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How does Brazil measure up? Comparing rankings through the lenses of nation brand indexes

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Abstract

A considerable amount of literature has been published on nation brand and yet not much regarding measurement. The purpose of this article is to examine nation brand indexes and explore the unbalanced outcomes of a country’s position in these recognized instruments. Although research has been carried out on nation brand, no single study exists comparing a country in four diverse nation brand indexes, which are the reputable ones by Anholt, Fetscherin, Fombrun and Anholt and Govers. This article also reflects on the critical studies perspective of the place branding research domain, discussed by Lucarelli and Berg. After a qualitative approach applied to Brazil, it is believed that these indexes mutually support and complement each other – even though they use different approaches, methodologies, samples and data. Moreover, each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses in terms of accuracy and rationality. Findings from this article’s evaluation may guide nation brand managers, governments and researchers to recognize that indexes should be taken into account when analysing a nation brand and its complex image. Therefore, this article contributes to existing knowledge on the critical studies perspective of the contemporary theoretical structure of the place branding research domain by providing a comparative study based on real data-based rankings of nation brand indexes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leeds Beckett University, Rose Bowl, City Campus, Room 562, Leeds Business School, Leeds, LS1 3HE, West Yorkshire, UK

    Fabiana Mariutti

Authors
  1. Fabiana Mariutti
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  2. Ralph Tench
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabiana Mariutti.

Additional information

1last year PhD Candidate at Leeds Business School in Strategy, Marketing and Communication at Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom. Research supported by CAPES – Brazil (Brazilian Post-Graduate Research Foundation). Master’s Degree in Sciences at the Faculty of Business at University of São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil.

2Professor of Communication and Director of PhD programmes at the Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University, UK.

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Mariutti, F., Tench, R. How does Brazil measure up? Comparing rankings through the lenses of nation brand indexes. Place Brand Public Dipl 12, 17–31 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2015.19

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