.New Zealand and Costa Rica natural sites

New Zealand’s legacy of purity seen around the world in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, in the Maori-spirited All Blacks and in the aftermath of the 100% pure strategy has translated to excellent results through-out all the brandtags aligned with this concept within “Outdoor & Nature”, “Sports”, “Society”, “Live” and “Flagship Companies”, thus confirming the alignment between the positioning of the country and the interest of global citizens in New Zealand.

Similarly – although with more expressive results in the Dimension of Tourism – Costa Rica was the 4th most searched country in the world for “Outdoor and Nature” placing the country among widely recognized players in this area. It is also important to highlight that Costa Rica secured a spot as one of the 25 most searched countries to “Live” by the international workforce.




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Universities and searches

The most searched countries by international students are also those that occupy the Top Spotsin University RankingsOne of the most famous rankings is the “FT Global MBA Ranking”

The United States is the world’s most searched country by international students looking into the possibility of studying abroad.

This demand matches the output quality of American higher education as evaluated, for example, by the top 100 positions of the Financial Times “Global MBA Ranking 2016” and The Economist “Full Time MBA Ranking 2015”. Looking at the Top 10 of each ranking and the Digital Country index for the Brandtag Family “Study” (within Talent), it is possible to assert that there is an almost exact match between quality and demand.

US, Canada and the United Kingdom are in the Top 5 of every study. Germany and Australia – the 3rd and 4th countries with the largest volume of searches in this context - are also among the countries with the largest amount of top universities.

Spain is a perfect match between the three studies in 9th place while France seems to have more quality than demand, being in the Top 5 for The Economist and Financial Times but not going beyond 7th place in this context in the Digital Country Index.




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More about #DigitalCountry and the Digital Country Index

The Digital Country is a Country that has triggered proactive interest from Global Citizens (tourists, investors, businesspeople, workforce and general citizens) towards that Country in the Digital World. This definitionwas presented by Bloom Consulting in 2015 after determining through its own research and multiple other sources – including Google Intelligence - that when someone searches for information about a country in the context of Tourism, Investment, Exports, Prominence and Talent, one of the primary sources used today is a “search engine”.

This act of “searching” can be triggered by something one may have read in a newspaper, heard in a conversation or simply out of curiosity. “Searches” represent the true level of interest in a Country or a Place and therefore demonstrate a Country’s genuine appeal. If measured, "searches” can also highlight the interests one may have with regard to any specific Country Region or City.

With this data, Countries can measure if their Actions Activities and Policies are causing any effect on their Nation Brand and on their overall perception.

The Digital Country Index measures the performance of the #DigitialCountry

Would you like to know more?

If you work for a national, regional or city agency or any other Goverment organization, please contact

Digital Demand – D2©

[email protected]

or Bloom Consulting

[email protected]

Phone: +34 91 308 02 86Fax: +34 91 308 01 92

Thank you!


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Digital country index 16 executive summary

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Transcript of Digital country index 16 executive summary