DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
Analysis of the External Projecton of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Carmen Máiz Bar 2018 International Doctoral School
Carmen Máiz Bar
DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
Analysis of the external projection of Galicia as a place brand. The case of USA.
Supervised by: Ana Belén Fernández Souto
2018
International Doctoral School
Ana Belén Fernández Souto
DECLARES that the present work, entitled “Analysis of the external projection of Galicia as a place brand. The case of USA”, submitted by Carmen Máiz Bar to obtain the title of Doctor, was carried out under her supervision in the PhD program “Doutoramento en Comunicación”.
Vigo,
The supervisor,
Dr. Ana Belén Fernández Souto
Para Bruno e Antón por ser os mellores compañeiros de viaxe e por ter(me) aturado tanto neste proceso
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to extend thanks to the many people who so generously contributed to the work presented in this thesis.
-To the Doutoramento en Comunicación program of the Universidade de Vigo -To my Supervisor, Ana Belén Fernández Souto -To the University of Southern California, particularly to the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism -To the anonymous participants of the two exploratory surveys -To the American companies who participated in Survey C -To the Galician companies who participated in Survey D -To my always supportive friends and family -And to all those persons who patiently listened to me endlessly talking about this topic
INDEX Resumen – Español...... 9 Resumo – Galego...... 19 0- Introduction...... 29 1- Literature Review...... 35 1.1. Branding...... 35 1.2. Place Branding...... 41 1.3. Indexes...... 49 2- Introducing Galicia...... 85 2.1. Geography, History and Culture Overview...... 85 2.2. Main Economic and Exports Figures...... 88 3- Promoting Galicia...... 93 3.1. Background...... 94 3.2. Campaigns and Promoters...... 97 4- The Need for Place Branding...... 107 4.1. Some Reasons for Working on a Place Brand...... 107 4.2. Place Branding for Galicia...... 110 4.3. International Environment...... 114 5- United States of America as Target Market...... 125 5.1. Country Overview...... 125 5.2. Main Economic and Imports Figures...... 127 5.3. Intercultural Communication Approach...... 129 6- Methods...... 145 6.1. Participants...... 146 6.2. Materials...... 147 6.3. Description of Surveys A International and B Spain...... 148 6.4. Description of Survey C USA...... 150 6.5. Description of Survey D Galicia...... 153 6.6. Procedure...... 155 7- Findings...... 157 7.1. Results of Survey A International...... 157 Demographic information...... 158 Traveling decisions...... 159 Brand awareness...... 161 Brand associations...... 162 Considerations and advocacy...... 165 Familiarity analysis...... 166 7.2. Results of Survey B Spain...... 170 Demographic information...... 171 Traveling decisions...... 172 Brand awareness...... 173 Brand associations...... 174 Considerations and advocacy...... 176 Familiarity analysis...... 178 7.3. Results of Survey C USA...... 183 Demographic information...... 184 Place-of-origin...... 193 Traveling decisions (part 1)...... 198 Brand awareness...... 203 Brand associations...... 207 Considerations and advocacy...... 209 Traveling decisions (part 2)...... 213 Familiarity analysis...... 215 7.4. Results of Survey D Galicia...... 225 Company information...... 226 Exporting activities...... 230 Perceptions...... 235 Place-of-origin...... 238 Galicia-USA relations...... 253 8- Discussion...... 259 8.1. Analysis of Survey A International...... 260
2 8.2. Analysis of Survey B Spain...... 266 8.3. Analysis of Survey C USA...... 273 8.4. Analysis of Survey D Galicia...... 284 9- Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions...... 293 10. References...... 305 11- Appendices...... 325 Appendix A: Survey A International...... 325 Appendix B: Survey B Spain...... 335 Appendix C: Survey C USA...... 343 Appendix D: Survey D Galicia...... 355
3 Index of Figures Figure 1: Building Strong Brands Model...... 39 Figure 2: Comparison between nation branding and product branding...... 42 Figure 3: ‘Place’ and Associated Vocabulary...... 47 Figure 4: Countries included in NBI 2016...... 51 Figure 5: Nation Brands Hexagon...... 52 Figure 6: Comparison 2015 NBI ranking VS 2016 NBI ranking...... 53 Figure 7: NBI 2016 – Dimensions for Spain...... 54 Figure 8: Top 20 countries CBI 2014-15...... 56 Figure 9: Country classification CBI 2014-15...... 57 Figure 10: Rankings by dimension CBI 2014-15...... 58 Figure 11: Overall 2014-15 CBI ranking...... 58 Figure 12: Map display Overall Score Best Countries Ranking 2017...... 61 Figure 13: Entrepreneurship scores – Best Countries ranking 2017...... 61 Figure 14: 2017 Best Countries Rankings – Top 3 overall and in different categories...... 62 Figure 15: Spain Rankings – Best Countries, 2017...... 63 Figure 16: 2017 Good Country- Overall ranking...... 65 Figure 17: 2017 Good Country - Spain rankings...... 65 Figure 18: Legend for 2017 Good Country rankings...... 66 Figure 19: Country RepTrak Model...... 67 Figure 20: Weight of the different variables – Country RepTrak 2017...... 68 Figure 21: 2017 Ranking – Country RepTrak...... 68 Figure 22: Reputation difference between internal and external valuation...... 69 Figure 23: Internal VS External perception in Spain...... 70 Figure 24: The Top 10 Most Competitive Economies 2017-2018...... 71 Figure 25: GCI Scores for Spain 2017-2018...... 71 Figure 26: Most problematic factors for doing business in Spain...... 72 Figure 27: GPI 2017 variables and coefficients...... 73 Figure 28: Top 20 2016 Global Presence...... 74 Figure 29: 2016 United States and European Union Global Presence...... 74 Figure 30: 2016 Spain’s Global Presence...... 75 Figure 31: 2016 BIE Comparison of scores Spain VS other countries...... 76 Figure 32: Evolution of Spain’s scores in different countries – BIE 2016...... 76 Figure 33: Average Spain’s scores in different countries, according to age – BIE 2016...... 77 Figure 34: Average Spain’s scores in different countries, according to education – BIE 2016...... 77 Figure 35: Scores for different place brand attributes – BIE 2016...... 78 Figure 36: Scores for different place brand attributes – Pairs of words – BIE 2016...... 78 Figure 37: Scores for different attributes in USA – BIE 2016...... 79 Figure 38: Spain’s profile in USA – BIE 2016...... 79 Figure 39: Scores for different Spanish brands in different countries– BIE 2016...... 80 Figure 40: Scores for Zara in different countries – BIE 2016...... 80 Figure 41: Made-in-Spain Effect in different attributes – BIE 2016...... 81 Figure 42: SIDIR objective indicators VS position in rankings...... 83 Figure 43: Sector distribution – Galician Turnover...... 90 Figure 44: Galician exporting profile...... 91 Figure 45: Brand Galicia current logo...... 99 Figure 46: Galicia Calidade current logo...... 100 Figure 47: Different versions of Galicia Calidade current logo...... 102 Figure 48: Country RepTrak Model and supporting behaviors...... 108 Figure 49: Reputation-Recommendation Ratio...... 109 Figure 50: European Corridors – Mobility and Transport TENtec Interactive Map...... 115 Figure 51: Spain VS USA comparison - Hofstede Cultural Dimensions...... 132 Figure 52: Galician Hofstede Cultural Dimensions...... 136 Figure 53: High and Low Context Cultures...... 138 Figure 54: Cultural Map - WVS Wave 6...... 139 Figure 55: GLOBE Project Cultural Clusters...... 141 Figure 56: Leadership Country Clusters...... 142 Figure 57: Cultural Types in Lewis Model...... 143 Figure 58: Frequency of trips to Galicia – Survey A International...... 160 Figure 59: Reasons for trips to Galicia – Survey A International...... 161 Figure 60: Source of knowledge about Galicia -Survey A International...... 162 Figure 61: Brand Associations – Survey A International...... 163 Figure 62: Familiarity results -Survey A International...... 170 Figure 63: Frequency of the trips to Galicia – Survey B Spain...... 172 Figure 64: Reasons for the trips to Galicia – Survey B Spain...... 173 Figure 65: Spanish Autonomous Communities mentioned – Survey B Spain...... 174 Figure 66: Brand associations – Survey B Spain...... 175 Figure 67: Familiarity results -Survey B Spain...... 182 Figure 68: Nationality – Survey C USA...... 184 Figure 69: Origin state living abroad – Survey C USA...... 185 Figure 70: Origin country living in USA – Survey C USA...... 186 Figure 71: Residency state foreigners living in USA – Survey C USA...... 187 Figure 72: Gender of surveyees – Survey C USA...... 188 Figure 73: Age of surveyees – Survey C USA...... 189 Figure 74: Education of surveyees – Survey C USA...... 189 Figure 75: Employment sector of surveyees – Survey C USA...... 190 Figure 76: Speak other languages – Survey C USA...... 192 Figure 77: Languages spoken – Survey C USA...... 193 Figure 78: Importance of POO when purchasing– Survey C USA...... 194 Figure 79: Importance of POO when doing business – Survey C USA...... 194 Figure 80: Reasons that contributed the most to their decision regarding buying products or services – Survey C USA...... 195 Figure 81: Other reasons that contributed the most to their decision regarding buying products or services – Survey C USA...... 196 Figure 82: Reasons that contributed the most to their decision about doing business – Survey C USA...... 197 Figure 83: Other reasons that contributed the most to their decision about doing business – Survey C USA...... 198 Figure 84: Have visited Europe – Survey C USA...... 199 Figure 85: Frequency of trips to Europe – Survey C USA...... 199 Figure 86: Reasons for trips to Europe – Survey C USA...... 200 Figure 87: Other reasons for trips to Europe – Survey C USA...... 200 Figure 88: Have visited Spain – Survey C USA...... 201 Figure 89: Frequency of trips to Spain – Survey C USA...... 202 Figure 90: Reasons for trips to Spain – Survey C USA...... 202 Figure 91: Other reasons for trips to Spain – Survey C USA...... 203 Figure 92: Top of mind locations in Spain – Survey C USA...... 204
5 Figure 93: Have heard of Galicia – Survey C USA...... 205 Figure 94: Source of knowledge about Galicia – Survey C USA...... 206 Figure 95: Other sources of knowledge about Galicia – Survey C USA...... 207 Figure 96: Brand associations – Survey C USA...... 208 Figure 97: Have visited Galicia – Survey C USA...... 213 Figure 98: Frequency of trips to Galicia – Survey C USA...... 214 Figure 99: Reasons for trips to Galicia – Survey C USA...... 214 Figure 100: Other reasons for trips to Galicia – Survey C USA...... 215 Figure 101: Know any Galician brands, companies or organizations – Survey C USA...... 216 Figure 102: Galician brands, companies or organizations they can remember– Survey C USA....216 Figure 103: Know any Galician personalities – Survey C USA...... 217 Figure 104: Galician personalities they can remember – Survey C USA...... 218 Figure 105: Know any Galician gastronomy elements -Survey C USA...... 219 Figure 106: Galician gastronomy they can remember – Survey C USA...... 220 Figure 107: Know any Galician sportsmen/women or teams...... 220 Figure 108: Galician sportsmen/women or teams they can remember – Survey C USA...... 221 Figure 109: Know any Galician locations – Survey C USA...... 222 Figure 110: Galician locations they can remember – Survey C USA...... 222 Figure 111: Know any Galician cultural features or traditions – Survey C USA...... 223 Figure 112: Galician cultural features or traditions they can remember – Survey C USA...... 224 Figure 113: Information they would like to receive about Galicia – Survey C USA...... 225 Figure 114: Location of the company – Survey D Galicia...... 227 Figure 115: Size of the company – Survey D Galicia...... 227 Figure 116: Sector of the company – Survey D Galicia...... 228 Figure 117: Sector of the company, others – Survey D Galicia...... 229 Figure 118: Position within the company – Survey D Galicia...... 230 Figure 119: Currently exporting – Survey D Galicia...... 231 Figure 120: Reasons for not exporting – Survey D Galicia...... 232 Figure 121: Other reasons for not exporting – Survey D Galicia...... 233 Figure 122: Percentage of production exported – Survey D Galicia...... 234 Figure 123: Currently exporting to USA – Survey D Galicia...... 234 Figure 124: Percentage of production exported to USA – Survey D Galicia...... 235 Figure 125: Perceived image of their firms/ services/ products in USA – Survey D Galicia...... 236 Figure 126: Reasons for not exporting to USA – Survey D Galicia...... 237 Figure 127: Other reasons for not exporting to USA – Survey D Galicia...... 238 Figure 128: Influence of POO in success – Survey D Galicia...... 239 Figure 129: Reasons for no influence of POO in success – Survey D Galicia...... 240 Figure 130: Reasons for influence of POO in success – Survey D Galicia...... 240 Figure 131: Include Galicia hallmark in products or services – Survey D Galicia...... 241 Figure 132: Reasons for not including Galicia hallmark – Survey D Galicia...... 242 Figure 133: Reasons for including Galicia hallmark – Survey D Galicia...... 242 Figure 134: Include Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia...... 243 Figure 135: Reasons for not including Galician origin in promotion activities–Survey D Galicia 244 Figure 136: Reasons for including Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia....245 Figure 137: Include Galician origin in website – Survey D Galicia...... 245 Figure 138: Reasons for not including Galician origin in website – Survey D Galicia...... 246 Figure 139: Reasons for including Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia....247
6 Figure 140: What would encourage to use a Galicia hallmark – Survey D Galicia...... 248 Figure 141: What would encourage to use a Galicia hallmark, other reasons – Survey D Galicia.249 Figure 142: What would encourage to include Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia...... 250 Figure 143: What would encourage to include Galician origin in promotion activities, other reasons – Survey D Galicia...... 251 Figure 144: What would encourage to include Galician origin in website – Survey D Galicia.....252 Figure 145: What would encourage to include Galician origin in promotion activities, other reasons – Survey D Galicia...... 253 Figure 146: Associations USA – Survey D Galicia...... 254 Figure 147: Perceived associations for Galicia – Survey D Galicia...... 255 Figure 148: Perceived associations for Galicia, other – Survey D Galicia...... 256 Figure 149: Aspirational associations for Galicia – Survey D Galicia...... 257 Figure 150: HDM Association Dimensions...... 276 Figure 151: Boisen’s Oslo Brand Key Perception Indicators...... 303
Index of Tables Table 1: SWOT analysis – Galician economy...... 97 Table 2: Kassa et al’s cultural values for Galicia and Spain...... 136 Table 3: Leadership Style Scores Spain VS USA...... 142 Table 4: Considerations/ Recommendations – Survey A International...... 166 Table 5: Considerations/ Recommendations – Survey B Spain...... 178 Table 6: Visiting Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA...... 209 Table 7: Living in Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA...... 210 Table 8: Studying in Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA...... 210 Table 9: Working in Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA...... 211 Table 10: Doing business with Galician companies considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA...... 212 Table 11: Buying Galician products considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA...... 213
7
RESUMEN – ESPAÑOL
TÍTULO DE LA TESIS:
Análisis de la proyección exterior de Galicia como marca territorio. El caso de Estados Unidos.
La hipótesis inicial de esta tesis se fundamenta en la base de que Galicia es prácticamente invisible en el ámbito internacional, un territorio desconocido del que sólo aquellos que tienen una conexión personal y/ o emocional previa tienen referencias, y que éstas están basadas fundamentalmente en características y aspectos relacionados con el turismo (paisajes, tradiciones, gastronomía, principalmente). Las posibilidades de negocio están, por lo tanto, siendo pasadas por alto, lo que implica la pérdida de oportunidades empresariales y hace que sea claramente necesario trabajar en la comunicación de la marca territorio.
Para poder verificar esta hipótesis se realizan dos estudios iniciales. El primero, un análisis de antecedentes, formado por las principales publicaciones e investigaciones sobre marca territorio, para establecer un marco teórico adecuado que posibilite la solución de los problemas planteados en nuestra hipótesis inicial. El segundo, una exploración de la situación actual de la marca, encaminada a identificar las fortalezas y debilidades en la forma en que ésta se está comunicando actualmente
9 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. para, una vez conocidas esas fortalezas y debilidades, poder definir nuevas posibles estrategias de comunicación.
Establecida la hipótesis inicial y completada con el marco teórico y la investigación exploratoria, se definen cuatro objetivos fundamentales para este proyecto:
• Objetivo 1 (O.1)- Iniciar un análisis de reputación de marca territorio. • Objetivo 2 (O.2)- Identificar áreas de mejora en la forma en la que esa marca territorio se está comunicando. • Objetivo 3 (O.3)- Establecer las bases para la elaboración de futuras estrategias generales de comunicación en el entorno internacional de negocios. • Objetivo 4 (O.4)- Determinar estrategias básicas de comunicación para el caso concreto de las empresas gallegas y su acercamiento a los consumidores estadounidenses. Para poder alcanzar estos objetivos, la tesis se divide en doce apartados:
0. Introduction, en el que se presentan la hipótesis y los objetivos. En este capítulo se explican los motivos para la realización del proyecto y el proceso seguido para delimitar el área de estudio.
En primer lugar, partiendo de la noción de notoriedad (en este caso, de la falta de notoriedad) que se presupone para la Marca Galicia, se exploran los conceptos de identidad e imagen y su aplicación en la disciplina. Posteriormente, se determina la importancia de la fuerza de una marca territorio para el crecimiento y desarrollo de dicho territorio. Para finalizar, se explica la elección del ámbito empresarial como objeto principal de la investigación y se concreta el público objetivo, Estados
Unidos de América (EE.UU.), determinado, principalmente, por su importante tamaño como mercado potencial y su papel de gran influenciador a nivel internacional.
1. Literature Review. En este capítulo, que se organiza en tres partes - Branding, Place
Branding e Indexes - se analizan los aspectos más relevantes desarrollados por académicos en este campo de investigación. El subapartado de Branding recoge las bases fundamentales de esta disciplina, considerada cimiento para este estudio, y analiza el concepto de marca y los distintos
10 Resumen aspectos que implica el trabajo en el fortalecimiento de la misma. Este análisis da paso al siguiente subapartado, eje principal para la tesis: el centrado en Place Branding. En él se relacionan las bases de la disciplina que estudia las marcas territorio, se hace un recorrido por las teorías y corrientes consideradas cruciales para entender la materia, y se revisan las definiciones y técnicas específicas que podrían utilizarse en el posterior desarrollo de estrategias aplicables a la marca y al territorio que nos ocupan. Por último, el subapartado Indexes incluye, define y analiza los principales rankings de medición de la fortaleza de las marcas territorio a nivel internacional, para determinar qué factores tienen influencia en el valor otorgado a cada una de ellas; además, se realiza una descripción de los sistemas de medición utilizados en cada uno de los índices, aportando ejemplos concretos para los distintos casos.
2. Introducing Galicia describe en mayor profundidad el producto - marca territorio objeto de esta tesis, Galicia, para el que se propone la aplicación de los procesos de branding y place branding estudiados en la sección anterior. El capítulo se divide en dos partes. En primer lugar,
Geography, History and Culture Overview ofrece una revisión de los aspectos más relevantes en los campos de la geografía, de la historia y de la cultura de Galicia, caracterizando el territorio en el que se centra el proyecto y ofreciendo información objetiva para facilitar el conocimiento de los elementos básicos que conforman la marca. En segundo lugar, Main Economic and Exports Figures constituye una introducción a los principales datos relativos a la economía, al entorno empresarial y a las exportaciones de Galicia, pertinentes en una tesis en la que se busca fundamentalmente beneficiar, con una marca territorio más fuerte, a las compañías gallegas susceptibles de exportar productos o servicios.
3. Promoting Galicia expone las principales acciones que se han desarrollado en el pasado encaminadas a la promoción del territorio. Para comprender el alcance de estas acciones con
11 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. respecto a nuestra investigación, el capítulo se inicia con una distinción fundamental entre dos conceptos, destination y place branding, relevante debido a que muchas de esas acciones están centradas en el primero, destination branding, sin embargo nuestro foco de estudio está centrado en el último, place branding. Una vez diferenciados estos dos términos, se realiza una recopilación de acciones, que se organiza en dos partes: Background y Campaigns and Promoters. La primera trata los antecedentes, las acciones y programas iniciados para contribuir al fortalecimiento de Galicia como marca de cara al exterior, articulados alrededor de un recorrido histórico que parte del momento de la reinstauración de la democracia en el último cuarto del siglo pasado, hasta llegar a las acciones que están vigentes actualmente. La segunda parte describe promotores y campañas concretas, fundamentalmente desarrolladas por instituciones públicas, y, también fundamentalmente, centradas en el turismo, mencionando sin embargo, siempre que es pertinente, las iniciativas más destacadas desde el ámbito privado y las encaminadas a promocionar aspectos no turísticos de Galicia.
4. The Need for Place Branding amplía y refuerza las argumentaciones expuestas a favor de fortalecer la marca territorio, focalizándose especialmente en los beneficios que ese fortalecimiento podría traer a Galicia específicamente. Estructurado en tres partes, el primer subapartado se titula
Some Reasons for Working on a Place Brand. En él se tratan los motivos directos para trabajar en una marca territorio, fundamentando las explicaciones en beneficios probados por distintos estudios internacionales de la especialidad. Un resumen muy breve de esos beneficios indicaría que una marca territorio fuerte atrae, además de turismo, inversiones exteriores y talento, facilita la venta en el exterior de productos y servicios provenientes de ese territorio, contribuye a desbloquear conflictos, enriquece, como consecuencia de todo lo anterior, los entornos académicos, de investigación y desarrollo, y de negocios, y, de forma general, mejora la situación económica y la
12 Resumen calidad de vida en el territorio. El segundo subapartado, Place Branding for Galicia, expone las distintas aplicaciones que los elementos introducidos en el subapartado anterior pueden tener en
Galicia, explicando cómo podrían materializarse en ese territorio concreto. Siguiendo una lista con ejemplos específicos de otros países, se trasladan y adaptan la importancia y los beneficios a la situación gallega. El tercer subapartado, International Environment, cubre dos aspectos. Por una parte, se considera el potencial de internacionalización de Galicia, especialmente en áreas poco exploradas que podrían convertirse en oportunidades de negocio para las empresas gallegas. Y, por otra, se introducen cuatro casos de estudio a través de los cuales se podrían establecer paralelismos con Galicia por distintos motivos, y cuyo desarrollo se podría tomar como referencia en el caso de establecer programas de place branding, observando el éxito o fracaso en las estrategias y acciones que se trazaron y aplicaron en otros territorios
5. United States of America as Target Market describe tanto la población como el país, Estados
Unidos de América, que se han escogido como público objetivo para esas estrategias y acciones que se iniciarían en el caso de establecer un programa real de comunicación centrado en apoyar a las empresas gallegas en ese mercado. El capítulo se divide en tres partes: Country Overview, Main
Economic and Exports Figures e Intercultural Communication Approach. La primera, Country
Overview, incluye una introducción general a los EE.UU., atendiendo a los aspectos más relevantes en los ámbitos de la geografía, de la historia y de la cultura para caracterizar de esta forma el país.
La segunda parte, Main Economic and Exports Figures constituye una introducción a los principales datos relativos a la economía y al entorno empresarial, profundizando especialmente en los referidos a las importaciones, estableciendo así un paralelismo con los datos de exportación de
Galicia, territorio origen, que se trataron en el Capítulo 2. Introducing Galicia. La tercera parte,
Intercultural Communication Approach, destaca la importancia de la comunicación intercultural a
13 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. través de las principales definiciones, teorías y estudios que podrían tener aplicación en los casos de intercambios entre Estados Unidos y Galicia; se contraponen también los valores y características que los estudios atribuyen a cada territorio, incluyendo, cuando es pertinente, los que cubren específicamente Galicia.
6. Methods explica la metodología de investigación utilizada para desarrollar la tesis, en base a la hipótesis y a los objetivos definidos. Se considera que el método de investigación más adecuado, dadas las características del trabajo, es la encuesta, la cual permite, además, tener un enfoque no sólo cualitativo, sino también cuantitativo. En esta elección influyen distintos factores, siendo determinante que éste sea el método más frecuentemente utilizado en la disciplina, particularmente cuando se busca evaluar la reputación de un territorio y la información que los públicos objetivo reciben sobre ese territorio; a este importante factor se añade la dificultad de contactar, a través de otros métodos, con un número estadísticamente representativo de miembros de esos públicos objetivo. A tal efecto, se distribuyeron cuatro cuestionarios. Los dos primeros, Survey A
International y Survey B Spain, dirigido el primero a públicos internacionales y el segundo a públicos españoles, con intención exploratoria, para poder recabar información que sirviese para establecer las bases del estudio. Los dos últimos Survey C USA y Survey D Galicia, con plena representatividad estadística, dirigido el primero a empresas y profesionales estadounidenses y el segundo a empresas y profesionales gallegos, son el foco principal del proyecto, los que aportan los datos fundamentales en la elaboración de la tesis. El capítulo, tras introducir el enfoque metodológico y listar los cuestionarios, se organiza en los siguientes subapartados: Participants, en el que se incluyen el recuento de participantes y los cálculos de representatividad estadística;
Materials, en el que detalla el programa que se utilizó el diseño, distribución y recogida de datos de las encuestas, y las fuentes para la elección de preguntas; Description of Surveys, con subapartados
14 Resumen para cada una de las encuestas, en los que se describen la estructura y preguntas de todos los cuestionarios, acompañadas de las consideraciones tenidas en cuenta para decidir utilizar esas estructuras y preguntas, todas ellas basadas en las investigaciones reflejadas en los apartados anteriores; y finalmente Procedure, en el que se explica el procedimiento de distribución de encuestas y el proceso de recogida y organización de datos.
7. Findings transcribe las respuestas y describe los resultados de las cuatro encuestas. Dentro de cada uno de los subpartados del capítulo, uno por encuesta (Results of Survey A International,
Results of Survey B Spain, Results of Survey D USA y Results of Survey D Galicia), se sigue el mismo orden de preguntas que los participantes visualizaban cuando recibían y cubrían cada cuestionario. A efectos de claridad y utilidad, en este capítulo además las preguntas se agrupan en distintos bloques temáticos, según su relevancia para los resultados de la investigación, mencionando en cada uno de ellos las fuentes que se utilizan para determinar esa estructura. En todos los casos en los que es posible, se introducen gráficos o tablas para facilitar la presentación y la lectura de datos.
8. Discussion analiza los resultados de las encuestas, tomando como referencias tanto el marco teórico como las consideraciones y aportaciones de apartados anteriores, y centrándose en conseguir alcanzar los cuatro objetivos expuestos en la introducción de la tesis. El capítulo se divide en cuatro subapartados, correspondientes a cada uno de los cuatro cuestionarios: Analysis of Survey A
International, Analysis of Survey B Spain, Analysis of Survey D USA y Analysis of Survey D
Galicia.
Dentro de cada uno de estos subapartados, se sigue el esquema establecido por los bloques temáticos determinados en el capítulo anterior (7. Findings), estableciendo así un paralelismo que facilita la relación entre los apartados teóricos y los prácticos, para mostrar de la manera más clara
15 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. posible la consecución de los objetivos O.1, Iniciar un análisis de reputación de marca territorio, y
O.2, Identificar áreas de mejora en la forma en la que esa marca territorio se está comunicando. De manera transversal, dentro de todo el análisis, se incluyen los elementos que encaminan a alcanzar los objetivos O.3, Establecer las bases para la elaboración de estrategias generales de comunicación en el entorno internacional de negocios, y O.4, Determinar las estrategias básicas de comunicación para el caso concreto de las empresas gallegas y su acercamiento a consumidores estadounidenses.
Asimismo, se muestran los resultados que van acercando la demostración del cumplimiento de la hipótesis inicial.
A tal efecto, son destacables los análisis de resultados de las encuestas A International, B Spain y, fundamentalmente, C USA, a través de los cuáles se demuestra que la notoriedad de Galicia como marca se encuentra en niveles muy bajos, siendo, en la mayor parte de los casos, absolutamente inexistente. Además, cobra importancia el hecho de que la mayoría de los participantes que demuestran un cierto grado de conocimiento indican que éste proviene de familiares o amigos, lo cual prueba la existencia de una conexión emocional, pero no la presencia de la marca en otros canales de comunicación. Otro aspecto que destaca en este análisis es que aquellos que han escuchado hablar de Galicia tienen una impresión positiva, pero muy frecuentemente enmarcada en una imagen eminentemente turística, conformada principalmente por elementos como paisajes, peregrinajes o gastronomía. Este hecho, por supuesto, no es negativo, principalmente porque la relación de estos elementos u otros que apuntan a asociaciones con historia, tradición, cultura, constituye una imagen favorable, especialmente para atraer turismo a Galicia. Sin embargo, se observa una cierta tendencia a “sobre-ruralizar”, lo cual traslada una imagen bucólica, incluso idílica, pero mitiga asociaciones con aspectos como modernidad, tecnología o industria, obviamente relevantes para las empresas gallegas. Este último aspecto, añadido al desconocimiento con respecto
16 Resumen a cualquier proceso productivo o empresarial que tiene lugar en Galicia, y al análisis de las respuestas a preguntas sobre el tipo de información que los públicos objetivos desearían recibir sobre el territorio, sugieren el primer paso para establecer las bases de posibles áreas de mejora y creación de estrategias de comunicación. Siguiendo las dimensiones establecidas por el HDM de
Future Brand (2016), se desprende que la notoriedad y la familiaridad son mínimas, que las asociaciones están frecuentemente limitadas a los aspectos turísticos, y que las preferencias, consideraciones y decisiones son generalmente dudosas, debido al desconocimiento.
Por último, la encuesta D Galicia, dirigida a empresas gallegas, aporta el punto de vista de los públicos internos. El análisis de sus resultados contribuye a cerrar la consecución de los objetivos de la investigación, aportando, por un lado, nociones sobre identidad y proyección de imagen percibida, que complementan todo lo anteriormente estudiado de cara al Objetivo 1 (O.1); y, por otro, apreciaciones sobre lugar de origen (POO, place of origin) de productos y servicios, imagen percibida e imagen deseada, y promoción existente de marca territorio, productos y empresas, todo lo cual se añade a los avances encaminados a alcanzar el Objetivo 2 (O.2). Por otra parte, los aspectos arriba mencionados con respecto al Objetivo 3 (O.3) se ven fortalecidos al sumar el estudio de hábitos de comunicación con respecto a la marca territorio por parte de las empresas gallegas y los resultados de los mismos en cuanto a beneficios empresariales.
Para finalizar, el estudio de las relaciones y comunicaciones existentes con los Estados Unidos realizado en esta encuesta D Galicia, complementado con el análisis del tipo de información que los públicos objetivo desearían recibir, junto con el de los formatos y canales a través de los cuales podrían recibirla, realizado a través de la encuesta C USA, completarían la consecución del Objetivo
4 (O.4).
17 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
9. Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions, capítulo final en el que se incluyen las implicaciones derivadas de todos los capítulos anteriores, las dificultades encontradas y las oportunidades abiertas para futuras líneas de investigación. En este trecho final se pretende acabar de relacionar y organizar los resultados de la investigación y la consecución de los objetivos establecidos. A tal efecto, y para concluir aportando, además de un trabajo académico, una posible aplicación práctica del mismo, el capítulo se estructura siguiendo las líneas generales de un plan de comunicación. Siempre teniendo en cuenta que llegar a realizar todo el trabajo que implica una marca territorio es muy complejo, y que un plan de comunicación real requeriría acceso a más información específica sobre disponibilidad de recursos, tiempos y viabilidad, ésta parece una manera lógica de organizar la información recogida, los análisis efectuados y las conclusiones conseguidas, añadiendo una contribución a la vertiente práctica del place branding. Además, en la descripción de ese hipotético plan de comunicación, se recoge la confirmación de la hipótesis inicial de la tesis, las limitaciones que se encontraron en la elaboración de este proyecto, y las oportunidades descubiertas para futuras líneas de investigación.
10. References está formado por un listado de referencias bibliográficas. La relación, con todas las fuentes consultadas para la realización de la tesis, incluye tanto las citadas dentro del texto, como las no citadas que han sido manejadas durante la investigación.
11. Appendices está subdividido en cuatro subapartados: Appendix A - Survey A International,
Appendix B – Survey B Spain, Appendix C – Survey C USA y Appendix D – Survey D Galicia. Estos subapartados se corresponden con las transcripciones literales de cada una de las encuestas distribuidas y utilizadas para la elaboración de la tesis.
18 RESUMO – GALEGO
TÍTULO DA TESE:
Análise da proxección exterior de Galicia como marca territorio. O caso de Estados Unidos.
A hipótese inicial desta tese fundaméntase na base de que Galicia é practicamente invisible no eido internacional, un territorio descoñecido do que só aqueles que teñen unha conexión persoal e/ ou emocional previa teñen referencias, e que estas están baseadas fundamentalmente en características e aspectos relacionados co turismo (paisaxes, tradicións, gastronomía, principalmente). As posibilidades de negocio están, polo tanto, sendo pasadas por alto, o que implica a perda de oportunidades empresariais e fai que sexa claramente necesario traballar na comunicación da marca territorio.
Para poder verificar esta hipótese realizáronse dous estudos iniciais. O primeiro, unha análise de antecedentes, formada polas principais publicacións e investigacións sobre marca territorio, para establecer un marco teórico adecuado que posibilite a solución dos problemas presentados na nosa hipótese inicial. O segundo, unha exploración da situación actual da marca, encamiñada a identificar as fortalezas e debilidades no xeito en que esta se está a comunicar actualmente para, unha vez coñecidas esas fortalezas e debilidades, poder definir novas posibles estratexias de comunicación.
19 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Establecida a hipótese inicial e completada co marco teórico e a investigación exploratoria, defínense catro obxectivos fundamentais para este proxecto:
• Obxectivo 1 (O.1)- Iniciar unha análise de reputación de marca territorio. • Obxectivo 2 (O.2)- Identificar áreas de mellora no xeito no que que esa marca territorio se está a comunicar. • Obxectivo 3 (O.3)- Establecer as bases para a elaboración de futuras estratexias xerais de comunicación no eido internacional de negocios. • Obxectivo 4 (O.4)- Determinar estratexias básicas de comunicación para o caso concreto das empresas galegas e o seu achegamento aos consumidores estadounidenses. Para poder alcanzar estes obxectivos, a tese divídese en doce apartados:
0. Introduction, no que se presentan a hipótese e os obxectivos. Neste capítulo explícanse os motivos para a realización do proxecto e o proceso seguido para delimitar a área de estudo. En primeiro lugar, partindo da noción de notoriedade (neste caso, da falta de notoriedade) que se presupón para a Marca Galicia, explóranse os conceptos de identidade e imaxe e a súa aplicación na disciplina. Posteriormente, determínase a importancia da forza dunha marca territorio para o crecemento e desenvolvemento de dito territorio. Para finalizar, explícase a escolla do ámbito empresarial como obxecto principal da investigación e se concreta o público obxectivo, Estados
Unidos de América (EE.UU.), determinado, principalmente, polo seu importante tamaño como mercado potencial e o seu papel de grande influenciador a nivel internacional.
1. Literature Review. Neste capítulo, que se organiza en tres partes - Branding, Place Branding e
Indexes - analízanse os aspectos máis relevantes desenvolvidos por académicos neste campo de investigación. O subapartado de Branding recolle as bases fundamentais desta disciplina, considerada cimento para este estudo, e analiza o concepto de marca e os distintos aspectos que implica o traballo no fortalecemento da mesma. Esta análise dá paso ao seguinte subapartado, eixo principal para a tese: o centrado en Place Branding. Nel relaciónanse as bases da disciplina que
20 Resumo estuda as marcas territorio, faise un percorrido polas teorías e correntes consideradas cruciais para entender a materia, e se revisan as definicións e técnicas específicas que poderían utilizarse no posterior desenvolvemento de estratexias aplicables á marca e ao territorio que nos ocupan. Por
último, o subapartado Indexes inclúe, define e analiza os principais rankings de medición da fortaleza das marcas territorio a nivel internacional, para determinar que factores teñen influencia no valor outorgado a cada unha delas; ademais, realízase unha descrición dos sistemas de medición utilizados en cada un dos índices, aportando exemplos concretos para os distintos casos.
2. Introducing Galicia describe en maior profundidade o produto - marca territorio obxecto desta tese, Galicia, para o que se propón a aplicación dos procesos de branding e place branding estudados na sección anterior. O capítulo divídese en dúas partes. En primeiro lugar, Geography,
History and Culture Overview ofrece unha revisión dos aspectos máis relevantes nos campos da xeografía, da historia e da cultura de Galicia, caracterizando o territorio no que se centra o proxecto e ofrecendo información obxectiva para facilitar o coñecemento dos elementos básicos que conforman a marca. En segundo lugar, Main Economic and Exports Figures constitúe unha introdución aos principais datos relativos á economía, ao entorno empresarial e ás exportacións de
Galicia, pertinentes nunha tese na que se busca fundamentalmente beneficiar, cunha marca territorio máis forte, ás compañías galegas susceptibles de exportar produtos ou servizos.
3. Promoting Galicia expón as principais accións que se teñen desenvolvido no pasado encamiñadas á promoción do territorio. Para comprender o alcance destas accións con respecto á nosa investigación, o capítulo iniciase cunha distinción fundamental entre dous conceptos, destination e place branding, relevante debido a que moitas desas accións están centradas no primeiro, destination branding, non obstante o noso foco de estudo está centrado no último, place branding. Unha vez diferenciados estes dous términos, realízase unha compilación de accións, que
21 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. se organiza en dúas partes: Background e Campaigns and Promoters. A primeira trata os antecedentes, as accións e programas iniciados para contribuír ao fortalecemento de Galicia como marca de cara ao exterior, articulados ao redor dun percorrido histórico que parte do momento da reinstauración da democracia no último cuarto do século pasado, ata chegar ás accións que están vixentes actualmente. A segunda parte describe promotores e campañas concretas, fundamentalmente desenvolvidas por institucións públicas, e, tamén fundamentalmente, centradas no turismo, mencionando sen embargo, sempre que é pertinente, as iniciativas máis destacadas dende o ámbito privado e as encamiñadas a promocionar aspectos non turísticos de Galicia.
4. The Need for Place Branding amplía e reforza as argumentacións expostas a favor de fortalecer a marca territorio, focalizándose especialmente nos beneficios que ese fortalecemento podería traer a Galicia especificamente. Estruturado en tres partes, o primeiro subapartado titúlase
Some Reasons for Working on a Place Brand. Nel trátanse os motivos directos para traballar nunha marca territorio, fundamentando as explicacións en beneficios probados por distintos estudos internacionais da especialidade. Un resumo moi breve deses beneficios indicaría que unha marca territorio forte atrae, ademais de turismo, investimentos exteriores e talento, facilita a venda no exterior de produtos e servizos provenientes dese territorio, contribúe a desbloquear conflitos, enriquece, como consecuencia de todo o anterior, os eidos académicos, de investigación e desenvolvemento, e de negocios, e, de forma xeral, mellora a situación económica e a calidade de vida no territorio. O segundo subapartado, Place Branding for Galicia, expón as distintas aplicacións que os elementos introducidos no subapartado anterior poden ter en Galicia, explicando como poderían materializarse nese territorio concreto. Seguindo unha lista con exemplos específicos doutros países, trasládanse e adáptanse a importancia e os beneficios á situación galega.
O terceiro subapartado, International Environment, cobre dous aspectos. Por unha banda,
22 Resumo considérase o potencial de internacionalización de Galicia, especialmente en áreas pouco exploradas que poderían converterse en oportunidades de negocio para as empresas galegas. E, por outra banda, introdúcense catro casos de estudo a través dos cales se poderían establecer paralelismos con
Galicia por distintos motivos, e cuxo desenvolvemento se podería tomar como referencia no caso de establecer programas de place branding, observando o éxito ou fracaso nas estratexias e accións que se teñen trazado e aplicado noutros territorios
5. United States of America as Target Market describe tanto a poboación como o país, Estados
Unidos de América, que se escolleron como público obxectivo para esas estratexias e accións que se iniciarían no caso de establecer un programa real de comunicación centrado en apoiar ás empresas galegas nese mercado. O capítulo divídese en tres partes: Country Overview, Main Economic and
Exports Figures e Intercultural Communication Approach. A primeira, Country Overview, inclúe unha introdución xeral aos EE.UU., atendendo aos aspectos máis relevantes nos eidos da xeografía, da historia e da cultura, para caracterizar deste xeito o país. A segunda parte, Main Economic and
Exports Figures constitúe unha introdución aos principais datos relativos á economía e ao entorno empresarial, afondando especialmente nos referidos ás importacións, establecendo así un paralelismo cos datos de exportación de Galicia, territorio orixe, que se trataron no Capítulo 2.
Introducing Galicia. A terceira parte, Intercultural Communication Approach, destaca a importancia da comunicación intercultural a través das principais definicións, teorías e estudos que poderían ter aplicación nos casos de intercambios entre Estados Unidos e Galicia; contrapóñense tamén os valores e características que os estudos atribúen a cada territorio, incluíndo, cando é pertinente, os que cobren especificamente Galicia.
6. Methods explica a metodoloxía de investigación utilizada para desenvolver a tese, en base á hipótese e aos obxectivos definidos. Considérase que o método de investigación máis adecuado,
23 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. dadas as características do traballo, é a enquisa, a cal permite, ademais, ter un enfoque non só cualitativo, senón tamén cuantitativo. Nesta escolla inflúen distintos factores, sendo determinante que este sexa o método máis frecuentemente utilizado na disciplina, particularmente cando se busca avaliar a reputación dun territorio e a información que os públicos obxectivo reciben sobre ese territorio; a este importante factor engádese a dificultade de contactar, a través doutros métodos, cun número estatisticamente representativo de membros deses públicos obxectivo. A tal efecto, distribuíronse catro cuestionarios. Os dous primeiros, Survey A International e Survey B Spain, dirixido o primeiro a públicos internacionais e o segundo a públicos españois, con intención exploratoria, para poder obter información que servise para establecer as bases do estudo. Os dous
últimos Survey C USA e Survey D Galicia, con plena representatividade estatística, dirixido o primeiro a empresas e profesionais estadounidenses e o segundo a empresas e profesionais galegos, son o foco principal do proxecto, os que aportan os datos fundamentais na elaboración da tese. O capítulo, tras introducir o enfoque metodolóxico e listar os cuestionarios, organízase nos seguintes subapartados: Participants, no que se inclúen o reconto de participantes e os cálculos de representatividade estatística; Materials, no que detalla o programa que se utilizou no deseño, distribución e recollida de datos das enquisas, e as fontes para a escolla de preguntas; Description of Surveys, con subapartados para cada unha das enquisas, nos que se describen a estrutura e preguntas de todos os cuestionarios, acompañadas das consideracións tidas en conta para decidir utilizar esas estruturas e preguntas, todas elas baseadas nas investigacións reflectidas nos apartados anteriores; e finalmente Procedure, no que se explica o procedemento de distribución de enquisas e o proceso de recollida e organización de datos.
7. Findings transcribe as respostas e describe os resultados das catro enquisas. Dentro de cada un dos subpartados do capítulo, un por enquisa (Results of Survey A International, Results of Survey
24 Resumo
B Spain, Results of Survey D USA e Results of Survey D Galicia), séguese a mesma orde de preguntas que os participantes visualizaban cando recibían e cubrían cada cuestionario. A efectos de claridade e utilidade, neste capítulo ademais as preguntas agrúpanse en distintos bloques temáticos, segundo a súa relevancia para os resultados da investigación, mencionando en cada un deles as fontes que se utilizan para determinar esa estrutura. En todos os casos nos que é posible, introdúcense gráficos ou táboas para facilitar a presentación e a lectura de datos.
8. Discussion analiza os resultados das enquisas, tomando como referencias tanto o marco teórico como as consideracións e achegas de apartados anteriores, e centrándose en conseguir alcanzar os catro obxectivos expostos na introdución da tese. O capítulo divídese en catro subapartados, correspondentes a cada un dos catro cuestionarios: Analysis of Survey A
International, Analysis of Survey B Spain, Analysis of Survey D USA e Analysis of Survey D
Galicia.
Dentro de cada un destes subapartados, séguese o esquema establecido por los bloques temáticos determinados no capítulo anterior (7. Findings), establecendo así un paralelismo que facilita a relación entre los apartados teóricos e los prácticos, para mostrar do xeito máis claro posible a consecución dos obxectivos O.1, Iniciar unha análise de reputación de marca territorio, e
O.2, Identificar áreas de mellora no xeito no que esa marca territorio se está a comunicar. De xeito transversal, dentro de toda a análise, inclúense os elementos que encamiñan a alcanzar os obxectivos O.3, Establecer as bases para a elaboración de estratexias xerais de comunicación no eido internacional de negocios, e O.4, Determinar as estratexias básicas de comunicación para o caso concreto das empresas galegas e o seu achegamento a consumidores estadounidenses. Así mesmo, amósanse os resultados que van achegando a demostración do cumprimento da hipótese inicial.
