"This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this well thought-out and executed brand..."
John of Gaunt meets the unintentionally amusing Country Brand Index 2008, c/o Future Brand and Weber Shandwick, available here.
The rest of its short form description of this scepter'd isle runs thus:
"The UK is a well thought out and executed brand that effectively utilizes all of the natural and
cultural resources of the country.”
Which is nice.
And France: “France has a strong local identity (wine, music, fashion, language,tradition and culture) and the ability to load its brand with emotion:beauty, quality of life, romance.”
And for the prosecution, Thomas Carlyle: "France was long a despotism tempered by epigrams".
And Canada: “Canada is an exceptional country and has all of the assets to be a great brand: natural and urban beauty, quality of life, diversity,culture, entertainment, gastronomy,
business infrastructure, stability and openness.”
To which I might rebut with a quote from Al Capone: "I don't even know which street Canada is on"
And so on to the findings, which one should perhaps discount the authority thereof, given this howler: "SCOTCH WHISKEY Any whiskey labeled as “Scotch” must be produced in Scotland".
Dear old Blighty rates 6th for history and for art and culture and ease of travel (crikey...), ninth for nightlife and for shopping. Ratings as conference destinations and so forth are too dull to be worth examining. Scotland the Brave rates as the fifth most popular place to live, with the UK overall 10th, down three points on the year. Quite why Scotland is treated separately while England is not is a mystery.
Winners elsewhere are NZ for 'authenticity', Egypt for 'history', Italy for 'art and culture' and Norway for 'safety'. I think it a little raw that the UK does not make it into the top ten for fine dining but Austria and the UAE do. NZ is reckoned to have the friendliest locals ahead of our Hibernian neighbours, Thailand and Canada. Scotland rates 6th, while the UK, France, and - astonishingly - Belgium do not feature.
More later, perhaps.
The rest of its short form description of this scepter'd isle runs thus:
"The UK is a well thought out and executed brand that effectively utilizes all of the natural and
cultural resources of the country.”
Which is nice.
And France: “France has a strong local identity (wine, music, fashion, language,tradition and culture) and the ability to load its brand with emotion:beauty, quality of life, romance.”
And for the prosecution, Thomas Carlyle: "France was long a despotism tempered by epigrams".
And Canada: “Canada is an exceptional country and has all of the assets to be a great brand: natural and urban beauty, quality of life, diversity,culture, entertainment, gastronomy,
business infrastructure, stability and openness.”
To which I might rebut with a quote from Al Capone: "I don't even know which street Canada is on"
And so on to the findings, which one should perhaps discount the authority thereof, given this howler: "SCOTCH WHISKEY Any whiskey labeled as “Scotch” must be produced in Scotland".
Dear old Blighty rates 6th for history and for art and culture and ease of travel (crikey...), ninth for nightlife and for shopping. Ratings as conference destinations and so forth are too dull to be worth examining. Scotland the Brave rates as the fifth most popular place to live, with the UK overall 10th, down three points on the year. Quite why Scotland is treated separately while England is not is a mystery.
Winners elsewhere are NZ for 'authenticity', Egypt for 'history', Italy for 'art and culture' and Norway for 'safety'. I think it a little raw that the UK does not make it into the top ten for fine dining but Austria and the UAE do. NZ is reckoned to have the friendliest locals ahead of our Hibernian neighbours, Thailand and Canada. Scotland rates 6th, while the UK, France, and - astonishingly - Belgium do not feature.
More later, perhaps.
Labels: nonsense on stilts, travel
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on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 11:34 am.
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well executed Brand?
That act alone would take us up the culture tables.
Round of applause.
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