25 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
A tal efecto, son destacables as análises de resultados das enquisas A International, B Spain e, fundamentalmente, C USA, a través das cales se demostra que a notoriedade de Galicia como marca se atopa en niveles moi baixos, sendo, na maior parte dos casos, absolutamente inexistente.
Ademais, cobra importancia o feito de que a maioría dos participantes que demostran un certo grado de coñecemento indican que este provén de familiares ou amigos, o cal proba a existencia dunha conexión emocional, pero non a presenza da marca noutros canais de comunicación. Outro aspecto que destaca nesta análise é que aqueles que xa escoitaran falar de Galicia teñen unha impresión positiva, pero moi frecuentemente enmarcada nunha imaxe eminentemente turística, conformada principalmente por elementos como paisaxes, peregrinacións ou gastronomía. Este feito, por suposto, non é negativo, principalmente porque a relación destes elementos ou outros que apuntan a asociacións con historia, tradición, cultura, constitúe unha imaxe favorable, especialmente para atraer turismo a Galicia. Sen embargo, obsérvase unha certa tendencia a “sobre-ruralizar”, o cal traslada unha imaxe bucólica, incluso idílica, pero mitiga asociacións con aspectos como modernidade, tecnoloxía ou industria, obviamente relevantes para as empresas galegas. Este último aspecto, engadido ao descoñecemento con respecto a calquera proceso produtivo ou empresarial que ten lugar en Galicia, e á análise das respostas a preguntas sobre o tipo de información que os públicos obxectivos desexarían recibir sobre o territorio, suxiren o primeiro paso para establecer as bases de posibles áreas de mellora e creación de estratexias de comunicación. Seguindo as dimensións establecidas polo HDM de Future Brand (2016), despréndese que a notoriedade e a familiaridade son mínimas, que as asociacións están frecuentemente limitadas aos aspectos turísticos, e que as preferencias, consideracións e decisións son xeralmente dubidosas, debido ao descoñecemento.
26 Resumo
Por último, a enquisa D Galicia, dirixida a empresas galegas, aporta o punto de vista dos públicos internos. A análise dos seus resultados contribúe a pechar a consecución dos obxectivos da investigación, aportando, por unha banda, nocións sobre identidade e proxección de imaxe percibida, que complementan todo o anteriormente estudado de cara ao Obxectivo 1 (O.1); e, por outra banda, apreciacións sobre lugar de orixe (POO, place of origin) de produtos e servizos, imaxe percibida e imaxe desexada, e promoción existente de marca territorio, produtos e empresas, todo o cal se engade aos avances encamiñados a alcanzar o Obxectivo 2 (O.2). Por outro lado, os aspectos arriba mencionados con respecto ao Obxectivo 3 (O.3) vense fortalecidos ao sumar o estudo de hábitos de comunicación con respecto á marca territorio por parte das empresas galegas e os resultados dos mesmos en canto a beneficios empresariais.
Para finalizar, o estudo das relaciones e comunicacións existentes cos Estados Unidos realizado nesta enquisa D Galicia, complementado coa análise do tipo de información que os públicos obxectivo desexarían recibir, xunto coa dos formatos e canles a través dos cales poderían recibila, realizado a través da enquisa C USA, completarían a consecución do Obxectivo 4 (O.4).
9. Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions, capítulo final no que se inclúen as implicacións derivadas de todos os capítulos anteriores, as dificultades atopadas e as oportunidades abertas para futuras líñas de investigación. Neste treito final preténdese acabar de relacionar e organizar os resultados da investigación e a consecución dos obxectivos establecidos. A tal efecto, e para concluír aportando, ademais dun traballo académico, unha posible aplicación práctica do mesmo, o capítulo estruturase seguindo as liñas xenerais dun plan de comunicación. Sempre tendo en conta que chegar a realizar todo o traballo que implica unha marca territorio é moi complexo, e que un plan de comunicación real requiriría acceso a máis información específica sobre dispoñibilidade de recursos, tempos e viabilidade, este parece un xeito lóxico de organizar a
27 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. información recollida, as análises efectuadas e as conclusións conseguidas, engadindo unha contribución á vertente práctica do place branding. Ademais, na descrición de ese hipotético plan de comunicación, recóllese a confirmación da hipótese inicial da tese, as limitacións que se atoparon na elaboración de este proxecto, e as oportunidades descubertas para futuras liñas de investigación.
10. References está formado por un listado de referencias bibliográficas. A relación, con todas las fontes consultadas para a realización da tese, inclúe tanto as citadas dentro do texto, como as non citadas que teñen sido manexadas durante a investigación.
11. Appendices está subdividido en catro subapartados: Appendix A - Survey A International,
Appendix B – Survey B Spain, Appendix C – Survey C USA e Appendix D – Survey D Galicia. Estes subapartados correspóndense coas transcricións literais de cada unha das enquisas distribuídas e utilizadas para a elaboración da tese.
28 0- INTRODUCTION
The decision of embarking on this project is the result of many hours of personally discussing, debating, arguing and even profusely thinking about the invisibility of Galicia in the international arena. A suspicion throughout several years, it was confirmed in my trips abroad and became particularly relevant during my academic stays in USA, which took place in three different educational stages, with gaps of several years between them. Whenever places of origin were conversation topic, finding people who knew about the one I came from was always a real challenge. Ironically, right next to me, friends or colleagues from Wales, Bavaria or Tuscany never had the same problem. Of course, those places are relevant for different reasons. But I kept thinking, why can Galicia not be equally relevant? Why would the once considered End of the
World (Crichton, 2009) seem now even more distant than in Roman times? Why would the home of
Zara, world's largest apparel manufacturer and retailer (Fastretailing, 2017), go unnoticed? Why would Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of the Catholic equivalent to the Kumano
Kodo and the Mecca pilgrimages (Dickey, 2007; Spriritualpilgrimages, 2017), be disregarded? Why was it that, even those who could -approximately- locate Galicia in a map, would only reference paella and bullfighting, but never seafood and bagpipes?
When I became a so-called communication professional, I realized that the word to name the problem was awareness. Or, to be more specific, lack of awareness. “The strength of a brand’s
29 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. presence in the consumer’s mind” (Aaker, 1996, p. 10) was practically nonexistent. The concept was not even present in the minds of most foreigners, which of course could be potential consumers for Brand Galicia. Given that, as place branding expert Simon Anholt states, “[countries, cities and regions] do have brands, and those brands certainly do affect the views, decisions and behavior of their friends, enemies, investors, allies and consumers” (2005, pp. 118-119), the idea was definitively applicable.
Still with a communications perspective, two other concepts needed to be clarified if a branding effort was to take place: identity and image. If “the identity of the brand is defined by the sender itself, whereas a brand image is the real image developed in the receiver’s mind” (Moilanen and
Rainisto, 2009, p. 7), it seemed that both areas needed to be studied. Image, when referring to
Galicia and the rest of the world, appeared as an empty canvas. That, of course, was a worrying perspective, but also a great opportunity: it meant that negative perceptions were likewise nonexistent, therefore filling the canvas with positive associations was possible.
Identity needed a different approach. Galician external projection has traditionally been overpowered by Spain, and, as Hooper (2007, p. 3) affirms, “The lived reality of most Galicians
[…] involves a constant balancing act between Galician and Spanish cultures, languages and identities”. Indecision has been traditionally associated to the locals, who also have a reputation for being discreet. Nevertheless, for better or worse, several Galicians have played important roles, both in world events - Christopher Columbus was allegedly born in Galicia (Vignaud, 1913; Casa de Galicia, 2012; Klimczak, 2017), Isabel Barreto was the first woman who held an Admiral office
(Rolland, 2017) -, and in Spanish history: just to name three examples, 36 years of dictatorship in the 20th century were led by a Galician - Francisco Franco - who ironically censored the use of
Galician language and the display of national symbols (The 20th, n.d.), the first woman who
30 Introduction attended university in Spain - Concepción Arenal - was Galician (Peña, 2010) and the current
President of Spain - Mariano Rajoy - is also Galician. Other areas, such as literature - Nobel prize winner Camilo José Cela (All Nobel, 2017) -, aviation - José Piñeiro allegedly invented and performed for the first time the ‘looping the loop” flight (Méndez, 2016) -, or science - mathematician José Rodríguez González was part of the team that defined the metric system
(Rolland, 2017), marine biologist Ángeles Alvariño discovered 22 new species of marine animals
(Notablebopgraphies, n.d.) -, have also had prominent Galicians. Furthermore, whenever either
Galician pride has fought to show Galicia abroad, or Galician uniqueness and potential has been discovered by foreigners, the results have always positive.
As Xulio Ríos says, Galicia has a presence in the world, with or without intentional and organized external action, therefore working on it to benefit its own interests is an act of responsibility (Ríos, 2012). Branding Galicia seemed the way to go. According to Keith Dinnie
(2007, pp. 221-223) there are four main areas in which place brands compete: tourism, exports, attracting foreign investment and talent attraction. As, of course, these were too many concepts to be covered in a single PhD dissertation, narrowing them down was the next step. The process took into account several considerations:
First, even if Brand Galicia still needs to be strengthened, tourism is definitively where more efforts are currently being placed. As reflected in Section 3 of this paper, Promoting Galicia, although some actions covering other fields are in place, Galician Government has traditionally devoted more resources to promoting leisure trips to Galicia, than to promoting Galician companies abroad. Coming myself from a business background, the notion was installed and the intention was to cover that field, but the decision was particularly supported by the fact that “A country’s brand image and that of its companies are closely interrelated and so they must be promoted
31 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. simultaneously: the better a country’s brand, the better the sales therein, and the better the brands of the goods and services of that country, the better that country’s brand, perception and reputation abroad” (Chistlett, 2008, p. 21). Other areas would still be included, but not as main focus.
Second, if Galician companies were then to be the origin market, a target audience was to be found. USA was chosen mainly for four reasons: it is, definitively, a great potential market -
22,948,411 companies (US Census Bureau, 2018) and 326,625,791 people (Central Intelligence
Agency, 2017) as potential buyers and consumers -, it is, certainly, a great cultural and economic influencer worldwide (US News, 2017) and therefore gate to other markets, some Galician companies have already entered USA with high success rates (Beramendi, 2015; 20minutos, 2017;
Crónicas de la emigración, 2017), and the feasibility of access by the author of this paper.
The pages ahead intend to provide an analysis of Galicia’s image and identity features, and to find ways of correctly communicating them to external audiences in order to benefit Galician citizens, and, particularly, companies. The initial hypothesis for this project was built around the perception that Galicia is basically invisible in the international arena, an unknown territory for which only those with an existing personal connection have references, and that those references are mainly based on tourism-related features. Business possibilities are, therefore, being overlooked, and this implies missing entrepreneurial opportunities and makes working on communication strategies definitively necessary. This was reflected in the Research Plans issued over the past years within this PhD Program, and resulted in four main objectives for this project:
• Objective 1 (O.1)- To initiate a place brand reputation analysis. • Objective 2 (O.2)- To identify improvement areas in the way the place brand is being communicated. • Objective 3 (O.3)- To lay the foundations for future general business communication strategies.
32 Introduction
• Objective 4 (O.4)- To produce basic communication strategies for Galician companies addressing USA target audiences. As such, this paper has been divided into 12 sections:
0. The present Introduction. 1. Literature Review includes the most relevant aspects already covered by scholars within the research areas initially identified to pursue this project. 2. Introducing Galicia seeks to understand the ‘product - place’ to be branded. 3. Promoting Galicia presents the efforts that have already been deployed in the past, aimed at promoting the place. 4. The Need for Place Branding further develops the reasons for this paper and the benefits that strengthening its place brand could bring to Galicia. 5. United States of America as Target Market attempts to comprehend the population and country chosen as a target audience. 6. Methods explains the research methodology used in the project, based on the defined hypothesis and objectives. 7. Findings transcribes the responses to the questionnaires and describes its results. 8. Discussion analyzes the findings, with the literature review and the considerations from other sections as a reference, focusing on achieving the four objectives defined for the project. 9. Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions links and organizes the results of the research, considering the implications of the previous sections. The confirmation of the initial hypothesis is covered, together with the limitations found when working on this PhD and the opportunities found for future research directions. 10. References includes the bibliography consulted to write this paper . 11. Appendices displays the materials used for the research.
33
1- LITERATURE REVIEW
On of the main goals of this study is to explore which place branding strategies could Galicia use, essentially in order to benefit Galicia, and particularly Galician companies and organizations.
The following literature review elaborates on the most relevant aspects already covered by scholars within three main areas initially identified to pursue this project: Branding (Section 1.1), addressed to provide a general basis for the study, Place Branding (Section 1.2), introduced to learn the specific techniques that would be used to produce the final strategies, and Indexes (Section 1.3), included to provide a reference as to what factors have an influence on the value of a nation brand and how that value is currently being measured.
1.1. BRANDING Brand as a concept has been approached from many different angles. Scholars and practitioners have provided several definitions for the term, not reaching a consensus. Simon Anholt illustrates that extensive list using the following words: “`Brand’ is a difficult word. The problem of defining it has spawned thousands of papers and articles in the marketing field and it is still widely misunderstood” (Anholt, 2005, p. 116). The conceptualization has evolved from product-centered perspectives, such as “the name, associated with one or more items in the product line, that is used to identify the source of character of the item(s)” (Kotler, 2000, as cited in Guzmán, F., 2011, p.1), to focusing on the consumer’s point of view: “A brand is an impression perceived in a client’s mind
35 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. of a product or a service. It is the sum of all tangible and intangible elements, which makes the selection unique” (Moilanen & Rainisto, 2009, p.6).
Gallagher and Savard (2009, p. 2) move the focus towards the brand as “an experience living at the intersection of promise and expectation”. Considering that both promises and expectations reside inside the consumer’s mind, Kevin Keller presents the concept consumer brand knowledge, defined as “the personal meaning about the brand stored in consumer memory” (Keller, 2003, p.
596). He places the focus on understanding the abstract, non-physical attributes of the brands, arguing that less tangible aspects of the brand image in the consumer’s mind become increasingly important in purchasing decision-making processes. He believes that the notions of images, thoughts, feelings and attitudes are linked to a brand in the same extent as performance attributes.
Finding a definition for the action associated with the term, branding, is not a simple task either.
Keith Dinnie (2008, p.14, citing Jobber & Fahy, 2003) indicates that the aim is to differentiate the brand’s offerings from the ones of the competition. And, after all, as Moilanen & Rainisto express,
“the development of a brand in the customer’s mind is similar to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle”
(2009, p.14). But how are brands developed? How is that brand knowledge created? Anholt (2005, pp. 116-117) addresses three approaches to branding: the popular one, often replaceable by advertising, marketing, PR and sales promotion; the simple one, which entails creating a designed visual identity; and an advanced one, which adds, to the simple one, “a wide area of corporate strategy, consumer and stakeholder motivation and behavior, internal and external communications, ethics and purpose”. The latter can be linked to Keller’s concept of consumer brand knowledge, as
Anholt also affirms that the advanced branding definition is also applicable in markets “where the functional or physical attributes […] become less and less relevant, their intangible or brand-related qualities […] become paramount” (Anholt, 2005, p.117). This suggests that when the object being
36 Literature Review branded is more abstract, less tangible, concepts such as values or reputation play a key role in the branding process.
Branding expert David A. Aaker introduces (1996) very specific directions to travel this brand- building journey. In his opinion, the preparation of a branding program should be treated as a strategic decision-making process, with planned steps and actions. That process would start with a brand analysis, which would include assessing competitors, customers and the brand itself. This lays the foundations for all the upcoming strategic decisions, as it would help to understand the environment and the product/ service/ place that will be branded (Aaker, 1996, pp. 189-200).
Brand identity plays a key role in this process. Defined as “a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain” (Aaker, 1996, p. 68), it entails four potential perspectives: brand as product, brand as organization, brand as person and brand as symbol.
Independently of the one that is being used, a brand identity provides the brand with a direction, with a purpose. Its presentation can be tailored to the different target audiences of the brand, turning into a value proposition, that is, “a statement of the functional, emotional, and self-expressive benefits delivered by the brand that provide value to the customer” (Aaker, 1996, p. 95). Those benefits should be utilized to attract actions and, eventually, purchases, and are verbalized in a brand position that associates the brand with its competitive advantage (Aaker, 1996, p. 176).
It is important to bear in mind that brands are always part of specific contexts and concrete environments, and cannot be considered unique players, as they are members of brand systems and are consequently surrounded by many other brands, sometimes directly associated to them, sometimes directly competing with them. Taking this into consideration, particularly when different brands are under the same corporate umbrella, should lead to managing them in a synergic way, either supporting each other or establishing further differentiated positions (Aaker, 1996, pp. 241-
37 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
243). In these cases, leveraging the brand could be the recipe for success, with options such as searching for allies, extending the existing brand or engaging in co-branding activities. Each of these, or a combination of them, can be used to reinforce the brand identity, provided that its integrity is maintained, as they can bring business value through the creation of alliances or the creation of sub-brands (Aaker, 1996, pp. 274-275). Nevertheless, other aspects, such as consistency, should not be disregarded. Even if some branding strategy changes are unavoidable, specific brand features and processes should be maintained along the progress, so a coherent perception in consumers’ minds is generated (Aaker, 1996, pp. 218-224).
As for the actual execution, the suggestions include generating alternatives by using different creative teams and, if possible, covering a wide range of tactics, such as sponsorship, public relations, publicity and promotions. In addition, recommendations include finding the best symbols and metaphors to support the brand, and testing their efficiency, as two fundamental steps (Aaker,
1996, pp. 186-189).
Throughout the deployment of the branding efforts, assigning and clarifying organizational roles is also crucial. Aaker writes about branding responsibility (1996, pp. 340-342) to weight in the fact that organizations very often need changes to be able to handle all brand-related challenges. He highlights coordination and cross-checks for all actions across the organization itself, media and markets, and creating, if required, new job positions for the people in charge of these activities.
The final phase in the branding process would be based on tracking, evaluating and focusing on
“monitoring the brand position (and perhaps the elements of brand identity over time)” (Aaker,
1996, p. 189). Using qualitative or quantitative methods, and always including customers in the research, enables the organization to find whether their branding efforts are delivering positive outcomes. Part of those monitoring efforts, the completion of communication objectives established
38 Literature Review at the beginning of the process can be used as a measurement tool. However, it is necessary to
“continue investing in brands even when the financial goals are not being met” (Aaker, 1996, p.
357). Branding results may not be always evident in the short term, but the efforts devoted to building a strong brand, the investment that is being made, will became visible in the long run.
The figure below illustrates the above-described branding planning process, including all the concepts introduced in previous paragraphs, which are, as stated above, specific directions to travel this brand-building journey.
Figure 1: Building Strong Brands Model (Source: Aaker, 1996, p. 177)
39 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
More recent branding studies, even acknowledging the current validity of Aaker’s and other authors’ theories as basis for any branding research or business project, have generated new typologies. A good example is provided by Schroeder (2017), who identifies four perspectives on branding: corporate perspectives, consumer perspectives, cultural perspectives and critical perspectives. The corporate perspective is focused on a strategic point of view: “within the corporate perspective, models of brand identity, brand image and brand equity are central to understanding issues such as brand DNA, brand essence, brand equity and brand value” (Schroeder,
2017, p. 1523). The consumer perspective aims at understanding “the roles of brands and branding in the everyday lives of consumers, and the roles brands play in consumer culture” (Schroeder,
2017, p. 1524). Critical perspectives reveal ways in which brands function as ethical, ideological and political objects; as such these are “essential for understanding powerful roles corporate brands play in consumers’ and employees’ lives and in cultural discourse, for researchers and well as managers” (Schroeder, 2017, p. 1526). The cultural perspective considers brands part of culture; particularly relevant for our project, it reinforces “a basic premise that culture and history can provide the necessary context for corporate perspectives of the interaction of branding with consumers and society” (Schroeder, 2017, p. 1525). This last approach associates brands to their heritage, history and legacy, stressing how they are often linked to a particular place or culture, which suggests that places and brands have a clear influence on each other.
Nowadays, brands play a key role on our consumer culture. They have become fundamental in the construction of our personalities and in the expression of our identities. And, given that competition is fierce, considering that being the “forever loved brand” is the ultimate goal, branding has evolved to become a continuous effort to maintain loyalty, to find the perfect connection with
40 Literature Review the consumers, to keep the promises and expectations that Gallagher and Savard (2009) assign to brands, alive and kicking in their minds.
In our progressively connected world, “driving a global brand […] is more complex than ever” (Hegerman, 2015, para. 4), as the “overwhelming spread of globalization has meant that the potential of brands to have a global impact is increasing” (“Consumer culture”, 2008, para. 10).
Places are unavoidably part of that globalized world, and, like products, their success in the marketplace greatly depends on the image they are able to position in the consumers’ minds.
Furthermore, as Simon Anholt affirms, when “the best lessons, techniques and observations from advanced branding are intelligently responsibly and imaginatively applied to places, the consequences are fascinating, far-reaching and potentially world changing” (2005, p. 118). The following section intends to assess the application of branding theories in place-based paradigms.
1.2. PLACE BRANDING While the first part of this literature review has addressed basic brand and branding principles, one of the main goals of this project is to reflect that communication is crucial for countries, communities, cities or geographic regions, given that, as introduced earlier and detailed below, these can also be contemplated as brands. And, as such, particular attention needs to be paid to aspects like places’ identities, value propositions, brand positions, or to the way the branding process is executed. A place brand has been defined by Zenker and Braun (2017, p. 275) as a
“network of associations in the place consumers’ mind based on the visual, verbal, and behavioral expression of a place and its stakeholders. These associations differ in their influence within the network and in importance for the place consumers’ attitude and behavior”. The complexity and characteristics of places, the ‘objects to be branded’ definitively make developing comprehensive branding and communication programs necessary. Juan Carlos Belloso clarifies it as follows:
41 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Today, countries, regions and cities are aware of the importance their image has to be competitive and for their economic, social, political and cultural development. The way a place is perceived can be a key item for success or failure of its efforts to attract tourists, investment, companies, talent or events, for selling its products abroad, for developing its diplomatic and cultural relations with other countries, etc. (Belloso, 2010, p. 44) Ying Fan (2010, p. 98) provides a definition for a nation brand, stating it consists on “the total sum of all perceptions of a nation in the minds of international stakeholders”, and adding that it
“exists with or without any conscious effort in nation branding, as each country has a certain image to its international audience, be it strong or weak, current or outdated”. Nevertheless, to describe how this works, the author adds that product brands and nation brands differ, and that, very often, nation brand elements cannot be equally controlled: products can be withdrawn from shelves, disappear or be re-launched, while nations do not usually have those options. Furthermore, while products have tangible attributes and functional benefits, nations’ intangible and emotional ones are not always easy to define. In addition, although legal ownership of a product is clear, a nation has multiple stakeholders (Fan, 2006, pp. 7-8). These differences are exemplified in the following table:
Figure 2: Comparison between nation branding and product branding (Source: Fan, 2006, p.8)
42 Literature Review
Therefore, given that “the ways the brand’s benefits are utilized differ significantly between places and companies” (Moilanen & Rainisto, 2009, p.14), basic branding concepts will be applied in a slightly different manner in the place branding context. As explained in the introduction section image is related to how a brand is perceived, while identity has aspirational connotations and refers to how the brand aspires to be perceived. In place branding, according to Belloso, the definition would be slightly different: image is linked to “how a place is perceived,” but identity is defined as
“what a place actually is, its essence” (Belloso, 2010, p. 44). Image would still be defined relating it to the perception that the target audiences have, but a place’s identity origins would be traced to the place itself, to elements such as “territory, history, language, literature, music, sports, architecture, food, religion, traditions […], folklore and folk culture, education, visual symbols and expressions, icons, etc.” (Belloso, 2010, p. 46). In fact, although both concepts are closely related, it is not rare to find that there is a gap between them. We will elaborate on that in upcoming pages.
Two other relevant concepts, both for place branding and for this project, must be introduced at this point: reputation and country-of-origin (COO) or place-of-origin (POO) effect.
Reputation, in this context, has been defined as the representation of past actions and future expectations that predict the general appeal of the territory for its stakeholders, as compared to the appeal of their competitors (González Laxe & Gómez, 2014, p.5). Several authors have stressed that reputation is key in the field of place branding, and some have determined that it can be used from two main perspectives: marketing, in which competitiveness would be the fundamental objective, and public relations, in which establishing positive and long term relations with the audiences would be the main goal (Fernández-Caviá & Huertas, 2014). Fan, in fact, proposed, in a later paper, a new definition for the discipline that shifted the focus towards reputation and image management:
“Nation branding is a process by which a nation’s images can be created, monitored, evaluated and
43 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. proactively managed in order to improve or enhance the country’s reputation among a target international audience” (Fan, 2010, p. 101). If, as De San Eugenio-Vela et al. (2013) indicate, a place brand largely relies on perception management, the study and consideration of reputation is definitively crucial in the development of any place, and therefore for a branding program.
Country-of-origin (COO) or place-of-origin (POO) effect refers to the “effect that a product or service’s origin has on consumer attitudes and behavior towards that product or service” (Dinnie,
2008, p. 84). In some cases, this concept might help differentiate and categorize, particularly when making purchasing decisions, as some combinations of product categories and origins create added value for the consumer (e.g. French champagne, Swiss watch, Norwegian salmon). Even for not-so- categorized products, it is clear that the place-of-origin plays a key role in the behaviors of the population, particularly when facing decisions that include (often similar) products or services with different origins. The perceptions about the origin/ place formed in the mind of those making the decisions will definitively influence the results. As Freire (2008, in Dinnie 2008, p.91) states, a positive place image helps when focusing on selling purposes, given that “certain feelings and emotional values that emerge from a brand are a direct result of the COO of the brand, which implies that a country’s name is part of the brand name and consumers use places as intrinsic cues to help evaluate products and to make appropriate purchasing decisions”.
But, of course, place-of-origin perceptions are not necessarily invariable. Positive perceptions can degrade and negative perceptions can improve over time. Therefore the need to brand a place, and doing it in a legitimate way, is appreciable. Anholt (2005, p. 119) pictures it as doing “whatever possible to ensure that the country’s reputation is a fair, balanced and useful reflection of its real assets, competencies and offerings”. Place branding, therefore, serves a universal purpose for every location. As Janine Widler (2007, p. 145) states, it “contributes to its re-construction”.
44 Literature Review
Although all this will be further explored in Section 4. of this paper, The Need for Place
Branding, most authors tend to justify the reasons for practicing place branding. Significantly, many of them (Anholt, 2006; Hanna & Rowley, 2007; Widler, 2007; Belloso, 2010) cite globalization.
Widler (2007) describes the world as a “marketplace in which nations are competing with each other and branding is promoted as a strategy to do so successfully” (p. 146). Anholt lists more specific reasons for using a brand-oriented approach including, among others, growing awareness of public and international affairs, greater influence of international media, lower costs of traveling, changing and closer-related global economic system, diversity of origins in products, competition among developing countries for resources and funds, competition among developed countries for skilled immigrants, or consumer demands for varied cultural products. He states that, in other words, places, much like companies and organizations, encompass all these dynamic relations and elements, thereby justifying the practice of place branding (Anholt, 2006, pp. 120-121).
The perceptions about a place can become, therefore, its main sources of income in many different fields. The study of the places’ basic components and the strategies that need to be implemented to improve their image is, as a consequence, fundamental for their progress. Further elaborating on that, as Temporal (2006, as cited in Dinnie, 2008, p.17) indicates, place branding can help achieve goals such as attracting tourists, stimulating inward investment and boosting exports, place branding, but also currency stability, international credibility or investor confidence. Vadim
Volos (GfK Global, 2016, para. 5) adds, “How a nation is perceived is a function of both long- standing attributes (such as stereotypes of its people or region and images of its natural and social environment) and short-term influences (such as positive or negative news coverage or dramatic events). Each nation has some ability to impact either of these areas”.
45 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
A terminology use clarification seems necessary in this section. The different works examined to create this literature review have revealed disparities regarding the term applied to the object to be branded, and as a consequence, to the name of the discipline. Whereas nation appeared to be the word that was more frequently used in the past, place appeared to incorporate a wider variety of elements: location, country, nation, city, region, community, area or destination. In the origins of the discipline, nation was the word of choice, given that countries were the first entities being formally studied, and the others were included down the line. But, over the past years, the tendency has been to use the term place, in order to embrace a wider approach. Communication scholars Sonya Hanna and Jennifer Rowley (2008) focused on this in an exploratory study based on the term place and its associated vocabulary.
Hanna & Rowley’s study showed that the word destination is clearly delimited to tourism purposes, to attract visitors and travel spending. Nevertheless, “there is no agreed language for the holistic or all encompassing brand” (Hanna & Rowley, 2008, p. 61), that is, the one that goes beyond promoting tourist attraction and engagement, and includes concepts such as reputation, businesses or politics. According to them, location and place are words associated with place and stakeholder engagement in a wider sense, as they encompass “any or all of investment, exports, tourism, education, culture, sports, events and attracting back exports” (Lodge, 2004, as cited in
Hanna & Rowley, 2008, p. 64). The figure below depicts graphically these terminology parallelisms.
46 Literature Review
Figure 3: ‘Place’ and Associated Vocabulary (Source: Hanna & Rowley, 2008, p. 65)
Although when conducting this literature review, the words used by the different scholars have, of course, been respected in citations, for the purpose of this project and in the upcoming pages, based on the above rationale, the following terminology decisions have been adopted. The word destination will be discarded in the majority of the sections, taking into account that the goal of this paper is to study elements that go beyond tourism promotion. While location had similar connotations as place, it has also been discarded due to two reasons: as stated above, frequency of use is currently lower in the discipline, and several experts conclude that place has a broader scope, as location has been often equated to city or town (Hanna & Rowley, 2008). That is to say that, on one hand, the same study shows that a nation indicates a country, while a place broadens the scope to towns, cities, regions and countries (or nations), and, on the other, considering that the frequency of use in the most recent papers of the discipline shows that most academics and
47 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. practitioners have chosen to use that word, we have decided that the most logical decision was to use the term place predominantly throughout this paper.
Back to the main topic of this section, place branding, then, it is important to recall the fact that, when addressing the practical application of theories to specific geographical or political entities, “it is the buyer or the user who forms a mental vision of the brand […], which may be different from the intended marketing thrust. This point is particularly relevant […] where pre- existing national stereotypes may be entrenched in consumers’ minds and therefore difficult to change” (Dinnie, 2008, p.15). This leads us to the 3-Gap Model created by Robert Govers and
Frank Go (2009), which has been, and still is, widely used as a guiding system to start the place branding process. The theory is based on the idea of using place branding as a tool to bridge “the gap between reality and perception, and how it can be influenced by experience and communication” (Govers & Go, 2009, p. 43). It is also closely related to Belloso’s (2010) above- mentioned understanding of the differences between identity and image when referring to places.
The 3-Gap Model seeks to find influencing elements in the way a place image is formed in the mind of the target audiences, and addresses errors to be avoided and, more specifically, on gaps to be bridged (Govers & Go, 2009; Govers, 2005).
The first gap, focused on strategy, emerges when the projected image does not reflect the reality of the place, but the unique place identity could be used as a competitive advantage. In this case, efforts should be aimed at both finding the appropriate product offering to be communicated and at identifying a consistent way of communicating it. When this is not achieved, the distance between place identities and the image that those places are projecting becomes larger.
The second gap, centered on performance, takes place when consumers’ or visitors’ expectations differ from the actual experience. In this case, although the projected image is appropriate and
48 Literature Review aligned with the place identity, the delivery, the implementation, the performance, fail to meet those expectations, resulting in disappointment for those consumers or visitors.
The third gap addresses satisfaction. In this case, the delivery may be correct, but the image that the customers or visitors have in their minds is influenced by other constraints. These constraints are often cultural perspectives or previous biases, which form expectations that do not correspond to the place reality. In this case, efforts to translate and communicate an accurate image must be reinforced.
With the intention of understanding how to fill in those gaps, the specific perceptions about places need to be analyzed and measured. For this purpose, this project studied the main indexes used in the place branding discipline.
1.3. INDEXES Measuring the impact of place branding, or even the position of the different places in the internal rankings of the consumers’ minds, is not an easy task either. Nevertheless, the verbalization and articulation of the perceptions needs be organized, in an effort to target weaknesses and boost strengths or, as stated above, to bridge gaps. To produce this paper, the two main ones, Anholt-
Gfk‘s Nation Brands Index (NBI) and Future Brand’s Country Brand Index (CBI) have been used, but, in addition, other respected rankings and indexes have also been included and considered for the analysis: Best Countries Ranking, Good Country Index, Country Rep Trak, Global
Competitiveness Index, Elcano Global Presence Index, Spain’s Image Barometer and Spain’s
Image-Reality Indicator System. None of these include Galicia specifically, as most of them cover officially instituted countries and smaller entities are only analyzed on demand, via substantial payment. In addition, different organizations create these rankings with different goals, therefore their results should be cautiously used, as they represent, sometimes, subjective views.
49 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Nevertheless, it was crucial to analyze them in this project because, on one hand, they provide a good general perspective of how image and reputation are tracked for places, and are complementary to each other, providing the general picture as a whole. And, on the other, as explained below, their structures are valuable for reputation analysis and have been used as basis for elaborating our questionnaires and assessing their results. Furthermore, the information provided about Spain has been included whenever possible, also to be used as a framework or reference.
Anholt-Gfk’s Nation Brands Index (NBI). Simon Anholt, who designed the NBI study in
2005, described it as “a way to measure the image and reputation of the world's nations, and to track their profiles as they rise or fall” (Enterprise, para. 1, 2014). Vadim Volos, GfK’s senior vice president of public affairs and consulting, adds that “Our study shows our clients where their nations stand in terms of their current image, momentum and potential – helping them to determine their best path to success: a strong nation brand.” (GfK Global, 2016, para. 5).
The ranking provides scores for 50 countries. It is generated by interviewing over 20,000 citizens, aged 18 or over, from 20 countries, with a minimum of 1,000 interviews per country. The countries included in the 2016 survey are the following:
• North America: USA, Canada, Cuba • Western Europe: UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Finland, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Northern Ireland • Central/Eastern Europe: Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Kazakhstan • Asia-Pacific: Japan, South Korea, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand • Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador • Middle East/Africa: United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Qatar.
50 Literature Review
Figure 4: Countries included in NBI 2016 (Source: GfK Global, 2016)
The countries are evaluated in six different dimensions. The first one, Exports, assesses the image of products and services from each of the countries included in the study. The second one,
Governance, measures opinions about national government competency and fairness, together with their perceived commitment to global issues. The third one, Culture and Heritage, includes film, music, art, sports and literature. The fourth one, People, measures the inhabitants’ reputation in different aspects, such as competence, openness, friendliness or tolerance. The fifth one, Tourism, captures the interest in visiting a country and the appeal of its natural and built attractions. And the sixth one, Investment and Immigration, determines the power to attract people to live, work or study and the image of its quality of life and business environment (Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index,
2016).
51 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 5: Nation Brands Hexagon (Source: GfK Global, 2016)
The 2016 ranking -the last one issued when these pages were written- was led by the United
States of America, followed by Germany and the United Kigdom. All three of them had the same position in 2015, but their overall scores slightly decreased, also in the three cases. Simon Anholt explains this the following way “It is a country’s perceived impact on the world that affects its global reputation, far more than its assets or achievements - and this is what we are seeing here.
Those countries that are perceived as being world influencers are suffering following a year of ongoing international conflict and humanitarian issues” (GfK Global, 2016, para. 4).
52 Literature Review
Figure 6: Comparison 2015 NBI ranking VS 2016 NBI ranking (Source: GfK Global, 2016)
Spain, although not included in the ranking top 10 countries, follows closely holding the 11th position. GfK Spain (2016) explains that this means climbing up from position 12 in 2015, which is relevant taking into account that, as seen above, all top-10 countries have experienced declines in their scores. Furthermore, Spain ranks higher in three dimensions: Tourism (4th, compared to 5th in
2015), Culture and Heritage (6th, same as 2015) and People (9th, compared to 12th in 2015).
Nevertheless, Governance only reached position 18 (compared to 19 in 2015), Investment and
Immigration position 16, as well as Exports (both 18 in 2015).
53 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 7: NBI 2016 – Dimensions for Spain (Source: GfK Spain, 2016)
Future Brand’s Country Brand Index (CBI). Future Brand created its CBI to measure country brand strength, with the belief that “countries can usefully be understood as the sum of their identity and reputation” (Future Brand, 2015). Future Brand’s methodology includes expert focus groups and crowd-sourcing to measure perceptions regarding countries. Since its first edition, in 2005, the company studied the perceptions of between 110 and 118 countries, using their expertise as brand consultants. Over the past years, Future Brand collected quantitative and qualitative data from between 3,500 and 2,500 opinion formers and frequent international business or leisure travelers.
One of their most interesting approaches, and one of the key elements in our Section 6.,
Methods, and in the design of our questionnaires, is their Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM). It is aimed at understanding how strongly audiences perceive countries, according to seven different areas of study. The first one is Awareness, which measures whether the audiences have heard about the country and the extent to which it is top of mind. The second one, Familiarity, asserts how well
54 Literature Review the audiences know the country. The third one, Associations, refers to the qualities that people relate to the country. The fourth one, Preference, relates to the esteem and the extent to which it resonates.
The fifth one, Consideration, assesses whether the country is thought of for visits or investments.
The sixth one, Decision/Visitation, measures to what extent people do visit or invest in the country.
And the seventh one, Advocacy, explores if actual recommendations are carried out (Future Brand,
2016). Their dimension Association has also been further developed in Future Brand’s last study.
This dimension traditionally included aspects such as status (value system, quality of life, business potential) and experience (heritage and culture and tourism, traditionally). This year, the country-of- origin effect has been weighted in favor of the made-in effect in this last experience section. In fact,
“the main drivers of a ‘country brand’ are perceptions of making products of high quality, wanting to live or study there and infrastructure, all of which reinforce the idea that to qualify as a ‘country brand’, people need to want to consume your products and services and prefer you as a place to live and learn” (Future Brand, 2016, p. 5).
Their last study published when writing these words, 2014-15, included specifically 2,530 people from 17 countries (USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Russia,
Turkey, South Africa, UAE, India, China, Thailand, Japan and Australia). It also slightly changed another key element: it reduced the number of countries to 75. They decided to rationalize “based on a series of criteria, including perception strength in previous studies, in order to accommodate more in-depth analysis of each country” (Future Brand, 2016, p. 54). Their newest hypothesis is that not all countries qualify as brands, and only 22 out of those 75 did qualify as ‘country brands’ by their measures.
The reasoning behind that new hypothesis is that “when people rate a country as a ‘brand’ they are also more likely to visit, recommend and do business with it than the other countries in the
55 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. ranking, demonstrating that being seen as a country brand provides a tangible competitive advantage. Not just that, but our respondents also have more confidence in and feel closer to country brands compared to countries in the study.” (Future Brand, 2016, p. 5). The winning countries were Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Norway, United States, Australia,
Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Finland, Singapore, Iceland, Netherlands,
France, Italy, United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
Figure 8: Top 20 countries CBI 2014-15 (Source: Future Brand, 2016)
Their new classification approach includes 4 typologies: Countries -below average perceptions in both Status and Experience dimensions-, Status countries -countries whose perception strength is biased towards attributes relating to Value System, Quality Of Life and Business Potential-,
Experience countries -countries whose perception strength is biased towards dimensions relating to
Heritage & Culture, Tourism and Made In- and Country brands – Countries that have above
56 Literature Review average perceptions across both the Status and Experience dimensions and have measurable competitive advantages over their peers as a result (Future Brand, 2016, p. 7). The remaining have weaker than average perceptions overall, against both status and experience dimensions.
The results can be seen in the graph below.
Figure 9: Country classification CBI 2014-15 (Source: Future Brand, 2016)
Interestingly, Spain has been classified as an “Experience Country”. It is only among the Top 10 in the section experience - culture and heritage (number 10). In the overall 2014-15 ranking, its position is number 23, climbing down from number 19 in edition 2012-13. Dimensions such as awareness and familiarity have remained in higher figures, but the ones related to business environment and quality of life have made the difference.
57 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 10: Rankings by dimension CBI 2014-15 (Source: Future Brand, 2016)
Figure 11: Overall 2014-15 CBI ranking (Source: Future Brand, 2016)
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Other indexes. Up to now, the Nation Brands Index and the Country Brand Index have been the two most widely referenced place branding rankings and have proved to be useful both for corporate and inisitutional communicators. But other rankings have also been used and proven helpful as a complement at different levels. As a sample of the most relevant ones, both for the discipline and for this project, addition, other respected rankings have also been included and considered for the analysis: Best Countries Ranking, Good Country Index, Country Rep Trak,
Global Competitiveness Index, Elcano Global Presence Index, Spain’s Image Barometer and
Spain’s Image-Reality Indicator System.
Best Countries Ranking is created by US News in partnership with Y&R’s BAV and Wharton.
It is part of a project that also includes news and analysis, created to capture how countries are perceived on a global scale. 80 countries are evaluated across 24 rankings drawn from a survey of more than 21,372 individuals from 36 countries, measuring 75 dimensions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment and directly affect national economies (US News, 2017).
Best Countries is structured as an online portal, which features, in addition to the rankings themselves, a great display of visualization tools, interactive data and videos, allowing different combinations to play / work with the information. Rankings do not only include countries, but are also created for different topics, such as Education, Health, Money, Travel or Law and additionally divided into multiple other subtopics (US News, 2017).
The Countries section includes an overall list of all nations, ranked numerically, but also nine sub-rankings. 65 attributes were used in different questionnaires and participants assessed how closely they associated an attribute with a nation. Each of them was assigned different weights in calculating the overall ranking score. These are the sub-rankings, with some of the attributes they were associated with: adventure (3.24%, including attributes such as friendly, fun or scenic),
59 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. citizenship (16.95%, including attributes such as gender equality, human rights or religious freedom), cultural influence (12.93%, including attributes such as trendy, prestigious or influential culture), entrepreneurship (17.42%, including attributes such as connected, innovative or technological expertise), heritage (3.17%, including attributes such as rich history, great food or cultural attractions), movers (10.00%, including attributes such as different, dynamic or unique), open for business (11.99%, including attributes such as bureaucratic, corrupt or cheap manufacturing costs), power (7.42%, including attributes such as leader, strong military or economically influential), quality of life (16.89%, including attributes such as stable, family friendly or well developed health system). They are all based on how the respondents define the countries by associating them to different attributes, defined as “terms that can be used to describe a country and that are also relevant to the success of a modern nation” (US News, 2017). The weight of each sub-ranking score was correlated to the countries’ GDP’s and purchasing power per capita.
To determine the final scores, the scores obtained in the 65 attributes are averaged and grouped them into the different sub-rankings.
Their data is presented in different ways within their portal, such as interactive maps, or bubble graphs, as seen in the figures below:
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Figure 12: Map display Overall Score Best Countries Ranking 2017 (Source: US News, 2017)
Figure 13: Entrepreneurship scores – Best Countries ranking 2017 (Source: US News, 2017)
61 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Furthermore, the rankings are also presented as lists:
Figure 14: 2017 Best Countries Rankings – Top 3 overall and in different categories (Source: US News, 2017)
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Spain, is number 19 in the overall list, and reached the following scores in the different categories:
Figure 15: Spain Rankings – Best Countries, 2017 (Source: US News, 2017)
An unmet need was detected by two renowned –and already mentioned- field specialists, Simon
Anholt and Robert Govers, and, in 2014, a new place branding index was born: the Good Country
Index (GCI). The concept was developed by Anholt and the Index was prepared by Govers and funded by Anholt. The GCI intends “to measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity and to the human race” (Good Country, 2014). It is part of an initiative called The Good Country, more directly addressed to leaders, trying to help them realize they are not only responsible for their own countries, but also for the rest of the world. The idea is to provide
63 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. tools for this to happen. The first two were the Good Country Index and the Global Vote. This last one creates collective polls for many of the elections taking place around the world, and offers the possibility, to everyone in every country, of voting in it. Anholt describes it as “a way for people to participate symbolically in the elections of other countries and to learn interactively about the politics of those countries” (Good Country, 2016)
The idea behind the Index, as stated above, it is to find how much the countries contribute to the common good of humanity, relative to its size, which is determined by its Gross Domestic Product
(GDP). “We’ve given each country a balance-sheet to show at a glance whether it’s a net creditor to mankind, a burden on the planet, or something in between” (Good Country, 2014). The GCI includes a total of 163 countries and was created using 35 datasets produced by the United Nations, international NGOs and other international organizations. They cover issues such as education, science, war, trade, culture, health, censorship or the environment. These are combined to produce seven categories: science and technology, culture, international peace and security, world order, planet and climate, prosperity and equality, health and wellbeing. Each of these categories includes information from several subcategories each “The actual simple ranks per category are based on the mean fractional ranks on the 5 indicators per category (subject to maximum 2 missing values per category). The overall rank is based on the average of the category ranks. In case of equal overall ranks, the country with the lowest low score on any of the 7 categories gets pushed down” (Good
Country, 2016).
In the figure below, the last overall ranking, Version 1.2, released in December 2017.
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Figure 16: 2017 Good Country- Overall ranking (Source: Good Country, 2017)
Spain ranks number 18, moving up from number 23 in the previous version, from 2016. The scores for the different categories can be seen in the graph below
Figure 17: 2017 Good Country - Spain rankings (Source: Good Country, 2017)
65 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The key to read these graphs is the following:
Figure 18: Legend for 2017 Good Country rankings (Source: Good Country, 2016)
The Reputation Institute is specialized in reputation monitoring. Their RepTrak, an important standard for reputation measurement, provides information about the how the public views the world’s best-known companies, using the emotional connection consumers have to a brand, which they call Pulse indicator and encompasses admiration, esteem, trust and feeling. Their expertise is transferred to place branding in the shape of their Country RepTrak report. Considering that a country brand works as a corporate brand, they generated an index that measures the reputation of the 55 countries with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is based on the evaluation of 17 variables, adapting their signature Emotional Reputation circle (Esteem, Feeling, Admiration, Trust) and grouping them into the following three dimensions: Effective Government, Advanced Economy and Appealing Environment (Reputation Institute, 2017). The categories overlap in the following way:
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Figure 19: Country RepTrak Model (Source: Reputation Institute, 2017)
The study consists of more than 56,000 interviews, but the Index was built using the ones from the G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and USA). Field work was carried out in 15 more countries, which included Spain, found in number 13, climbing 4 positions since the previous edition, 2016. The largest increments took place in the following sections: business environment (+3,9%), social and economic policies (+3,2%), friendly and welcoming people (+2,6%) , lifestyle (+2,5%) and efficient use of public resources (+2,3%) (Real
Instituto Elcano, 2017).
The graphs below depict the weighted values for each of the variables, and the total rankings for different countries:
67 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 20: Weight of the different variables – Country RepTrak 2017 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017, p.9)
Figure 21: 2017 Ranking – Country RepTrak (Source: Reputation Institute, 2017)
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Furthermore, information about self-image is also part of the study. The disconnect between internal and external valuation is frequent, which is very relevant in the place discipline and in the topic of this paper. These are some of the clearest cases:
Figure 22: Reputation difference between internal and external valuation (Source: Reputation Institute, 2017)
The specifics for Spain are delivered in collaboration with the Elcano Royal Institute -their studies will be covered in upcoming pages, but some details can be seen in the graph below:
69 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 23: Internal VS External perception in Spain (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) is generated every year by the World Economic
Forum, an “independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas” (World Economic Forum, 2017, para. 1).
The report includes the Global Competitiveness Index and analyzes several economic indicators for 137 countries. The data is obtained through an opinion survey and public information provided by the United Nations. The GCI combines 114 indicators, grouped around 12 pillars: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation. These pillars are
70 Literature Review categorized in three sub-indexes: basic requirements, efficiency enhancers, and innovation and sophistication factors (World Economic Forum, 2017).
The 2017 ranks the most competitive global economies as follows:
Figure 24: The Top 10 Most Competitive Economies 2017-2018 (Source: World Economic Forum, 2017)
Spain ranks number 34th in this ranking. These are its main scores:
Figure 25: GCI Scores for Spain 2017-2018 (Source: World Economic Forum, 2017)
71 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
In addition, respondents were asked to state what they considered were the five most problematic factors for doing business in their country and to rank them between 1 (most problematic) and 5. The score corresponds to the responses weighted according to their rankings.
Below, the graph corresponding to Spain:
Figure 26: Most problematic factors for doing business in Spain (Source: World Economic Forum, 2017)
The Elcano Royal Institute, a Spanish think-tank for international and strategic studies, issues, among others, three studies that are relevant for this project: Elcano Global Presence Index (GPI),
Spain’s Image Barometer (BIE) and Spain’s Image-Reality Indicator System (SIDIR).
According to their website the Elcano Global Presence Index (GPI) is a “synthetic index that orders, quantifies, and aggregates the external projection of different countries. Global presence is divided into three dimensions: economy, defense, and soft presence” (Real Insituto Elcano, 2017,
72 Literature Review para. 1). The 16 variables measured and the coefficients for each of the elements included in the
Index are the following:
Figure 27: GPI 2017 variables and coefficients (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
The Index intends to measure effective positioning, not power. The GPI captures the degree of internationalization of the different countries, unidirectionally and in absolute, not relative, terms. It is calculated for 100 countries, the first 92 world economies according to World Bank data, as well as countries that are smaller in their economic size, but are members of the OECD and/or the
European Union. Since 2012, the Index also measures the global presence of the European Union as a whole.
73 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 28: Top 20 2016 Global Presence (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Figure 29: 2016 United States and European Union Global Presence (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017) 74 Literature Review
Their website also includes interactive graphs in their section “Explora” (explore); the graph below, as an example shows information for Spain in 2016, several other options are available:
Figure 30: 2016 Spain’s Global Presence (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
The main publication of the Elcano Royal Insitute, regarding Spain’s image, is their Barometer
(Barómetro Imagen de España, BIE). The survey includes a sample of respondents from Germany,
UK, France, Italy, USA, Chile, Ecuador, Morocco, China, Japan and Turkey. Aged 18-70, this year
4,468 people answered an online interview.
The information they provide is structured in graphs like the one below, which cover the general score awarded to Spain in the different countries:
75 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 31: 2016 BIE Comparison of scores Spain VS other countries (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Or the evolution of those scores in the different countries over the years. For instance, the graph below covers three countries, including the United States of America, our target market:
Figure 32: Evolution of Spain’s scores in different countries – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
76 Literature Review
Other graphs include values according to age or education of the respondents, which is very useful when considering segmentation and definition of target audiences. Two examples below:
Figure 33: Average Spain’s scores in different countries, according to age – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Figure 34: Average Spain’s scores in different countries, according to education – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
77 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
In addition, several attributes specific place brand attributes are also scored, isolated and presented in pairs of opposite words:
Figure 35: Scores for different place brand attributes – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Figure 36: Scores for different place brand attributes – Pairs of words – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017) 78 Literature Review
And, again, information can be found specifically for those attributes in specific countries, like
USA:
Figure 37: Scores for different attributes in USA – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Figure 38: Spain’s profile in USA – BIE 2016 79 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017) Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
In addition, companies and place-of-origin are also part of the study. Below, specific information about the scores for renowned Spanish brand, among which Galician Zara stands out:
Figure 39: Scores for different Spanish brands in different countries– BIE 2016 (Source: E Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Figure 40: Scores for Zara in different countries – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Last, but particularly relevant for our project, the “made in” effect with regards to Spain is likewise covered:
80 Literature Review
Figure 41: Made-in-Spain Effect in different attributes – BIE 2016 (Source: Real Instituto Elcano, 2017)
Spain’s Image-Reality Indicator System (SIDIR) is a relatively new tool for Elcano Royal
Institute. Born in 2014, it has been published annually ever since, and it measures the degree of adjustment between the Spanish reality and the perceptions about Spain existing abroad, that is “the accuracy of the perceptions of our country abroad as compared to the actual situation. Its ultimate
81 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. goal is to measure the agreement between subjective impressions and objective facts in all aspects that make our country’s image” (Marca España, 2015, para. 6).
The main source to create this Indicator System is the abovementioned Country Rep Track. The last edition of the SIDIR (2016) uses the Country Rep Track results from 2015, consisting of 48,000 interviews with G8 citizens, and compares them with the results of the interviews conducted in
Spain. It includees the 55 first economies in the world using 24 variables: 17 of them measure the agreement with positive aspects of the country (safe, beautiful, values education, etc.) and the other seven collect information about recommendations (visit, live, work, etc.). Internal information (the
“reality” part) is obtained through figures from domestic and international organizations and statistics (González Enriquez & Martínez Romera, 2016).
The main results reflect that, regarding transportation and telecommunication infrastructures, technology and innovation, economic and social wellbeing, universities and recommended for buying, image and reality are quite balanced. External image is better than the Spanish reality in the following aspects: recommended for living and working, lifestyle, expenditure on education, country to study, ethics and transparency, military cooperation, development cooperation, political and institutional environment, regulatory quality and 15-year-old student performance. On the other hand, reality is better than image in the following aspects: country for events, culture, recommended for investing, safety, landscape, science and literature, recommended for visiting, business schools, sports and brands and companies (González Enriquez , 2016). This provides researchers, practitioners and government with very valuable information, as to the areas in which the efforts need to be focused. The graph below reflects the differences between Spanish positions when measured with objective indicators, versus their positions in the rankings.
82 Literature Review
Figure 42: SIDIR objective indicators VS position in rankings (Source: González Enriquez & Martínez Romera, 2016)
The literature review has covered the basic aspects that should be addressed when conducting research about place branding and the elements that scholars believe need to be studied and analyzed when developing a place branding plan. The information collected about branding, place branding and indexes, serves as the foundations on which to build the basis to position Galicia in the mind of its target audiences, and to do it in a positive way that benefits Galician companies. The pages ahead are aimed at introducing Galicia, the place to be branded.
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2- INTRODUCING GALICIA
This section is aimed at introducing the product – place to be branded in this project, Galicia.
Geography, History and Culture Overview (Section 2.1) characterizes it providing background and context, with information about basic elements that form the foundations of the brand. Main
Economic and Exports Figures (Section 2.2) presents the main economic, business and exports figures, relevant in a paper that fundamentally seeks to benefit, with a stronger place brand,
Galician companies willing to export their products or services.
2.1. GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND CULTURE OVERVIEW Galicia is located on the Northwest coast of Spain. Its largest border areas are framed by water:
Atlantic Ocean to the West, Cantabric Sea to the North. Portugal marks its Southern frontier, and the
Spanish communities Asturias and Castilla-León, its Eastern.
According to the 2016 census, Galicia has 2,718,525 inhabitants in 29,574.4 square kilometers
(Instituto Galego de Estatística, 2017). Often called “The Green Corner of Spain”, the majority of
Galicia has Oceanic climate, with mild temperatures throughout the year and frequent precipitations. With large rural areas, hills, forests, rivers and 1,498 coastal kilometers (Classora
Knowledge Base, 2010), landscapes and nature are amongst its most valuable assets. Galicia is divided into four provinces (A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra). Santiago de Compostela is its capital, and Vigo its largest city, with 292,817 people. Its high life expectancy of 82.3 years
85 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
-85.64 for women and 79.53 for men- , which contrasts with a low birth rate: 1.1 children per woman. (Instituto Galego de Estatística, 2017).
Galicia is politically considered an “Autonomous Community”. Within Spain, it has the status, together with Catalonia and the Basque Country, of “historic nationality”, due to the fact that its
Statute of Autonomy had been voted and approved -although not implemented- before the Spanish
Civil War (1936-1939) and the subsequent dictatorship (1939-1975) (Constitución Española, 1978).
Galicia recovered it status when the new Statute of Autonomy was approved in 1981, which states
“Galicia, nacionalidade histórica, constitúese en Comunidade Autónoma para acceder ó seu autogoberno, de conformidade coa Constitución Española e co presente Estatuto, que é a súa norma institucional básica” (Galicia, historical nationality, is constituted as an Autonomous Community to access its self-government, in agreement with the Spanish Constitution and with the present Statute, which is its basic institutional regulation) (Estatuto de Autonomía, 1981). The Galician government is called the Xunta de Galicia. Its current cabinet is formed by members of the Partido Popular
(Popular Party), lead by Alberto Núñez Feijóo and ten ministers.
Together with Spanish, Galician is legally a co-official language in Galicia since 1978 (Real
Academia Galega, 2017). Closely tied to Portuguese due to their common roots, it is understood by
98% of the population, while 89% affirm that they can speak it and 30% indicate that they use it “at all times”; furthermore, 72% claim that they can read it and 55% that they can write it (Observatorio da Lingua Galega, 2017; Instituto Galego de Estatística, 2017).
Galician culture has always been deeply intertwined with its language. The discovery of the alleged Apostle Santiago tomb in the 9th century was key for the enormous cultural exchange through pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, which became a major hub in Europe under
Archbishop Xelmírez, and still exist as tourist, cultural and religious experiences through this day: the Camino de Santiago, the Way of Saint James. Scientific knowledge and art styles such as
86 Introducing Galicia
Romanesque were brought and spread through the city and the routes of the pilgrimages. Galician acquired a prestigious position and was chosen as the language in which all these activities and expressions were communicated. It is considered that Galician culture had its first golden age in the
Middle Ages with the work by authors like Airas Nuñez, Mendiño, Martín Códax or Alfonso X the
Wise. It went later through a period of obscurity due to the progressive loss of political power of
Galician Kingdom and the prevalence of Spanish language, surviving in monastic schools and smaller villages from the 15th through the 18th Centuries -often called “The Dark Centuries”.
Nevertheless, Galicia maintained a strong position in other areas, such as architecture or academia, being the Baroque style, the foundation of the University of Santiago de Compostela (1495) or scientific works from monasteries (Fathers Feijoo or Sarmiento) major events in the community.
But it was the 19th Century and, most probably, the Romanticism, that brought Galician language and culture back to life through writers such as Rosalía de Castro, Curros Enríquez and Eduardo
Pondal (Xunta de Galicia, n.d.).
The 20th Century came with intense cultural movements, which unified great literature production with cultural vindications such as Galicia’s Celtic origins, and nationalist claims, addressed to gain larger political autonomy. Associations and intellectual groups like the
Irmandades da Fala and Grupo Nós, and important personalities such as Vicente Risco and Castelao fought for those cultural and political distinctions. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the resulting dictatorship period (1939-1975) ended their aspirations, killing or forcing the exile of the leaders of those movements, and censoring the use of Galician language or symbols (Galego.org, n.d.). The last quarter of the 20th Century and the restoration of democracy brought about a slow recovery of language, traditions, symbols and dynamic science and culture to Galicia. This process continues to this day, with renowned writers such as Manuel Rivas (Díaz-Cano, 2017), musicians such as Carlos Núñez (Sharing Galicia, 2016) and actors such as Luis Tosar (Classora Knowledge
87 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Base, 2017). Home of a Nobel Prize winner, Camilo José Cela (Nobelprize.org, 2017), present
Galician cultural flagships also include architectural and cultural complexes like the Cidade da
Cultura, along with several museums and buildings housing ancient and modern art and science exhibitions, such as MARCO, Domus or Museo do Mar (Xunta de Galicia, n.d.). Furthermore, the three Galician universities (A Coruña, Santiago and Vigo) are currently among the first 500 in the world, with higher positions in some key areas, according to the Academic Ranking of World
Universities (Las tres universidades gallegas, 2017). Two Campuses of International Excellence and several prestigious research centers located in the territory create an advanced academic and scientific environment.
2.2. MAIN ECONOMIC AND EXPORTS FIGURES Galician GDP for 2016 was 57,967 million euros, which placed it as the 6th Spanish Economy, and entailed a per capita GDP of 21,358 euros (Datos Macro, 2017). Its Gross Domestic Product in
Market Price for the second quarter of 2017 was 3.2 (Instituto Galego de Estatística, 2017), with
5,538.89 euros per capita (Consorcio Zona Franca, 2017). The last Indicador Abanca-Foro de
Conxuntura Económica available when this section was written, September 2017, with information up to July 2017, estimated an annual growth rate of 3.5%, which means that economic activity in
Galicia was 3.5 percentual points higher in July 2017 than in July 2016 (Foro Económico de
Galicia, 2017). These figures need to be framed within the general Spanish economic recovery, after the 2008-2013 financial crisis, which involved extensive downsizing throughout the country
(Ministry of Economy, 2014). Galicia, was, of course, affected by the situation, but its current growth rate is higher than the Spanish average rate (González Laxe, 2017).
After past harsh periods when its inhabitants were forced to emigrate, Galicia has been experiencing immigration flows lately, due to that improvement in its economic situation and a growing industry. The current 15% unemployment rate (Instituto Galego de Estatística, 2017) is still
88 Introducing Galicia high in absolute terms, but significantly low comparing to previous years. Good quality of life, consolidated and modern education and health systems, together with infrastructures, have been improved, with, for instance, 3 airports and 127 ports, 100 industrial, commercial and service areas with a total surface of 47,000,000 sq. m. Fishing and agriculture have traditionally been important sectors in a region known by the quality of its natural products and its gastronomy. Other sectors also excel, such as fashion and textile –Galician based Inditex is the world's largest apparel manufacturer and retailer (Fastretailing, 2017), including the brand Zara, among others-, shipyards
-in Vigo and Ferrol-, biotechnology –Pharmamar, Lonza Biologics Porriño-, automotive -one of the main PSA Peugeot Citroën factories is located in Galicia, with its associated part manufacturing companies-, timber and renewable energies (Galicia.es, 2017). Furthermore, a Galician financial institution (Abanca) is among the 10 first Spanish banks (Sevilla Arias, 2017).
Reports from the European Commission’s Regional Innovation Monitor (2013) indicate that a network of private non-profit organizations has been created for R&D&I purposes. These are grouped by sectors or activity. Some of them are AIMEN - Innovation and Technology Center- ,
GRADIANT –telecommunications research center-, CTAG –automotive technology center-,
PTGAL - agrofood technological platform-; CLAG - Audiovisual Cluster-, ACLUNAGA –naval sector cluster- , or ANFACO -sea products industry cluster. All these groups collaborate with government centers and offices and receive public funding. The above mentioned three Galician
Universities capture 40% of the R&D effort in Galicia.
Galician turnover reached 57,843 million euros in 2014, with 25,066 companies (Galicia.es,
2017). The distribution by sectors can be seen in the graph below:
89 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 43: Sector distribution – Galician Turnover (Source: Galicia.es, 2017)
Galicia imported 1,447.3 million euros, while it exported 1,959.2 million euros in June 2017.
This signified a great increase (19.94%) comparing to June 2016, and to the general figures for
Spain (5.72%). Out of those 1,959.22 million euros, 21% corresponded to textile industry, automotive gathered 20%, equipment goods 17%, food industry 14% -11% corresponding to the fishing industry-, manufactured goods 12% -5% metal products and 4% chemical- and energy with
7%. In total, Galicia’s exports volume in 2017 was 20,038,402.7 euros (ICEX, 2017).
Tourism is an increasingly important sector in Galicia. The majority of visitors spend at least one day in Santiago de Compostela, famous because of its cathedral and for being the end-point of the Way of Saint James pilgrimage. The second and third preferred destinations are, in this order, the Southern and the Northern Coasts (Turgalicia, 2017). Other touristic alternatives with great potential, such as incentive tourism, are being currently studied and promoted (Turincentiving
Galicia, 2016).
90 Introducing Galicia
Galicia exports mainly to Europe (80%, the greatest percentages corresponding to France,
Portugal, Italy, UK, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium). America represents 8.27%, 4.02% North
America, out of which 3.80% correspond to USA. Nevertheless, comparative figures show a great increase, compared to June 2016, for North America, and particularly for USA, with a 46.65% increase rate. As for figures in 2016 for USA, 1,006 companies affirmed they exported to the
American country, with a volume of 567.128,1 euros (ICEX, 2017). The ICEX (Instituto Español de
Comercio Exterior, under the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness) also indicates that accumulated foreign investment represents 13% of Galician GDP and more than
50,000 jobs. Nevertheless, apparently it is still not very attractive to foreign investors: 1% of the direct foreign investment within Spain, in the period January-September 2017 (González Laxe,
2017, p.2).
Figure 44: Galician exporting profile (Source: Plan Estratéxico de Galicia 2015-2020)
Galicia exported, in 2016, 7.9% of the Spanish total, with 4.5% of the exporting companies, and a total increase of 5.9, compared to 1.9 in Spain (Prada, 2017, p.5). The prestigious business
91 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. information service Ardán includes 2,922 firms in their list of Galician exporting companies
(Ardan.es, 2017), although the ICEX (2017) counts 6,072 exporters for 2016.
Once the main facts related to Galicia have been presented, the following section reflects on the different actions devoted to working on Galicia’s external image.
92 3- PROMOTING GALICIA
A clarification might be necessary at this point, when starting to leave the theoretical sections to dive into the most practical ones: although tourism attraction efforts have been, and still are, extensive in, and very valuable for, Galicia, these are not the main focus of our project. As stated in our Literature Review section when discussing terminology, these will be framed within destination branding, while our paper is mainly focused on place branding, and more specifically on how branding Galicia could help Galician businesses. As Up Consultants simply and clearly explain that, in the fist case, the “main focus is on the attraction of tourists and visitors and is more likely to rely on advertising of some sort mixed with other methods, the branding of a place covers all the communication of the place. That means it is not only the attraction of tourists, but also the attraction of inward investment and businesses as well as the attraction of people and talents” (2017, para. 10). For that reason, this and the following sections will only cover tourist campaigns when relevant for the purposes of this project. Although those are, of course, useful and necessary, we will try to use a broader approach, also trying to avoid focusing only on logos and slogans, which, as Govers states “seem to be ascribed with powers that they do not possess, diverting focus, resources and effort from what actually is important in place branding. Branding is about reputation management, or, more specifically, about managing brand equity” (2013, p.1).
This will be organized in two sections: Background (Section 3.1) and Campaigns and
Promoters (Section 3.2). The first one presents the actions and programs initiated to strengthen the
93 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. external projection of Brand Galicia, through a brief chronology. The second one describes specific promoters and campaigns, in most cases fostered by public institutions and in most cases tourism related -nevertheless, the most relevant private initiatives and non-tourism related actions are covered whenever possible.
3.1. BACKGROUND Ríos and Viqueira (2002) consider that there are three initial phases in what they call Galicia’s external action since democracy was reinstated in Spain. The first one extends from 1981 through
1989, involving little activity, given that the newly created institutions were not fully established yet, and several economic, social and political crises hindered the development of long term policies.
The second one (1989-1997) took place under Manuel Fraga’s presidency. A key and controversial figure both in Spanish and Galician politics, during Franco’s regime he was Ministry of Information and Tourism and Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Ministry of Interior during the transition to democracy, he also founded the Popular Alliance (currently Popular Party, present
President of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, and present President of Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, are both members of that party). He later returned to Galicia as its democratic president between 1990 and
2005. Interestingly, external image was one of his priorities. Eaude exemplifies it when he writes,
“Fraga presided took over the start of the tourist boom, energetically marketing the country under the slogan ‘Spain is different’. From this period dates his most famous photograph, when Fraga and
Angier Biddle Duke, the USA ambassador, bathed in the sea at Palomares, Almería, on the southern coast to reassure tourists that there was no danger from radiation” (2012, para. 1-2). This philosophy transferred to his Galician time in office, with special attention, in this case, to Europe and Latin America. Specifically, Ríos and Viqueira (2002) point out four main areas: a) presence in
Europe –based on the new Spanish EU membership in 1989 -, through regionalist movement; b)
94 Promoting Galicia reinforcement of cooperation with Portugal, creating the Comunidade de Traballo Galicia-Norte de
Portugal with that goal in 1991 (Comunidade de Traballo, 2017); c) in Latin-America, support
Galicia emigrants, work with country’s governments and organizations a boost business exchanges; d) cultural and tourist promotion. Some promotional trips to Asia are also organized.
The third phase, which, for Ríos and Viqueira, begins in 1997 and ends in 2002, date when their article was published, can be easily extended until 2005, the last year of Fraga’s presidency. In this period, significant organizations were created to enhance external actions. The first one was called
“Relacións coas Comunidades Galegas” (Relations with Galician Communities, focused on groups of Galicians abroad). Particularly important, “Relacións coa UE e Acción Exterior” (Relations with the EU and External Action), in charge of managing the representation of the Xunta de Galicia regarding European and Spanish affairs. The “Comisión de Acción Exterior” (Commission for
External Action) was also founded within this period, with the purpose of creating strategies and procedures, as well as preparing the trips of the President abroad. The Comunidade de Traballo
Galicia-Norte de Portugal also provided technical support. Trips of the Galician politicians to foreign countries were also intensified, particularly to South America (Ríos & Viqueira, 2002).
Interestingly, many of the Galician emigrants in Latin America still maintained their Spanish nationality, therefore could vote in the Galician elections.
González Laxe and Gómez (2014, p.15) continue the chronology journey explaining the most important facts in this regard during the terms in office of the other presidents that Galicia has had in the current democratic period. With Emilio Pérez Touriño – 2005-2009 – foreign affairs are given more relevance via the creation of the Secretaría General de Relaciones Exteriores (Secretariat for
External Relations), including competencies of the Directorate General for External Cooperation.
Under Alberto Núñez Feijóo – president since 2009 and currently in office, that Secretariat is
95 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. replaced by a Directorate General for External Relations and European Union, and the Consello de
Acción Exterior de Galicia (CAEX) is created as a non-binding external advising organization.
The Xunta de Galicia, through its Consellería de Facenda (Treasury Ministry) created and published two strategic plans called “Horizonte 2020. Plan Estratéxico 2010-2014” and “Plan
Estratéxico de Galicia 2015-2020”. They both share the following goals “To boost economic growth in Galicia through a model based on innovation and human capital, contributing to achieve a modern and socially and territorially cohesive Galicia and enabling to reduce unemployment, increase productivity and income of Galician people, helping to recover the path of population growth” (Xunta de Galicia, 2015, p.2).
These reports identify three elements as the main competitiveness factors for Galician economy: a) greater investment in R&D&I, particularly focusing on services and technology infrastructures, supporting research infrastructures, and technological companies; b) improving external competitiveness, rising exporting quotas and imports penetration ratio; and c) competitiveness index, for prices and costs (González Laxe & Gómez, 2014).
Interestingly, both reports (Xunta de Galicia, 2010; Xunta de Galicia, 2015) also include a
SWOT analysis of Galicia, with the intention of developing strategies for building on the strengths, overcoming the weaknesses, taking advantage of the opportunities, and minimizing the threats. The one included in the 2010 Plan (p. 59-64) is summarized in the following chart:
WEAKNESSES THREATS -Low population dynamism (ageing, more social -Ageing population (stress on health, pension, social services demanded) systems) -Polarized population distribution: unequal distribution -Business dynamics hindered by bureaucracy -Duality in territory: urban Atlantic- rural Interior -Research centers losing support system -Unemployment rates -UE enlargement (countries with lower production costs) -Specific productive sector features: mainly SME’s, not -R&D&I investments low = lower results attractive for foreign investment, behind in ICT’s use, -General economic crisis small cooperation universities-private sector -Waste treatment deficiencies -Education system not fully adapted to business market -Transportation issues -Environmental inefficiency -Improvable transportation system
96 Promoting Galicia
STRENGHTS OPPORTUNITIES -Region Galicia-North of Portugal -ITC’s available, improve usage -Strategic geographic location -Natural areas, improve services -Coasts not over-exploited -Euroregion Galicia-North of Portugal -Natural tourist attractions -Potential for producing more renewable energy -Educated and trained population = workforce -Tourism potential -Differentiated products -Global demand for products already manufactured in -Strong and prestigious industrial sectors and Galicia: shipyards, fishing, aquaculture, wood, stone, food, companies (textile, automobile, fishing) textile… -Intregration in TransEuropean transportation network -Port potential -Business in new EU countries -Business networks in strategic sectors -Business in care of dependent adults-related services Table 1: SWOT analysis – Galician economy (Source: Compilation prepared by the author, based on Xunta de Galicia, 2010 and 2015)
The DAFO (Galician for SWOT analysis) in the 2015 Plan (p. 283-313) includes similar elements, dividing them into four main areas, the four main axes of the report: 1) Employability and smart growth; 2) Wellbeing of people and families and social cohesion; 3) Sustainable growth, territory, agriculture, farming, sea and forestries; 4) Digital society, culture and reinforcing Galicia’s weight in its socioeconomic setting. A fifth instrumental axis is added: modern, efficient, high quality public administration. Although more detailed and structured, the spirit and the elements are very similar, including among the strengths and opportunities the newly available European,
Spanish and Galician funds and the positivism of an (almost) overcome economic crisis.
3.2. CAMPAIGNS AND PROMOTERS Specific campaigns, programs and activities have been carried out as consequences of the previously mentioned actions and reports. Important efforts have been devoted to advertising campaigns focused on tourism and, although, as already stated, that is not the main focus of our project, they were obviously relevant for general place branding purposes, therefore we have considered that it is important to mention them.
Óscar Alfeirán covered a significant part in his doctoral dissertation “La imagen turística de
Galicia. El uso de la marca Galicia por primera vez en la publicidad de la institución autonómica: estudio comparado del anuncio para televisión 2006 – 2011” (2012). His work is mainly centered
97 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. on actions promoted by the Sociedad de Imagen y Promoción Turística de Galicia, S.A.
(Turgalicia), created by the Galician government in 1992 to promote Galicia’s tourist resources, but his research can easily be used as an introduction of the Xunta’s position as to how to promote
Galicia abroad.
Alfeirán states that Galician administration has mainly used two societies to create a ‘nicer’ image of Galicia: the abovementioned Turgalicia and the Xacobeo, created in 1991 with the intention of promoting the Camino de Santiago and, particularly, the celebration of the Holy Year in
1993 (2012, p.51). The campaigns are mostly addressed to Spanish audiences, and he cites López
Silvestre et al when he mentions that these establish links between landscapes and art, using two elements that are already in the Spanish imagery, reinforcing topics and using motives that have been previously used with success: sea, fields… according to the author, the idea is to show that “en
Galicia, el medio rivaliza en belleza con el arte” (López Silvestre et al., 2007, pp. 16 y 17, as cited in Alfeirán, 2012, p.52) – which can be roughly translated as ‘in Galicia, landscapes rival art in their beauty’. His analysis begins in 2006 with a first phase, key date when a new action plan was established, and stretches out until 2009. Having ‘Galicia, sí, es única’ -Galicia, yes, it is unique- as its main slogan, the actions were aimed at providing Galicia with a prestigious image, both as place and as tourist destination, picturing it as unique, different from the rest of Spain (Alfeirán, 2012, p.
62 and 103). The second phase includes an action plan devised from 2010 through 2013, based on a more detailed tourism plan for the region, created together with the sector professionals. In this period, the Marca Turística de Galicia -Galicia Tourist Brand- was established by the Decree
121/2011, which approves the brand and regulates its use, endowing its rights to Turgalicia (Xunta de Galicia, 2011). The Decree states “Galicia ten que ter unha imaxe facilmente identificable que resalte a personalidade da comunidade e a amose como destino turístico. Unha marca que sirva para poder desenvolver unha estratexia de promoción a través desta imaxe de marca forte que nos
98 Promoting Galicia posicione no mercado nacional e internacional. A marca gráfica resultante recoñece os nosos sinais de identidade e diferéncianos dos competidores, en definitiva, unha marca que representa perfectamente a singularidade dun destino chamado Galicia” (DOG, 2011, p. 17618) -roughly translated as ‘Galicia must have an easily identifiable image that emphasizes its personality and represents it as a tourist destination. A brand that enables the development of a promotion strategy through a strong brand image, which positions us in national and international markets. The resulting graphic brand acknowledges our identity symbols and differentiates us from our competitors, a brand that perfectly represents the singularity of a destination called Galicia’- . A logo, typography and corporate identity manual were also issued.
Figure 45: Brand Galicia current logo (Source: Xunta de Galicia, 2013)
Furthermore, another key campaign took place in 2011: the one around the slogan ‘Galicia, ¿me guardas el secreto?’ -Galicia, can you keep the secret?-. This time, the actions did not only involve advertising, but also the creation of a strategy around the newly created tourist brand: nine tourist packages, also promoted as separate products (Camino de Santiago, lighthouses, wild beaches, magical shrines, springs, woodlands, hidden heritage, strolling through vineyards and ten unique places), sponsoring sports teams, etc. (Alfeirán, 2012, p.128-129). In the following years, all campaigns followed that same guidelines and patterns. Whether with more dynamic -’Dame
99 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Galicia’, Give me Galicia; in 2017- or more sentimental -’Si te quieren, te recomendarán Galicia’;
If they love you, they will recommend you Galicia, in 2014- spots and claims, all of them fall now within the ‘Galicia, el buen camino’ -Galicia, the good way- umbrella (Turgalicia, 2017), which seems to address the same values and try to resonate with the same emotions.
Moving closer to our ultimate object of study, place branding as a tool for Galician companies, there is another brand, also created by the Xunta de Galicia that should capture our attention:
Galicia Calidade. According to their website, “Galicia Quality (Galicia Calidade) is the quality mark that certifies the level of excellence of the products and / or services which deserve this distinction, because either they have been processed in Galicia, or due to their Galician raw materials or design, once this has been so proven by the controls provided” (Galicia Calidade, 2017, para. 1). The certification comes with its own logo, whose current version can be easily traced back to the Galicia tourist brand representation, shown above.
Figure 46: Galicia Calidade current logo (Source: Galicia Calidade, 2017)
The certification is a result of the creation in 1995, by the Xunta de Galicia and under the
Decree 382/1994 from December 1994, of the corporation Galicia Calidade, S.A.U. The idea was to establish a seal that became a trusted reference for consumers, identifying the Galician origin of products, talent and creativity, with the guarantee that those fulfill the requirements laid down by specific and strict quality regulations, and audit certifications. In addition to fulfilling, with their products or services, the requirements to obtain the quality mark of approval, set forth by the
100 Promoting Galicia standards issued by the organization, the companies must either be based in Galicia, have a manufacturing center in Galicia or process their products in Galicia (Galicia Calidade, 2017).
Galicia Calidade was progressively recognized and looked for, becoming a synonym for quality, trust and prestige. Advertising campaigns were issued in 1991, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008,
2009 and 2010 (Galicia Calidade, 2017), all of them addressed to Galician and Spanish audiences.
The claim “Galicia Calidade, a mellor calidade galega controlada e confirmada” -Galicia Calidade, the best Galician quality, controlled and confirmed- was used in several of them. The last campaign in that list, from 2010, included some references to foreign countries, being the characters of the main spot all foreigners appreciating Galicia products and services. As good as all this sounded, little by little, this quality mark was somehow overshadowed by the tourist brand and became secondary, both for the administration and the consumers. Alameda and Fernández (2012, p. 16) clearly explain it when they say that Turgalicia became the main brand for the Galician
Government, and the one to be promoted outside Galician borders. Galicia Calidade was still used to certify products, but Turgalicia turned into the one brand to identify the territory. This meant shifting from trying to enhance the economic potential to showing mostly its essence, its people, its landscapes, using rain, mystery, magic or friendship, as main communication elements. According to the authors, Galicia ended up telling the audiences that it needs them, moving from concepts such as quality, to concepts such as emotion. That way, the business potential was somehow diluted to favor the feelings, of course always necessary, but overshadowing in this case other fundamental aspects.
Around 2014, the need to turn the attention back to the economy seemed tangible again, and a new plan was created: the Galicia Quality Strategic Plan 2014-2016, intended to make Galicia
Calidade “the global image of the Galician economy and to increase the impact of the Galician companies and products in foreign markets” (Galicia Calidade, 2017). The plan included actions
101 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. aimed at promoting the competitiveness of the business network, supporting innovation to create value with differentiated products and services, and promoting the international business repercussion through the quality of products and services made in Galicia. From that moment on, the efforts were devoted to turn Galicia Calidade into an umbrella brand for Galician economy, and the brand under which promotional actions abroad would be made. This also involved including
Galician “denominacións de orixe”, that is, quality seals of origin for foods and beverages produced in Galicia. The main goals of the plan were listed as: boosting competitiveness of Galician companies, providing the brand Galicia Calidade with visibility from an economic point of view, working in united actions, strengthening added value to the mark, promoting Galician quality seals of origin (Galicia Calidade, 2017). This new plan intended to involve different public administration offices to work towards the same goal (Consellería de Medio Rural e do Mar, Consellería de
Economía e Industria, Axencia Galega de Turism, Emigracón), companies (Organizacións sectoriais, Cámaras de comercio) and certification entities (Denominacións de orixe, Indicacións
Xeográficas protexidas, Denominacións de Orixen protexidas, Selo de identidade, Asociacións galegas certificadas, Denominacións específicas). Furthermore, the strategy was aimed at duplicating the number of certified products/services and companies, promoting the participation in international exhibitions, shows and fairs, generating some online actions (collaboration with cooking bloggers), participating in cultural events, roadshow with showcookings. It also created an international version of the logo (see below)
Figure 47: Different versions of Galicia Calidade current logo (Source: Galicia Calidade, 2017)
102 Promoting Galicia
As of now (end of 2017), the brand and the seal are still in force and companies are still being certified, but according to all consulted institutional and news sources, plan has not been renewed, no further actions have been prepared and the results of the 2014-2016 have not been presented.
The main public office in charge of promoting internationalization of Galician companies is called IGAPE (Instituto Galego de Promoción Económica, Galicia Institute for Economic
Promotion). Interestingly, when this section was written (end of 2017) their last published report dated back to 2014 and the website did not include any links to the website of Galicia Calidade, or any sections devoted to the certifications.
According to the IGAPE website (IGAPE, 2017, para .1), the organizaiton is a “public body that was created in 1993 as a part of the Regional Ministry of Economy, Employment and Industry, whose mission is to promote the creation of new enterprises, foster improvements in terms of productivity and competitiveness in businesses that are already based in the region, to attract foreign investment and to facilitate the international expansion of its producers”. That same website has two versions, one mainly addressed to Galicians, and one mainly addressed to an international audience. Their structures, below, can be used as a means of understanding the actions that the
IGAPE promotes.
The Galician version has a first section explaining what the IGAPE is, providing information about the organization, focused on supporting activities that contribute to improve the Galician production system, facilitating processes for business creation, consolidation and growth, with special focus on internationalization and attracting investments to Galicia. The second section focuses on that investment element, explaining that the organization offers funds, training and consulting services to those interested. The third section provides information about how to create a company, also offering funds, training, consulting and adding mentoring services. In the fourth section, dealing with competitiveness, programs such as Galicia Industria 4.0, stand out; it is
103 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. describes as a tool for planning the already mentioned Plan of the Xunta for 2015-2020. The firth section, about Internationalization, also includes consulting and training, this last one describing the
Strategy for the Internationalization of Galician Companies 2020 (IGAPE, 2017), also mentioned in the next section of this paper. This is particularly relevant, as the strategy, also framed within the
2015-2020 Plan, aims at increasing Galician exports by 25% around 5 axes: reinforcing the internalization culture of Galician SME’s, increasing presence in new markets, attracting investors, consolidating the Galician Quality certification and trying to unite economic agents and financial entities (Crónicas de la emigración, 2014).
The version in English is called ‘Invest in Galicia’ and includes some differences. Although it provides relevant information, its access is strangely hidden within the ‘Invertir en Galicia’ section of the Galician version of the site. The landing page describes the Institute and emphasizes the support and conditions offered to investors. The section ‘Galicia in Figures’ includes data for population, economy and different industrial sectors. The section ‘Invest in Galicia’ describes
Galician infrastructures, lists centers devoted to R&D&I, offers foreign trade figures for Galicia and
Spain, presents Investment Incentives funded by the EU and the Spanish and Galician governments, and includes Success Stories, both internationalized Galician companies and foreign companies that have settled or invested in Galicia. The ‘Services’ section describes both the services provided to foreign investors and the Pexga network, that is, offices to help Galician companies in different countries. The section ‘Regulatory Issues’ explains relevant tax and legal regulations. The section
‘Living in Galicia’ describes aspects such as quality of life, healthcare or education system. And last, Industrial Land describes industrial areas available to setter companies. All this is, of course, valuable information, but surprisingly hard to find and very rarely promoted.
To complete this compilation, Xulio Ríos’ Libro Branco da Acción Exterior de Galicia (2004, pp. 24-28) includes a list with what he calls the main actors in external action. The IGAPE and
104 Promoting Galicia
Turgalicia, already mentioned in this paper, come in the first places. Some of the other institutions have currently modified their names or functions. For instance, the Dirección Xeral de Comercio, which currently still exists but forwards internalization issues to the IGAPE. Nevertheless, some of the other organizations may still play important roles: the Consello da Cultura Galega, which has an
External Action Area whose objective is “strengthen the presence, the interests and the image of
Galicia in the international context” (Consello da Cultura Galega, 2017, para. 1); the IGADI, a non- profit research center focused on international affairs (IGADI, 2017); the ICEX, a Spanish
Government agency created to foster foreign trade; and the Fundación Galicia-Europa, devoted to strengthen relationships between Galicia and the EU, which includes private entities, in addition to the public ones. Galician universities have International Excellence Campuses, which can lead to talent attraction. And private sector organizations and companies have also tried to deploy some forces through their Chambers of Commerce, Financial Clubs and Confederaciones de Empresarios
(Business Associations).
The actions presented in this section lead to think that place branding efforts have been deployed, but further actions are still necessary and will be beneficial for Galicia. The following section will elaborate on those two topics.
105
4- THE NEED FOR PLACE BRANDING
Although the previous sections have already began to address the benefits from devoting efforts to place branding, the following pages intend to elaborate on some of the main reasons why places and, particularly Galicia could have that specific need. In addition, all this will be further developed in upcoming sections of this paper, when analyzing the collected data. This section has been divided intro three parts. The first one, Some Reasons for Working on a Place Brand (Section 4.1) explores motives, grounding the explanations on benefits proven by different studies. The second section,
Place Branding for Galicia (Section 4.2), presents different applications in Galicia of elements introduced in the previous sections. The third section, International Environment (Section 4.3), covers two aspects: Galician little explored internationalization potential, and four brief place branding case studies, from which parallelisms with Galicia could be drawn.
4.1. SOME REASONS FOR WORKING ON A PLACE BRAND We have already established that a place brand image is closely related to its reputation. And that having a strong reputation improves support, and specifically, supporting behaviors. As the
2016 Country Rep Trak report states “An increasingly globalized world with intensified competition makes country reputations matter more than ever. Attracting FDI, tourists, high skilled workforce and being able to sell the products of the country abroad are facilitated by having a strong country reputation” (p. 6). In a simplest and more visual way, their Country RepTrak model
107 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
(below) could be used as a starting point: a stronger reputation drives support for any brand, which,
in the case of place brands, is closely related to the factors leading to issue recommendations and
make decisions. In this case, the supporting behaviors materialize in actions such as visiting, living,
working, investing, buying products or services, studying or attending an event.
Figure 48: Country RepTrak Model and supporting behaviors (Source: Country RepTrack, 2016, p.6)
In fact, that type of correlation can be proven and measured. An example is the reputation-
recommendation ratio that the Reputation Institute shows in their 2016 Global RepTrak 100 report:
108 The need for place branding
Figure 49: Reputation-Recommendation Ratio (Reputation Institute, 2016, p.20)
From a more general point of view, as Moilanen and Rainisto (2009, pp.7-8) express, taking it from a branding perspective, a brand can, among others, differentiate itself from competing products, create emotional benefits for customers, facilitate the customer’s decision-making process, bring long-term benefits or increase turnover. Specifically referring to place brands, the same authors that mention global competition for skillful workforce, investments and businesses or tourism income, forces places to “develop their attractiveness and marketing, to promote their uniqueness” (Moilanen and Rainisto, p.10). They go on to indicate that the way a place is perceived regarding factors such as its products and services, culture, business opportunities, politics or economics is linked to that place’s brand. And “creating and maintaining a strong country brand brings benefits to all these sectors” (Moilanen and Rainisto, p.11).
109 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Keith Dinnie recognizes that places are increasing their efforts to “hone their country branding in recognition of the need to fulfill three major objectives: to attract tourists, to stimulate inward investment and to boost exports” and then he adds that, in addition to those three goals, place branding can “also increase currency stability; help restore international credibility and investor confidence; reverse international ratings downgrades; increase international political influence; stimulate stronger international partnerships and enhance nation building (by nourishing confidence, pride, harmony, ambition, national resolve)” (Dinnie, 2008, p. 17). Definitively, enhancing a place’s global awareness, but also providing it with the boost to gain competitive advantages.
The list of those advantages could be very extensive, but an interesting approach to the relevant role of place branding can be found in a document prepared by the Federal Council of the Swiss
Confederation, in which the guidelines for their communication abroad are laid out. A list is included, explaining why several aspects are important for Switzerland’s image abroad, the potential for the image of Switzerland and its role in achieving strategic objectives. Some examples are its role in Europe – the EU is Switzerland’s most important partner, its position affects its image among EU members, and a negative perception of Switzerland has the potential to compromise
Switzerland's interests with the EU -, or International Geneva – UN bodies are headquartered there but that fact is not widely known, potential to host events, reinforce sense of solidarity and responsibility. All of these, as seen below, are followed by communication recommendations, which prove the importance of place branding for the Swiss government and the crucial responsibility it represents in the country advancement (Schweieriche Eidgenossenshaft, 2016, pp. 8-21).
4.2. PLACE BRANDING FOR GALICIA The application of the above elements to Galicia could begin by taking the structure of that
Swiss list as a starting point, and following the same question-answer layout, transferring that way
110 The need for place branding some of the specific issues that the government in Switzerland decided to include (Schweieriche
Eidgenossenshaft, 2016, pp. 8-21).
The first one could be Education, Research and Innovation. Why is this important for Galicia’s image abroad? Galicia has good R&D&I and education systems, however, that is not usually a fact that is known abroad. What is the potential for the image of Galicia? Both to attract talent and to commercialize its science-based innovations. What is the role in Galicia’s objectives? Innovative, education and research focused places raise their awareness as partners and attract, as stated about, talent, but also funds.
The second area could be Economy and Competitiveness. Why is this important for Galicia’s image abroad? The image of Galicia depends, to a great extent, on a person’s experience with its products or services, and a positive image provides added value (place-of-origin effect). What is the potential for the image of Galicia? To improve its position in global competition. What is the role in
Galicia’s objectives? A positive business environment for foreign investments and companies; in addition, strengthening the brand would help improve the image of Galician firms in international markets.
As a third element, Environment, Transportation and Energy. Why is this important for Galicia’s image abroad? Environmental issues are growing in importance around the globe, due to climate change awareness. What is the potential for the image of Galicia? Relatively well protected landscape and potential to expand use of renewable energies. What is the role in Galicia’s objectives? Attractive location and sense of responsibility will be beneficial in general terms.
The fourth one could be Culture. Why is this important for Galicia’s image abroad? Galician unique culture is often overshadowed by Spanish traditions. What is the potential for the image of
Galicia? Greater visibility of heritage, and diversifying when including new and modern artists and artistic expressions. What is the role in Galicia’s objectives? Galicia’s culture originality could
111 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. promote Galician culture industry, but also attract attention to other sectors. Like for Switzerland
“respect for tradition with an appreciation of innovation and contemporary creativity”
(Schweieriche Eidgenossenshaft, 2016, p. 20).
And finally, an element that is not often included in Galicia’s brand discussions: Sports. Why is this important for Galicia’s image abroad? Galicia has two First League soccer teams, Deportivo and Celta, and gave birth to two athletes that are considered best in the world in their disciplines, canoer David Cal (Pérez, 2016) and triathlete Javier Gómez Noya (Mackinnon, 2018).
Nevertheless, none of them are identified as Galician abroad. What is the potential for the image of
Galicia? “Sport plays an important role in a country's image, particularly when its athletes compete at major international sporting events.” (Schweieriche Eidgenossenshaft, 2016, p. 21). What is the role in Galicia’s objectives? “These events, which are generally viewed positively, are guaranteed a high level of media coverage, and appeal to broad sections of the population. The media and the general public make a clear association between a country's values and the people who exemplify them” (Schweieriche Eidgenossenshaft, 2016, p. 21).
Leaving these personal adaptations of foreign guidelines aside, Galician authors have also written about the need for a stronger Brand Galicia. Particularly relevant, in addition to Ríos and
Viqueira’s works, included in previous sections of this paper, are the reports published by the Foro
Econónimo de Galicia. In them, González Laxe and Gómez’s (2014) argue that current times are the right times, given that old frontiers have fallen and new scenarios make Galicia’s presence increasingly necessary, particularly in a place that intends to project its own capacity to generate external action, and whose current administrative situation allows certain independence to that effect. Even accepting that Spain has exclusive rights in international political affairs, Galicia can generate and project a separate image at an international level. The main reasons for that are, on one hand, that Galicia is part of a globalized world and should ensure that its interests are safeguarded
112 The need for place branding and, on the other, that Galicia has its own cultural, educational, technological, financial and business dynamics, which create a unique identity that enables decision-making and should be fostered and shared. The authors believe that Galicia can contribute to the common good, supporting sustainable development, humanitarian aid and good governance; that it can be integrated in a compartmentalized Europe, as a modern and committed key area; and that the interests of Galician agents should be supported abroad, by establishing relation channels with relevant international agents, promoting at the same time the improvement of external projection.
Galicia, they say, should clearly find its place in the world, defining under which values and with which goals. This would not only mean fighting against homogenization, but also finding a winning strategy to navigate a global, interdependent and integrative society (pp. 24-26).
The private sector has also weighted in, expressing that there is, in fact, a need for internationalization for Galician companies, which would be greatly supported by a strong Brand
Galicia. The members of the Círculo de Empresarios de Galicia, through their document
Internacionalización, ¿por qué? -Internationalization, why?-, written by their Foro
Socioeconómico, state that Galicia has a great exporting potential that is not being fully utilized and that presence in international markets should be increased, both for Galician companies selling abroad, and for attracting foreign investment. Optimizing resources is important but, in their opinion, promoting Galician brand and increasing its visibility is key (Foro de Entorno
Socioeconómico, 2014, p. 2). They also argue that this would be a great help when developing
Galician business culture, management systems, competitiveness and positioning. In addition to requesting cooperation from Galician companies, they also demand from Galician authorities to promote an image beyond tourism, matching Galician social, economic, industrial and political reality, highlighting the available resources and its geostrategic position. Furthermore, they mention
113 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. the Brand Spain decadence as another element that could be used as a reason to work on Galicia as a brand (Foro de Entorno Socioeconómico, 2014, pp. 11, 12, 20).
In this regard, even without forgetting that Galicia is and will b,e at least in the near future, part of Spain, it could be argued that strengthening Brand Galicia and working on further developing it would be beneficial bearing in mind that Brand Spain is not going through its best times. Not only recent political issues have interfered in its public diplomacy efforts, but the past economic crisis is still in the mind of international audiences. In addition, lets recall the reports from the World
Economic Forum, mentioned in our Literature Review, to confirm that. Specifically, in the report issued for Spain, the main factors that hinder better business in Spain, both for 2016 and 2017, were inefficient government bureaucracy, restrictive labor regulations, insufficient capacity to innovate, access to financing, policy instability, corruption and inadequately educated workforce (World
Economic Forum, 2016, 2017). Offering a new and fresh image, highlighting that all that, in
Galicia, is being taken care of and that the goal is to work to eliminate all that, seems wise.
4.3. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT In addition to the elements we have already covered, there are two aspects that could be useful when framing place branding in Galicia, before moving on to analyzing collected data and starting our discussion.
First, Galicia’s potential in unexplored or little explored areas, which could be turned into opportunities. Beginning with the ones included in the Strategic Plans 2010 and 2015 (Xunta de
Galicia, 2010 and 2015), already mentioned in the previous section of this paper. The most relevant should probably be the improvement of the use of the already available advanced ICT’s; the possibilities of nature areas, both for services and for renewable energy; the business options and alliances that can be created in the EU and, particularly, within the Euroregion Galicia-North of
Portugal; the use of the already existing global demand for products already originated in Galicia -
114 The need for place branding shipyards, fishing, aquaculture, wood, stone, food, textile – and their good reputation, to promote other Galician assets; to strengthen links of research centers and universities with the private sector; and the transportation development with particular attention to the potential of ports. In fact, other publications have already mentioned this last element, as Galicia’s geographical situation is undoubtedly strategic. Xulio Ríos, for instance, writes in its Libro Branco that Galicia has a great potential to become a hub for transportation maritime lines between the Americas and Europe; furthermore, it can also link the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa (2004, p.9). Surprisingly, none of the Transeuropean transportation networks include Galicia, not even the Atlantic one, as seen below:
Figure 50: European Corridors – Mobility and Transport TENtec Interactive Map (Source: European Commission, 2017)
The Libro Blanco (Ríos, 2004) also mentions as opportunities the connections still existing from several Galician emigrants abroad, which could be used as lobbies; the almost unexplored development cooperation; the research center potential or the uniqueness of Galician culture. In addition of increasing exports, through the abovementioned opportunities, the improvement of the conditions to attract foreign investment and the relocation of foreign companies in Galicia is also
115 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. mentioned by several authors. The Foro Socioeconómico (2014) and Xulio Ríos (2004), in particular, stress that this is also part of the internationalization process. Even with the several new or growing Galician companies, there is still plenty of room in Galicia for the relocation of international companies.
The Estrategia de Internacionalización de la Empresa Gallega 2020 (Xunta de Galicia, 2014), briefly mentioned in the previous section of this paper, was produced to take advantage of all those opportunities. It sees both having overcome a crisis and the great growth perspectives as starting opportunities and generates, therefore, 5 axes around which to create the strategy. Axis 1, promoting internationalization culture, includes training both external trade specialists and Galician executives, to promote it as a competitive advantage; Galician business schools, well positioned in rankings (Mundo R, 2015). Axis 2, increasing presence in new markets, sees diversifying the destination of Galician products and services, currently mostly exported to UE countries, as an opportunity; the idea is to analyze and seek market niches in new countries and set up consulting session. Axis 3, attracting investors, is focused on attracting both FDI and relocation of companies in Galicia, both involve financial growth opportunities. Axis 4, consolidating Brand Galicia, particularly the Galicia Calidade certification, whose role as an opportunity has already been covered in this paper, focused also in this case, on the logistics strategic position that Galicia could take as an arrival/ departure area for European products and services. Axis 5 involves trying to unite all agents, both public and private sectors, including economic agents and financial entities, as an opportunity for growth that has often been planned, but not always been correctly executed (Xunta de Galicia, 2014).
Second, brief case studies centered on other places, which could be taken as a reference or example of good and bad practices. We have chosen four cases: the first two, Scotland and Brittany, because of the parallelisms that can be drawn between their political situation and Galicia’s; and the
116 The need for place branding other two, Ireland and New Zealand, because of their brands being overshadowed by other places, that is, Ireland affected by Great Britain and New Zealand affected by Australia -as mentioned in previous sections, that would be the case with Galicia and Spain.
Scotland. Both Dinnie (2008) and Moilanen & Rainisto (2009) cover the Scottish place branding case. A semi-autonomous territory, currently part of the United Kingdom, Scotland has historically had high international recognition levels and a strong tourism brand. Nevertheless, in the 90’s of last century, a growing concern that this image was not being capitalized to bring benefits to Scottish business led to the need of engaging in further action. The romantic- heritage- landscape tourist image needed an industry complement. In 1994, ‘Scotland, the brand’ was born, to promote the country’s distinctive brand values, not exclusively around tourism. In fact, it aimed at promoting its excellence “in both domestic and international markets, by combining the efforts of
Scottish businesses” (Dinnie, 2008, p.25). The brand was created as a partnership between “Scottish
Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (Scotland’s development agencies), the Scottish
Tourist Board (now called Visit Scotland), other Scottish organizations and the private sector. The first goal was to research Scotland’s potential and exploit the benefits for Scotland’s core sectors in key markets […] the aim was to create a country-of-origin concept based on quality” (Moilanen &
Rainisto, 2009, pp. 45-46). The first step consisted in extensive international market research, testing the concept Scottishness worldwide. The results provided four key messages –integrity, tenacity, inventiveness and independence of spirit. An action plan began, with events and promotions both in Scotland and abroad, business were invited to participate, a quality control panel was established, a logo and guidelines were published –to be used to authenticate products and as a quality guarantee.
In 2003, Scotland the Brand was privatized, moved from the public to the private sector, with the expectation of continuing financed by membership fees and licenses. With 350 members from
117 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
23 sectors and after promotion campaigns, marketing events and on-line actions, research and reports made available, etc., the strategy and the cooperation system seemed to be established.
Nevertheless, by 2004, the company was liquidated. The powerful concept and message failed to achieve a critical mass, and other government and private sector actions made many associates think that the efforts were being duplicated. In addition, the differences between what each of them wanted and expected from Scotland, the brand, were bigger, and crashes between prioritizing aspects such as heritage or prioritizing aspects such as technology were more and more evident.
Many companies, enthusiastic at the beginning of the project, failed to see the long-term value in the brand building effort. Many politicians were not patient enough to see that the return of investment would come down the line. And the representatives from the different elements part of the brand – tourism, exports, inward investment- did not seem to find a common ground [Dinnie
(2008, pp. 24-27) and Moilanen & Rainisto (2009, pp. 45-62)]
Place branding efforts currently still take place in Scotland, but the sources seem to be divided, and the common brand appears to have vanished. The Scottish Government has requested place branding consulting services from Anholt-GfK Roper since 2008, subscribing to the survey in 2008,
2009 and 2010, and thereafter biennially, in 2012, 2014 and 2016. The 2016 report places Scotland in position number 15th, its highest score Scotland since the baseline study of 2008, although all of them are very similar, with very small differences (Scottish Government & Anholt-Gdk Roper,
2016). Scottish tourist image and awareness levels seem to stay in good shape and stable, nevertheless most experts agree that the unified branding efforts initiated in 1994 and finalized in
2004 are “a story of a missed opportunity” (Moilanen & Rainisto, 2009, p 48) and that a joint strategy could improve that image, with important benefits for the nation. Nowadays the entities in charge of promoting, in differentiated and independent areas, Scotland are: Visit Scotland, with information on travel in Scotland, vacations, tours, holidays and accommodation; SDI, aimed at
118 The need for place branding helping foreign companies invest and thrive in Scotland, and helping local enterprises make the most of international trade and global markets; Talent Scotland, which showcases Scotland as destination to live, work and study; and Universities Scotland, representative body of Scotland's 19 higher education institutions (Scottish Government, 2015). Currently, Scotland.org, intends to gather all information in one place for international web surfers, although no nation branding strategy is officially in place
Brittany. A historic region located in the northwest coast of France, Brittany has also struggled when trying to stand out as a differentiated territory within France. In 2008, a joint initiative of the
Regional Council, the Brittany Development & Innovation agency and the Brittany Regional
Tourism Committee, was created to fight for changing that situation: the ‘Marque Bretagne’. As its website states, it is “a global strategy of attractiveness which incorporates all its strengths, be they economic, touristic, cultural, community-focused or institutional” (Marque Bretagne, 2017, para. 1).
Their intention is to create a brand that is shared by both the public and the private sector, whether they are part of the business, arts, academia or sports environments, wanting to mark their relation with the region, while promoting their activities. The idea is for all of them to extensively use the brand, and for that purpose a toolbox is available to all players wishing to refer to Brittany in their communication. Nevertheless, as they repeatedly say, the “brand is not restricted to a logotype or an imposed slogan. Quite the contrary: it takes shape around a set of graphic symbols, colors and words that express values specific to Bretagne. All are visual and lexical elements to be shared and associated with Breton brands that refer to the regional area in their communication” (Marque
Bretagne, 2017, para. 8).
As Oscar Alfeirán (2012, pp. 135-136) indicates, Brittany chose a shared brand model, a brand that is adopted by everyone, increasing that way its value: those who use it will receive added value for their activities, not giving up their own identity. This will also provide the brand with added
119 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. value at the same time, because their audiences will link their quality with Brittany’s quality. In fact, the Marque Bretagne website states that using the brand means benefiting from a recognized reputation, higher awareness level, and collectively contributing to building an improved Brittany image (Marque Bretagne, 2017, para. 6). The brand is associated to four key values –commitment, sense of community, openness and imagination-, which reflect the Breton identity. In addition to visual indications, communication guidelines are also provided: a positioning statement -Bretagne, an area that creates connections, transforms and strengthens-, and symbols expressing the brand
-positive strength, connections in action, black & white, proactive and responsible tone of communication, humor and individuality, living symbols, a touch of magic and poetry. Furthermore, the brand code is open, free and accessible to everyone in Brittany. Nevertheless, there are some restrictions with the use in products and services, limited to partners, those having applied for it and passed examination. A year after Marque Bretagne was officially launched, 48,000 associates were achieved, with partners such as companies, laboratories, schools, universities, culture personalities, advertising companies, tourism related professional, local associations, sports teams, etc. According to the website, there are currently 664 partners, 334 companies, 175 associations and 155 public agencies (Marque Bretagne, 2017).
Ireland. John Fanning (2011) provides a general analysis of Ireland’s nation brand image.
Beginning with the history of Brand Ireland, whose commencement he dates in the 19th century, when a group of intellectuals decided to consciously work on it, being W.B. Yeats the most active and influential one. Their goal was to “make Ireland interesting once again, after centuries of enforced provincialism following the collapse of the Gaelic order in 1601” (Kiberd, 1995, as cited in Fanning, 2011, p. 24). After more than a century of intense political events, Brand Ireland has showed real resilience in its spirit, particularly its Celtic, romantic, rural, friendly portrait. The brand is currently managed by different organizations: Tourism Ireland (Bord Failte), responsible
120 The need for place branding for attracting tourists to Ireland; IDA, responsible for attracting foreign direct investment; Irish
Food Board (Bord Bia), in charge of promoting Irish food exports; and Culture Ireland, responsible for promoting Irish culture abroad. The author defends that all 4 are necessary, as they address different target audiences, but suggests more coordinated actions and unified messages, in order to both restore damage created by the financial crisis and to enhance positive aspects and more modern feeling (Fanning, 2011, pp. 26-30). Interestingly, since that article was published, two new place branding organizations were created: Enterprise Ireland, responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets (Enterprise Ireland, 2017), and Study in Ireland, responsible for the promotion of Irish Higher Education Institutions overseas (Study in Ireland,
2017). According to their websites, both are independently delivering good results, but the outcomes of the diversification within Brand Ireland are yet to be proven.
New Zealand. Historically overshadowed by its powerful neighbor, Australia, New Zealand has developed remarkable place branding efforts in the past decades. In fact, Scotland the Brand took the New Zealand Way, a pioneering example of successful country branding, as an inspiration
(Moilanen & Rainisto, 2009, p.46). Parallels, according to Dinnie (2008, p.27) can also be drawn from the partly Scottish ancestors, due to the extensive emigration from Scotland to New Zealand in the 19th century. This, apparently, led to a lack of confidence in their national identity and a character that tends to aversion to show off. After some failed isolated branding attempts, and instigated by commercial businesses in response to a looming economic crisis, a place branding strategy started is path, bringing food, drink, manufactured products, entertainment and tourism together and leveraging the values associated with New Zealand’s natural environment to add value to products and services of New Zealand origin (Lodge, 2002, as cited in Dinnie, 2008, p.27).
Michael Hall (in White, 2017, pp. 105-125) explains that this was originated by The New Zealand
Way Limited (TNZWL), a joint venture incorporated in 1995 formed by the New Zealand Tourism
121 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Boards and Trade New Zealand. TNZWL adopted six brand values –environmental responsibility, achievement, cultural diversity, integrity, innovation and quality. Events, advertising, PR were used with slogans like ‘Fresh The New Zealand Way’, ‘Taste The New Zealand Way’ –for food and beverages- or ‘Experience The New Zealand Way’ – for tourism. In 1999 they registered the fern as a trademark and a national icon, which had already been used for many years. That same year, the
‘New Zealand 100% Pure’ campaign, considered highly successful in reinforcing the country’s
‘clean and green’ positioning.
Seeking to promote other sectors abroad, the government released the Growth and Information
Framework, a policy designed to “pursue the long-term sustainable growth necessary to improve the quality of life of New Zealanders” (Hall, 2010, p. 74). This focused on areas such as innovation, talent and connectedness, given that the previous campaigns had raised international awareness of the clean green environment, but not of an innovative, knowledgeable, technology based country.
The TNZWL was turned into Brand New Zealand (Brand NZ), the new trading name, in 2002, “to enhance New Zealand’s national brand to better differentiate New Zealand internationally; support key sectors; and, enhance New Zealand’s established/emerging areas of comparative advantage”
(MED, 2006, as cited in Hall, 2010, p.76). In 2014, the theme name was ‘New Zealand New
Thinking’ and, interestingly, it did not focus on concepts such as place-of-origin, but on unifying marketing messages regarding trade, investment and talent acquisition.
In the meantime, 2012 brought a new brand initiative: the ‘New Zealand Story’ aimed at creating “one story that is a foundation for New Zealand’s story for global audiences to support export earnings growth” (Hall, in White, 2017, p. 111). Their current promotional materials describe it as a government initiative “to help develop and grow New Zealand’s international marketing brand. It’s a practical guide that started life as a much more philosophical document. We believe our environment, our integrity and our thinking defines who we are as a nation and we refer to this
122 The need for place branding framework as Open Spaces, Open Hearts, Open Minds. In practical terms, it’s about capturing that open, honest, can-do Kiwi spirit and providing New Zealand businesses with the tools and resources to help communicate these unique attributes to international markets” (New Zealand Story Group,
2017). This is all currently managed by the New Zealand Story Group, led by Tourism New
Zealand, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise and Education New Zealand, and private sectors and groups: 200 leaders from the primary sector, manufacturing, Māori, export industry, education and wider government services. The originality of this initiative is undoubtedly the communication toolkit made of resources to assist business in telling the New Zealand story, including quality images, videos, presentation templates, case studies, events, reports, event suggestions and infographics, which are particularly valuable to fight the only-clean-and-green label (Hall, 2014, p.
112) and promote, in addition, the modern and business friendly New Zealand.
Once the place branding bases have been studied in the present and the previous sections, along with the place to be branded, the next section will cover the target market chosen for this project: the United States of America.
123
5- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS TARGET MARKET
This section is aimed at describing the country chosen as a target audience for this project. It is divided into three parts. The first one, Country Overview (Section 5.1), includes a general introduction to the United States of America (USA), with the most relevant aspects regrading its geography, history and culture. The second one, Main Economic and Exports Figures (Section 5.2), introduces the main figures regarding its economy and business environment, particularly focusing on imports. The third one, Intercultural Communication Approach (Section 5.3), discusses the importance of intercultural communication for this project through the main definitions, theories and studies that could be applicable in the USA-Galicia relations.
5.1. COUNTRY OVERVIEW The United States of America (USA) is located in North America. Its mainland borders are the
North Atlantic Ocean to the East, the North Pacific Ocean to the West, Canada to the North and
Mexico to the South. USA is a federal republic with 50 states -48 of them in the mainland, and two non-contiguous states: Alaska, separated from the main territory by Canada, and Hawaii, an island located in the mid-Pacific. In addition, a federal district -Washington DC, the capital of the country-, five major territories –American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and USA Virgin Islands-, and several minor islands –located in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean
Sea (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017).
125 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
USA has 9,833,517 sq km, with a coast line of 19,924 km, and its climate is described as
“mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains” (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017, para. 15). The country has a “vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii” (Central
Intelligence Agency, 2017, para. 16).
It is the world's third-largest country by size and by population. The latter includes 326,625,791 people as of July 2017, often located in large urban clusters, the largest ones in the eastern half of the USA -Great Lakes, northeast, east, and southeast- and the western states. Areas such as the
Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, the deserts in the southwest, the boreal forests in the north, and the central prairie states are less densely populated. Its largest urban areas: New York-
Newark 18.593 million; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana 12.31 million; Chicago 8.745 million;
Miami 5.817 million; Dallas-Fort Worth 5.703 million; Washington D.C. 4.955 million. Life expectancy is 80 years – 82.2 for women and 77.7 for men –, and a 1.87 children/woman birth rate
(Central Intelligence Agency, 2017). According to a 2016 report elaborated by the US Census
Bureau, American people report the following races: only white, 76.9%; only black or African
American, 13.3%; only Asian 5.7%; only American Indian or Alaskan Native 1.3%; only native
Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2%; two or more races, 2.6%. The Hispanic or Latino percentage is estimated at 17.8%, but the report indicates that “Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories” (US Census Bureau, 2017).
USA has no official national language, but English has acquired official status in 32 of the 50 states; Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii, and 20 indigenous languages are
126 United States of America as Target Market official in Alaska. Usage data indicate: English 79%, Spanish 13%, other Indo-European 3.7%,
Asian and Pacific island 3.4%, other 1% (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017).
The country was born after the 13 American Colonies declared their independence from Great
Britain in 1776 and was officially recognized as a new nation by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The two next centuries would bring 37 new states. The Central Intelligence Agencies considers that the most relevant historic events for the nation were the Civil War (1861-65), the Great Depression
(1930’s), both World Wars (1914–1918 and 1939–1945) and the Cold War, which they consider came to an end in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then, “the US remains the world's most powerful nation state, […] the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017, para. 1).
The position of the USA in the last editions of the different place branding indexes mentioned in
Section 1 of this paper is the following: Nation Brands Index, number 1; Country Brand Index, number 7; Best Countries, number 7; Good Country, number 20; Country RepTrak, number 38; and
Global Competitiveness Index, number 2.
5.2. MAIN ECONOMIC AND IMPORTS FIGURES USA’s GDP for 2016 was 18.57 trillion USD and entailed a per capita GDP of 57,300 USD
(Central Intelligence Agency, 2017). The last Bureau of Economic Analysis figures, for the second quarter of 2017, estimated a GDP growth of 3.1% (US Department of Commerce, 2017). It is considered the most powerful economy in the world, given that the GDP value of the United States represents 29.95 % of the world economy (Trading Economics, 2017). This position has been stable now for more than a century, nevertheless, China follows as a close runner-up, since it has more than tripled the USA growth rate for each year of the past four decades (Central Intelligence
Agency, 2017).
127 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The prominence of the USA economy increased since the end of World War II. Booming economic activity and productivity, and the consolidation of a prosperous middle class configured a steady yearly GDP growth of 4% between the 40’s and the 70’s of last century. The structure slowly shifted from manufacturing-centered to service-centered. Nevertheless, a series of crisis in the 70’s (oil, Bretton Woods system) and global competition slowed down that growth. In the 80’s, government spending, taxes and regulations were reduced, which led to a free-market model that resulted in new growth, although it increased government’s debt. The 90’s gave place to a new boom, modernizing the workplace with new technologies, and the period between 1993 and 2001 marked the longest sustained expansion in USA economic history. The 2000’s, nevertheless, brought the burst of the “dot-com bubble” (internet based companies eventually over valuated), which, together with several corporate scandals, led the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in order to restore business confidence. This was considered to be a major factor to enter a period of turmoil, called the second Great Recession, starting in 2008. Widespread mortgage lending, excessive risk taking in the financial sector, high consumer indebtedness and lax government regulation, led to a collapse of the USA economy. The government had to introduce stimulus packages and enforce expansionary monetary policies to boost the economy. Ever since, the economy has been slowly recovering and is nowadays considered to be healthy again (Focus
Economics, 2017).
The success of the USA economy can be attributed to several factors. Their open-to-innovation culture, investment in research & development, world class companies competing in global markets, and leading standards in technology and customer service. In addition, the country has access to abundant natural resources, good transportation system, educated workforce and business oriented environment (Enterprise Ireland, 2014).
128 United States of America as Target Market
Regarding the imports-exports balance, USA is number two leading exporter of goods and services in the world, and the number one leading importer. The figures for 2016 were $2.2 trillion in exports and $2.7 trillion in imports. 80% of imports are goods, 30% of these industrial machinery and equipment, the largest sub-category, 15% are oil and petroleum products, being the country largely dependent on these oil imports. Capital goods make up 25% of all goods imported ($590 billion), including computers and telecommunications equipment. Almost 25% would be allocated to consumer goods, apparel and footwear, cell phone and TV category, pharmaceutical being the largest sub-categories. Next, we would find automotive vehicles, parts and engines, and food and beverages. Services make up 19%. The largest category within that section is travel and transportation services, followed by business and computer services, banking and insurance, and government service imports (Amadeo, 2017). According to Santandertrade (2017, para. 1) “Three particular sectors are displaying the most aggressive growth rates: computer/mathematical, community/social service, and health practices jobs are each projected to grow by more than 20 percent in the next decade”.
As for countries, China is the main source of imports, with 21%, followed by Mexico with 13%,
Canada with 12%, Japan with 6% and Germany with 5% (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017). Next would come South Korea, United Kingdom, France, India and Taiwan (US Census Bureau, 2017).
5.3. INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION APPROACH Given that this project deals with two different countries, located in two different continents, with two different cultures… and with communication, bringing an intercultural communication perspective seems necessary. Defined by Alsina (1999, p.12) as the communication between persons whose cultural references are so different that these are perceived as belonging to different cultures, intercultural communication definitively plays a key role when considering internationalization. A company contemplating selling its products or services abroad requires
129 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. information about the cultures that it is intending to target. Cultural differences can be and, of course, have been, extensively studied, described and classified in many different ways. For the purposes of this paper, and considering their prominent role in intercultural communication studies for business purposes, we have chosen to take Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions as the main reference.
Geert Hofstede, who developed the theory, defined culture as “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others” (Hofstede et at., 2010, p. 6). Based on that premise, he conducted a set of comprehensive studies focusing on how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. He began analyzing values collected with
IBM in the 60’s and 70’s of last century, covering more than 70 countries. Following reports expanded the number of countries, the variety of sectors and population groups and incorporated information from the World Values Survey. In the 2010 edition of the study and book, several scholars used information from 93 countries, and replicated and expanded the initial study on different international populations (Hofstede et al., 2010).
Dr. Hofstede developed a model of different dimensions of national culture that helps to understand and explain basic value differences. According to the first versions of the model, cultures can be distinguished attending to four dimensions – Power Distance, Individualism/
Collectivism, Masculinity/ Femininity and Uncertainty Avoidance. Two more dimensions: Long
Term/ Short Term Normative Orientation and Indulgence/ Restraint, were added in subsequent versions, completing the model. All of them are measured in a 0-100 scale and each country has a position on each scale or index. As clarifications, the current website of Hofstede Insights (2017) explains that these values represent preference for one state of affairs over another and that these distinguish countries, not individuals. Furthermore, it also clarifies that the scores are relative, as
130 United States of America as Target Market each individual is unique, nevertheless “culture can only be used meaningfully by comparison”
(Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 6). The dimensions are described as follows:
• Power distance (PDI) is defined as “the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The fundamental issue here is how a society handles inequalities among people” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 7). • Individualism VS Collectivism (IDV) is a dual dimension. Individualism is defined as “preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of only themselves and their immediate families” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 9). Its opposite, Collectivism is defined as “a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 10). • Masculinity VS Femininity (MAS) is also a dual dimension. Masculinity is defined as “a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards for success. Society at large is more competitive” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 11), while Femininity involves a “preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 11). • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) expresses “the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 13). • Long Term VS Short Term Normative Orientation (LTO) is also a dual dimension. Hofstede Insights explains it the following way: “Societies who score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain time-honored traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 16-17), • Indulgence VS Restraint (IND), is also a dual dimension. Indulgence “allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun”,
131 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
while Restraint “stands for a society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 19). In order to frame business interaction between Galician companies and American firms or prospective clients, and taking into account that Hofsede’s studies do not specifically cover Galicia, a comparison between Spain and the USA will be valuable to prepare a strategy.
Figure 51: Spain VS USA comparison - Hofstede Cultural Dimensions (Source: Hofstede Insights, 2017) • Power distance (PDI) score is higher in Spain (57) than in USA (40). This means that Spanish society is considered more hierarchical than American society. In business, a high PDI usually involves centralization and subordinates expecting to be told what to do. On the other hand, the low PDI score usually involves that superiors are accessible and managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise, which expect to be consulted and information is shared frequently; communication is informal, direct and participative. • Individualism (IDV) score is significantly higher in USA (91) than in Spain (51). In fact, USA is considered one of the most individualistic countries in the world. This means a low degree of interdependence in the society, which is defined in terms of ‘I’, instead of the ‘We’ preference of collectivist societies. Interestingly, “Spain, in comparison with the
132 United States of America as Target Market
rest of the European countries (except for Portugal) is Collectivist […] However, compared with other areas of the world it is seen as clearly individualist. This has made Spaniards quite easy to relate with certain cultures -mainly non European- whereas other cultures can be perceived as aggressive and blunt” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 5). • Masculinity (MAS) score, contrary to what many would expect, is low for Spain (42). Hofstede explains that Feminine societies value caring for others and quality of life, concern for the weak and solidarity are important. In business, managers seek to find consensus and agreement with their teams. In the States, nevertheless, a higher score (62) in Masculinity, together with the abovementioned top score in Individualism, involve that “people should ‘strive to be the best they can be’ and that ‘the winner takes all’. […] Americans will tend to display and talk freely about their ‘successes’ and achievements […] ‘live to work’ so that they can obtain monetary rewards and as a consequence attain higher status based on how good one can be” (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 11). • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) is one of the key values in Spanish scores (86). This usually means that rules are extensive and enforced in a society, changes generate stress and avoidance of undefined situations. This is the opposite in USA, with a 46 score. The results of a recent survey exemplify these differences very well: 75% of Spanish young people stated that they would like to work in civil service, while only 17% of young Americans would like it (Hofstede Insights, 2017, para. 13). Spanish respondents are, of course, is probably influenced by the recent financial crisis, and results might slightly differ if the survey was completed again in a few years, but, nevertheless, this indicates that USA businesses are probably more inclined to accept changes, new ideas, innovative products, etc. • Long Term Orientation (LTO) is, contrary to what many would expect, very low (26) in USA, which indicates a society whose members maintain time-honored traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion; they also analyze carefully new information to check whether it is true. Hofstede indicates that this surprising value “should not be confused with the fact that Americans are very practical, being reflected by the ‘can-do’ mentality […] Polarization [means that] many Americans have very strong ideas about what is ‘good’ and ‘evil’. This may concern issues such as abortion, use of drugs, euthanasia, weapons” (Hofstede, 2017, para. 16). Spain obtains an
133 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
intermediate score (48), showing some concern for the future, but, at the same time, looking for quick results without delays. • Indulgence (IND) is low in Spain (44), which usually involves a concern that actions are restrained by social norms, and derive in a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. USA, on the contrary, is considered an indulgent society (score 68). This, in combination with a normative score, usually leads to contradictory attitudes and behavior in the line of “ ‘Work hard and play hard’. The States has waged a war against drugs and is still very busy in doing so, yet drug addiction in the States is higher than in many other wealthy countries. It is a prudish society yet even some well-known televangelists appear to be immoral” (Hofstede, 2017, para. 18-19) Hofstde’s Cultural Dimensions have proven to be very helpful in intercultural business communication context, as these provide a useful framework for planning and dealing with exchanges and differences. Nevertheless, several studies have argued that the model can tend to over-generalize and is based on average values that, often, are not met by all businessmen and businesswomen from a country. A single homogeneous culture seems complicated to find, given that several of the countries included in the survey have large internal variations that are hard to standardize. For those reasons, Hofstede has been criticized for, as Dolan et al. (2004, p. 160) write,
“downplaying the importance of sub-cultures and individual differences within a country/nation”. In fact, the work of Dolan et al. provided a good example with their project, which involved business students from two Spanish areas, Catalonia and Andalusia, and confirmed that “in distinct geographical locations in Spain, there is a distinct sub-culture characterized by significant values and preferences” (2004, p. 171). Even though not all of the values showed great differences, this perspective should definitively also be taken into account for the purposes of the present paper.
In this regard, and although, as stated above, Hofsede’s studies do not specifically cover Galicia, two reports have used their questionnaires and premises as a model to analyze whether the scores above can be fully applied to Galicians. These reports have proved that there are, indeed, some
134 United States of America as Target Market differences that should be taking into account, particularly interesting when planning for business interactions. Given that their samples and methods do not exactly correspond with the official
Hofstede guidelines, we cannot use them as official references, but they do provide valuable data as exploratory studies and can be likewise useful for the purposes of this paper.
Antonia San Martín, in her 2012 Psychology PhD Dissertation, gathered responses from 100
Galician women using the VSM-94 questionnaire, an earlier version of the current Values Survey
Model 2013 developed by Hofstede to compare cultural values. Her results can be seen in the following table:
Despite the facts that she only used five dimensions (Power Distance, Individualism,
Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long Term Orientation), and that her sample is limited,
San Martín (2012) did provide meaningful insights comparing Galician results with the scores for
Spain: Power Distance was lower in Galicia (47) than in Spain (57); Individualism was higher in
Galicia (69) than in Spain (51); Masculinity was significantly higher in Galicia (84) than in Spain
(42); Uncertainty Avoidance was also higher in Galicia (98) than in Spain (86); and Long Term
Orientation was also higher in Galicia (52) than in Spain (48).
135 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 52: Galician Hofstede Cultural Dimensions (Source: San Martín, 2012 p. 139)
Kassa et al (2014) developed a project aimed at understanding the patterns of regional cultural differences within Europe. The study took European Social Survey (ESS) and the European Values
Study (EVS) as data sources and developed new indicators of cultural dimensions using confirmative factor analysis relying on some of the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Specifically, they used four of the six dimensions (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity and
Individualism), and their results for Galicia and Spain were the following:
PDI UAI MAS IND Spain -0.23 0.48 -1.04 0.22 Galicia -0.37 0.49 -1.34 -0.25 Table 2: Kassa et al’s cultural values for Galicia and Spain (Source: Compilation based on Kassa et al, 2014, pp. 24-28)
136 United States of America as Target Market
Whereas the project provided specific information about Galicia, its values are relative, not absolute, as these reference positions of different European regions in comparison to one another.
The values are the positions for each of the regions in a two dimensional space, and show the distances and similarities between each of them in a plot. Therefore, we can only take it as an exploratory study, which, in fact, does reveal some differences between values collected for Spain and for Galicia. The specifics are the following: Power distance is smaller in Galicia (-0.23 VS
-0.37), Uncertainty Avoidance is slightly higher in Galicia (0.48 VS 0.49), Masculinity is lower in
Galicia (-1.04 VS -1.34) and Individualism is significantly lower (0.22 VS -0.25).
Other culture categorization models can also be used when analyzing how business communications between Galicia and the United States can potentially develop. Some of the most relevant ones are:
• High-Context VS Low-Context: Edward Hall classified cultures according to the degree of context in their communication system. In his book Beyond Culture (initially published in 1976, for this project we had access to a 1989 third edition) he first introduced the concepts High-Context and Low-Context Cultures. High Context communication or message is defined as “one in which most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message” (Hall, 1989, p. 91). Low Context communication or message “is just the opposite; i.e. the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code” (Hall, 1989, p. 91). In High-Context cultures, therefore, a high degree of shared knowledge between sender and receiver is assumed, explanations are minimized and implicit communication is increased. Negotiations tend to be slow, and can sometimes fail or stagnate when both parts assume that there is more shared knowledge than the real one, but agreements can be sometimes reached because the counterpart (person) is respected and valued. Japan and Saudi Arabia are considered the perfect examples of High Context Cultures. In Low Context cultures, explicit verbal messages tend to be used. Matters shall be explicitly said or written, and the recipient holds the responsibility of understanding and responding
137 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
accordingly, as all necessary information is provided; the facts are key, generally above the person. Germany and USA are considered the perfect examples Low Context Cultures. Spain is considered a High Context culture, although to a lesser extent, as seen in the graph below
Figure 53: High and Low Context Cultures (Nishimura et al, 2008, p. 786, citing Hall & Hall, 1990)
• World Values Survey: International Scientific network who studies 100 countries, around 90% of the population of the planet. The project started in 1981, the last report was completed 2010-2014 and since 2015 they are working on the 2017-2018 wave. The survey explores values and beliefs under specific parameters, how they evolve over time and the political and social impact of those changes. Ronald Inglehart and Chistian Welzel, leaders of the project, state that there are two major dimensions of cross cultural variation: Traditional values -importance of religion, family, authority, traditions- versus Secular-Rational values -opposite preferences-; and Survival values -economic and physical security- versus Self-expression values -environment, tolerance of foreigners, gender and LGTB equality, public participation in decision-making- (World Values Survey, 2017). As seen in the map below. Spain (under Catholic Europe) and United States (under English Speaking), although not very far apart, are not in the same groups.
138 United States of America as Target Market
Figure 54: Cultural Map - WVS Wave 6 (Source: World Values Survey, 2017) • Trompenaars & Hampdem-Turner: Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner developed in 1997 another culture classification model. It is based on a survey taken by more than 46,000 business managers, focused mainly on how problems or issues are dealt with, to find patterns around the world. These would be differentiated according to seven dimensions: Universalism –rules shall be respected no matter the circumstances- VS Particularism –respect for rules depends on the circumstances; Individualism –individuals prioritize their own need- VS Communitarianism –individuals see themselves as part of a group-; Neutral –emotions are not shown in public- VS Emotional –people look for expressing their emotions-; Specific –private and public spheres clearly differentiated- VS Diffuse –overlap between work and personal-; Achievement –status is achieved through effort and performance- VS Ascription –status is achieved because of who the person is-; Sequential –organization preferred in chronological order- VS Synchronic –time periods are intervowed-; and Inner-directed –we own our destiny- VS Outer-directed –
139 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
circumstances shape destiny. According to these theories, Spain is a Particularist, Communitarian, Emotional, Diffuse, Achievement-oriented, Synchronic and Inner- directed country. The USA would be a Universalist, Individualist, Neutral, Specific, Achievement-oriented, Sequential and Inner-directed country (Trompenaars & Hampden- Turner, 2011; Back, 2012; Fernández Freijo, 2014). • GLOBE Project: The Global Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) Research Program was created in 1991 by Robert J. House. In 2004, its first comprehensive volume was published, based on results from surveying about 17,300 middle managers from 951 organizations. A second major volume became available in early 2007. The project analyzes leadership styles in different countries and classifies them in clusters (see figure below). “GLOBE's major premise (and finding) is that leader effectiveness is contextual, that is, it is embedded in the societal and organizational norms, values, and beliefs of the people being” (Hopper & Eckert, 2012, p. 3). Building on several culture classification theories –among others, Hofstede’s- GLOBE established nine cultural dimensions to capture the similarities and/or differences among societies: Power Distance –expectations regarding equal power distribution-; Uncertainty Avoidance –reliance on norms to alleviate unpredictability of the future-; Humane Orientation -the degree to which a collective encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, etc-; Institutional Collectivism -the degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action-; In-Group Collectivism II -the degree to which pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in expressed in organizations or families-; Assertiveness -the degree to which individuals are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with others-; Gender Egalitarianism- the degree to which gender inequality is minimized-; Future Orientation –degree of occurrence of future- oriented behaviors such as delaying gratification, planning, and investing in the future-; Performance Orientation –improvement and excellence are encouraged and rewarded (Globe Project, 2016). This enabled the classification of the societies into culture clusters, which resulted in the figure below. Spain is under Latin Europe and USA under Anglo:
140 United States of America as Target Market
Figure 55: GLOBE Project Cultural Clusters (Source: Hopper & Eckert, 2012, p. 3)
Six leadership styles were defined and listed according to the results of the surveys: 1)
Charismatic/value-based, stresses high standards, decisiveness, and innovation; seeks to inspire people around a vision. 2) Team-oriented Style, instills pride, loyalty, and collaboration among organizational members; and highly values team cohesiveness and a common purpose or goals. 3)
Participative Style, encourages input from others in decision-making and implementation; and emphasizes delegation and equality. 4) Humane Style, stresses compassion and generosity; and it is patient, supportive, and concerned with the well-being of others. 5) Self-protective Style, emphasizes procedural, status-conscious, and 'face-saving' behaviors; and focuses on the safety and
141 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. security of the individual and the group. 6) Autonomous Style, is characterized by an independent, individualistic, and self-centric approach to leadership (Hopper & Eckert, 2012; Globe Project,
2016). The following table groups the country clusters to the degree to which they prefer each of the six leader styles –note that charismatic is called “performance-oriented”:
Figure 56: Leadership Country Clusters (Source: Hopper & Eckert, 2012, p. 5)
The specific scores for USA and Spain can be seen in the table below. Scores 1-3.5 indicate that a style is seen as inhibiting outstanding leadership; scores between 3.5 and 4 doesn’t much matter for outstanding leadership; scores 4.5-7 indicate that a style is seen as contributing to outstanding leadership.
Country Charismatic Team- Self- Participative Humane- Autonomous
Oriented Protective Oriented Spain 5.90 5.93 3.39 5.11 4.66 3.54 USA 6.12 5.80 3.16 5.93 5.21 3.75 Table 3: Leadership Style Scores Spain VS USA (Source: Excerpt from Table in Hopper & Eckert, 2012, p. 7)
142 United States of America as Target Market
• Lewis Model: Based on the 1996 book When Cultures Collide, by Richard Lewis. The model divided countries according to three categories, in an attempt to seek clarity and avoid multiplicity of dimensions that other intercultural classifications involve. These three categories were: Linear-Active -people who plan, schedule, organize, pursue action chains, do one thing at a time; Multi-Active -lively, loquacious peoples who do many things at once, planning their priorities not according to a time schedule, but according to the relative thrill or importance that each appointment brings with it; and Reactive – people who prioritize courtesy and respect, listening quietly and calmly to their interlocutors and reacting carefully to the other side's proposals (Cross Culture, 2015). Although based on generalizations, the insights of Lewis Model can be very useful when trying to predict behaviors in intercultural business and works very well when complemented with Hofstede’s Model. Furthermore, a graphic pyramid was created to explain and find where the different countries are located. Spain and USA are placed to the left, although in different vertical areas:
Figure 57: Cultural Types in Lewis Model (Source: Cross Culture, 2015)
143 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
This section has analyzed the United States of America as a target market for this project, together with the intercultural aspects that should be taken into account when addressing it. Having covered also the basic place branding considerations and the place to be branded, Galicia, the following section describes the research methods chosen for this project.
144 6- METHODS
As stated in the Introduction Section, the main objectives of this paper included to initiate a reputation analysis for Brand Galicia, in order to identify improvement areas in the way the place brand is being communicated and lay the foundations for future business communication strategies for Galician companies, focusing on USA target audiences. These goals were set based on the hypothesis that Galicia is basically invisible in the international arena, an unknown territory for which only those with an existing personal connection have references, and that those references are mainly based on tourism-related features, being business possibilities for Galician companies greatly overlooked. To verify whether the hypothesis was correct, and to meet the identified objetives, surveys were chosen as the main research method, following a quantitative approach. The choice was made taking into consideration several factors. On one hand, that it is the most widely used method in the place branding discipline, particularly when assessing the reputation of place brands and the information that the target audiences receive about those place brands (Govers &
Go, 2009; Moilanen & Rainisto, 2009; GfK Global, 2016; US News, 2017; World Economic
Forum, 2017; Elcano, 2017). On the other hand, the choice also seemed correct considering the difficulty of directly contacting a statistically representative number of members of the main target groups (see Section 6.1 for representativeness calculations), some of them located in distant locations or with particularly busy job positions, which reduced their availability for participating in
145 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. interviews or focus groups, the other considered options. Four different questionnaires were used, in order to reach four target groups:
1) Survey A International, in English language, existing (Máiz Bar, 2015). Addressed to international participants, it was used as an exploratory questionnaire (See sections 6.1 and 6.3) - Appendix A 2) Survey B Spain, in Spanish language, existing (Máiz Bar, 2016). Addressed to Spanish participants, it was used as an exploratory questionnaire (See sections 6.1 and 6.3) - Appendix B 3) Survey C USA, in English language, new, designed for this project. Addressed to American companies, it was used as a valid, representative questionnaire (See section 6.1 and 6.4) - Appendix C 4) Survey D Galicia, in Galician language, new, designed for this project. Addressed to Galician companies, it was used as a valid, representative questionnaire (See section 6.1 and 6.5) - Appendix D
The following sections account for the number of participants and statistical representativeness of the surveys (Section 6.1), the materials used and the questionnaire creation sources (Section 6.2), the structure and questions included in the surveys, together with their rationale (Sections 6.3, 6.4 and 6.5), and the procedure used to distribute the surveys, and collect and organize the data (Section 6.6).
6.1. PARTICIPANTS
• Survey A International: 170 non-Spanish nationals • Survey B Spain: 262 non-Galician Spanish nationals • Survey C USA: 404 representatives of American companies • Survey D Galicia: 412 representatives of Galician companies
The calculations to verify the validity and representativeness of the survey samples were made using the recommendations of the Harvard University Program on Survey Research (Harvard
146 Methods
University, n.d.) and, specifically, the sample size calculator included in Creative Research Systems
(Creative Research Systems, n.d.). A confidence level of 95% and a confidence interval of 5 were introduced.
The first two surveys, A International and B Spain, were considered exploratory, given that these were based on the premise that the number of respondents would probably not be enough to consider them representative, as it was finally the case. Nevertheless, as their main goal was the
“discovery of ideas and insights as opposed to collecting statistically accurate data” (Fluid Surveys,
2014), and they did meet that goal, they were used as a good introduction to the topic and to the two subsequent surveys.
Survey C USA did meet the above statistical criteria for the representativeness of the sample.
According to the US Census, there are 22,948,411 companies in USA -last information from 2015, issued January 2018 (US Census Bureau, 2018) and therefore, using the calculations above, the sample size needed was 384. The questionnaire was filled out by 404.
Survey D Galicia also met the above statistical criteria for the representativeness of the sample.
The prestigious business information service Ardán includes 2,922 firms in their list of Galician exporting companies (Ardan.es, 2017), nevertheless, the ICEX (2017) counts 6,072 exporters for
2016. Even with this contradictory information, it was decided that the highest number, 6,072, would provide more confidence. Using the calculations above, the sample size needed was 361. The questionnaire was filled out by 412.
6.2. MATERIALS The four surveys were created using the program Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com). Qualtrics logic tools were applied to guide the respondents through the questionnaires. Doing so eliminated the possibilities of encountering questions whose contents were not relevant according to their previous answers. Appendices A, B, C and D depict the complete versions, including all sections.
147 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
To choose the specific questions, several sources were used:
• The factors determined by Future Brand Index’s Hierarchical Decision Model (2012 and 2016): awareness, familiarity, associations, preference, consideration, decision/validation and advocacy. • The dimensions (exports, governance, culture and heritage, people, tourism and investment and immigration) established by Anholt-GfK’s Nation Brand Index (2012 and 2016) were used as a general substructure and as a complement in the creation of some of the questions. • Reputation Institute’s Country RepTrak (2016 and 2017), US News’ Best Countries Ranking (2017), World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (2017), Real Instituto Elcano’s Global Presence Index and Barometer (2017) and Simon Anholt’s Good Country Index (2014 and 2017), together with insights from Moilannen & Rainisto’s (2009) and Dinnie’s (2008) works, have been used to complete the study of specific key values and identify further concepts.
6.3. DESCRIPTION OF SURVEYS A INTERNATIONAL AND B SPAIN As stated earlier, these two first questionnaires were used as exploratory surveys, as it was previously foreseen that the sample size would not meet statistical criteria. Furthermore, they were designed to explore Galicia’s general reputation, not specifically focusing on place branding benefits for Galician companies, which was the framework for Surveys C and D. Nevertheless,
Surveys A and B were included in the study given that the information they provided was useful to lay down the foundations for the other two -representative and focal point of this project- surveys.
Survey A was addressed to International audiences and Survey B was addressed to Spanish audiences.
Surveys A and B began by collecting demographic information, including questions about gender, age, education, occupation, industry, languages spoken, nationality and place of residency of the participants. Multiple choice and open-ended questions were used in this block.
148 Methods
The second section was focused on travel experience. It asked the respondents whether they had visited Europe, Spain and Galicia (only Galicia in the case of the survey for Spanish nationals).
They were also asked about the frequency and reasons for traveling, with the aim of classifying their responses according to FBI’s decision/visitation category (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017). All questions were multiple-choice type and included some open text fields, to be used by the respondents in case they wished to add comments. If they chose a negative response to a question asking about a trip to a specific destination, they were led directly to the question asking about a different destination, skipping that way the intermediate steps, which were introduced to explore reasons and frequency of travel.
The third section included a group of questions crafted to determine whether the respondents had heard about Galicia, and how top of mind it was when thinking about Spain. Awareness was the explored concept (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017). This section was structured around requests to list
Spanish locations, and direct questions to specify whether the name of the Autonomous Community was recognized by the respondents. These questions were designed to be different in the two surveys, as it was assumed that Spaniards would have a greater degree of familiarity. A negative response resulted in an immediate end to that section.
Furthermore, open-ended questions were introduced, to request the first words that came to mind when thinking about Galicia, to better understand their first associations. Associations (Future
Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) were introduced here. Next, Galicia and six other Spanish Autonomous Communities were placed in matrix tables to compare specific features, as the respondents were asked to evaluate the attributes associated with each of them.
Then, a series of likert-type scale questions (Vagias, 2006) asked about the respondents’ probability of considering and recommending visiting, living, studying, working and
149 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. investing/doing business in Galicia. The purpose of these questions was to discover whether they positively related those activities to the Autonomous Community, and the extent to which they would spread the word. The consideration/advocacy and decision/visitation elements of the HDM
(Future Brand, 2012 and 2017) and the supporting behaviors of the Country Rep Track (Reputation
Institute, 2017) were the foundations for these questions.
Last, in an attempt to determine how well Galicia is known, the respondents were prompted to list several Galician elements, classified into different categories, in open-ended questions. These questions tested whether the respondents could remember specific names. Right afterwards, direct questions tested their knowledge about some of those elements, which were included in popularity, tourism, sports and industry rankings (Tres empresas, 2007; Ranking, 2008; Rial, García & Varela,
2008; Los 125, 2010; Fastretailing.com, 2012). The reason why they knew the names and their relationship with Galicia was also questioned in a subsequent matrix-type question, which included more elements in the Spain survey. Familiarity was the main focus of this last segment (Anholt-
GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation
Institute, 2017).
6.4. DESCRIPTION OF SURVEY C USA The aim of Survey C USA was to collect and analyze the views from American companies, representing the American industry and consumer point of view, as potential importers, buyers or hiring organizations for Galician products, services or talent. The intention was to achieve a sample size that represented the USA business environment, locating respondents from corporate America.
The first questions of the survey collected demographic information, including questions about gender, age group, education, occupation, industry, languages spoken, nationality and place-of- origin and residency of the participants. These two were the first questions of the survey: non-USA nationals were asked how long had they been living in the country, and USA nationals not residing
150 Methods in the country were asked how long they had been abroad. For the first group, more than 5 years was a requirement, as this is the minimum residence period required to apply for US citizenship, and therefore considered valid for full culture integration (US Citizen and Immigration Services,
2017). For the second group, less than 5 years of living abroad was a requirement, as it is considered that acculturation, defined by Cheung et al. (2011, p.149) as “cultural adaptation that people undergo upon relocating from a heritage culture to a new host culture”, is most probably high after that period. If the respondents chose answers that did not qualify, they were sent to the end of the survey. Multiple choice and open-ended questions were used in this block.
The second block was introduced to collect information about the respondents’ preferences when thinking about place-of-origin of products, services or companies (Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-GfK,
2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2016; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017;
Good Country, 2014 and 2017). First, a series of likert-type scale questions (Vagias, 2006) asked about the importance they conferred to that factor when making purchasing or business decisions.
Second, a series of multiple choice questions asked about the factors ultimately contributing to their decisions; one or several options could be chosen, and an open-text field was included to cover all non-specified answers.
The structure of the third section was similar to the travel experience group in Survey A
International, with the modifications that entailed addressing only Americans, instead of a global audience, and potential importers, buyers or hiring organizations, instead of general public. It stated by asking whether they had visited Europe and Spain, and about the frequency and reasons for traveling, inspired by FBI’s decision/visitation category (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017). All questions were multiple-choice type and included some open text fields, to be used by the respondents in case they wished to add comments.
151 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The fourth section included a group of questions designed to determine whether the respondents had heard about Galicia, and how top of mind it was when thinking about Spain. Awareness was the explored concept (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017). First, they were asked to list any regions or cities that they could remember, when thinking about Spain. Second, a direct question demanded to know whether the name ‘Galicia’ was recognized by the respondents. The reason for that knowledge was the third question, again with multiple choice and open text options. A negative response to any of those questions resulted in an immediate end to this section.
Next, associations and familiarity (Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2012 and 2017;
US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) were explored. Open-ended questions were presented to those having responded affirmatively when asked about whether they had heard about Galicia. These questions requested the first words that came to mind when thinking about it, to cover their first associations. Then, looking to determine how well Galicia is known, the respondents were prompted to list several Galician elements, classified into different categories
(brands, companies or organizations; personalities; gastronomy; sports; locations; culture), in open- ended questions.
At this point, the respondents recalled whether they had ever been to Galicia, and the frequency and reasons for the trip. FBI’s decision/visitation category was contemplated here (Future Brand,
2012 and 2017). Next, like in the first exploratory surveys, a series of likert-type scale questions
(Vagias, 2006) asked about the respondents’ probability of considering and recommending visiting, living, studying, working and investing/doing business in Galicia. The consideration/advocacy and decision/ elements of the HDM (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017) and the supporting behaviors of the
Country Rep Track (Reputation Institute, 2017) were also the foundations for these questions.
The closing open ended question asked the respondents to state what information they would like to receive about Galicia, which would lead them to consider purchasing Galician products or
152 Methods services, or doing business with Galician companies. This linked the above consideration/advocacy and decision/visitation concepts with the place-of-origin element (Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2016; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017; Good
Country, 2014 and 2017), looking for information about what could lead to think/act differently if there was that possibility.
6.5. DESCRIPTION OF SURVEY D GALICIA The aim of Survey D Galicia was to collect and analyze the views of Galician companies and professionals, as potential exporters, sellers and talent suppliers for American companies. The intention was to achieve a sample size that represented the Galician exporting sector, locating respondents from corporate Galicia.
The demographic information block turned, in this questionnaire, into a series of requests for information about the company and its exporting behaviors. It included questions about the location of its headquarters, size of the firm, industry sector in which it should be framed, and position (or department, their choice) of the person filling out the survey. The next section covered the company’s relations with exporting activities: it started asking whether it currently exported products of services and about the reasons, opening with multiple choice options and leaving free text fields for other answers, not included amongst those options. For those who exported, new questions were unfolded, in order to find more specific details: percentage of the production of the company being exported, whether USA was one of the destinations of those exports, and the reason to include/ not to include it. When the answer to this last question was affirmative, a new set of questions was unfolded, asking about the percentage of the production of the company being exported to the USA.
Perceptions were explored in the next section, beginning by asking about the image that the respondent thought that the Americans had regarding their company, product or service. Open-
153 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. ended questions served this purpose. In this case the associations (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US
News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) and place-of-origin (Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-
GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2016; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute,
2017; Good Country, 2014 and 2017) elements were approached from a subjective perspective, in attempt to compare image-reality (González Enriquez & Martínez Romera, 2016) and the perceived image, in the shape of differences between internal and external valuations (Reputation Institute,
2017; Elcano, 2017)
In the next section, Galicia a the specific place-of-origin (Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-GfK, 2012 and
2017; Future Brand, 2016; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017; Good
Country, 2014 and 2017) was the main focus of the questions. First, the respondents were asked whether they thought that their Galician origin had a role in their success. Open-ended questions were also used to request the reasons for the previous answer. Then, a series of questions asked about their behaviors regarding that POO, demanding to state whether they showed the Galician origin on any physical element related to their product or service, in any promotion activities or on their website. After each of those questions, a new one, with open-ended format, demanded the reasons for using/not using it. In the cases were the answer was negative, a new question was shown wondering about what would encourage the respondents to use a hallmark representing Galician origin on any physical element related to their product or service, in any promotion activities or on their website. These used both multiple choice format and text fields, to include any answers not covered among the options.
The last part of the survey focused more specifically on Galicia-USA relations. It began by asking the respondents to state the first words that came to mind when thinking about the United
States, to find their first associations (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017;
Reputation Institute, 2017). Then, a multiple choice question demanded opinions about which
154 Methods concepts the respondents thought Americans associated Galicia with; a text field was added to collect any other thoughts not included among the multiple choice options. The last question of the survey wondered about the image of Galicia that the respondents would like the Americans to have; an open text field was provided for their answers. All these were introduced to complete the picture related to image-reality and perceived image stated above (González Enriquez & Martínez Romera,
2016, Reputation Institute, 2017; Elcano, 2017).
6.6. PROCEDURE The four surveys were administered via email, including the different links that directed the respondents to the questionnaires, hosted on the Qualtrics website. Different groups were contacted and asked to take and forward the survey. Those included, for Survey A International, university students, faculty and staff, and American professionals; and for Survey B Spain, Spanish university students, faculty and staff, associations of international students and researchers, and Spanish professionals.
While in the two first surveys the target groups were broader –general population-, the choice for the other two questionnaires was different: narrowing down the respondents’ profiles was necessary. In the cases of the International (A) and Spain (B) surveys, the exploratory study was aimed at obtaining a general picture of Galicia outside its borders. How it was perceived amongst the general population. When it came to reaching the goal of this project, that is, focusing on business perceptions, the choices were the following:
• Survey C USA: As previously stated, Survey C USA was designed to capture information about the perceptions of Americans as potential importers, buyers or hiring organizations for Galician products, services or talent. For that reason, the survey was sent to chambers of commerce, business associations, and companies and professionals across the country, found through on-line searches.
155 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
• Survey D Galicia: As previously stated, Survey D Galicia was designed to capture the views of Galician companies and professionals, as potential exporters, sellers and talent suppliers for American companies. For that reason, the survey was sent to companies currently exporting, who had exported in the past or who are interested in doing so in the future. To achieve that, chambers of commerce, business associations, and companies and professionals were contacted.
Answers were collected and analyzed using the Qualtrics data, analysis, results and reports tools, and later organized using MS Excel spreadsheets.
156 7- FINDINGS
The objectives of this project, as stated in the Introduction and the Methods Sections, were (O.1) to initiate a reputation analysis of the place brand, and (O.2) to identify the ways in which the brand is currently being communicated, particularly focusing on business activities (O.3) and on Galician companies targeting USA (O.4). The purpose was to begin by exploring both the views of the external publics and the internal producers. As explained in the Methods Section, survey was chosen as main research method and four questionnaires were used: Survey A, addressed to
International audiences; Survey B, addressed to Spanish audiences; Survey C, addressed to USA audiences; and Survey D, addressed to Galician audiences.
This section describes the results of these surveys, which have been structured around specific key values identified in the study, in an adaptation of the guidelines provided, fundamentally, by the
Future Brand Index’s Hierarchical Decision Model (2012 and 2017), Anholt-GfK Nation Brands
Index (2012 and 2016), Reputation Institute’s Country RepTrak (2016 and 2017), Real Instituto
Elcano (2017) and Good Country (2014 and 2017); and insights from Moilannen & Rainisto (2009) and Dinnie (2008).
7.1. RESULTS OF SURVEY A INTERNATIONAL Survey A began collecting demographic information, included to help determine the extent to which demographics influenced the audiences’ responses and therefore their perceptions regarding
157 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Galicia. Following the demographics, decision/visitation (FutureBrand, 2012 and 2017) was analyzed, in order to ascertain whether the audiences had visited Galicia, and the reasons for their trips. Then, awareness (FutureBrand, 2012 and 2017) was included, to capture if the respondents had heard of Galicia, and how top of mind it was when thinking about Spain. Associations (Future
Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) was next, looking to explore the attributes that the respondents related to Galicia, through the results of the questions designed to determine the ideas that came to mind when thinking about it. Consideration/advocacy, decision/visitation and supporting behaviors elements (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; Reputation
Institute, 2017) were addressed in the following sections, to estimate whether Galicia is considered and/or recommended for visiting, living, studying, working and investing. And last, to cover the concept familiarity (Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017;
Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017), the results corresponding to how well the audiences know Galicia was introduced, assessing the answers to the questions including lists of Galician elements classified into different categories.
Demographic information Survey A International was taken by 170 respondents, all of them non-Spanish nationals. 70% of those respondents were female and 30% male.
The largest age group was the one between 20 and 49 years old, with 87%. The 20-29 bracket was the largest represented (52% of respondents), followed by 30-39 (24% of respondents) and 40-
49 (11% of respondents).
The largest percentages in the education level question were achieved for Bachelor's Degrees, with 46% of surveyees. This was followed by Master's Degrees, with 26% of surveyees. The smallest groups were located on the opposite sides of the spectrum, with 4% of the international
158 Findings respondents holding a PhD degree and 24% of the international respondents holding a High School diploma.
In the occupation sections, several international respondents indicated that they were studying
(43%). Among those in the job market, the communications, PR and advertising sector was the largest group, with 20% of surveyees. Relevant percentages were also found among finance (9%), education (9%), engineering (8%) and entertainment (7%) professionals.
60% of the participants of Survey A International stated that they spoke other languages besides
English. Out of that 60%, 41% stated that they spoke Spanish.
21% of the respondents of Survey A International were non-US citizens, out of which 50% came from Asia and 31% from Europe. Furthermore, only 5% of the respondents lived outside the US when they took the International survey, 40% of them residing in Spain.
The first aspect to be analyzed, both because of its value for achieving the objectives of the project, and because of its relevance when analyzing other questions, was whether the respondents have traveled to Europe, Spain and Galicia.
Traveling decisions Europe and Spain. 78% of the respondents of Survey A International had traveled to Europe, out of which 29% had done it once, 26% more than 10 times and 25% 3-5 times. 81% of those respondents visited Europe for tourism purposes, 35% to visit family or friends, 20% for business purposes, and among the 28% who listed other reasons, 62% had studied there. However, 55% of the respondents had not traveled to Spain. Out of the 45% who had gone, 45% had been there once,
20% twice and 20% more than 10 times. Their reasons for traveling to Spain were the following:
80% for tourism purposes, 27% for visiting family or friends and 20% for business purposes.
Among the 19% who listed other reasons, 41% indicated that they had studied there. The survey also asked the respondents whether they have traveled to Galicia.
159 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Galicia. 14% of the international respondents who had been to Spain had visited Galicia. 42% of these respondents had done it more than 10 times, 37% once, 11% 3-5 times, 5% twice and 5%
6-10 times. Tourism was the main reason for traveling (53% of respondents), followed by visiting family or friends (47% of respondents). 37% of respondents stated other reasons - 50% of them indicated that ‘studying’ was their primary purpose -, and 26% had visited Galicia for business purposes. These percentages can be seen in the table below:
Figure 58: Frequency of trips to Galicia – Survey A International (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey A International)
160 Findings
Figure 59: Reasons for trips to Galicia – Survey A International (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey A International)
The next section of the survey was introduced to explore the awareness levels regarding Galicia amongst international respondents.
Brand awareness In order to assess the awareness level amongst International respondents, Survey A International prompted to list any locations in Spain that the respondents could remember. 76% of them included names. Only 12% of them wrote Galicia or one of its cities. Meanwhile, 53% listed Madrid and
56% Barcelona (Catalonia was listed by 7%), while the Basque Country was mentioned by 8% of the respondents. 100% of the respondents who had traveled to Galicia and 43% of those who had heard of it included its name or one of its locations.
The next question asked directly if the surveyees had heard of Galicia. 43% of them answered positively. Out of those, 83% had been to Europe and 64% had been to Spain. Most of them (66%) were females, in the 20-39 age bracket (87%), with Bachelor's or Master's degrees (81%) and spoke other languages besides English (74%). 26% of them held communications related positions and
161 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
34% were students. 34% were non-US citizens, out of which 60% came from a South American country.
68% of these respondents had heard of Galicia from friends or relatives, 25% from traditional media, 25% from travel websites, 18% from movies, 12% from online portals and 12% from social networks. 30% of the respondents stated that they had learned about Galicia from ‘other sources’,
50% of which indicated that they had acquired that knowledge in school.
Figure 60: Source of knowledge about Galicia -Survey A International (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey A International)
Brand associations
As stated above, this category was created looking to explore the qualities that the respondents related to Galicia. In Survey A International, it was divided into two sections: top of mind and compared to other Autonomous Communities.
Top of mind. The participants were asked to write the first three words that came to mind when thinking about Galicia. 30% of the respondents included sea, coast, beach or ocean-related words,
162 Findings
15% mentioned history, traditions, culture, heritage related terms, 11% included the word ‘green’,
10% listed landscapes or nature related terms, 9% used the word ‘rain’ and 8% wrote Santiago de
Compostela or pilgrimage-related words. 32% of the respondents included food and drink related items, out of which 55% listed seafood. 20% of the respondents recalled a different language (other than Spanish).
Figure 61: Brand Associations – Survey A International (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey A International)
When comparing those respondents who had been to Galicia, with those who had not, in this case, percentages were similar, but their responses tended to be more specific (detailed names of persons or meals). In fact, some Galician or Spanish words were used to name them.
Compared to other Autonomous Communities. This question requested the respondents to indicate, from a list of items -tourism, landscapes, art, gastronomy, heritage and traditions, sports, fun, friendliness, quality of life, manufactured goods, industry, business opportunities and safety- which ones they associated with other Spanish Autonomous Communities. Galicia scored higher than Aragón, Asturias and Extremadura in all of the categories, but was selected fewer times than
Catalonia, Madrid and Basque Country in most of them. Picturing the results as a ranking, it held
163 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. the 4th position in tourism, art, heritage and traditions, manufactured goods, industry and business opportunities. It was 3rd in the ranking for landscapes, gastronomy, sports, fun, friendliness, quality of life and safety. When asked if they had heard of the different mentioned places, 21% of the respondents indicated that they had never heard of Extremadura, 20% that they had never heard of
Aragón, and 19% that they had never heard of Asturias. 10% had never heard of Catalonia and the
Basque Country and only 2% had never heard of Madrid.
As a note, compared to the 43% positive answer to the earlier question ‘Have you ever heard of
Galicia?’, the negative response in this new question was significantly low: only 15% of the respondents stated that they had never heard of it. Of course, the reason is probably related to the fact that this was the last question of a survey full of references to Galicia.
Moving on to the results for those who had stated earlier in the questionnaire that they had previously heard of Galicia, the Autonomous Community was also listed in 4th position for tourism and art, and 3rd position for fun, sports and quality of life. Nevertheless, it climbed up to the 3 rd position in heritage and traditions, business opportunities and (together with Basque Country) manufactured goods. Furthermore, it scored 2nd for landscapes and gastronomy, and 1st for safety and friendliness (this last one together with Madrid).
Those who had been to Galicia positioned it in the 4th place for art, manufactured goods and business opportunities, 3rd for tourism, sports, fun and (together with Basque Country) industry, 2nd for landscapes, and 1st for gastronomy, heritage and traditions, friendliness, safety and quality of life
(this last one together with Catalonia).
Those who had heard of, but had never been to Galicia, positioned it in 4 th place for tourism, heritage and traditions, sports and art, 3rd for gastronomy, quality of life, friendliness, safety, fun, business opportunities and manufactured goods, and 2nd for landscapes. Of particular interest for the topic of this paper, is that none of these respondents related Galicia to the concept of ‘industry’.
164 Findings
Once decision, awareness and associations were covered, finding the degree to which the international surveyees would consider and recommend Galicia was the next step.
Considerations and advocacy Visiting. The general headcount showed that 37% of the participants of Survey A International would be 'likely' and 34% 'very likely' to visit Galicia. 79% of those who had already traveled to the
Autonomous Community affirmed that they were 'very likely' to consider visiting it again, and 11% of those previous visitors stated that they were 'likely' to travel to Galicia again, which means that the vast majority of that surveyed population was willing to repeat their traveling experience. It is important to mention that 45% of the overall respondents were 'undecided' as to whether to recommend visiting Galicia, but, nevertheless, 74% of those who had been there were 'very likely' and 21% 'likely' to do it.
Living. When thinking about living in Galicia, the 'undecided' (37%) were the largest group.
That was followed by those who stated that they were 'very unlikely' (27%) to do it. Notably, for those who had already traveled to Galicia, 32% were 'very likely' to come back. Moreover, while most of the respondents (54%) were 'undecided' as to whether to recommend living in Galicia, 52% of those who had been there were 'likely' or 'very likely' to do it.
Studying. Very similar percentages were obtained for the respondents who stated that they were
'undecided' (27%) and 'likely' (26%) when asked about studying in Galicia. An inclination to study in Galicia reflected higher numbers from those who had visited the area (32% were 'likely' to study there) than those who had not. It is also relevant that 47% of the respondents were 'undecided' as to whether they would be willing to recommend studying in Galicia, and the same percentage of previous visitors would 'likely' recommend it.
Working. 34% of the surveyees indicated that they were 'undecided' regarding to whether they would consider working in Galicia, whereas 29% were 'likely' to do it. Again, percentages were
165 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. higher for those who had already traveled there. In fact, 47% of the respondents who had been to
Galicia in the past, indicated that they would be 'likely' to work there, while 37% were 'undecided' on this issue. 53% of the overall respondents were 'undecided' as to whether they would recommend working in Galicia. 32% of previous visitors were also ‘undecided’. Contrasting, 26% of previous visitors were 'very likely' to recommend it.
Business. It is important to point out that a large percentage of the international respondents
(52%) were 'undecided' as to whether to do business or invest in Galicia. In this case, the percentages for those who had traveled there were similar, but numbers were higher for those who were 'very likely' to engage in business relationships within Galicia (23%), than for those who had never been there (2%). Recommendations in this area followed a very similar pattern.
The results of these questions are detailed in the table below:
Question Very Unlikely Unlikely Undecided Likely Very Likely Consider visiting Galicia 5.08% 10.17% 13.56% 37.29% 33.90% Recommend visiting Galicia 3.45% 6.90% 44.83% 17.24% 27.59% Consider living in Galicia 27.12% 18.64% 37.29% 5.08% 11.86% Recommend living in Galicia 13.56% 13.56% 54.24% 8.47% 10.17% Consider studying in Galicia 20.34% 22.03% 27.12% 25.42% 5.08% Recommend studying in Galicia 8.47% 11.86% 47.46% 25.42% 6.78% Consider working in Galicia 11.86% 15.25% 33.90% 28.81% 10.17% Recommend working in Galicia 10.17% 15.25% 52.54% 10.17% 11.86% Consider doing business/ investing in Galicia 8.62% 12.07% 51.72% 17.24% 10.34% Recommend doing business/ investing in Galicia 8.47% 13.56% 57.63% 11.86% 8.47% Table 4: Considerations/ Recommendations – Survey A International (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey A International) Familiarity analysis Once the decision, awareness, associations, considerations and recommendations responses were analyzed, finding the degree of familiarity of the target audiences with Galicia was necessary.
Business. The majority of the surveyees (91%) could not remember any Galician brands, companies or organizations. Among those who had heard of Galicia, 21% responded affirmatively and listed some names (the clothing company Zara -or Inditex, the main firm it belongs to- was the
166 Findings most mentioned one, by 33% of those respondents). 61% of those who had visited the Autonomous
Community listed several names (again, Zara/Inditex was also the most mentioned one, by 36%).
Among those who had not been to Galicia, 1% listed two brands, both of them also Galician clothing companies (Adolfo Domínguez, Purificación García). Other elements included in subsequent sections (fishing company Pescanova, albariño wine, soccer team Deportivo de La
Coruña) were also mentioned, although fewer times. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician brands, companies or organizations. 71% of them stated that they had heard of the fashion retailer Zara, although only
8% of them knew that the company is headquartered in Galicia. 5% of the respondents reported having heard of the fishing company Pescanova, but 86% of them knew it is headquartered in
Galicia.
Personalities. 91% of the surveyees indicated that they could not recall any Galician personalities. Among those who had heard of Galicia, 21% affirmed that they did and included several figures (the actor Luis Tosar was the most cited one, by 33% of those respondents). Among those who had been to Galicia, 44% answered positively (again, Luis Tosar was the most cited one, by 37%). Among those who had not been to Galicia, 4% cited Galician personalities, with no repetitions, but including one incorrect answer (Pérez Hilton). Some of the other names listed in subsequent sections (the musician Carlos Núñez, the writer and Nobel Prize winner Camilo José
Cela, the fashion designer Adolfo Domínguez) and the current president of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, were also listed, although fewer times. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician personalities. 9% of them stated that they had heard of the writer Camilo José Cela, 42% of which knew he was Galician, and 12% stated that they had heard of the musician Carlos Núñez, 24% of them knew he is Galician.
167 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Gastronomy. 15% of the respondents included names in the Galician gastronomy section.
Among those who had heard of Galicia, 34% wrote some items (seafood and octopus were mentioned by 40% of those respondents). Among those who had been to the Autonomous
Community, 89% cited names of meals, being octopus the most frequent, with 44% of the responses. Among those who had not been to Galicia, 3% of respondents cited Galician gastronomic elements. Out of that 3%, 50% listed seafood. Other items listed in subsequent sections (albariño, empanada, percebes) were also listed, although fewer times. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician gastronomic elements. 14% of them stated that they had heard of albariño wine, and 63% of them affirmed that they knew its origin is Galician. Furthermore, 8% knew the seafood percebes, out of which 73% related it to Galicia.
Sports. 10% of surveyees stated that they knew Galician sportsmen/women or teams. Among those who had heard of Galicia, 23% mentioned several names (the soccer teams Deportivo de La
Coruña and Celta de Vigo were both cited by 77% of those respondents). Among those who had been to Galicia, 67% liested some names (Deportivo de La Coruña and Celta de Vigo were cited by
83% of those respondents). Among those who had not been to Galicia, only 1% mentioned Galician sports teams, and all of them mentioned Deportivo de La Coruña and Celta de Vigo. One person listed the Formula 1 racing driver Fernando Alonso, who is not Galician. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician sports teams or sportsmen/women. 16% of them stated that they had heard of Deportivo de La Coruña, out of which 52% knew it is Galician, and 12% of the respondents stated that they had heard of Celta de
Vigo, out of which 65% knew it is Galician.
168 Findings
Places. 82% of the surveyees could not recall any Galician locations. Among those who had heard of Galicia, 43% listed some (Santiago de Compostela was mentioned by 80% of those respondents). Among those who had been to Galicia, 81% listed some (Santiago de Compostela was mentioned by 83% of them). Among those who had not been to Galicia, 8% mentioned Galician cities, monuments or locations, 78% of them Santiago de Compostela. Other locations listed in subsequent sections (the Cíes Islands and the ancient lighthouse Torre de Hércules) and the cities
Vigo and Coruña were also included, although fewer times. The survey also displayed questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician locations. 25% stated that they had heard of Santiago de Compostela, out of which 51% knew it is in Galicia.
Culture. 9% of the participants could remember Galician cultural features or traditions. Among those who had heard of Galicia, 22% mentioned some (56% of those respondents listed bagpipe music). Among those who had been to Galicia, 56% responded affirmatively (70% of them listed bagpipe music). Among those who had not been to Galicia, 3% included some names, being the
Way of Saint James, Galician language, and festivals the most frequent responses in this category.
The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician cultural features or traditions. 47% stated that they had heard of Celtic culture, out of which 21% related it to Galicia, and 29% that they had heard of Galician language, out of which 71% related it to Galicia.
169 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
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Figure 62: Familiarity results -Survey A International (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey A International)
7.2. RESULTS OF SURVEY B SPAIN The structure of Survey B Spain was very similar to the one in Survey A International. The first section collected demographic information, in order to determine the role of demographics in the audiences’ responses and therefore their perceptions regarding Galicia. Following the demographics, awareness (FutureBrand, 2012 and 2017) was included, to capture if the respondents how top of mind Galicia was when thinking about Spain. Then, decision/visitation (FutureBrand,
2012 and 2017) was analyzed, in order to ascertain whether the audiences had visited Galicia, and the reasons for their trips. Associations (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017; Elcano,
2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) was next, seeking to find the attributes that the respondents related to Galicia, through the results of the questions designed to determine the ideas that came to mind when thinking about it. Consideration/advocacy, decision/visitation and supporting behaviors
170 Findings elements (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) was the focus of the next sections, to find out whether Galicia is considered and/or recommended for visiting, living, studying, working and investing. Last, in order to review familiarity (Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017;
Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017), the results corresponding to how well the audiences know Galicia was introduced assessing the answers to the prompts including lists of Galician elements classified into different categories.
Demographic information Survey B Spain was taken by 262 respondents. 59% of them were females and 41% of them were males.
Regarding age, the group between 20 and 49 years old stood out, with 89%. The 20-29 bracket was the largest represented (52% of respondents), followed by 30-39 (24% of respondents) and 40-
49 (11% of respondents).
The largest percentages in the education level question were achieved for Bachelor's Degrees, with 58% of surveyees. This was followed by Master's Degrees, with 20% of surveyees. Again, the smallest groups were located on the opposite sides of the spectrum, with 10% of the Spanish respondents having earned a PhD and 11% a High School diploma.
In regards to the respondents’ jobs, 20% worked in the Communication, Public Relations or
Advertising fields, 10% Engineering or related, 10% Management or related, 8%
Telecommunications, 8% Finance and 7% Education. 2% were students.
84% of the surveyees stated that they spoke other languages, in addition to Spanish. Among those, 53% included English, and 25% one of the other official languages in Spain (Basque,
Catalonian or Galician).
Regarding the location of the respondents of Survey B Spain, the largest groups were found in
Madrid (24%), Catalonia (14%) and Andalusia (9%) respectively. As for places of birth and
171 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. residency, it is important to mention that, even though the surveys were addressed to non-Galicians,
27 respondents stated that they either were born or had lived in Galicia at some point. Given that these represented small percentages within the total amount of respondents and they were not current Galician residents, they were included in the general headcounts.
Like in the Survey A International, traveling behaviors of Spanish respondents were also analyzed.
Traveling decisions The survey addressed to Spanish nationals only questioned about trips to Galicia, as it was assumed that respondents were located in Spain, and, therefore, in Europe.
84% of the respondents indicated that they had visited Galicia. Out of these 84%, 52% had done so more than 10 times, 18% 3-5 times and 15% only once. Similarly, the main reason for their trips was tourism at 56%, followed by visiting family or friends at 41%, while 25% of the respondents traveled for business purposes and 23% for other reasons.
Figure 63: Frequency of the trips to Galicia – Survey B Spain (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey B Spain)
172 Findings
Figure 64: Reasons for the trips to Galicia – Survey B Spain (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey B Spain)
The next section of the survey was crafted to explore the awareness levels regarding Galicia amongst Spanish respondents.
Brand awareness It was assumed that all of the respondents of Survey B, born in Spain, had heard of Galicia, therefore that question was not included in the questionnaire. The first prompt asked them to name the first three Spanish Autonomous Communities that came to mind, 25% of them respondents listed Galicia, while 20% mentioned Madrid, 18% Catalonia, also 18% Andalusia, and 8% included the Basque Country. The other three Autonomous Communities chosen as reference were included by smaller percentages of respondents: Asturias by 7%, Aragón by 5% and Extremadura by 4%.
Most of the Spanish respondents who mentioned Galicia were females (56%), in the 20-39 age bracket (64%), held Bachelor's or Master's degrees (82%) and spoke other languages besides
173 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Spanish (80%). Regarding their place-of-origin, most of them were born in Madrid (22%),
Andalusia (8%) and Catalonia (7%). Only 32% of the respondents who had traveled to Galicia included it in their initial list.
Figure 65: Spanish Autonomous Communities mentioned – Survey B Spain (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey B Spain)
Once the awareness levels regarding the brand Galicia were explored, the attributes that the respondents related to the Autonomous Community needed to be determined.
Brand associations As stated above, this category was created looking to explore the qualities that the respondents related to Galicia. In Survey B Spain, it was divided into two sections: top of mind and compared to other Autonomous Communities.
Top of mind. The participants were asked to write the first three words that came to mind when thinking about Galicia. In Survey B Spain, ‘green’ was the most frequently chosen one, by 27% of the respondents. 59% thought of food and drink related words, out of which 52% included seafood.
53% mentioned sea, coast, beach or ocean related words, 22% Santiago de Compostela or
174 Findings
pilgrimage related words, 21% preferred the word ‘rain’, 16% landscapes or nature related terms
and 6% water. Among those who had traveled to Galicia, just as in Survey A International,
percentages were similar, but a deeper knowledge was detected by the use of specific or Galician
terms to relate to the concepts.
Figure 66: Brand associations – Survey B Spain (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey B Spain)
Compared to other Autonomous Communities. The next question requested the respondents
to indicate which of the listed items -which included tourism, landscapes, art, gastronomy, heritage
and traditions, sports, fun, friendliness, quality of life, manufactured goods, industry, business
opportunities and safety- they associated with other Spanish Autonomous Communities.
Galicia scored significantly higher in Survey B Spain, as compared to Survey A International. It
ranked 1st in tourism, landscapes, gastronomy, heritage and traditions, friendliness, quality of life,
manufactured goods and safety. It obtained a 3rd place in the ‘fun’ category, 4th was achieved in art,
175 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. sports, industry and business opportunities. In all those cases Madrid, Catalonia and the Basque
Country ranked higher.
Those respondents who had been to Galicia responded similarly, ranking Galicia in the same positions, while those who had never been there still awarded Galicia the 1st position in gastronomy, safety and quality of life, but 2nd place in friendliness, manufactured products, heritage and traditions and tourism, 3rd place in landscapes and 4th in sports, art, fun, industry and business opportunities.
Once decision, awareness and associations were covered, the degree to which the Spanish surveyees would consider and recommend Galicia was the next step.
Considerations and advocacy Visiting. Among the Spanish respondents, the largest percentages were found among those who were 'very likely' (69%) or 'likely' (29%) to visit Galicia. Moreover, none of the respondents (0%) stated that they were 'very unlikely' to travel there. Headcounts were similar among those who had been to Galicia: 70% were 'very likely' and 26% 'likely' to visit again, while 0% were 'unlikely' or
'very unlikely' to repeat the experience. The appreciations of those respondents who had not been there followed a very similar pattern. Most of them (75%) were 'very likely' to recommend traveling to Galicia, and percentages were higher among those who had already traveled there (84%). None of the respondents (0%) indicated that they were 'very unlikely' to recommend visiting in Galicia.
Living. Responses were more uniformly distributed when the surveyees were asked about whether they would consider residing in Galicia. 17% of them were either 'undecided' or 'very unlikely' to consider moving. These percentages were followed by 28% stating that they would be
'unlikely' to live in Galicia, 17% indicating that they would be 'likely' and 21% indicating that they would be 'very likely' to do it. Similar percentages were obtained for those who had traveled to the area and those who had not. Nonetheless, although a large percentage of the respondents (29%) said
176 Findings that they were 'undecided' as to whether to recommend living in the Autonomous Community or not, most of those who had traveled to Galicia before were either 'likely' (29%) or 'very likely'
(26%) to recommend it.
Studying. As for academic considerations, a slight inclination not to consider studying in
Galicia was perceived. 30% of the surveyees stated that they were ‘undecided,’ 30% indicated that they were either 'likely' or ‘very likely’, and 40% chose to say that they were either 'unlikely' or
'very unlikely' to think about studying there. Similar percentages were reported for those who had been to Galicia. As for recommendations, figures were more positive both in general, with 38%
'undecided' and 35% either 'likely' or 'very likely' to recommend studying in Galicia, and for those who had been to Galicia, with 34% 'undecided' and 41% 'likely' or 'very likely' to recommend studying in Galicia.
Working. 48% of the respondents stated that they would be 'likely' or 'very likely' to consider a position in Galicia. However, 21% of the surveyees indicated that they were 'unlikely' and 21%
'undecided' regarding taking a job in Galicia. 52% of those who had previously visited to Galicia would consider working in the area, while 18% of them chose the option 'undecided' and 20% the option 'unlikely' when thinking about considering a position in Galicia. 33% were 'undecided' as to whether they would recommend working in Galicia, while 49% were 'likely' or 'very likely' to do it.
In addition, 30% of those who had already traveled to Galicia were ‘undecided,’ but 55% of them were 'likely' or 'very likely' to consider a position there.
Business. When considering business/investments, the percentages associated to each of the responses were very similar. 30% of the surveyees were 'undecided' and 48% 'likely' or 'very likely' to consider doing business or investing in Galicia. On the other hand, 53% of those who had traveled there were 'likely' or 'very likely' to consider it. Regarding whether to recommend doing business or investing in Galicia, 36% of the respondents were 'undecided' and 49% 'likely' or 'very
177 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
likely' to do it. Those who had traveled there had a more positive position: although 33% of them
were ‘undecided’, 56% would 'likely' or 'very likely' recommend investing or doing business in the
Autonomous Community.
The results of these questions are detailed in the table below:
Table 5: Considerations/ Recommendations – Survey B Spain (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey B Spain)
Familiarity analysis Once the decision, awareness, associations, considerations and recommendations responses
were analyzed, finding the degree of familiarity of the target audiences with Galicia was necessary.
Business. Not surprisingly, more Spanish respondents (79%) could recall any Galician brands,
companies and organizations. Among those who had been to Galicia, 85% listed some key
companies, and again, Zara/Inditex was the most cited one, with a percentage of 36%. Among those
who had not been to Galicia, 45% responded that they could mention Galician firms, with
Zara/Inditex included by 42% of them. Other elements listed in subsequent sections (Pescanova, the
bank Banco Pastor) and Xunta de Galicia -the Galician government- were also mentioned, although
fewer times. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized
the names of specific Galician brands, companies or organizations. 91% of the respondents affirmed
that they had heard of Zara, 89% of which knew it is Galician. Many of the respondents, 87%, also
178 Findings knew Pescanova, but a smaller percentage, 46%, knew it is Galician. Furthermore, 80% of the respondents had heard of Banco Pastor, out of which 33% knew it is Galician. Fewer respondents,
36%, had heard of the pharmaceutical company Zeltia, and slightly over half of them, 56%, knew it is Galician. The lowest percentage in this section, 18%, was achieved by the cultural foundation
Pedro Barrié de la Maza, but remarkably 85% of those respondents affirmed that they knew it is based in Galicia.
Personalities. Regarding Galician personalities, 88% of the Spanish surveyees included several of them. Among those who had been to Galicia, 92% listed some (19% of those respondents included the Romanticism writer Rosalía de Castro and 16% the deceased politician Manuel Fraga).
Among those who had not been to Galicia, 62% responded that they could recall some names, being
Rosalía de Castro and Manuel Fraga the most frequently mentioned ones. Other personalities included in subsequent sections were also listed, although fewer times. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician personalities. 86% stated that they had heard of the fashion designer Adolfo Domínguez, 50% of which knew he is Galician. Many of the respondents, 85%, had also heard of the writer Camilo José
Cela, 71% of which knew he was Galician. Rosalía de Castro, one of the most mentioned figures in the open ended question, obtained a positive recognition response of 75% of the respondents, out of which 84% knew she was Galician. The next highest percentage, 73%, was obtained by the TV host
Paula Vázquez, with 57% of them citing that they knew she is Galician. Still in the entertainment sector, the name of the actor Luis Tosar, one of the most mentioned figures in the International survey, was recognized by 61% of the Spanish respondents, 60% of which knew he is Galician.
51% of the respondents stated that that they had heard of the musician Carlos Núñez, 83% of which knew he is Galician, and, finally, 47% of the respondents stated that they had heard of the rock band
Los Suaves, 47% of which knew they are Galician.
179 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Gastronomy. 92% of the respondents listed names related to Galician gastronomy. Among those who had been to Galicia, 94% included some names (21% of those respondents listed octopus, and 31% of them listed seafood –in general or specific types). Among those who had not been to Galicia, 79% mentioned gastronomic elements, with seafood as the most frequently written one, by 49% of the respondents. Different and more specific types of seafood, octopus and some of the other elements included in subsequent sections (albariño, empanada, percebes) were also listed, although fewer times. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician gastronomic elements, 81% of the respondents stated that they had heard of albariño wine, and all of them, 100%, related it to Galicia. In addition, 84% of the respondents had heard of the seafood percebes, 96% of them relating it to Galicia. Finally, 86% of the respondents had heard of the traditional pastry empanada, out of which 88% related it to Galicia.
Sports. 83% of the respondents included the names of Galician sportsmen/women or teams.
Among those who had been to Galicia, 88% listed some (50% of them mentioned either Deportivo de la Coruña or Celta de Vigo, or both soccer teams). Among those respondents who had not been to Galicia, 55% responded affirmatively, with, again, the soccer teams Deportivo de La Coruña and
Celta de Vigo as the most frequent answers, both included by 75% of those respondents. Other names were also mentioned but only in small percentages. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician sports teams or sportsmen/women. 87% of the respondents indicated that they had heard of Deportivo de La
Coruña, out of which 96% knew it is Galician. 82% of the respondents stated that they had heard of
Celta de Vigo, with a higher percentage, 99%, affirming to know that the team is Galician. Finally,
32% stated that they had heard of the road bicycle racer Óscar Pereiro, out of which 81% knew he comes from Galicia.
180 Findings
Locations. The largest percentages were achieved for Galician locations: 96% of the respondents of Survey B Spain could recall the names of several of them. Among those who had been to Galicia, 98% listed some (41% of those respondents mentioned Santiago de Compostela).
Among those who had not been to Galicia, 86% responded affirmatively, being Santiago de
Compostela mentioned by 19% of them. Other locations included in subsequent sections (Cíes
Islands and Torre de Hércules) and the cities Coruña and Vigo were also listed, although fewer times. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician locations. 91% of the surveyees indicated that they had heard of
Santiago, out of which 51% knew it is located in Galicia. The second largest percentage, 73%, was obtained by the Cíes Islands, recognizing 97% of those who responded affirmatively that they are in
Galicia. That was followed by the Roman times lighthouse Torre de Hércules, whose name was recognized by 71% of the respondents, out of which 94% knew it is located in Galicia. Finally, only
34% of the respondents had heard of the cultural complex Cidade da Cultura, but all of them, 100%, knew it is in Galicia.
Culture. The lowest percentage in this Familiarity section, 77% of positive responses, was obtained in the question asking about Galician culture and traditions. Among those respondents who had been to Galicia, 83% listed some (20% of them mentioned traditional bagpipe music and dance). Among those respondents who had not been to Galicia, 46% included a wide range of diverse responses: Galician language, Way of Saint James and bagpipe music and Galician dance were among them. The survey also included questions asking directly whether the respondents recognized the names of specific Galician culture features or traditions. 76% of the surveyees indicated that they had heard of Celtic culture, out of which 91% related it to Galicia. Moreover,
88% of respondents stated that they had heard of Galician language, out of which 96% directly related it to Galicia.
181 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 67: Familiarity results -Survey B Spain (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey B Spain)
The findings of the two first exploratory surveys, A International and B Spain, have revealed the main general perceptions of Galicia by two external target audiences, non-Spanish nationals and non-Galician Spanish nationals. Next, the findings of the two main surveys of the project, C USA and D Galicia, will detail the perspective of the concrete target audience, the United States of
America, and the opinions of the representatives of the companies located in the place-of-origin,
Galicia.
182 Findings
7.3. RESULTS OF SURVEY C USA The first questions of Survey C USA collected demographic information, included to determine the extent to which demographics influenced the audiences’ responses and therefore their perceptions of Galicia. The second block was introduced to collect information about the respondents’ preferences when thinking about place-of-origin of products, services or companies
(Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2016; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017;
Reputation Institute, 2017; Good Country, 2014 and 2017). The structure of the third section was similar to the travel experience group in Survey A International, with the modifications that entailed addressing only Americans, instead of a global audience, and potential importers, buyers or hiring organizations, instead of general public. Decision/visitation (FutureBrand, 2012 and 2017) was explored afterwards. Then, awareness (FutureBrand, 2012 and 2017) was included, to capture if the respondents had heard of Galicia, and how top of mind it was when thinking about Spain. Next, associations and familiarity (Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News,
2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) were explored. Consideration/advocacy, decision/visitation and supporting behaviors elements (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; Reputation
Institute, 2017) were addressed in the following sections, using the survey information to estimate whether Galicia is considered and/or recommended for visiting, living, studying, working and investing. The closing questions linked the above consideration/advocacy and decision/visitation concepts with the place-of-origin element (Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future
Brand, 2016; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017; Good Country, 2014 and
2017), looking for information about what could lead to think/act differently if there was that possibility.
183 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Demographic information Survey C was taken by 403 USA citizens or permanent residents in the USA. 76.47% of those
403 participants were American nationals, while 24.53% had other nationalities, but had been living in the country for more than 5 years.
Figure 68: Nationality – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
For those who indicated that they had USA nationality, the premise to continue the survey was that they had been living abroad for less than 5 years. 38.1% of them were in that situation, therefore qualified for the survey. The others were considered not to qualify and therefore were sent to the end of the survey. For those who did qualify, when asked about the state, within the USA, were they used to reside before moving abroad, 20% indicated that they used to live in California and the same percentage used to live in Florida. 13.33% was the percentage for New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and 6.66% for Washington DC, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The rest of the states did not reach representative percentages of responses.
184 Findings
Figure 69: Origin state living abroad – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
The USA citizens residing abroad we also asked about their current country o residence. These were the results: both France and the Netherlands obtained 20.00%, both the Dominican Republic and Germany received 13.33%, and Chile, Kenya, Mexico, Singapore and United Kingdom reached
6.67% of the respondents.
185 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 70: Origin country living in USA – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Those respondents who were originally from a different country, and had been living in the USA for at least five years, therefore qualifying for the survey, were asked about the state, within the country, were they currently reside. These were the results: California, 32.88%; New York, 6.51%;
Texas, 5.48%; Colorado, Illinois and Missouri, 3.77%; Florida and Massachusetts, 3.42%;
186 Findings
Pennsylvania and Utah, 3.08%, Delaware, 2.74%, Arizona and Washington, 2.40%; New Jersey and
South Carolina, 2.05%. The rest of the states did not reach representative percentages of responses.
Figure 71: Residency state foreigners living in USA – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
187 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Gender-wise, the survey provided a quite balanced result, given that 53.90% of the surveyees stated that they were female, while 46.10% stated they were male.
Figure 72: Gender of surveyees – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
The participants’ age group distribution was quite diversified. The largest bracket included those between 30 and 39 years old, with a percentage of 28.57%. Second place, the group between 20 and
29 years old, with 23.38%. The age bracket 40-49 added up 16.56%, and the one corresponding to
50-59, 17.21%. 12.99% of the participants were over 60, and 1.30% less than 20 years old.
188 Findings
Figure 73: Age of surveyees – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Regarding the education level achieved by the surveyees, most of them stated that they had completed university courses. The largest percentage (44.66%) had a master’s degree. Following,
35.92% with a bachelor’s degree and 12.30% with a PhD. 6.15% had graduated from high school and less than 0.97% stated that they hadn’t completed secondary education courses.
Figure 74: Education of surveyees – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
189 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 75: Employment sector of surveyees – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
190 Findings
When asked about the industry or sector they worked in, the answers were quite diversified, covering a great range of professions among the respondents. The largest percentage (17.86%) corresponded to the Education/ Training/ Coaching sector. Following, the Advertising/ Marketing/
Public Relations industry included 16.56% of the participants. The next position corresponded to the option ‘Other’, which sought to collect the answers from those respondents who did not match any of the listed categories. 16.56% of the respondents chose this option, and included as majority answers, in the free text field, the following: non-profit, consulting, sports, entertainment or media related positions. The option Construction/ Engineering or Architecture related followed, with
16.23%. Next Public Service/ Administration/ Institutional or related reached 9.09%; IT/ Computer or Programming and Pharmaceutical, Biotechnological, Science or related, 7.47 and 7.14% respectively. Banking/ Accounting/ Investment and Healthcare/ Medical/ Nursing both obtained
5.84%. Law or Related was chosen by 4.87% of the respondents, both the Agricultural/ Food and
Drinks and Tourism/ Hospitality/ Events sectors reached 4.55%, and both Arts/Photography/Design and Sales/Retail obtained 4.22%. The rest of sectors did not reach 2% of the responses.
The survey also asked if the participants spoke other languages, in addition to English. 50.56% stated they did, and 49.35% stated they did not.
191 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 76: Speak other languages – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Those who did speak other languages were asked to write the names of those languages, with the following results: Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Portuguese, Italian, Hindi, Indonesian and
Russian were the most frequent chosen ones, although many others were mentioned, as seen in the graph below.
192 Findings
Figure 77: Languages spoken – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Place-of-origin. The following section of the survey was introduced to collect information about the respondents’ preferences when thinking about place-of-origin of products, services or companies.
It began asking about the degree of importance that they conferred to the place-of-origin of the products or services they purchase. A series of likert-type scale questions (Vagias, 2006) asked about the importance they conferred to that factor when making purchasing or business decisions.
The majority of the respondents (40.86%) considered it important, followed by 33.89% that considered it ‘not very important’. 16.61% of the surveyees thought that the place-of-origin was
‘very important’ and 6.31% believed that it was ‘not important at all’. Only 2.33% chose the option
‘extremely important’.
193 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 78:
Importance of POO when purchasing– Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
The next question, with a similar structure, questioned the degree of importance that they conferred to the place-of-origin of the company they would be dealing with, when doing business.
Figure 79: Importance of POO when doing business – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
194 Findings
Most of the respondents (43.67%) indicated that they considered it important, followed by
22.33% who thought it was important, and 21.00% who stated that they did not think it was very important. On the other hand, 7.33% perceived it as extremely important and 5.67% not important at all.
Following, a multiple choice question asked about the reasons that contributed the most to their decision REGARDING BUYING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
Figure 80: Reasons that contributed the most to their decision regarding buying products or services – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
195 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Participants were allowed to mark several options if they wished to, but definitively the one that
was chosen the highest number of times, and therefore obtained the highest percentage (94.44%),
was ‘quality’. This was followed by ‘price’ (84.38%) and ‘reliability’ (79.17%). ‘Previous
experience’ obtained 64.93%, ‘technology/design’ reached 56.21% and ‘word of mouth/referrals’
was chosen by 54.51% of the respondents. ‘Personal knowledge of/relationship with that place’
received 50.00% of the answers, 23.96% of the respondents chose ‘political situation in that place’
and 20.83% ‘economic situation in that place’. ‘Advertising/marketing campaigns’ took 14.93% of
the clicks, and ‘other factors’ was the option in 11.81% of the cases.
Those who chose that last option, ‘other factors’, were asked to state them. Their answers
indicated that their major concerns were sustainability, ethical practices, labor situation, human
rights, environmental and fair trade, although others were mentioned, as seen in the graph below.
Figure 81: Other reasons that contributed the most to their decision regarding buying products or services – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
196 Findings
When asked, again with the format of a multiple choice question, about their reasons for making decisions ABOUT DOING BUSINESS, most respondents chose ‘quality’ (81.55%) and ‘reliability’
(80.44%). 70.48% indicated that ‘previous experience’ was an important factor for them, 68.27% clicked the ‘price’ option, while 62.36% thought that ‘personal knowledge of/relationship with the place’ was key for their decisions. ‘Word of mouth/ referrals’ was the next option, with 52.77%, followed by ‘technology/design’ (48.34%) and ‘political situation in that place’ (44.28%).
‘Economic situation in that place’ was chosen by 40.59%, 15.50% chose ‘advertising and marketing campaigns’ and 10.70% chose ‘other factors’.
Figure 82: Reasons that contributed the most to their decision about doing business – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
197 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Those who chose that last option, ‘other factors’, were asked to state them. The answers with the highest percentages were the following: business record, human rights, local company, sustainability and environmental were the majority chosen factors. Nevertheless others were mentioned, as seen in the graph below.
Figure 83: Other reasons that contributed the most to their decision about doing business – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Traveling decisions (part 1). The next section explored traveling decisions, asking whether the respondents had visited
Europe and Spain. The question about Galicia was placed later on in the survey, in order not to include the name too soon, which would probably affect the rest of the responses. It began asking the participants whether they had been to Europe. 82.18% of them had visited the Old Continent, while 17.82% stated that they had not.
198 Findings
Figure 84: Have visited Europe – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
They were also asked how many times they had been to Europe, to which 15.18% responded only once, 23.21% responded 4 to 9 times, 29.02% responded 2-3 times and 32.59% responded 10 or more times.
Figure 85: Frequency of trips to Europe – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
199 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
When asked, through a multiple choice question, about the reasons for those trips to Europe, most participants (82.22%) indicated ‘tourism’, answer followed by ‘business’ (43.11%) and ‘visit family or friends’ (38.67%).
Figure 86: Reasons for trips to Europe – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
23.11% of the respondents chose ‘other’ as their answer to this question, and most of them expressed that they had traveled to Europe for education reasons: schooling, international student exchange programs, etc. Below, a graphic representation of their answers is included:
Figure 87: Other reasons for trips to Europe – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
200 Findings
When asked whether they had traveled to Spain, their answers were more evenly distributed:
50.36% of the respondents stated that they had been to the country, while 49.64% indicated that they had not.
Figure 88: Have visited Spain – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
They were also asked how many times they had been to Spain, to which a majority of respondents (40.58%) stated they had been there once, 30.43% responded they had been there 2 to 3 times, 15.22% had traveled 10 or more times, and 13.77% 4 to 9 times.
201 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 89: Frequency of trips to Spain – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
When questioned, through a multiple choice question, about the reasons for their trips, 83.94% clicked the ‘tourism’ option, 27.74% marked ‘visit family or friends’, 27.01% chose ‘business’ and
12.41% picked ‘other’
Figure 90: Reasons for trips to Spain – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
202 Findings
For those who clicked the option ‘other’, in most cases the reasons provided were, again, academic: conferences, studying, international exchange, etc.
Figure 91: Other reasons for trips to Spain – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
The next section of the survey was crafted to explore the awareness levels regarding Galicia amongst American respondents.
Brand awareness In order to assess the awareness level amongst USA respondents, the survey prompted to list any locations in Spain that the respondents could remember. The ones that were mentioned more often
(around 75% in both cases) were Barcelona and Madrid. They were followed by Seville (25.75%),
Granada (14.89%), Valencia (13.30%) and Toledo (10.30%). The rest of the locations did not reach a 10% percentage. Nevertheless references to some Autonomous Communities were also made:
203 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Catalonia was mentioned by 9.01%, the Basque Country by 8.58% and Andalusia by 6.44%. If some names of different locations within those Autonomous Communities were to be included, the total count could be slightly increased. Interestingly, Galicia was up next in the list, with 4.72%.
Furthermore, some of its locations obtained respectable percentages too: Vigo 3.86%, Santiago de
Compostela 3.42%. A Coruña, Ferrol, O Grove, Tui, Pontevedra and Porriño were also included, although their percentages were below 2%.
Figure 92: Top of mind locations in Spain – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
204 Findings
Galicia. Next, a direct question asked the participants whether they had ever heard of Galicia.
Although the distribution of responses was quite balanced between the two options, a clear majority
(55.35%) stated that they had never heard of it. Among those who responded affirmatively, 90% had traveled to Europe and 68% had traveled to Spain. 52% were female. The largest age group was 30-
39 with 29%, followed by >60 with 18%, and 20-29 and 40-49, both with 16%. Most of them
(52%) had a master’s degree. The largest sector was education (22%), followed by advertising and construction, both with 11%. 70% of the respondents spoke other languages, in addition to English.
Figure 93: Have heard of Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Those who responded ‘yes’ were presented with a new question, asking about the where they had heard about it.
205 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 94: Source of knowledge about Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
More than half of the participants (54.24%) stated that they heard about Galicia from friends or relatives. 43.22% indicated that the source of their knowledge was traditional media. Travel websites was clicked by 35.59%, while the option ‘other’ was chosen by 27.97%. Online portals, movies and social networks obtained, in all three cases, 16.95% of the responses.
206 Findings
Figure 95: Other sources of knowledge about Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
A free text field allowed those who chose ‘other’ as a response to write about it. Their answers were quite varied, but mentions to wine industry, school textbooks and the Camino de Santiago were the most repeated ones.
Brand associations. In an attempt to better understand the image that the Americans have of Galicia, the next question, in free text format, requested those respondents who had heard of Galicia, to list the first three words that came to mind when thinking about it.
207 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 96: Brand associations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Above, a graphic representation of their majority responses, which can be expanded with the following figures: Santiago and Compostela were the words that came up more often, 17.59%, to which 6.48% of pilgrimage/ Camino related words should be added. Spain or Spanish were written by 16.67%, North/ Northern/ Northwest by 12.96% and Galician language/ Gallego or simply different language was chosen by 13.89%. Food was another favorite word, with 14.81%, being seafood or seafood related words, chosen also by 6.48%; in addition, 7.41% included the word wine. Coast, Ocean, Sea or Atlantic were words written by 12.96%. History, tradition, culture or heritage related words were chosen by 7.25%. Beautiful was the word chosen by 6.48%. Portugal or
Portuguese was mentioned by 5.56% of the respondents, while 4.63% wrote Celtic, and 3.70% mentioned both the word green and the bagpipes, some of them calling them by their Galician name, gaitas. Words such as fish and fishing, Europe, travel, tourism, mountains, autonomous, rain,
208 Findings old, friendly and countryside were included by between 3.50% and 2.50%. The rest of the words obtained less than 2% of the responses.
Considerations and advocacy. Visiting. In this section, the first prompts asked the respondents how likely they were to consider and recommend visiting Galicia. As depicted in the table below, most respondents stated that they were ‘likely’ (41.51%) or ‘very likely’ (23.58%) to consider visiting Galicia. Those who had already traveled there were more prone to consider visiting (‘very likely’ 53%, ‘likely’ 24%), than those who had not (‘likely’ 44%, 'very likely' 18%).
Nevertheless, when questioned about whether they would recommend that visit, the response with the highest percentage of clicks was ‘undecided’ (31.73%), followed by ‘likely’ (26.92%). The rest of the percentages were quite evenly distributed. Those who had already traveled to Galicia were more prone to recommend visiting (‘very likely’ 47%, ‘likely’ 41%), than those who had not
(‘undecided’ 39%, rest of the responses evenly distributed).
Table 6: Visiting Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Living. Next, the participants were presented with a question asking whether they would consider or recommend living in Galicia. Most of them were ‘very unlikely' (39.22%) or ‘unlikely’
(33.33%) to consider it, and only 4.90% was ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ (4%). The ‘undecided’ reached
19%. The fact that the surveyees had traveled or not to Galicia did not significantly affect their responses in this case, being the 'very unlikely' or 'unlikely' choices still majority in both cases.
When asked about living recommendations, the likelihood slightly increased, with 6.19%
‘likely’ and 5.15% ‘very likely’. 26.80% of the respondents were ‘undecided’, 29.90% ‘unlikely’
209 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. and 31.96% ‘very unlikely’ to recommend living in Galicia. Those who had already traveled to
Galicia were more prone to recommend living (‘very likely’ 23%, ‘likely’ 31%), than those who had not (‘very unlikely’ 35%, ‘unlikely’ 31%).
Table 7: Living in Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Studying. Academia was another key sector in this part of the survey. The participants were asked whether they would consider studying in Galicia and, again, the majority chose the ‘very unlikely’ (36.89%) or ‘unlikely’ (20.39%) options. 26.21% were ‘undecided’, but it is remarkable that 11.65% indicated that they would be ‘likely’ and 4.85% that they would be ‘very likely’. The responses of those surveyees who had been to Galicia were surprisingly polarized, with none of them choosing the option ‘undecided’; the percentages were larger in the ‘very unlikely’ (31%) and
‘unlikely (38%) options, but the ‘likely’ (13%) and ‘very likely (19%) obtained a fair number of hits. Those results for who had not been to Galicia were very similar to the general ones.
In addition, 31.31% said they would ‘very unlikely’ recommend studying in Galicia, 20.20%
‘unlikely’, and 33.33% were ‘undecided’ to this extent. 8.08% would ‘likely’ recommend it and
7.07% would ‘very likely’ do so. The percentages for those respondents who had already traveled to
Galicia were higher for the ‘likely’ (21%) and ‘very likely’ options (21%), and for those who had not traveled to Galicia, higher for the ‘very unlikely’ (34%) and ‘undecided’ (37%) options.
Table 8: Studying in Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
210 Findings
Working. Work environment was also included in this Considerations and Advocacy section.
Percentages were not too different from those in previous ones: 33.33% of the respondents was
‘very unlikely’ to consider working in Galicia, 26.47% was ‘unlikely’ and 28.43% ‘undecided.
5.88% were the percentages reached for both ‘likely’ and ‘very likely’ options. The results were more positive for those who had already been to Galicia (13% very ‘unlikely’, 33% ‘unlikely’, 13%
‘undecided’, 20% ‘likely’, 20% ‘very likely’). The opposite tendency was found among those who had not visited Galicia (36% ‘very unlikely’, 26% ‘unlikely’, 31% ‘undecided’, 3% ‘likely, 3%
‘very likely’).
As for recommendations, 30.61% indicated they were ‘very unlikely’ to recommend working in
Galicia, 25.51% ‘unlikely’ and 29.59% ‘undecided’. 9.18% of the surveyees were ‘likely’ and
5.10% ‘very likely’. Those who had been to Galicia were more prone to recommending working, with 38% ‘likely’ and 23% ‘very likely’. Those who had not been to Galicia indicated mostly that they were wither ‘very unlikely’ with 34% or ‘unlikely’ with 27%.
Table 9: Working in Galicia considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Business. The tendency shifted slightly for the two last questions of this section, which are fundamental for this project. When asked about their likelihood regarding doing business with
Galician companies, 14.42% indicated that they would be ‘very unlikely, 13.46% ‘unlikely’ and
37.50% ‘undecided’. But 24.04% said that they would be ‘likely’ and 10.58% ‘very likely’. Those who had been to Galicia had even more positive opinions, with 38% ‘very likely’ and 25% ‘likely’.
Those who had not traveled to the area were mostly ‘undecided’ (40%)
211 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Furthermore, 16.16% stated that they would be ‘very unlikely’, 18.18% ‘unlikely’ and 49.49%
‘undecided regarding recommendations, but 19.19% were ‘likely’ and 7.07% ‘very likely’ to recommend it. The tendency, when taking into account whether they had been to Galicia or not was quite similar to the one in the consideration section: higher percentages for those ‘likely’ (36%) or
‘very likely’ (21%) among previous visitors, and higher percentages for those ‘undecided’ (42%) for not previous visitors.
Table 10: Doing business with Galician companies considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Buying. The last two lines requested information about considerations regarding the purchase of
Galician products. 11.54% of the participants were ‘very unlikely’, 2.88% ‘unlikely’ and 28.85%
‘undecided’. But 41.35% indicated that they would be ‘likely’ and 15.38% ‘very likely’ to buy them. Those who had been to Galicia showed larger percentages on the positive side of the chart
(44% ‘very likely’, 38% ‘likely’), and, although the majority response for those who had not been to the area was ‘likely’ (42%), the second largest percentage was 'undecided' (33%).
In addition, 13.13% stated that they would 'very unlikely' recommend buying Galician products,
8.08% 'unlikely' and 34.34% ‘undecided’. 33.33% were, on the other hand, ‘likely’, and 11.11%
‘very likely’. Again, those who had been to Galicia showed larger percentages on the positive side of the chart (54% ‘very likely’, 31% ‘likely’). In this case, the majority response for those who had not been to the area was 'undecided' (38%), the second largest percentage being ‘likely’ (31%).
212 Findings
Table 11: Buying Galician products considerations and recommendations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Traveling decisions (part 2). Still focusing on Galicia specifically, the next question asked the participants whether they had traveled there. As expected, most of them (92.16%) responded no, while only 7.84% responded yes.
Figure 97: Have visited Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Those who responded affirmatively were asked how many times they had traveled to Galicia.
42.86% had been once, 23.81% 4 to 9 times, 19.05% ten or more times and 14.29% 2 to 3 times.
213 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 98: Frequency of trips to Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
In addition, those respondents who answered affirmatively were also asked, in a multiple choice format question, about the reasons for their trips. In most cases (66.67%) the main reason was tourism, but visiting family or friends also achieved a high percentage (47.62%). Business received
29.57% of the responses and the option ‘other’, 23.81%.
Figure 99: Reasons for trips to Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
214 Findings
Among those who chose that last option, personal ties, the pilgrimage or the Camino de
Santiago were the chosen words.
Figure 100: Other reasons for trips to Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Familiarity analysis In an attempt to ascertain how familiar the respondents were with Galicia, a series of questions were crafted, using different categories to test the knowledge of the USA respondents.
Business. First, they were asked if they knew any Galician brands, companies or organizations.
Most respondents (92.05%) stated that they did not, while only 7.95% wrote that they did.
215 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 101: Know any Galician brands, companies or organizations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Among those who did, the most frequent ones were the following: Zara 50% - several, although significantly less reference to other two related names: Inditex, parent company of Zara, and
Massimo Dutti, also part of the Inditex group. Wine brands or grapes were mentioned by 35% of the respondents (Martin Codax, albariño, ribeiro). The rest of the concepts were mentioned in significantly lower percentages.
Figure 102: Galician brands, companies or organizations they can remember– Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
216 Findings
Personalities. The next question asked whether they could recall the names of any Galician personalities (actors, musicians, writers, etc.). Only 5.34% indicated that they did.
Figure 103: Know any Galician personalities – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
In the free text field, the most repeated words were the following: actor Martin Sheen was the most mentioned name, with 25% of the responses, followed by writer Rosalía de Castro with 10% and, surprisingly, Fidel Castro’a parents with the same percentage. The rest of the names (current
Spanish president Mariano Rajoy, musicians Cristina Pato and Carlos Núñez, Nobel Prize winner
Camilo José Cela, Inditex owner Amancio Ortega, etc.) received significantly lower percentages.
Several responses were however mistaken, such as Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.
Nevertheless it was interesting to find how some respondents knew that musician Jerry García’s ancestors were Galician, or how the novelist Ernest Hemingway visited and wrote about the area.
217 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 104: Galician personalities they can remember – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Gastronomy. The respondents were also asked to write any elements of the Galician gastronomy that they could remember. In this case, the percentage was one of the highest ones
(14.77%), compared to the response to other questions in this section. 85.23% did not include any words.
218 Findings
Figure 105: Know any Galician gastronomy elements -Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Seafood was definitively the most popular word. In addition, many of the other mentioned words (caldeirada, centolla, mariscada, vieira, octopus, fish, percebes, ricefish) could be included in that category, adding altogether almost 80% of the responses. Wine and different types of grapes, together with empanada were also popular options. Several words, nevertheless, could be considered as belonging to Spanish gastronomy, but not specifically Galician: paella, ham, cheese,
Mediterranean, sidra, tapa.
219 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 106: Galician gastronomy they can remember – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Sports. The next step included questions about sportsmen/women or teams. 6.46% of the respondents indicated that they knew some names, while 93.54% did not.
Figure 107: Know any Galician sportsmen/women or teams (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
220 Findings
The two main Galician soccer teams, Celta de Vigo and Deportivo de La Coruña, were the most popular responses, with percentages of 40% and 30% respectively. Several names, were, nevertheless, not correct: for instance, soccer player Xavi is Catalonian, Jai Alai is based on the
Basque game pelota vasca, and Galatasaray is a Turkish soccer team. Mouriño is most probably referring to the famous Portuguese soccer coach José Mourinho, but the name of the current Celta’s president is Carlos Mouriño, so both possibilities remain open.
Figure 108: Galician sportsmen/women or teams they can remember – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
Locations. Locations resulted in the largest percentage of respondents (17.87%) choosing ‘yes’ as an option, and 82.13% choosing ‘no’.
221 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 109: Know any Galician locations – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
When requested to provide names, those that were mentioned more often were the ones shown in the graph below, being Santiago de Compostela, its cathedral or the Camino pilgrimage mentioned by 72.97%. Vigo was next, with 21.62% and then Coruña with 13.51%. The rest of the cities and locations obtained less than 5% of the responses.
Figure 110: Galician locations they can remember – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
222 Findings
Culture. The next question asked if the respondents knew any Galician cultural features or traditions. 15.65% responded that they did, whole 84.35% stated they did not.
Figure 111: Know any Galician cultural features or traditions – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
The names that they listed more frequently were the following: Santiago de Compostela and pilgrimage traditions, 33.33%, Galician language, or notion that a different language is spoken,
16.67%, Celtic references, 13.33%, bagpipes and seafood related, both 10.12%. The rest of the names did not obtain significant percentages.
223 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 112: Galician cultural features or traditions they can remember – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
The last question of the survey linked, as stated earlier, place-of-origin with consideration/advocacy and decision/visitation concepts. It asked what kind of information would the surveyees like to have about Galicia, that would lead them to consider buying Galician products/ doing business with Galician companies. While the responses were quite varied, there were some common themes that are displayed in the graph below. In this case, the most mentioned word was quality, 13.51%. Nevertheless, most surveyees wrote complete sentences, explaining that they would like to know what products or services could come from Galicia (17.30%), what are the main sectors and/or what are Galicians good at producing (12.56%), what is the economic situation
(12.43%), politics, history and stability related issues (11.35%), what makes it different, special or unique (9.73%), what is the culture like, what are people like (9.19%), what are the main reputable companies in Galicia (7.57%), what are the business practices and behaviors (7.03%), referrals,
224 Findings reviews or word of mouth (6.49%), price and costs related issues (5.41%), environmental and sustainability concerns (5.22%), what is the place like, tourism, food, landscape, monuments and weather comments (5.11%), working conditions, fair trade and human rights (4.86%), reliability and availability (3.78%), marketing, promotions or visibility in USA media (3.24%), infrastructures, innovation, technology available in Galicia (3.12%), tariffs, exchange rates or transportation
(2.70%), visit Galicia or contact with Galicia people (2.50%) and information available on-line
(2.16%). The rest of the responses did not reach 2%.
Figure 113: Information they would like to receive about Galicia – Survey C USA (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey C USA)
7.4. RESULTS OF SURVEY D GALICIA Survey D was the only one addressed to Galicians, particularly to Galician companies. For that reason, the structure was the more differentiated one among the four questionnaires distributed for this project. As stated earlier, the aim of Survey D Galicia was to collect and analyze the views of
225 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Galician firms and professionals, as potential exporters, sellers and talent suppliers for American companies. The intention was to achieve a sample size that represented the Galician exporting sector, locating respondents from corporate Galicia.
The block company information was introduced to frame the survey and as a foundation for the rest of the results. The next section covered the company’s relations with exporting activities, to verify that the companies were either exporting or interesting in exporting, and their relations with the USA market. Perceptions were explored in the next section, in this case focusing on the associations (Future Brand, 2012 and 2017; US News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute,
2017) and place-of-origin (Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2016; US
News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017; Good Country, 2014 and 2017) elements, approached from a subjective perspective, in attempt to compare image-reality (González Enriquez
& Martínez Romera, 2016) and the perceived image, in the shape of differences between internal and external valuations (Reputation Institute, 2017; Elcano, 2017). In the next section, Galicia a the specific place-of-origin (Dinnie, 2008; Anholt-GfK, 2012 and 2017; Future Brand, 2016; US News,
2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017; Good Country, 2014 and 2017) was the main focus of the questions. The last part of the survey addressed more specifically Galicia-USA relations, linking them with perceptions and associations.
Company information The questionnaire began by collecting information about the company. Although the survey was anonymous, it was considered that the results of this project could be of interest for Galician businesses, so a question was included to explain that even though the information collected would be considered confidential, if the respondents wished to receive a summary of the general results, they could include in their names, their company’s names, and how they wished to be contacted. 93
226 Findings out of the 412 respondents provided their details, and will soon receive the information they were promised.
The next question asked where the headquarters of the company were located. More than half of the firms (57.99%) indicated they were based in the province of Pontevedra. 21.88% of them were located in A Coruña, and 9.38% was the percentage for both Lugo and Ourense. 1.39% of the firms’ main offices were located outside Galicia.
Figure 114: Location of the company – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
When asked about the size of their company, 44.81% stated that it employed 11 to 50 workers,
30.00% that it included less than 10 workers, 20.00% 51 to 250 workers and 5.19% were larger firms, with more than 250 employees.
227 Figure 115: Size of the company – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia) Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The next question addressed the sector of the company. The respondents could choose from a selection of the largest industries, or pick the option ‘other’ if they considered that they did not fit in any of the above.
Figure 116: Sector of the company – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Banking, law, training and education, security and health (and related activities) received less than 1% of the hits in this case. Consulting, audiovisual, tourism and hospitality, public institutions, arts and design, all received between 1% and 2% of the responses. Pharmaceutical, biotechnology
228 Findings and science received 2.59% of the answers, and communication, public relations and marketing,
2.96%. Computer and software got 4.07%, transportation and logistics took 5.19% and construction and engineering 14.07%. The largest percentages belonged to sales (17.78%), food and agriculture
(24.07%) and the option ‘other’ (27.04%). Those who chose it were presented with a free text field where they could write the name of the sector that best represented them. Their majority answers are depicted in the graph below, and correspond to manufacturing, industry, textile, naval, furniture, transformation, wood, distribution, publishing, repairing, commerce, plastic, machining, sales, metal, distribution, shoes and automotive.
Figure 117: Sector of the company, others – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Then, the respondents were asked to include their position/department -their choice- in the company. Their majority answers are depicted in the graph below, and correspond to positions such
229 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. as CEO, partner, director or managing director, head of department, manager, administrative and technician. The departments that were mentioned most frequently were financial, manufacturing, procurement, quality, accounting, human resources, marketing, exports, international, sales and communication.
Figure 118: Position within the company – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Exporting activities. The next section of the survey explored the exporting behavior of the companies. The participants were first asked to state whether they exported or not. As expected - reminder: the survey was sent to companies currently exporting, who had exported in the past or who are interested in doing so in the future -, most of the respondents, 82.53%, did export their products or services, while only 17.47% were not currently exporting.
230 Findings
Figure 119: Currently exporting – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Those who responded that they did not export their products or services were questioned about the reasons. As seen below, most of them (39.13%) indicated that exporting was not part of their business plan. The second largest percentage (28.26%) belonged to the option ‘company still new/small’. 19.57% stated that lack of infrastructure was the reason, while 17.39% argued that their product or service could not be exported. 13.04% indicated other reasons - see below -, 10.87% lack of funds, 8.70% lack of knowledge, and 6.52% lack of institutional aids.
231 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 120: Reasons for not exporting – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Their majority answers written under ‘other reasons’ are depicted in the graph below. The largest percentages correspond to short product expiration dates, bureaucracy, not perceiving it as profitable or not having been able to sell abroad yet.
232 Findings
Figure 121: Other reasons for not exporting – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
For those who did export, the question was which percentage of their production volume was exported. The largest group was formed by those companies who exported less than 10% (28.44%), followed by those that exported between 10% and 25% (24.31% of the firms). The companies that exported between 25% and 50% of what they produced added 18.81%, those who exported between
50% and 75% were 16.51% and those exporting more than 75% were 11.93% of the surveyees.
233 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 122: Percentage of production exported – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Those respondents who answered that they did export were also presented with a question asking whether they exported to the USA. 32.67% of the respondents stated that they did.
Figure 123: Currently exporting to USA – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
234 Findings
For those who did export to the United States, the next question was which percentage of their
production volume they exported to that country. Most surveyees (73.44%) indicated that they
exported less than 10%. 15.63% stated that they exported between 10% and 25%, 9.38% said their
percentage was between 25% and 50%, and 1.56% that they exported between 50% and 75%. None
of the respondents indicated that they exported more than 75%.
Figure 124: Percentage of production exported to USA – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Perceptions. Focusing on that country, the next question wondered about the opinion of this group of
respondents, whose companies are currently exporting to USA, regarding how they thought that the
Americans saw their firms/ services/ products. Their majority answers are depicted in the graph
below, and included mostly quality or quality-related words (50%), followed by good price or value
for money (11.36%), competitive (9.09%), exotic, interesting or different (6.82%). Other included,
although less frequent, words were gourmet, dynamic, technological, good service, valuable and
added-value.
235 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 125: Perceived image of their firms/ services/ products in USA – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
For those who did not export to USA, a new question was presented, asking about the reasons.
As seen below, most of them (47.01%) indicated that exporting was not part of their business plan.
The second largest percentage (24.63%) belonged to the option ‘other reasons’ (see below). 16.42% indicated that their product could not be exported, 8.96% that their company was ‘still new/small’.
The same percentage, 8.96%, stated that ‘lack of infrastructure’ was the reason, while 6.72% argued
‘lack of knowledge’ and 2.24% lack of funds or lack of institutional aids.
236 Findings
Figure 126: Reasons for not exporting to USA – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
237 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Their majority answers written after ‘other reasons’ are depicted in the graph below, and include lack of contacts in the country, bureaucracy, protectionism and custom, trade and tariff barriers, hard competition within the country and from other countries, and distribution issues.
Figure 127: Other reasons for not exporting to USA – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Place-of-origin. Focusing on the Galician origin of the company, and to explore the place-of-origin concept, a question was introduced to ask the respondents whether they considered that it had an influence on the success of their company/product/service. 32.95% agreed that it did, while 67.05% thought that it did not.
238 Findings
Figure 128: Influence of POO in success – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Among those who did believe that their Galician origin influenced their success, their companies were mostly located in Pontevedra (56%). Regarding size, the largest percentage corresponded to 11 to 50 workers (46%), followed by less than 10 (36%). The largest sector was food and agriculture (38%), followed by sales (14%). 78% of the companies were currently exporters, out of which 27% exported to the USA.
The next question asked about the reasons why they believed that their Galician origin influenced or not their success. Their answers were the following: among those who chose to answer negatively, they mostly stated that the place-of-origin was not relevant in their specific sector, or that they do not directly think it was necessary or relevant to link their brand or product with Galicia.
239 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 129: Reasons for no influence of POO in success – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Among those who chose to answer positively, they stated that they either dealt with a product or service that was directly related to Galicia -its strategic physical location, language, travel or tourism-, or were fishing/food/wine related companies, which indicated that Galicia has a positive and recognized image in those sectors, specifically mentioning quality and reliability.
Figure 130: Reasons for influence of POO in success – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
240 Findings
The next section questioned about their habits regarding whether to show or specify their
Galician origin. The first request was to state whether they used, on their products or services, any
PHYSICAL ELEMENT or hallmark, indicating that the company is Galician. 24.50% of the respondents indicated that they did, while 75.50% indicated that they did not.
Figure 131: Include Galicia hallmark in products or services – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Both groups were asked to explain the reasons for their behavior. Their answers were the following: among those who chose to answer negatively, they mostly indicated that they did not think it provided added value, that they preferred to show the Made-in-Spain hallmark, that the company intentionally intended to remain not-place-related, or that they never thought it was relevant or necessary -some of them even wrote that after taking the survey, they realized it was a good idea and would consider it.
241 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 132: Reasons for not including Galicia hallmark – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Among those who chose to answer positively, several of them indicated that they were bound due to regulations within organizations or groups (for instance, Galicia Calidade or Denominación de Orixe), that they were proud to show their origin, and that they did believe that it provided a quality guarantee and/or made them proud to show it. For some of them, the word ‘Galicia’ was part of their brand or product name, therefore the answer was obvious.
Figure 133: Reasons for including Galicia hallmark – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
242 Findings
Then, a question asked to state whether they included their Galician origin in any PROMOTION
ACTIVITIES. 40.24% of the respondents answered that they did, while 59.76% indicated that they did not.
Figure 134: Include Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Both groups were asked to explain the reasons for their behavior. Their answers were the following: among those who chose to answer negatively, a majority stated that they did not find it relevant or necessary, that they did not think it would help them increase their sales, that within their sector Galicia was not widely known -mostly referring to technological fields-, or that they prefer to include references to Spain or the European Union; interestingly, one of the respondents wrote ‘it doesn’t make sense, Brand Galicia does not currently exist’.
243 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 135: Reasons for not including Galician origin in promotion activities–Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Among those who chose to answer positively, many of them stated it could be a decision factor in their sector, that the Galician origin involved quality, particularly in agro-fish-food-wine related fields, or that some of their direct competitors were located in distant places therefore Galicia positioned as a close-more friendly supplier; several of the used it in government funded activities
(such as exhibitions or trade fairs). For some of them, the word ‘Galicia’ was part of their brand or product name, and for others the Galician origin was a cornerstone for their brand, therefore the answer was obvious.
244 Findings
Figure 136: Reasons for including Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
The next question requested to know whether the companies used their Galician origin on their
WEBSITE. This time, the percentage was higher: 60.41% of the respondents indicated that they did, while 30.59% stated that they did not.
Figure 137: Include Galician origin in website – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
245 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Both groups were asked to explain the reasons for their behavior. Their answers were the following: among those who chose to answer negatively, they mostly indicated that they did not find relevant or necessary, that their sector did not confer importance to origin of products or companies, that they preferred to remain neutral or unidentified regarding their origin; surprisingly, several respondents stated that their company did not have a website.
Figure 138: Reasons for not including Galician origin in website – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Among those who chose to answer positively, many replied that their web was translated, among other languages, into Galician, proving the importance they conferred to their origin and language, which, some of them mentioned, wanted to show with pride; part of the group used
Galicia because this was included in the requisites of government aids they had received; others stated that their website had both company history and contact sections that included it, and/or that they considered it part of their brand and/or product essence.
246 Findings
Figure 139: Reasons for including Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
In the cases were the answers to any of the three questions above were negative, three subsequent questions were presented. The first one wondered about what would ENCOURAGE the respondents to use a hallmark representing Galician origin on any physical element related to their product or service. Their answers indicated that 43.13% would use it in case they received financial aid to do so, 36.88% thought that they would use it if they were presented with reports proving the benefits of doing it, 34.38% would be encouraged provided that promotion actions for Galician companies were organized, 28.75% thought that promotion actions for the Galicia place brand would help, 21.88% considered that joint actions for companies using the Galician origin hallmark would be beneficial, 13.75% marked the option ‘promotion of the hallmark’, 13.75% chose
‘information to consumers/users about the hallmark’, 13.75% chose ‘other reasons’ (see below) and
5.00% indicated that restrictive requirements to award the hallmark would be their reason.
247 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 140: What would encourage to use a Galicia hallmark – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
The majority of those who filled out the field under ‘other reasons’ used it to justify their option not to include it, explaining that it did not feel appropriate for their company or product, or to explain that, in their opinion, ‘Galicia Calidade’ was not working very well, therefore they would rather not be part of it. Those whose opinion was positive, most explained that their ‘Galicianness’ would maybe encourage them to use it.
248 Findings
Figure 141: What would encourage to use a Galicia hallmark, other reasons – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
The second question was addressed to those who indicated that they did not mention their
Galician origin in their promotion activities, asking what would encourage the respondents to do so.
Their answers showed that 43.80% of them would use it in case they received financial aid to do so,
40.50% thought that they would use it if they were presented with reports proving the benefits of mentioning their origin, 23.14% would be encouraged provided that promotion actions for Galician companies were organized, 21.49% considered that joint actions for Galician companies would be beneficial, 20.66% thought that promotion actions for the Galicia place brand would help, 14.05% chose ‘information to consumers/users about Galician products/services’, 14.05% chose ‘other reasons’ (see below) and 12.40% marked the option ‘reports with information regarding Galician image abroad’.
249 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 142: What would encourage to include Galician origin in promotion activities – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
The majority of those who filled out the field under ‘other reasons’ stated that they would simply not like to use it, or indicated that they do not usually engage in promotion activities. Those whose opinion was positive, most explained that their ‘Galicianness’ would maybe encourage them to use it.
250 Findings
Figure 143: What would encourage to include Galician origin in promotion activities, other reasons – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
The third question was addressed to those who stated that they did not mention their Galician origin on their website, asking what would encourage the respondents to do so. Their answers indicated that 40.26% would use it in case they received financial aid to do so, 38.96% thought that they would use it if they were presented with reports proving the benefits of mentioning their origin,
29.87% thought that promotion actions for the Galicia place brand would help, 27.27% considered that joint actions for Galician companies would be beneficial, 24.68% would be encouraged provided that promotion actions for Galician companies were organized, 18.18% chose ‘other reasons’ (see below), 16.88% chose ‘information to consumers/users about Galician products/services’ and 12.99% marked the option ‘reports with information regarding Galician image abroad’.
251 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Figure 144: What would encourage to include Galician origin in website – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Several of those who chose ‘other reasons’ indicated that their company did not have a website.
Others argued that either their contact or their background sections included that information, but that they do not believe that makes their products ‘special’. Many of those whose opinion was positive, explained that their ‘Galicianness’ would maybe encourage them to use it.
252 Findings
Figure 145: What would encourage to include Galician origin in promotion activities, other reasons – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Galicia-USA relations. The last part of the survey focused more specifically on the business relations between Galicia and USA, and the image and associations that Galician companies have regarding the USA. It began by asking the respondents to write the first words that came to mind when thinking about the
United States, to find their first associations. Interestingly, Trump was one the most frequent words.
The majority of the respondents, nevertheless, leaned towards expressions such as opportunity, great market, expansion, consumption, customers, power, technology, developed, success, industry, business, infrastructure, leadership, entrepreneurship, competitive, innovation, research, interesting, diversity. On the other hand, words with either neutral -that is, not business related- or somehow negative connotations, such as difficult, unknown, restrictions, protectionism, tariffs, custom duties,
253 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. bureaucracy, racism, arrogance, irrational, weapons, fear, wall, war, New York, Mexico, disadvantage, risk, borders, recession, non-interested, lies, movies or jeans were also frequently included. In an attempt to classify those responses, in clusters, the results would be as follows:
26.79% used American culture-related words, 18.95% used opportunity related words,17.89% referenced protectionism-related words, 16.84% referenced power-related words, 15.91% preferred politics related words, 15.79% referenced market-related words, 14.21% referenced size or distance related words, 12.11% were definitively negative comments, 9.66% specifically mentioned protectionism, 9.47% referenced technology or development, 5.79% included business opportunity related words, 5.26% wrote consumer or consumerism related words.
Figure 146: Associations USA – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Then, a multiple choice question demanded opinions about which concepts the respondents thought Americans associated Galicia with. Pairs of opposite attributes were displayed, and then a text field was added to collect any other thoughts not included among the multiple choice options.
254 Findings
Figure 147: Perceived associations for Galicia – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
Most of the respondents (61.54%) chose the option ‘they do not know it exists’. ‘Gastronomy’ was the next choice, with 33.03%. ‘Landscapes’ obtained 27.15%, while 19.46% marked the option
‘traditional’. ‘Behind the times’ was chosen by 14.03% of the respondents and ‘touristic’ by
10.86%. ‘Other’ was the option marked by 9.05% (see below). ‘Poor’ was selected by 8.60% while
‘Rich’ was selected by 8.14%. ‘Different from the rest of Spain’ obtained 5.43%, ‘High standard of
255 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. living’ 4.98% and ‘Industry’ 3.62%. ‘Stable’ took 3.17% of the responses, ‘Technology’ 2.71%,
‘Education’ 2.26% and ‘Talent’ 2.26%. ‘Producer’ and ‘Fun’ also obtained 2.26%. ‘Art’ matched
1.81%. ‘Services’, ‘Antipathy’, ‘Boring’ and ‘Advanced’ were all marked by less than 1% of the respondents.
Some of the surveyees who chose the option ‘Other’ indicated that they did not think that
American citizens had a pre-conceived idea of Galicia, give that they believed could not locate it on a map or thought that it was located somewhere in South America. Most of the respondents, nevertheless, mentioned the Camiño de Santiago, and a few included the name Inditex.
Figure 148: Perceived associations for Galicia, other – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
The last question of the survey wondered about the image of Galicia that the respondents would like the Americans to have; an open text field was provided for their answers. The words that stood out were, definitively, quality or quality-related. Following, competitive, technological, fashion, industry, modern, good, advanced, relevant, different, unique, reliable, trustworthy, hard-working, legal, safety, with great potential, strategic location, tradition combined with industry, research,
256 Findings development, innovation, investment, future, gastronomy, nature, green, sea, tourism, wine tourism, environmentally conscious, culture, art, history, heritage, friendliness, kindness. Interestingly, many respondents wrote answers stating that they would like Americans to simply have the real image of what Galicia is, a fair, transparent perception of the situation and the way things are done in the area, without any prejudices. In an attempt to classify those responses, in clusters, the results would be as follows: 34.86% answered with quality related words, 27.43% wrote innovation related words, 20.57% referenced positive personality features, 15.01% responded with gastronomy related words, 14.86% included nature related words, 13.14% mentioned culture or traditions related words and 11.43% answered with tourism related words.
Figure 149: Aspirational associations for Galicia – Survey D Galicia (Source: Prepared by the author, based on results from Survey D Galicia)
The findings of the two first exploratory surveys have revealed the main general perceptions of
Galicia by two external target audiences, non-Spanish nationals and non-Galician Spanish nationals.
257 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The findings of the two main surveys of the project have detailed the perspective of the specific target audience, USA, and the opinions of the representatives of the companies located in the place- of-origin, Galicia. The place brand reputation analysis has therefore been initiated (O.1), together with the identification of improvement areas (O.2), completing the first two objectives of this project. Next, a discussion of these findings and their connections with the previous literature review, along with the implications for Galicia as a brand, will be introduced, in a attempt to achieve O.3 and O.4. The section will be divided into four parts, one for each of the four audiences, and, within them, branding, place branding and specific dimensions will be the sections.
258 8- DISCUSSION
Our literature review has shown the importance of branding for products and services, but also for places. In addition, the reputation of those places and the positions and associations in the mind of potential consumers was proven to be crucial, revealing therefore likewise the importance of measuring and analyzing those concepts and the value of indexes as a tool.
The survey findings have shown that the application of specific place branding techniques to
Galicia should take into account the different approaches presented in the four different surveys. For that reason, the discussion will include four different sections: a first one addressing international audiences -Survey A International-, a second one addressing Spanish audiences -Survey B Spain-, a third one addressing USA audiences -Survey C USA-, and a fourth one addressing Galician audiences -Survey D Galicia-. The three main concepts covered in the literature review, that is, branding, place branding and place branding indexes, will be used to analyze the results of all four surveys and the implications for each of the audiences, which will be divided into sections branding, place branding and specific dimensions.
These follow the same outline determined in the previous section (7. Findings), to facilitate the identification of achievemnents of Objective O.1, initiate a place brand reputation analysis, and O.2, identify improvement areas in the way the place brand is being communicated. In a cross-cutting
259 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. manner, throughout the analysis, the elements leading to fulfilling Objectives O.3, lay the foundations for future general business communication strategies, and O.4, produce basic communication strategies for Galician companies addressing USA target audiences, are introduced.
Furthermore, the results related to proving the intial hypothesis are highlighted.
8.1. ANALYSIS OF SURVEY A INTERNATIONAL Branding. When analyzing the results of the Survey A International, brand awareness stands out as one of the key issues to be taken into account. The concept has been defined by Aaker (1996) as “the strength of a brand’s presence in the consumer’s mind” (p. 10), and in light of the results of the survey, brand awareness, regarding Galicia and international audiences, has evidenced to be significantly low. When prompted to list any locations in Spain that they could remember, 76% of the international respondents included some names, but, out of those, only 12% listed Galicia or one of its cities. In addition, and even though a direct question asking whether the surveyees had heard about Galicia resulted in better numbers, with 43% of them answering positively, the fact that 68% of them had learned about it from friends or relatives indicates an emotional connection as the source of the knowledge, but not a presence in new media, such as social networks or websites, or more traditional information channels. Obviously crucial nowadays, a more extensive use of alternative communication tools should be therefore taken into account by those communicators pursuing to promote Brand Galicia.
Brand associations, in this case referring to the qualities that people relate to the place (Future
Brand, 2016),would be a next step, explored in this case when the respondents were asked to to identify their perceptions of Galicia and compare those to their perception of other Spanish
Autonomous Communities. This proved great differences both in the knowledge depth and the associations of the international audiences regarding Galicia and other areas of Spain. Although this
260 Discussion paper is focused on studying the promotion of an independent Brand Galicia, those differences might suggest that, in addition to the efforts that Galicia itself should devote to reinforcing its own place brand, it would also be interesting to explore whether Galicia would be benefited if Spain would place further emphasis in the production of specific actions for its sub-brands (in this case, the different Autonomous Communities, including Galicia). After all, Galicia is currently part of the
Spanish brand system (Aaker, 1996). With the use of brand leverage (Aaker, 1996), Spain would be aiming at benefiting all of them equally, reducing the existing differences, revealed by the results of the survey, while also benefiting itself from the increased strength of its different sub-brands. The
Spanish government has, in fact, already attempted to include specific destinations in its tourism advertising campaigns or promotional activities (Buncle, 2009; Tourspain, 2017). Nevertheless, it seems that the success has not been complete, given that some areas enjoy better awareness levels than others. Therefore the possibility of requesting larger stakes in those central campaigns and/ or whether it would really benefit Galicia, still remains an open question.
Once the most relevant general branding aspects applicable to this survey have been covered, we should move on to the next topic in our literature review: place branding. The next section addresses how the survey findings can be related to that discipline when addressing international audiences.
Place branding. Galicia has been treated as a place brand throughout this project, following
Belloso’s (2010) approach, who highlights the importance of the way a place is perceived for its success (p. 44). In addition, Zenker and Braun’s definition of place brand as a“network of associations in the place consumers’ mind” (2017, p. 275) definitively matches the purpose our our project. Furthermore, the study that Hanna & Rowley (2008) produced about the terminology used
261 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. to name the discipline and the object being branded, have proven the appropriateness of applying the term place to Galicia, and therefore to refer to place branding as the associated action.
Reputation has played a key role in the preparation of the surveys related to this project. If, as
De San Eugenio-Vela et al. (2013) indicate, a place brand largely relies on perception management, and given that place branding intends to work with a place’s image to improve its reputation among international audiences (Fan, 2010, p.10), this concept is definitively relevant. The paragraphs above have detailed its implications for Galicia’s brand awareness and associations. Given that both aspects present weaknesses, working on value propositions and brand positioning (Aaker,
1996), both key aspects for managing a place’s reputation, seems necessary.
However, it is probably in Govers & Go’s work (2009) where we can devise a clearer example of the application of place branding techniques to Galicia, in this case when focusing on the structure and results of Survey A International. The 3-Gap Model is based on how to use place branding as a tool to bridge gaps between reality and perception, finding elements that influence the place’s image in the mind of the target audiences. Their first gap is focused on strategy and how the projected image of a place does not reflect its reality, nevertheless its unique identity could be used as a competitive advantage. It seems evident that Galicia’s unique place identity could definitively used as a competitive advantage, and that uniqueness could be a cornerstone for its branding strategy. Yet, the actions addressed to finding the adequate product offering for the target audiences, and the way of communicating it, have, up to now, either not been the appropriate ones, or have not been enough, as it seems that they have not yielded the expected results: for many of the international respondents, Galicia’s image is not very different from the general image they attribute to Spain.
262 Discussion
Place branding provides a framework to analyze and improve the strength of Brand Galicia. The specific elements where the efforts could be focused are pointed out by the different dimensions, part of place branding plans and included in place branding indexes.
Specific dimensions. This exploratory survey, together with Survey B Spain, took as its main pillars the dimensions described in the two main place branding indexes (Nation Brands Index,
2012 and 2016; Country Brand Index, 2012 and 2016). Although concepts from other indexes (US
News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017) were also taken into account, the basic structure heavily relies on those two first ones.
The results related to those dimensions proved, yet another time, the necessity of focusing important efforts on awareness, foundation of the place branding work, as stated earlier. Galicia’s brand associations found in responses of Survey A International, are not, in most cases, incorrect or negative, but are consistently framed within a low response-level context. In other words, those who had heard about Galicia have a fairly accurate and positive picture, but the vast majority of the respondents had not heard about it and, therefore, had no image whatsoever. However, the surveyees who had already traveled to Galicia ranked it higher than those who had not, therefore the roots on which to build a prospective place branding plan are favorable.
Those low awareness levels affected the participants’ answers in the considerations and advocacy sections, being the ‘undecided’ the largest groups in the responses to most of the questions. Following the tendency described above, those who had already traveled Galicia were more inclined to consider and recommend visiting, living, working, studying and doing business/investing there, this proves again that the visitors’ experience is generally positive. Both this fact and the considerations in the paragraph above suggest that attracting first time visitors could be one of the main goals of place branding related campaigns, as most of the surveyees who
263 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. have been to Galicia tend to come back. Building on that, and, if possible, encouraging its promotion could be a good starting point.
The familiarity section, while yielding the same general low response rates as the previous ones, brings new significant information. Still, most participants could not remember any Galician brands, companies or organizations. Nevertheless, 71% of the surveyees indicated later in the survey that they did know fashion retailer Zara. Given that only 8% of them were aware that the company has its headquarters in Galicia, the possibility of envisioning joint promotion campaigns for both brands could be contemplated, as it might derive in positive results for the two of them.
Regarding Zara, a deeper understanding of its origins might provide the organization with a more humanized, warmer and closer image. Regarding Galicia, the currently outstanding company reputation and awareness level of the fashion brand in both the business environment -as its manufacturing, distribution and sales models are a reference and frequent case studies in many business schools-, and amongst the general public, would bring to the place more entrepreneurial, modern and successful associations.
The personalities section brught some unexpected results: while 91% of the respondents left the open-ended text field blank, a figure stood out among the responses of the 9% who did not: Luis
Tosar. Interestingly, the Galician actor has lent his voice to some Galician tourism advertising campaigns within Spain (Ciencia, 2010). The possibility of including him, perhaps along with other personalities, in international celebrity endorsement actions might be considered as a one of the promotion tactics for Brand Galicia and for Galician companies.
Galician gastronomy has generally been popular among foreigners, and the responses of Survey
A International in that section show that it could definitively be used as an important element in future place branding actions. 15% of the overall surveyees, and 89% of those who had already
264 Discussion traveled to Galicia, high response rates compared to other questions, wrote the names of meals or beverages, therefore promotion of Galician cuisine could be employed both for industry/businesses and tourism branding purposes.
Galician sportsmen/women, according to the results of Survey A International, are not internationally recognized, as only 10% of the respondents could recall a few names. Given that
77% of those respondents included soccer teams Deportivo de La Coruña and Celta de Vigo, it could be worth considering them as a branding possibility in those countries where that sport is popular. Sports tourism is considered the fastest tourism segment around the world “with sport tourists spending up to twice the amount of regular visitors during their trips. The World Tourism
Organization has predicted growth of 14% per annum for sport tourism compared to 5% across all other tourism categories” (Sports Tourism, 2016, para. 2). With this information, sports and tourism related companies, and not only soccer related ones -let’s not forget, for instance, the possibilities of nautical sports in an area surrounded by sea- should probably not miss this opportunity.
Locations rank better than other elements in Survey A International. 18% of the respondents included some names. Santiago de Compostela was, by far, the most frequently listed city - 80% of those who listed locations included it. Furthermore, 51% of the respondents who had heard of it affirmed that they knew it is located in Galicia. Santiago, in addition to being the administrative capital of Galicia, is also considered its cultural epicenter. Although this section of the survey did not establish a direct relation between both concepts, many pilgrimage related words were also included in the cultural features and traditions section, being the Way of Saint James and the stories surrounding the Catholic pilgrimages probably the reason. This implies that connecting destination and cultural elements in a place branding plan could be positive, as it would benefit two different economic sectors: tourism and cultural industry. However, other cities, areas and monuments were
265 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. also mentioned in this survey. For that reason, focusing a place branding strategy on a single location would not be advisable: if Galicia as a whole is to be branded, and it definitively includes places with different styles, values, attractions and offerings, including them seems appropriate and beneficial for a larger group.
The culture and traditions section also brought eye-opening results. Only 9% of the participants of Survey A International could mention Galician-specific (that is, not general Spanish) features.
Notwithstanding, as pointed out above, the utilization of the uniqueness of Galicia’s culture as a cornerstone in a future place branding plan should certainly be considered, given that its characteristic elements were referenced by most respondents who had already traveled there. This showed that Galicia’s distinctive features are attractive for foreigners, and hence have the potential to be one of the main aspects that future communication actions should aim to connect with the brand.
Once the most remarkable results of Survey A International, have been analyzed and linked to the literature review, the next step is necessarily to address the responses of the Spanish audiences.
This will be discussed in the following section.
8.2. ANALYSIS OF SURVEY B SPAIN Branding. Survey B Spain was designed based on the assumption that all the respondents,
Spanish nationals, must have already heard about Galicia. Considerations about awareness levels should, as a consequence, be treated differently in this analysis. Aaker’s brand awareness definition, relating it to the strength of a brand’s presence in the consumer’s mind (1996), is nonetheless still applicable.
The responses to the question introduced to determine how top of mind Galicia was compared to other Spanish Autonomous Communities were as positive as unforeseen: Galicia was the most
266 Discussion frequently mentioned one, by 25% of the respondents, receiving the rest of the Autonomous
Communities lower percentages. This suggests that Galicia enjoys a good awareness level within
Spain, and that the efforts in a place branding campaign addressed to this target audience should probably be centered on different branding aspects.
Therefore, working on Galicia’s reputation seems the next logical step: in this case, not focusing on improving its brand reputation among international audiences (Fan, 2010, p.10), but Spanish audiences. The concept still applies, but the focus on building awareness does not seem to be a priority. Aaker’s value proposition, the statement of the benefits of the brand (1996, p. 95), turns, therefore, into another key element for a place branding plan. Considering that Galicia as a concept is currently already settled on the minds of the Spanish consumers, the efforts should probably therefore be focused on communicating the adequate brand position, the verbalization of the benefits of the brand (Aaker, 1996, p. 176). The survey results indicate again that the strategy could probably be focused on Galicia’s uniqueness. Furthermore, regarding Spanish audiences, Galicia should not be considered, like in the case of the international audiences, part of a brand system within the Brand Spain, but a clearly differentiated and independent brand, in order to focus on those differential features that make up that uniqueness. In addition, at a later stage, working with the Galicia’s different sub-brands (specific Galician locations, for instance) that configure the
Galician brand system, should be revised. This should be started, nevertheless, probably once the main brand has been correctly defined and settled.
Once the application of the branding discipline has been reviewed, and continuing with the structure, next section cover an analysis of place branding and its application to Galicia when addressing Spanish audiences.
267 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Place branding. When addressing Spain as a target audience, like in the case of international audiences, Galicia has also been considered a place brand. Nevertheless, of course, in this case the specific perceptions to be taken into account were those of the Spanish audiences, not the international ones. Always bearing in mind that a place branding plan would definitively also benefit Galicia’s “economic, social, political and cultural development” (Belloso, 2010, p. 44) within Spain.
Govers & Go’s 3-Gap Model (2009) would be also be applicable, but in this case in a different way. In spite of the fact that trying to bridge the first gap, related to the correct communication of a place’s uniqueness, would definitively still be useful - taking into account that those differential features have proven to be appealing for the Spanish audiences -, the higher awareness and familiarity levels regarding Galicia that they have proven to have, suggests that the focus could shift to bridging the other two.
The second gap is based on performance, and relates to the difference between expectations and experience regarding a place. Galicia has been associated to many positive qualities by the Spanish surveyees, and both learning from which aspects are regarded as valuable, and keeping up with those expectations, are issues that Galician authorities, companies and inhabitants should bear in mind.
The third gap addresses satisfaction, taking the image of the place that the visitor previously has as a measuring point. Bridging the first gap, that is, installing the adequate image in the consumer’s mind, would have been the first step in this case. But, according to the results of Survey B Spain, the focus should shift towards fighting some stereotypes that have been disclosed in the survey.
While most of the associations have been positive, a tendency to ‘over-ruralize’ Galicia has been clearly perceived in the responses. This, on one hand translated into a beautiful, bucolic, picturesque
268 Discussion image, but on the other hindered associations with modernity, technology or industry. Concentrating on compensating both aspects should help to bridge this third gap, particularly relevant for Galician companies.
Once gap-bridging needs have been identified, the information gathered through the responses more directly related to each of the dimensions included in the place branding indexes would be the next phase.
Specific dimensions. Even considering some aspects of several place branding indexes (US
News, 2017; Elcano, 2017; Reputation Institute, 2017), this exploratory survey, together with
Survey A International, took as its main pillars the dimensions described in the two main ones
(Nation Brands Index, 2012 and 2016; Country Brand Index, 2012 and 2016). In the case of
Spanish audiences, their application indicated that attention should be fundamentally focused on the considerations and advocacy area. Whereas traveling to Galicia seemed like an interesting possibility for most Spanish respondents, the rest of the categories did not appear to be such an attractive option for them. Many of the surveyees were ‘undecided’ or ‘unlikely’ to consider living, studying, working or doing business/investing in Galicia. This suggests that the current promotion of Galician landscapes, tourist attractions and hospitality is nowadays relatively successful (in fact,
84% of the Spanish participants had already traveled to Galicia, most of them as tourists). Yet, business, employment and academic options have been somehow disregarded, whereas they could add great value, not only as elements of place branding campaigns, but also definitively benefiting
Galician companies and Galician business output. On a positive note, in all of those categories, those respondents who had previously visited Galicia ranked it higher than those who had not. This, like in the case of Survey A International, suggests the benefits of devoting efforts on engaging first time visitors, setting the path for them to be willing to return.
269 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The majority of the Spanish surveyees were familiar with the different categories and elements introduced in the familiarity section of the survey. This part, again assuming a more extensive knowledge about Galicia for the respondents of Survey B Spain, was longer and more detailed in comparison to the one designed for Survey A International, and therefore its results offered more in depth information, which could be useful when creating a communication plan to address audiences within Spain.
When asked about companies and organizations, Zara was, one more time, the most recalled one. Nevertheless, the name of the Galician government (in Galician, Xunta de Galicia) was also frequently brought up. This, on one hand, is quite obviously reasoned given that in includes the place name, but, on the other, suggest a deeper institutional/government knowledge than expected.
In addition, fishing and banking organizations also seemed to be recognizable for the respondents, while cultural foundations and pharmaceutical companies, two important and prestigious sectors in
Galicia, appeared to go often unrecognized. This would probably imply that place branding efforts should be centered on reinforcing the positive image of the most mentioned names, but nevertheless an emphasis in the other two areas would also be necessary, together with fostering larger exposure of other remarkable Galician sectors and companies.
Spanish respondents wrote the names of several Galician personalities. The two most mentioned names, the writer Rosalía de Castro and the politician Manuel Fraga, could probably be explained by the presence of the first one in most literature textbooks, and the historic relevance of the second one in Spanish politics. Other names were included in subsequent questions, corresponding to celebrities popular in different professional fields, ans these, as expected, were recognized by most of the Spanish respondents. However, many of the surveyees were not aware of their Galician origins. Exceptions were clearly linked to activities being associated to Galician-specific features
270 Discussion
(that would be the case of the musician Carlos Núñez, mostly focused on Galician traditional music). Like in the case of Survey A International, the use of celebrity endorsements, or incentives for promoting the exposure of the ‘Galicianness’ of the most popular figures, in an attempt to take advantage the popularity of the personalities to boost the popularity of Galicia, could be an asset. In case these actions are initiated, it should always be considered that the values of those personalities should be aligned with the values that Galicia wants to communicate.
Whereas the results of the above companies and personalities sections were somehow surprising, the ones corresponding to the gastronomy one were not so unexpected. Galicia is popular for its high-quality meals and raw materials throughout Spain, and the results of the survey confirmed an elevated familiarity level with the products and meals. Focusing a high percentage of the promotion activities on this aspect does not seem therefore necessary, although those positive and quality connotations should be maintained, encouraged and cared for. Similarly to Survey A
International, adding, wherever appropriate, the detected missing entrepreneurship, advanced and modernity feeling that many Galician food and beverage companies can transmit, could become an added value in a place branding plan
While taking into account that the sports sections received the lowest response percentages in the Survey B Spain survey, the option of using this sector in the place branding plan should still remain open. The two main Galician soccer teams are well known and positioned in the Spanish
First Division. In a country where soccer is considered almost crucial in the life of many citizens, this reopens sports traveling and tourism possibilities. In addition, prestige can be fostered for less massive sports, taking into account for instance the good results of previously mentioned sportsmen such as David Cal, Galician sprint canoer and the athlete with more Olympic medals in Spanish history (Pérez, 2016), or Javier Gómez-Noya, currently considered the best triathlete in the world
271 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
(Mackinnon, 2018). Their well-respected careers and personalities could be very valuably if adequately linked to Galicia.
The names of several Galician locations and monuments were written by a great majority of
Spanish respondents, 96%. Similar to Survey A International, Santiago de Compostela, its cathedral and the Way of Saint James, were the most frequently included references. In addition, another pattern was spotted: coastal locations. Being Galicia a sea-surrounded area, it should certainly take advantage of this clear recognition. Furthermore, the number of surveyess who mentioned the two largest Galician cities, Vigo and A Coruña, was also surprisingly high. As a consequence, and in consonance with the attempt to ‘de-ruralize’ (always to a certain extent) Galicia’s image mentioned for Survey A International, trying to include urban areas in a hypothetical place branding plan, seems appropriate, both for business and tourism purposes.
In the last section of this survey, culture and traditions, most elements were recognized by the respondents of Survey B Spain, but to a smaller extent than expected. Whereas the percentage of those who included names them was still high (77%), their responses were so diverse that it suggests that consistency in the projected image might be an issue. Although this might be caused by the fact that, in this case, the surveyees were answering open ended questions, it seems that branding and promotional efforts should aim at ‘organizing’ and reverting a possibly diffuse projected image. If one of the main goals is to link Galicia with its uniqueness, the set of characteristics consciously associated with the brand needs to be definitively consistent. Galician language, Celtic culture or traditional bagpipe music and dance, for example, were mentioned by the Spanish respondents and of course should all be included. But they should be presented as part of a meaningful and articulated system, that enables their appreciation and distinction by the target groups.
272 Discussion
Once the most significant results for exploratory surveys Survey A International and Survey B
Spain have been analyzed and linked to the literature review, the next step would lead to address the responses of the two new surveys, specifically designed for, and core of, this project: Survey C USA and Survey D Galicia.
8.3. ANALYSIS OF SURVEY C USA Branding. Similar to the case of Survey A International, brand awareness stood out as one of the key issues to be considered when analyzing the results of Survey C USA. A concept already defined in previous sections, brand awareness, regarding Galicia and USA audiences, has been proven to be considerably low. When the participants were asked to write any locations in Spain that they could remember, 75% of them wrote either Madrid or Barcelona, or both, which of course makes sense because these are the largest cities in the country. Continuing with cities, it seems that
Seville and Granada (in Andalusia), Toledo (in Castille-La-Mancha) and Valencia (in Valencian
Community) seem to have good awareness levels. As for Autonomous Communities, the other two considered ‘historic communities’, Catalonia (where Barcelona is located), the Basque Country
(where San Sebastian and Bilbao, other two of the most mentioned cities, are located), along with
Andalusia (where Seville and Granada are located), seem to have better brand awareness ‘health’ than Galicia: 4.72% is a low percentage, which turns into an even smaller when considering cities
(less than 4% for each of the Galician ones).
Although 44.65% of the respondents answered that they had heard about Galicia when asked directly, which is a considerable improvement, it is obvious that it is not a top-of-mind option.
Furthermore, when asked about the reason for that knowledge, 54.24% indicated that they had heard about it from friends or relatives, which, like in Survey A International, indicates an emotional connection, but not a presence in new media, such as social networks or websites, or
273 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. traditional information channels. Obviously crucial nowadays, a more extensive use of those channels for promotional purposes should be therefore emphasized account by those communicators pursuing to promote Brand Galicia. The open field ‘other’ related to this question offered varied answers, but the references to wine industry, school textbooks and the Camino de
Santiago should probably be considered in future branding campaigns.
Brand associations, a concept that has also been covered in earlier sections of this paper, was the next step in Survey C USA. It was designed to be explored after awareness considerations, and was opened by the questions about the respondents’ perceptions regarding Galicia. Like in Survey A
International, the surveyees did not include, in most cases, incorrect or negative associations, and the recognition level in Survey C USA was not as low as in the first, more general, survey. Again, those Americans who had heard about Galicia had a positive image, but always framed within a touristic, even mystic, image, of beautiful landscapes, pilgrimages and good food. This is of course not negative, and the nuances of history, tradition, culture, different language add up towards a favorable image, particularly for tourism attraction purposes. But being Galician companies the main focus of this paper, the addition of a more business/ industry/ modern oriented approach seems to be missing. Using the different perspectives that Schroeder (2017) confers to the branding process -corporate, consumer, cultural and critical- might help to build a more complete Brand
Galicia.
Once the most relevant general branding aspects included in the literature review section applicable to Survey C USA have been detailed, place branding is up next.
Place Branding. The concept place-of-origin (POO) played a key role in the preparation of
Survey C USA. Defined by Dinnie (2008) as the influence that the origin of a product or service has on the behaviors of the consumer regarding that product or service, its effects are obviously
274 Discussion important for Galician companies willing to export. The fact that a good POO position positively biases consumers towards brands coming from a specific place was also proven by the results of this survey: most respondents considered origin either important or very important, for purchasing products or services and/ or for doing business with a specific company. This should be necessarily linked to the next questions, asking about the reasons that contributed the most to their decisions.
When considering purchases, quality, price, reliability and technology/ design were the top answers.
But word of mouth, previous experience and personal knowledge of the place were the following ones. Furthermore, the words that stood out in the ‘other factors’ option were related to sustainability and labor ethics. In the case of the factors affecting doing business with a specific company only slight differences could be found: reliability and previous experience take second and third places after quality, lowering the importance of price and technology/design. Nevertheless, these are all the same elements leading the list, even if they are sorted in a slightly different order.
This overview gives us a clear picture of the weight of the different aspect influencing purchasing and business decisions when considering place-of-origin, which can be traced back to the reasoning behind the design of the survey, and then to the reasoning behind the different place branding indexes included in the literature review. Beginning with the Nations Brand Index (2012 and 2016), one of its dimensions, Exports, is specifically based on the image of products and services coming from a particular place. In the case of Galicia, not included in the study, we would have to refer back to the position of Spain. Although the Spanish place in areas such as tourism is high (number 4), Exports ranks lower (number 16). The reports from the Elcano Royal Institute
(2017) also consider place-of-origin, naming it ‘the made-in effect’, as one of the key values in place branding classifications.
275 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The Country Brand Index, in is Hierarchical Decision Model (2012 and 2016), stresses the importance of the made-in effect, taking into account “its role as a driver of consumer choice […] people actively prefer products and services when they are from specific countries. […] Countries that do not benefit from these ‘Made In’ associations are at a measurable disadvantage to their peers” (Future Brand, 2016, p. 4). In fact, their section ‘Associations’, has been expanded in the last report issued when these pages were written -2016-, in the way reflected in the figure below, which remarks the importance of that made-in effect. Interestingly for the purposes of this paper, Spain is classified as an Experience country, which includes “places traditionally strongly associated with
Tourism” (Future Brand, 2016, p. 34). This classification, although on its positive side -regarding the purposes of this paper-, covers the made-in effect, on its negative aspect it places it as secondary and links it with authenticity and uniqueness, both concepts that are traceable back to tourism related associations.
Figure 150: HDM Association Dimensions (Source: Future Brand, 2016, p. 9)
276 Discussion
When looking at other indexes, we can find similar associations. In the Best Countries sub- rankings (US News, 2017), for instance, in which Spain ranks high in categories such as adventure and heritage, but low in categories such as open for business and entrepreneurship. The different aspects included in the Good Country Index (2014 and 2017) could easily be linked to the words that were written by the respondents of Survey C USA under the field ‘other’, when asked what factors they considered important when deciding what to buy/which companies to engage in business with: human rights, sustainability related issues were majority. Although Spain’s general position is not low (18), the graphs in our literature review show that its image in the science and technology (40) and prosperity and equality (34) categories, for instance, are not remarkable.
This kind of associations definitively has a specific weight and an influence in the position that a place has in the mind of its potential customers, influencing therefore their behavior. Several of the indexes included in our literature review specifically explain the importance they confer to each of the attributes. The business-related ones are particularly important to Galicia and, specifically, for its companies. In this case, the Best Countries Ranking (2017) indicated that entrepreneurship adds up to 17.42% of the overall score, and open for business, 11.99%. The Country Rep Trak (2017) indicates that advanced economy considerations add up to 25.10% of the total score. The World
Competitiveness Index (2017) is basically focused on efficiency and business, therefore essentially
100% of its score should be relevant for Galician companies. And finally, Elcano Royal Institute, with their Elcano Global Presence Index (2017) uses different variables, conferring 40% of the weight to economic attributes. It seems that “The brand development opportunity for the countries lies in perceptions of Quality Of Life, Value System and being Good for business” (Future Brand,
2016, p. 34).
277 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The paragraphs above have provided and overview of the implications of those attributes for
Galicia’s brand awareness and associations categories, proving the importance that these have for
Galician companies regarding American audiences. Again, Govers & Go’s work (2009) helps to understand specific areas in which place branding techniques can be applied to Galicia, that is, when focusing on the structure and results of Survey C USA. Their first gap is centered on strategy and how the projected image of a place does not reflect its reality, nevertheless its unique identity could be used as a competitive advantage. Like in Survey A International, results suggest that
Galicia’s unique place identity could definitively used as a competitive advantage, and its branding strategy should probably take advantage of that uniqueness. Yet, also like in Survey A International, the efforts devoted to communicating it have, up to now, either not been enough or have not obtained the expected results, given that, for many of the American respondents, Galicia’s image is not different from the general perception of Spain. Furthermore, it would be interesting to explore the application of Govers & Go’s third gap, relating in this case to the constraints or stereotypes that the American audiences might have when considering Galicia: it seems that, on one hand references to Spain and Portugal are frequent, and therefore the image that the USA audiences have on their minds regarding those two countries would definitively influence their perspective regarding
Galicia; and, on the other hand, it appears that rural stereotypes are overwhelmingly present across many of the responses, which can of course be positive for Galician companies in the agro-food industry, but could also overshadow the great technological-advanced level of other sectors, given that those attributes seem to be rarely present in the minds of the target audiences.
All this can also be linked with the last question of the survey. It asked the respondents to state what information they would like to receive about Galicia, which would lead them to consider purchasing Galician products or services, or doing business with Galician companies. The responses
278 Discussion offer a clearer picture of what would make Galicia stronger in that aspect of its place brand, and suggest which elements should be stressed in its communications. What would make it a real choice for American consumers and businesses. The comments about stability and human rights suggest that several respondents had no idea that Galicia is located in Western Europe, which, for most of the world, guarantees that this should generally not be an issue. This suggests that providing geographic information might be also necessary. As for the rest of the responses, most participants logically demanded information about quality, price and types of products and services originated in
Galicia, what are the main sectors and companies, and the economic, political and environmental situation. Furthermore, many requested to know what makes Galicia unique or special, and what reputable companies are located in the area. These are all aspects that make up, as previously stated when studying place brand indexes and their relations with the survey and our topic, a stronger business portion of a place brand. In this case, in addition, the details of what the specific target group is looking for, are really valuable to design any internationalization or communication plans for Galician companies.
Place branding has provided a general overview of some aspects to be addresses towards strengthening Brand Galicia. More specific elements will be detailed in the following section, when analyzing concrete dimensions.
Specific dimensions. For Survey C USA, although the main pillars remained the two principal place branding indexes (Nation Brands Index, 2012; Country Brand Index, 2012 and 2016), as explained input Methods section, other studied indexes were also utilized: Reputation Institute’s
Country RepTrak (2017), US News’ Best Countries Ranking (2017), World Economic Forum’s
Global Competitiveness Index (2017), Real Instituto Elcano’s Global Presence Index and Barometer
(2017) and Simon Anholt’s Good Country Index (2014 and 2017).
279 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
To begin, in this case, summarizing, the answers in Survey C USA revealed the necessity of focusing important efforts on awareness and familiarity, both of them foundations of the place branding work. Results are consistently framed within a low response-level context, given that most surveyees had not a formed image of Galicia whatsoever.
Those low awareness and familiarity levels, once again, influenced the respondents’ answers in the considerations and advocacy questions, given that, in many of them, the ‘undecided’ percentage is large. When analyzing how those responses varied, comparing how differently those who had visited Galicia and those who had not would consider and recommend visiting, living, working, studying and doing business/investing, the results implied the following: when asked about visiting
Galicia, those who had traveled there were more prone to consider and recommend doing so; when asked about living, those who had already traveled to Galicia were more prone to recommend it; when asked about studying, the results were higher for the likely and 'very likely' recommendation options for those who had traveled to Galicia; in the work environment portion, the results were more positive both for considering and recommending for those who had already been to Galicia.
As for the last two questions of this section, fundamental for this project –doing business and purchasing Galician products- the results were also consistently more positive among those who had already visited Galicia, than among those who had not. This, again, shows that the travelers’ experience is generally positive, and that this conclusion can also be transferred to the tactics to reach American consumers and businesses. Both this fact and the suggestion, in the response to the question about what information they would like to receive about Galicia, that traveling there to know it better would help in their decision-making process, indicate that bringing visitors could be one of the main goals of place branding promotional activities, as most of the respondents who have been to Galicia tend to consider and recommend in higher percentages. Furthermore, all these
280 Discussion supporting behaviors (Reputation Institute, 2017) would be increased if a stronger Brand Galicia is fostered.
The familiarity section brought again low response percentages. When asked if they could write the names of any Galician brands, companies and organizations, barely 8% of the respondents could recall any names. Nevertheless, the fashion company Zara - and some of its related brands under the
Inditex umbrella - was included by more than half of those respondents. One of them even mentioned that he knew the brand but was not aware that it was Galician, and seemed surprised by that fact. Zara is among the most valued brands in the world (Interbrand, 2017) and, as stated in the analysis of Survey A International, envisioning joint promotion campaigns for both brands, Galicia and Zara, could be contemplated, as it might bring positive results for each of them. Furthermore, taking into account that in the question about what information they would like to receive, several respondents stated that they would like to know the names of reputable companies headquartered in
Galicia, it is guaranteed that connecting both could reinforce Galicia’s image, helping other companies appear as more trustworthy.
Only slightly over 5% indicated that they knew any Galician personalities. And while most of the responses were varied, a name stood out: the actor Martin Sheen. While he was born in the
USA, his father was indeed Galician, and he has always taken pride of his ancestors. His participation in the film The Way (Estevez, 2010), directed by his son and based on a journey along the Camino de Santiago, proved it. Being Sheen a respected actor, it could be worth to consider inviting him to participate, along with other personalities, in international celebrity endorsement campaigns to promote Galicia and/or Galician companies. In addition, it could be considered to promote Galicia as a filming location, benefiting that way Galician entertainment industry, as well as tourism, providing in any case visibility for the place at an international level.
281 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Galician food and beverages are well known for its quality, both inside and outside its borders.
For that reason, almost 15% of the surveyees included names in this portion of the survey, therefore paying attention to that category is also essential. Given this popularity, and the importance of the agro-food sector in Galicia, the promotion of Galician gastronomy could be beneficial both for industry/businesses and tourism branding purposes.
Galician sports are, according to the results of Survey C, not very popular in USA. Only 6.46% of the respondents included any names. Nevertheless, 40% of the surveyees answering this question included the soccer team Celta de Vigo, 30% the Deportivo de la Coruña, and some of them included other Spanish soccer references. This, like in Survey A International, leads us to consider using them as a branding possibility. As stated above, sports tourism is increasingly profitable, therefore promoting it would definitively benefit sports and tourism related companies. Not only soccer related ones should nevertheless be considered: let’s not forget, for instance, the options for nautical sports that an area surrounded by sea provides.
Locations obtained the largest percentage of responses in this section, with 17.87% of participants including names. Santiago de Compostela was, again, and again by far, the most frequently listed city –almost 80% of those who included names mentioned it, or referenced its cathedral or the Camino. Obviously the most popular location in Galicia, everything related to the pilgrimage and the monuments are symbols and attractions for many. Here, both tourism and cultural sectors could benefit from the popularity of the location and of the Way of Saint James.
Nevertheless, that popularity seems to be already consolidated, and the inclusion in the responses of cities (Vigo and Coruña, the largest ones in Galicia) and other locations (Rías Baixas, Marín,
Valdeorras) suggests the possibilities of not only focusing only in Santiago, but also promoting urban, coastal or wine tourism. Significant for the latter, Galicia has been nominated as Wine
282 Discussion
Region of the Year by the prestigious Wine Enthusiast Magazine (Galicia nominada, 2017), so building on that could be a possibility. For all of them, in any case, Galicia has the necessary raw materials, and every one of them could bring profits to different areas and sectors.
15.65% of the surveyees affirmed that they could recall Galician cultural features and traditions.
Surprisingly, this time only a few included elements from other areas in Spain, being most of the answers quite specific, which indicates an interest and probably certain exoticism considerations. As indicated in previous sections, making the uniqueness of Galicia’s culture a focal point in a future place branding plan should be considered, given that its distinctive elements seem to be attractive for Americans, who have expressed that they are curious towards that uniqueness. This would definitively add value to a Brand Galicia and should therefore be communicated.
Once the most remarkable results of Survey C USA, have been studied and linked to the literature review, the final step would be to analyze the responses of the Galician participants. This will be addressed in the following section.
8.4. ANALYSIS OF SURVEY D GALICIA Branding. The first concepts that stand out when analyzing the results of Survey D Galicia are two basic and complementary branding elements: image and identity. As stated in our Introduction section, image refers to how a brand is perceived and identity refers to how the brand owners aspire to be perceived (Simpkins, 2010, para. 1). In this case, Surveys A International, B Spain and C USA have clearly explored image, but this last one, Survey D, Galicia, was the one that focused on identity to a greater extent. Furthermore, it was intended to create one of the foundations of the
Brand Galicia analysis (Aaker, 1996, pp. 189-200), in this case from the perspective of the definition of the brand itself.
283 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
The first question in this respect asked those respondents who currently export to USA how did they think that Americans saw their company, product or service. This was aimed at outlining their own perceived image. This led to sets of words and sentences, mostly related to quality, price, value and competitiveness. Nevertheless, nuances such as exotic, interesting or different, gourmet, dynamic or technological also arose, indicating that the Galician exporters hope that their image is related both to tangible positive product and service features, but also to positive and unique essence and personality distinctions.
The second question in this regard asked all respondents to write the first three words that came to mind when thinking about USA. This was aimed at outlining the image they have regarding a potential target public. Responses were quite varied, but it was clear that most of the respondents thought, first, about American cultural elements and/or politics or power related words, which is logical taking into account the current prevalence and influence of USA culture and politics worldwide. Nevertheless, a great percentage of the responses was more business oriented, with either market, innovation, technology, development or opportunity related words, together with consumer and protectionism related terms. All of this creates, together with the results of Survey C
USA, the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle with the elements that need to be taken into account when addressing American audiences. But, more interestingly in the specific case of these questions, it helps communication experts to envision the opinions, or even prejudices, that Galician companies would have when thinking about their potential American clients, and therefore constitutes a guide as to how to help them when creating communication plans to address them.
The third question in this regard demanded opinions about which concepts the respondents thought Americans associated Galicia with. This, together with the above-mentioned question about the image of their products and services, aimed at outlining their own perceived image - in this case,
284 Discussion it related to Galicia in general, not to their own business. Most of the respondents (61.54%) chose the option ‘they do not know it exists’, therefore brand awareness, like in Survey A International, stands out as one of the key issues to be taken into account. The following majority options were related to tourism, or lead to thinking that they believed that the image that USA had was of a traditional place, behind the times. Nevertheless, the rest of the responses pointed at mostly positive attributes: high standard of living, industry, stable, technology, education, talent, producer, etc. This suggests that, although most Galicians believe that Americans are not aware of the existence of
Galicia, they also believe that those who do know it exists have a positive image.
The fourth question wondered about the image that the respondents would like Americans to have. This was connected to the above-mentioned subjective perspective, in attempt to compare image-reality (González Enriquez & Martínez Romera, 2016) and the perceived image, in the shape of differences between internal and external valuations (Reputation Institute, 2017; Elcano, 2017).
An open text field sought to allow more creative responses, with a more aspirational tone, aimed at outlining the value proposition and brand position that Galicians would like to communicate abroad.
The proposed brand associations revealed that they would like to project a quality-related image, with strategic, R&D&I, modernity and technology implications, combined with business personality features such as reliable, trustworthy, hard-working, legal, safe or having great potential.
Furthermore, although several mentioned tourism and friendliness related words, many also wanted to show simply a transparent image, the way things are done in the area, without any prejudices, which indicates a positive self-image that they believe does not need adornments when correctly communicated.
285 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
After the most relevant general branding aspects applicable to Survey D Galicia have been analyzed, the connection with the place branding literature will be reviewed. The next section addresses how the survey findings can be related to that discipline.
Place branding. Although from a different point of view, like in Survey C USA, the concept place-of-origin (POO) has also played a key role in the preparation of Survey D Galicia. In this case, however, the influence that the origin of a product or service has on the behaviors of the consumer regarding that product or service (Dinnie, 2008) is not explored from the consumers’ point of view, but from the producers’.
The first question directly dealing with this topic was the one asking the respondents whether they considered that their Galician origin had an influence on the success of their company/product/service. The majority of the respondents (67.05%) thought that it did not.
Nevertheless, it is probably in the next question, requesting the reasons for their response, where the real insights can be found. Those who answered negatively based their response on their specific sector or argued that they did not believe it was relevant. Nevertheless, those who answered positively mainly used two reasons: their products were inevitably linked to their Galicianness, or they believed that their direct association with Galicia implied quality and reliability. Building on those two points of view would definitively have to be considered when creating communication plans for Brand Galicia and Galician companies, as proving a relationship with added value would have to be one of their key elements. As Moilanen and Rainisto (2009, 7-8) argue, a strong place brand can help differentiate products from its competitors and facilitate buyer’s decision-making processes.
The next set of questions wondered about the use of that Galician origin in physical elements, promotional activities or websites, and then asked those who answered negatively about the reasons
286 Discussion and what would encourage them to do it. Although this topic would be further developed in the
Specific Dimensions section, the direct relation with general place branding deserves an introduction at this point.
Answering to the first request, regarding whether they used, on their products or services, any physical element indicating that the company is Galician, only 24.50% of the respondents indicated that they did. Their reasons ranged from regulations to pride, including the perception that quality is associated to the word Galicia. On the other hand, among those who did not include it, several stated that they preferred to show the Made-in-Spain hallmark, that the company intentionally intended to remain not-place-related, or that they never thought it was relevant or necessary.
Interestingly, some of them wrote that after taking the survey, they realized that it was a good idea and would consider it. None of them seemed to have considered simultaneously using both brands, which relates to the fact that, as González Laxe and Gómez (2004) argues, even accepting Spain’s exclusive international affairs right, Galicia can work and benefit from its own place brand.
Second and third requests wondered about whether they included their Galician origin in any promotion activities or their websites. In these cases, the percentages of those who mentioned it were larger, around 40% for promotion activities and around 60% for websites. Among those who answered positively, some of the answers above were repeated, but, in addition, many argued that it could be a decision factor in their sector, that the Galician origin involved quality and that Galicia’s geographic location was an advantage. Among those who chose to answer negatively, they mostly indicated that they did not find it relevant or necessary and that they preferred to remain neutral or unidentified regarding their origin. Interestingly, one of the respondents wrote ‘it doesn’t make sense, Brand Galicia does not currently exist’.
287 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
When the group who answered negatively was asked about what would encourage them to use those distinctions, many of them responded that they would utilize them in case that they received financial aids to do so, but similar percentages indicated that they would use it if they were presented with reports proving the benefits of doing it, if promotion actions for Galician companies, for the Galicia place brand or for the hallmark itself took place or if joint actions for companies using the Galician origin hallmark were held. Furthermore, many were interested in the promotion of the hallmark and in providing consumers with more information about the mark, and several also included reports with information regarding Galician image abroad. With all these details, it seems that a well structured plan, building on fluent information to both users and consumers, together with deeper explanations about how beneficial the use of the hallmark and the mention of Galician origins in their internationalization actions could be for the future of Galician companies, and with well planned promotional efforts, would be a great first step. Galician firms seem to be open to the possibility of jointly promoting Brand Galicia and themselves, but, logically, would like to add more pragmatic reasons, besides pride, to do so.
As a last general place branding topic, it is worth mentioning that Govers & Go’s 3-GAP model would also have an application when covering this internal publics section: most Galician companies do seem to be interested in better communicating Galicia’s unique place identity (gap 1), in proving that their performance can meet high expectations (gap 2) and to demonstrate that stereotypes or negative associations have no grounds regarding Galicia (gap 3).
Specific dimensions. Given that Survey D Galicia was addressed to internal audiences of Brand
Galicia, that is, Galician companies, the specific dimensions are different that in Surveys A
International, B Spain and C USA. The behaviors and opinions and, therefore analyzed from the point of view of the ‘owners’ of the brand.
288 Discussion
First, exporting behaviors represent an important section of the survey, given that the questionnaire was addressed to Galician companies who are currently exporting, who had exported in the past or who are interested in doing so in the future. For that reason, more than 80% of the respondents stated that they are currently exporting, and several of those who are not indicated that they intend to pursue it in the future or have engaged in exporting activities in the past. A closer look at the reasons for not exporting, including in Section 7. Findings, even with smaller percentages, provides a general overview of which issues could be tackled by Galician internationalization promotion and branding agencies.
A similar analysis could be applied to exporting behaviors specifically regarding USA. One third of the surveyed companies currently exports to USA. Among those who did not, excluding those who indicated that it was not part of their business plan and those who stated that their product or services could not be exported to USA, the reasons obtaining the largest percentages in the responses were lack of infrastructures, knowledge, funds or institutional aids, contacts in the country, or ways to face bureaucracy, competition and distribution issues. It seems, therefore, that further and more specific institutional support, in the shape of both training and funds, would encourage and facilitate more extensive exporting efforts among Galician companies willing to find new markets in USA.
As for the second ‘specific dimension’, considering the image that Galician companies have regarding USA, most responses seem quite vague. Of course, the fact that the question was phrased to capture only the first three associations that came to mind, did not allow for further elaboration.
Nevertheless, and in line with the paragraphs above, this suggests that a deeper knowledge of the
American business market would definitively help Galician companies when considering USA as a
289 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. target market, both to decide whether they should engage in promotional and commercial activities, and to plan and execute them.
Still in the image topic, a slight disconnect has been found when comparing the image that
Galician companies think that the Americans have, and the one that they would like them to have.
The perceived image, as suggested in paragraphs above, does not exactly correspond with the aspirational image. This is particularly important in the case of Galician business currently not exporting, given that the image that they believe Brand Galicia is currently projecting is very often related to tourism and hospitality concepts, while, for commercial purposes, they would like to show a more advanced, modern and technological picture. Furthermore, reliability, quality or positive business related personality features were frequently mentioned. Linking this with the results of the three other surveys included in this project, it seems that, somehow, the projected image is positive, but still linked to beautiful landscapes. Given that the reality matches that, but is much wider, and could definitively include those more industrious, entrepreneurial, quality and reliability nuances that, on one hand, do exist and, on the other, Galician companies would be willing to project, working on communicating those aspects is definitively required. A more business oriented Brand Galicia project should definitively tackle that. Of course, this would not involve forgetting tourism promotion, but, given that that area seems to be already leveraged, larger efforts and resources could definitively be allocated to that other overshadowed and important part of our economy.
The third specific dimension in this section would be behaviors regarding the use of Galician origin. Although some companies do see the benefits of enhancing and using it, many others fail to see how it could benefit them. Considering the responses to the questions asking whether they thought it had an influence in their company’s performance, and to the questions asking about
290 Discussion whether they mention/include it in products/services, website, promotion activities, Brand Galicia has a lot of work to do to brand itself, also to internal audiences. A first step would be to explore the elements that the respondents have included as possible encouraging factors. It seems, of course, that financial aids would still be crucial for Galician companies. But attention should be paid to those references made to the way Brand Galicia could work, as compared to how it is currently working. Galician business actors seem to think that more promotion actions and joint events seem necessary, together with more information to consumers and users. Furthermore, some have requested reports about the image that Galicia is currently projecting, so developing and sharing further studies seems wise. In addition, to respond to those who questioned about the benefits of using Brand Galicia, the case studies included in this paper (Scotland, Brittany, Ireland, New
Zealand), or similar ones, and the learning that could be extracted from them could be a good guidance, both to be presented as motives, and to serve as guidelines for future actions.
The results of the four surveys and their relation with the literature review and the studies of origin and target audiences, covered in previous sections of this paper, have provided the foundations to determine future communication strategies for Galician companies, when addressing
American consumers, closing therefore Objectives O.3 and O.4. Nevertheless, and always taking into account that a complete place branding process is very complex and that it would certainly require further research and more resources, the next section is devoted to expanding the completion of those Objectives, by drafting the guidelines for prospective communication plans, and analyzing the encountered limitations and the opportunities for future research.
291
9- CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
DIRECTIONS
As stated in the Introduction (1) and the Methods (6) sections of this paper, and in the Research
Plans issued over the past years within this PhD Program, this project had a central hypothesis based on the perception that Galicia is basically invisible in the international arena, an unknown territory for which only those with an existing personal connection have references, and that those references are mainly based on tourism-related features, which implies missing entrepreneurial opportunities and makes working on communication strategies necessary. We believe that the results of the research have proven that the hypothesis was correct, as confirmed in the Discussion
(8) section of this paper.
In addition, this dissertation had four main objectives: O.1, to initiate a place brand reputation analysis; O.2, to identify improvement areas in the way the place brand is being communicated;
O.3, to lay the foundations for future general business communication strategies; and O.4, to produce basic communication strategies for Galician companies addressing USA target audiences.
We believe that the two previous sections -7. Findings and 8. Discussion-, together with the insights from the first six parts, have completed them. This final step intends to link and organize the results of the research, considering the implications of the developed work. For this purpose, and always
293 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. taking into account that a complete place branding process is very complex and that it would certainly require further research and more resources, this section is devoted to combining the academic and the practitioner perspectives, expanding the completion of those objectives, further proving the central hypothesis, and, fundamentally, drafting the guidelines for a prospective and basic communication plan, while analyzing the encountered limitations and the opportunities for future research. As previously argued, always taking into account the abovementioned constraints, a communication plan is, in our opinion, the logical way to organize all the collected information and insights, and plan for future actions, both covering general communication strategies, and specific guidelines for the above-mentioned actors and target audience.
Therefore, although, for all those reasons, the intention is not to produce a comprehensive communication plan, basic guidelines will be provided in the following paragraphs. To draft those guidelines, in addition to the already covered literature review and the findings and discussion included in previous sections of this paper, both general communication and public relations
(Capriotti, 2004; Cervera Fantoni, 2006; Xifra, 2005) and place branding (Dinnie, 2008; Govers &
Go, 2009; Moilanen & Rainisto, 2009) strategic planning works have been used.
Organization. The process could begin with what Moilanen & Rainisto (2009, p. 148) define as
“start-up and organization […] widening participation and communication and increasing the commitment of various stakeholders”. They mention top political and business leaders, and representatives from science, arts and sports sectors, with particular emphasis on government and party leaders, export companies, tourism industry and organizations with international visibility.
They would create a team, a steering committee that would guide and organize the work and begin the visibility process. In sections 2. Introducing Galicia, 3. Promoting Galicia and 4. The Need for
Place Branding of this paper, we have mentioned the different stakeholders in Galicia, who should
294 Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions certainly be involved in this organizing team. The Xunta de Galicia and other governmental agencies would of course be crucial in a catalyzing role, and they have certainly set the ball rolling with programs such as Horizon 2020, Galicia Calidade or IGAPE’s internationalization-related actions. But our literature review and research show that the place branding work would never be complete unless they really involve other private sector stakeholders in managing and decision making positions, and that both parties are aligned at all times. This includes main companies and financial entities, sector clusters, research centers, certification entities or private foundations. Even aware that some efforts in this direction are already in place, it seems that these, either have not been fully enforced, or have not been made public, as representatives from the surveyed companies did not feel that they were part of a Brand Galicia building effort.
Research. The next step would include intensive research in a combination of what Govers &
Go (2009, p. 256) call ‘place brand analysis’ and Capriotti (2004, p. 66) defines as ‘profile analysis’. This last concept, based on corporate brands, would be useful by transferring the idea from a business to a place brand application. A profile analysis, then, would define the place brand philosophy, starting from an internal analysis to determine beliefs, values and behaviors that the owners of the place brand would abide to, in order to reach specific goals. Afterwards, an external analysis would seek to find the image that the audiences have of both the place brand, and other possible competitors. Govers & Go (2009) suggest secondary sources, content analysis and surveys to both internal and external audiences, in the first case to define the place identity, in the second case to determine its perceived image. Moilanen & Rainisto (2009) suggest focus groups, surveys and content analysis. This project has used secondary sources and the most recommended place branding research method -survey-, and has analyzed the perceptions of both internal and external audiences. But, of course, it had important time and resource limitations. Therefore, although the
295 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA. findings have full validity and application in a Brand Galicia building process, further research should be conducted to produce more comprehensive results. Specifically, engaging in the other methods above, together with separate actions for the different Galician business sectors and a thorough competition analysis would be recommended.
Definition. The third stage, according to Moilanen & Teemu (2009, p. 155) would involve forming a brand identity, guided by the conclusions of the research, which entails choosing the place brand elements. Capriotti (2004, p. 67), using a corporate point of view from which we can draw parallelisms, talks about defining the ‘corporate identity profile’, that is, how the organization wants to be seen. Govers & Go (2009, p. 257) prefer to write about designing the place brand essence, which includes the sets of shared values and quality standards, underlining the need to create a unique positioning based on the identity of the place. All of them agree in the fact that a correct and complete brand definition is crucial to achieve success. The results of the research have provided information regarding, on one hand, the attributes that external audiences associate with the brand and, on the other, the attributes that internal audiences perceive and aspire to.
Furthermore, the literature review has provided information about Galicia itself, and revealed some existing studies, including SWOT analysis and business figures. Place branding planning and structure are also in place. Always with the above-mentioned limitations and future research suggestions in mind, the first steps for redefining Brand Galicia have been taken. Moilanen &
Teemu (2009) indicate that the identity needs to be truthful, motivating and lasting; they also suggest that it has to appeal to the different internal interest groups and draw from the place’s competitive advantages. This project, focused on studying Galicia’s place brand and, specifically, in relation with Galician companies, has proven that the efforts, up to now, have been placed more intensively in other areas, such as tourism, leaving as a consequence room for improvement.
296 Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions
Therefore, if we were to suggest an aspect where the emphasis should be placed, business attributes would be the key. As previously stated, we are not implying that tourism and its association with
Galicia are not important, but proposing a more balanced distribution of identification efforts and resources.
Communication. Provided that this project has been written from a Communication discipline point of view, creating a communication strategy seems logically one of the main goals of a place branding program. Using Cervera Fantoni’s (2006) and Xifra’s (2005) work as a reference, a possible communication plan outline would be the following:
• Situation analysis (described above). • Definition of the place brand (described above). • Goals. As Dinnie (2008, p. 224) states “strategic planning involves setting specific, measurable goals and targets”. A strategy for Brand Galicia would necessarily have to define specific objectives, both communication goals, fundamental in this case, and more general place brand goals, given that the latter will definitively influence the former. While the main general communication goals, according to the findings of this project, would be to increase awareness and to encourage positive associations, and the general place brand goal would be to improve the performance of Galician companies in the international arena, particularly in USA, more specific objectives would have to be set. Those may include, for instance, reaching a specific number of American consumers and companies, and improving exports figures by specific percentages within a concrete time frame. Additional goals could involve increasing the number of Galician companies linked to hallmarks such as Galicia Calidade, enlarging the number of Galician companies exporting to USA, boosting the sales figures of those already exporting to that country, improving the number of American students and researchers in Galician universities, considering the inclusion of Galicia in place branding indexes, positioning specific Galician brands in American markets, increasing the number of USA visitors or boosting American investment in Galicia by specific percentages.
297 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
• Target audiences. In this case, both internal (Galician companies) and external (corporate USA potential buyers and consumers) would be targeted. Although external publics would probably need to be the main ones, the owners of the brand, Galician businesses, would also need to be addressed, in order to have them on board, as they are key players in the promotion effort and will have to understand their benefits, therefore need to be comfortable with the actions and the decisions. Secondary publics, that is, Galicians in general, non-business-related Americans, and other countries, should also be taken into account, as they will receive inputs, even if to a lesser extent, that might influence their behavior. • Message. Meaning what do we want to transmit to each of those audiences, taking into account their interests. Different messages should be defined, in addition to a general one, as each target segment would have an assigned message. All of them, of course, should be coherent and aligned with the goals of the plan. Furthermore, intercultural communication considerations, such as the ones included in section 5 of this paper, should be taken into account to tailor the messages. In this case, according to the results of the research, and to -difficulty- summarize it them a few words, the messages should lead to think of Galicia as a modern, technological, business friendly place, and a potential exporter of quality, reliable and environmentally conscious products and services. • Strategies. Strategies can be defined as global approaches to reach the target audiences, while tactics identify specific activities used to transmit the message (Xifra, 2005, pp. 199-200). Both entail the way we want to transmit, the axis around which the actual communication is going to take place. The main suggested strategies, when considering Galician business and American audiences would begin with providing information, starting from the basics, as awareness is a big issue, and then producing materials according to their interests, detected through the research, to boost familiarity and credibility. A second phase would entail understanding and responding questions and doubts, adapting the new information in response to those, and encouraging action. As for internal audiences, building pride and buy-in would require encouraging and motivational strategies, creating opportunities for communication.
298 Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions
• Tactics and actions. Tactics, adding to the definition provided above, can be simply explained as the tools to be used to spread the message (Xifra, 2005, p. 200). These will be decided by reviewing the results of the research, in this case the surveys, together with a deeper analysis of the target audiences, to find the more effective and appealing ways of reaching them. A good starting point would be to take a look at place branding communication case studies, similar to the ones included in this paper, to find what worked/ did not work, and draw ideas. For instance, the Brittany case for internal audiences and the New Zealand case for external audiences. Narratives will derive from this and the envisioning of the tactics will result in specific actions, which would be then designed and implemented. Bearing in mind a communications point of view, the results of this research paper, together with the suggestions of the different authors, indicate that a combination of the different elements included in the basic communication mix would be appropriate. Although a complete media plan cannot be developed at this point, this project would like to include some ideas, some suggestions of elements to be introduced. In order to produce specific pieces, Dinnie’s notes on the main sectors in which place brands compete and their elements could be taken into account. According to him (2007, pp. 221-223), there are mainly four areas, and each of them is associated with several key success factors: tourism is evaluated according to customer service levels, safety, value for money and accessibility; exports are evaluated according to high quality brands, effective POO positioning, strategic development of target markets and innovation; foreign investment is evaluated according to stable economic and political environment, skilled workforce, streamlines administrative procedures and infrastructure; and talent attraction is evaluated according to favorable residency criteria, attractive lifestyle and reputation for higher education.
• For internal audiences, as mentioned in the previous sections of this paper, the base would involve working on either renewing or consolidating Galicia Calidade. The brand already exists but it has, on one hand, decreased its relevance among general publics, and, on the other, has shifted from a product-centered hallmark, to a more touristic approach. The results of Survey D Galicia have provided information about how to rekindle interest
299 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
among Galician companies, its potential owners, such as reports proving the benefits of using it, reports with information regarding the external image of Galicia, promotion actions for Galician companies and the hallmark, or providing consumers with information about the hallmark. Therefore, engaging in those actions, while properly communicating them, would be suggested. Focusing on countering the reasons that Galician companies have expressed against it, and building on the learnings from case studies like Brittany or the reasons-why provided by the Swiss government, would also be suggested. In addition, promotional campaigns for key players in the four elements mentioned above would be produced, together with training in the specific aspects relevant to the perception. Given that IGAPE is already delivering some training and supporting actions for Galician companies willing to export, probably building on them and completing them with these new insights would be positive. Part of this training would include promoting, among Galician companies, the role of the already existing Galician government offices abroad, as some of them were not fully aware of their activities. Last, but not least, Galicians in general as secondary publics: in addition to informing them, feeding sentiments such as pride is crucial, as Galicia needs them to be supporters and ambassadors. Campaigns like Presume de Galicia (public sector, Cluster de Turismo de Galicia, n.d.) or Vivamos como galegos (private sector, Gadis, 2007-2017) have already begun to make the trick, so why not build on that? • For external audiences. The results of Survey C USA and, to a lesser extent, Surveys A International and B Spain, have provided details about the elements that form the image that external audiences currently have regarding Galicia, in addition to their perceptions regarding products and services from foreign countries and data about the information they would like to receive. The literature review has provided branding and place branding bases, and the study of USA as a target audience, which should be updated in case a real communication plan was to be executed in a few years, has completed the picture. This, together with the four above-mentioned main competition factors, would determine the type of actions that would be developed for external audiences. Interest has been shown in aspect such as products and services – type, quality, price, reliability, technology/ design -, business information – main sectors, reputable companies, business culture -, logistics - infrastructure, transportation, tariffs -, opinions - referrals, visits,
300 Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions
word of mouth-, concerns - environmental and sustainability assurance, political and economic stability -, Galician visibility -appearances on media and internet, advertising/marketing campaigns-, personality -what makes Galicia different, special, unique, and what are people and culture like. Creating platforms such as the New Zealand one, to channel and organize communications would be undoubtedly useful. Certainly, most, if not all, of those aspects would have to be addressed in Brand Galicia communication campaigns. Some more specific suggestions have been compiled based on recommendations of place branding and public relations authors (Xifra, 2005; Dinnie, 2008;
Govers & Go, 2009; Moilanen & Rainisto, 2009). The list would include, but would not be limited to:
• Content management, creation of narratives and monitoring them across different media • Creation of lists of arguments (Why-Buy-Galician style), adaptation to different media • Advertising (specific campaigns, aligned with all of the above, first awareness, then familiarity and reliability, all possible media: press, TV, radio, outdoor) • Website and on-line marketing (modern informative websites, better SEO-positioned than current ones, mobile, apps, social media) • Creation of events abroad (both for specific industries and general, i.e. ‘Galician Day” in main USA cities) and sponsoring others, according to sectors and visibility • American businesses traveling to Galicia on organized tours • Ambassadors (some ideas have already been given), influencers (address and recruit traditionally known personalities, but also bloggers, youtubers, etc.) • Media relations (press conferences, events and releases when any of the above happen) • Diaspora (Galician emigrants and descendants of those, as both brand ambassadors and contacts when fully acculturated) • Consider co-branding opportunities (as already mentioned, both with companies -Zara, Estrella Galicia, for instance are two reputable brands-, sports events -soccer or sailing have already been mentioned, and with other place brands: given that many think of Galicia as ‘an Atlantic bubble embedded in a Mediterranean environment’ (Murado, 2013), the possibility is open to fostering projects such as Néboa (Néboa, n.d.),
301 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
embracing alliances such as Eixo Atlántico (Eixo Atlántico, n.d.), or studying the applicability of cooperation programs similar to the Baltic Development Forum (Baltic Development Forum, n.d.) Secondary publics, that is, non-business-related Americans and other countries, would also have to be taken into account, as they would unavoidably receive inputs if the campaigns are well orchestrated.
• Timing and budget. Unfortunately, we do not have enough information regarding available resources for these actions. Nevertheless, planning a calendar with specific actions and when they are going to be implemented, and determining the costs of the different campaigns, is key for success. Evaluating. Although, as Jiménez-Martínez (2017, p. 12) writes “despite the rhetoric of nation branding enthusiasts, there are no clear parameters to systematically measure and evaluate the development and management of the image of a nation”, the control and measuring step is key to any operational plan, therefore an attempt to outline some ideas would be made. First, a way to measure whether the goals have been met, and second, a way to evaluate their results and repercussions, mainly to learn from them. Place Brand Observer (n.d., pp.3-4) suggests four methods of measuring the effectives of place branding initiatives: establish Key Performance
Indicators -to which Martin Boisen indicates Key Perception Indicators should be added, see figure below-, benchmarking results -with the results of similar places-, real time tracking -through digital channels-, and stakeholder satisfaction.
302 Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research Directions
Figure 151: Boisen’s Oslo Brand Key Perception Indicators (Source: Citynationplace, 2017)
For the actions addressed to both internal and external audiences, similar surveys to the ones presented in this paper could be distributed after the campaigns are over, in order to determine whether the opinions and perceptions of the target publics have varied. In addition, the sales and exports, talent attraction, Galicia Calidade, foreign investment or tourism figures established in the
Goals section above would have to be confirmed. Linking the results with the branding and communication activities and their objectives, having the steering committee analyze them, and acting accordingly would complete the journey.
303 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Of course, we are aware of the fact that important gaps can be found in this plan outline, taking into account that it is only a bullet-point outline and, fundamentally, that we do not have access to information about aspects such as available resources, timings or funding. Furthermore, as stated above, place branding is a complex process, and the limitations and opportunities for future research associated to this projects are definitively countless. Nevertheless, in our opinion, following the scheme presented in this paper would definitively be useful when planning Brand Galicia’s communications in the future. Fostering our place brand would certainly benefit Galician companies’ performance in the USA market, but also Galicia in general, its position and role in the international arena.
We are fighting invisibility. Things can only get better.
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Real Instituto Elcano. (2017b). Elcano Global Presence Index. Retrieved September 9, 2017, from http://www.globalpresence.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/ Real Instituto Elcano. (2017c). La reputación de España en el mundo. Country RepTrak 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_es/contenido? WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_es/zonas_es/reputationinstitute-elcano- reputacion-de-espana-en-el-mundo-countryreptrack-2017 Real Instituto Elcano. (2018). Sistema de Indicadores de la Distancia entre Imagen y Realidad (SIDIR). Análisis del caso español. Cuarta edición 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2018, from http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_es/contenido? WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_es/zonas_es/gonzalezenriquez- martinezromera-sistema-indicadores-distancia-imagen-realidad-sidir-caso-espanol-4ed-2017 Real Instituto Elcano. (n.d.). 7 Oleada Barómetro de la Imagen de España. Retrieved May 18, 2017, from http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_es/encuesta? WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_es/observatoriomarcaespana/estudios/resultad os/barometro-imagen-espana-7 Reputation Institute. (2016a). Country Rep Track 2016. Retrieved from https://www.reputationinstitute.com/CMSPages/GetAzureFile.aspx?path=~%5Cmedia %5Cmedia%5Cdocuments%5Ccountry-reptrak- 2016.pdf&hash=5a4232c6bfda0af12fca90660d5f8d18a657ac230d062e34e0bb589c0d3c1538 &ext=.pdf Reputation Institute. (2016b). Global RepTrak 100 Report 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2017, from https://www.rankingthebrands.com/PDF/Global%20RepTrak%20100%20Report %202016,%20Reputation%20Institute.pdf Reputation Institute. (2017). Country Rep Track 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017, from http://www.investinspain.org/invest/wcm/idc/groups/public/documents/documento_anexo/md e3/nzi2/~edisp/dax2017726610.pdf Reputation Institute. (n.d.). Top Countries by Reputation. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://www.reputationinstitute.com/research/Country-RepTrak.aspx Rial, A., García, A., & Varela, J. (2008). Una aplicación metodológica para el estudio de la imagen de marca de un destino turístico. . Revista de Turismo Y Patrimonio Cultural, 6, 1–10.
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Simpkins, Tom. (2010). Brand Image – How are you perceived? Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://tom-simpkins.com/2010/01/07/brand-image-how-are-you-perceived/ Skinner, H. (2005). Wish you were here? Some problems associated with integrating marketing communications when promoting place brands. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 1(3), 299–315. Spiritualpilgrimages.com. (n.d.). Way of St. James and Kumano Kodo - UNESCO Pilgrimage Routes. Retrieved February 2, 2018, from http://www.spiritual-pilgrimages.com/en/unesco- routes Sport Tourism Summit Awards. (2016). The Sport Tourism Experience, The Quality Expectation. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from http://sporttourismsummit.com/the-sport-tourism- experience-the-quality-expectation/ Sports tourism at heart of travel sector growth. (2010). Retrieved July 12, 2015, from http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.php?page=news&cod=4432&tp=n The 20th century. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2018, from http://www.lingua.gal/to-know/basic- data-on-galician-language/the-20th-century Tourspain. (n.d.). INTERNACIONAL_ES. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from http://srv.tourspain.es/ExpendedorFolletosWeb/Catalogo.aspx?idioma=es- ES&mercado=INTERNACIONAL_ES Trading Economics. (n.d.). United States GDP. Retrieved November 18, 2017, from tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp Transatlantic Trends Home. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2017, from http://trends.gmfus.org/ Tres empresas gallegas, entre las más famosas del país - Faro de Vigo. (2007). Retrieved May 1, 2015, from http://www.farodevigo.es/economia/3017/tres-empresas-gallegas-famosas- pais/141498.html Trochim, W. M. K. (2006). Survey Research. Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survey.php Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (2011). Riding the waves of culture: understanding cultural diversity in business (2. ed., reprint. with corr). London: Brealey. Turgalicia. (2017). Área de Estudos e Investigación - Turismo de Galicia. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.turgalicia.es/aei/portal/index.php?idm=20
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323
11- APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
SURVEY A INTERNATIONAL
Please, indicate your gender
• Male • Female
Please, indicate your age
• <20 • 20-29 • 30-39 • 40-49 • 50-59 • >60
325 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Please, indicate the education level you have completed
• No schooling completed • High School • Bachelor's Degree • Master's Degree • PhD
Please, state your occupation title
______
Please, if you are currently employed, state the industry you work in
______
Please, indicate if you speak other languages besides English (if you do, please, list them)
• Yes ______• No
Please, state your nationality
______
Please, state your current country of residence
______
326 Appendix A
Have you ever been to Europe?
• Yes • No
How many times have you been to Europe?
• Once • Twice • 3-5 times • 6-10 times • More than 10 times
Please, indicate below the reason for your trip(s) to Europe (select all that apply)
• Tourism • Business • Visit family or friends • Other ______
Have you ever been to Spain?
• Yes • No
How many times have you been to Spain?
• Once • Twice • 3-5 times • 6-10 times • More than 10 times
327 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Please, indicate below the reason for your trip(s) to Spain (select all that apply)
• Tourism • Business • Visit family or friends • Other ______
When thinking about Spain, please, list any regions or cities that you can remember
______
Have you ever heard of Galicia?
• Yes • No
Please, indicate where you have heard of Galicia (select all that apply)
• Traditional media (printed newspapers, radio, television) • Online portals • Travel websites • Movies • Social networks • Friends or relatives • Other ______
Please, list the first three words that come to mind when you think about Galicia
______
328 Appendix A
Please, indicate how likely are you to engage in the following actions
How likely are you to... Very unlikely Unlikely Undecided Likely Very likely Consider visiting Galicia Recommend visiting Galicia Consider living in Galicia Recommend living in Galicia Consider studying in Galicia Recommend studying in Galicia Consider working in Galicia Recommend working in Galicia Consider doing business/ investing in Galicia Recommend doing business/ investing in Galicia
Have you ever been to Galicia?
• Yes • No
How many times have you been to Galicia?
• Once • Twice • 3-5 times • 6-10 times
329 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
• More than 10 times
Please, indicate below the reason for your trip(s) to Galicia (select all that apply)
• Tourism • Business • Visit family or friends • Other ______
Do you know any Galician brands, companies or organizations? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know any Galician personalities (actors, musicians, writers, etc.)?
If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know any elements of the Galician gastronomy? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
330 Appendix A
Do you know any Galician sports teams or sportsmen/sportswomen? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know the name of any Galician locations (cities, monuments, tourist destinations, etc.)? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know any Galician cultural features or traditions? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
The following question asks whether you have heard of the items listed below, where you have heard of them, and whether you knew of their origins / you relate them to Galicia. Please, select all that apply.
331 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
I knew it I have was heard Where have I heard of it Galician / I of it relate it to Galicia Traditional media (tv, Online Travel Social Friends or Yes Other Yes radio, portals websites networks relatives newspaper) Zara (clothing company) Pescanova (fishing company) Camilo José Cela (writer) Carlos Núñez (musician) Albariño (wine) Percebes (seafood) Deportivo de La Coruña (soccer team) Celta de Vigo (soccer team) Santiago de Compostela (city, pilgrimage) Celtic culture Galician language
Please, indicate which listed items you associate with each of the following Spanish Autonomous Communities. If you do not associate an item with a Community, leave it blank. If you have never heard of the Community, tick the box at the end of the list.
Basque Catalonia Madrid Aragón Extremadura Asturias Galicia Country Tourism Landscapes Art Gastronomy Heritage and traditions Sports Fun Friendliness
332 Appendix A
Basque Catalonia Madrid Aragón Extremadura Asturias Galicia Country Quality of life Manufactured goods Industry Business opportunities Safety I have never heard of it
333
APPENDIX B
SURVEY B SPAIN
Sexo
• Hombre • Mujer
Edad
• <20 • 20-29 • 30-39 • 40-49 • 50-59 • >60
Nivel de estudios
• Primaria • Secundaria • Licenciatura/Diplomatura/Grado • Máster • Doctorado
Profesión
______
335 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Sector
______
Lugar de nacimiento
______
Lugar de residencia
______
¿Hablas otros idiomas además de español? Si es así, por favor, indica cuál(es)
• Sí ______• No
Por favor, indica las tres primeras Comunidades Autónomas que recuerdes
______
¿Has estado alguna vez en Galicia?
• Sí • No
Por favor, indica cuántas veces has estado en Galicia
• Una vez • Dos veces • 3-5 veces • 6-10 veces
336 Appendix B
• Más de 10 veces
Por favor, indica el motivo de tu(s) viaje(s) a Galicia
• Turismo • Trabajo • Visitar amigos o familia • Otro ______
Por favor, indica las tres primeras palabras que te vienen a la mente al pensar en Galicia
______
Por favor, selecciona la respuesta adecuada
Estaría dispuesto/a a Definitivamente Probablemente Probablemente Definitivamente Indeciso/a no no sí sí Considerar viajar a Galicia Recomendar viajar Galicia Considerar vivir en Galicia Recomendar vivir en Galicia Considerar estudiar en Galicia Recomendar estudiar en Galicia Considerar trabajar en Galicia Recomendar trabajar en Galicia Considerar hacer negocios/ invertir en Galicia
337 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Estaría dispuesto/a a Definitivamente Probablemente Probablemente Definitivamente Indeciso/a no no sí sí Recomendar hacer negocios/ invertir en Galicia
¿Conoces alguna empresa, marca o institución gallega? Si es así, por favor, indica cuál(es); no es necesario que incluyas más de 3.
• Sí ______• No
¿Recuerdas el nombre de alguna personalidad gallega (actores, músicos, escritores, etc.)? Si es así, por favor, indica cuál(es); no es necesario que incluyas más de 3.
• Sí ______• No
¿Conoces algún producto gastronómico gallego? Si es así, por favor, indica cuál(es); no es necesario que incluyas más de 3.
• Sí ______• No
¿Recuerdas el nombre de algún equipo deportivo o deportista gallego/a? Si es así, por favor, indica cuál(es); no es necesario que incluyas más de 3.
• Sí ______• No
338 Appendix B
¿Recuerdas el nombre de algún lugar de Galicia (ciudades, monumentos, destinos turísticos, etc.)?
Si es así, por favor, indica cuál(es); no es necesario que incluyas más de 3.
• Sí ______• No
¿Recuerdas alguna tradición o característica cultural gallega? Si es así, por favor, indica cuál(es); no es necesario que incluyas más de 3.
• Sí ______• No
Por favor, indica si has oído hablar de los conceptos que aparecen en la lista, dónde has oído hablar de ellos, y si conocías sus orígenes / si los relacionas con Galicia.
339 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Sabía que era gallego/a He oído - Dónde hablar Lo relaciono con Galicia Medios Portales tradicionales Webs de Redes Amigos o Sí de Otros Sí (tv, radio, viajes sociales familia internet periódico) Zara Pescanova Zeltia Banco Pastor Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza Adolfo Domínguez Camilo José Cela Rosalía de Castro Carlos Núñez Los Suaves Paula Vázquez Luis Tosar
340 Appendix B
Por favor, indica si has oído hablar de los conceptos que aparecen en la lista, dónde has oído hablar de ellos, y si conocías sus orígenes / si los relacionas con Galicia.
Sabía que era He oído gallego/a - Dónde hablar Lo relaciono con Galicia Medios Portales tradicionales Webs de Redes Amigos o Sí de Otros Sí (tv, radio, viajes sociales familia internet periódico) Albariño Percebes Empanada Celta de Vigo Deportivo de La Coruña Óscar Pereiro Santiago de Compostel a Cidade da Cultura Islas Cíes Torre de Hércules Cultura celta Idioma gallego
341 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Por favor, indica si relacionas los conceptos que aparecen en la lista con las siguiente Comunidades
Autónomas. Puedes marcar varias, no es necesario escoger sólo una.
a País Vasco Madrid Aragón Extremadura Asturias Galicia Turismo Paisajes Arte Gastronomía Patrimonio y tradiciones Deporte Diversión Amabilidad Calidad de vida Productos Industria Oportunidades de negocio Seguridad
342 APPENDIX C
SURVEY C USA
Please, state your nationality
• USA • Non-USA
Please, state your current country of residence
• USA • Outside USA
How long have you lived outside the USA?
• Less than 1 year • 1-5 years • 6 or more years
In which state did you use to reside?
▼ Alabama ... Wyoming
In which country do you currently reside?
▼ Afghanistan ... Other
343 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Have you lived in the USA for, at least, the past 5 years?
• Yes • No
In which state do you currently reside?
▼ Alabama ... Wyoming
Which country are you originally from?
▼ Afghanistan ... Other
Please, indicate your gender
• Male • Female
Please, indicate your age
• <20 • 20-29 • 30-39 • 40-49 • 50-59 • >60
344 Appendix C
Please, indicate the education level you have completed
• No schooling completed • High School • Bachelor's Degree • Master's Degree • PhD
Please state the industry/ sector you work in
• Advertising/ Marketing/ PR or related • Agriculture/ Food/ Drinks or related • Arts/ Photography/ Design or related • Banking/ Accounting/ Investment or related • Construction/ Engineering/ Architecture or related • Education/ Training/ Coaching or related • Healthcare/ Medical/ Nursing or related • IT/ Computer/ Programming or related • Law or related • Law enforcement/ Security or related • Pharmaceutical/ Biotechnological/ Science or related • Public service/ Administration/ Institutional or related • Sales/ Retail or related • Tourism/ Hospitality/ Events or related • Transport/ Logistics or related • Other (please, state) ______
345 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Please, indicate if you speak other languages besides English (if you do, please, list them)
• Yes ______• No
When thinking about buying products/ services, how important do you consider their place of origin?
• Not at all important • Not very important • Important • Very important • Extremely important
When thinking about doing business, how important do you consider the place of origin of the company you will be dealing with?
• Not at all important • Not very important • Important • Very important • Extremely important
346 Appendix C
What factors contribute to your decisions (mark as many as necessary) E M o T P P P c f e r e o a o / W e c r r l
n v s r i k O h A t e o o o i e i R n o t t t l t c m R n r d t h h h a h o Q d i e u a a v t n e a a a e l i P l l s i l o u e c i o f t t t
g r o
r a s
e k g r e a f
p p p i n f s i b t r c
c x n l y t a i i l l l m s r i i u a s e t a a a p o / c t a h l u i m a y c c c i t o e w l D n i t a o t s e e e p r y u i g p t l r e i o
i t e e / s a w s o h n
d n i i n / g i g g c
i t
n n n h e e i n s
About BUYING PRODUCT S or SERVICES with a specific place of origin
If you chose "other factors" in the question above, please state them
______
What factors contribute to your decisions (mark as many as necessary) P P A E o r e T P d e l c r i e v r l s o t W a e c i o e n t c v O h r n i o o a t i o c R n a i o t t r l m a n R s h h o
l d Q e u s
i m s a e l p p i
P k l e n s i o h o u c i t r t f l l
n g r p a
u
g i f e a a a e p i f s p o b / a
a c x l c c y r a M i l i i w i M a t e t a e e p / c t w g l i u
l y c i o t e o l D n s t a o a i e e r y n u t s t r r d e i h i
t k e s s o i g h
n n e i t n e / g h t
c
t i n a e o i h n n t f a g
/ t
About DOING BUSIN ESS with a compan y with a specific place of origin
347 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
If you chose "other factors" in the question above, please state them
______
Have you ever been to Europe?
• Yes • No
How many times have you been to Europe?
• Once • 2-3 times • 4-9 times • 10 or more times
Please, indicate below the reason for your trip(s) to Europe (select all that apply)
• Tourism • Business • Visit family or friends • Other ______
Have you ever been to Spain?
• Yes • No
348 Appendix C
How many times have you been to Spain?
• Once • 2-3 times • 4-9 times • 10 or more times
Please, indicate below the reason for your trip(s) to Spain (select all that apply)
• Tourism • Business • Visit family or friends • Other ______•
When thinking about Spain, please, list any regions or cities that you can remember
______
Have you ever heard of Galicia?
• Yes • No
Please, indicate where you have heard of Galicia (select all that apply)
• Traditional media (printed newspapers, radio, television) • Online portals • Travel websites • Movies • Social networks
349 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
• Friends or relatives • Other ______
Please, list the first three words that come to mind when you think about Galicia
______
Please, indicate how likely are you to engage in the following actions
How likely are you to...? Very unlikely Unlikely Undecided Likely Very likely CONSIDER VISITING Galicia RECOMMEND VISITING Galicia CONSIDER LIVING in Galicia RECOMMEND LIVING in Galicia CONSIDER STUDYING in Galicia RECOMMEND STUDYING in Galicia CONSIDER WORKING in Galicia RECOMMEND WORKING in Galicia CONSIDER doing BUSINESS with Galician companies RECOMMEND doing BUSINESS with Galician companies
350 Appendix C
How likely are you to...? Very unlikely Unlikely Undecided Likely Very likely CONSIDER buying Galician PRODUCTS RECOMMEND buying Galician PRODUCTS
Have you ever been to Galicia?
• Yes • No
How many times have you been to Galicia?
• Once • 2-3 times • 4-9 times • 10 or more times
Please, indicate below the reason for your trip(s) to Galicia (select all that apply)
• Tourism • Business • Visit family or friends • Other ______
351 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Do you know any Galician brands, companies or organizations? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know any Galician personalities (actors, musicians, writers, etc.)? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know any elements of the Galician gastronomy? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know any Galician sports teams or sportsmen/sportswomen? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
Do you know the name of any Galician locations (cities, monuments, tourist destinations, etc.)? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
352 Appendix C
Do you know any Galician cultural features or traditions? If you do, please, list them; you do not need to include more than 3.
• Yes ______• No
What kind of information would you like to have about Galicia, that would lead you to consider buying Galician products/ doing business with Galician companies?
______
353
APPENDIX D
SURVEY D GALICIA
Os datos recollidos nesta enquisa serán considerados confidenciais, pero se desexa que lle enviemos un resumo dos resultados xerais, indique, por favor, o seu nome, o da súa empresa, e a vía pola que desexa que nos poñamos en contacto con vostede
______
Por favor, indique en que provincia está situada a sede central da súa empresa/ a empresa na que traballa • A Coruña • Lugo • Ourense • Pontevedra • Outra
Por favor, indique o tamaño da empresa • Menos de 10 traballadores • 11-50 traballadores • 51-250 traballadores • Máis de 250 traballadores
355 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Por favor, indique o sector da empresa (pode marcar varias respostas se é necesario) • Administración pública/ Institucións ou relacionado • Agricultura/ Alimentación/ Bebidas ou relacionado • Arte/ Fotografía/ Deseño ou relacionado • Asesoría/ Consultoría ou relacionado • Audiovisual/ Cine/ Televisión ou relacionado • Banca/ Finanzas/ Investimentos ou relacionado • Comunicación/ Publicidade/ Marketing ou relacionado • Construción/ Enxeñería/ Arquitectura ou relacionado • Dereito ou relacionado • Farmacia/ Biotecnoloxía/ Ciencia ou relacionado • Formación/ Educación/ Coaching ou relacionado • Informática/ Software ou relacionado • Seguridade ou relacionado • Saúde/ Medicina ou relacionado • Turismo/ Hostalaría/ Eventos ou relacionado • Transporte/ Loxística ou relacionado • Ventas/ Comercio ou relacionado • Outro (por favor, indíqueo) ______
Por favor, indique o seu posto na empresa (se o prefire, pode indicar simplemente o departamento)
______
Exporta a empresa produtos ou servizos? • Si • Non
Podería especificar os motivos polos que non exporta? (pode marcar varias respostas se é necesario)
• Empresa aínda nova/pequena • Falta de coñecementos • Falta de fondos • Falta de infraestrutura • Falta de axudas institucionais • Non forma parte do plan de negocio • Produto/ servizo non exportable • Outros motivos ______
356 Appendix D
Podería indicar que porcentaxe da súa produción exporta?
• Menos do 10% • 10-25% • 25-50% • 50-75% • Máis do 75%
Exporta a Estados Unidos?
• Si • Non
Podería indicar que porcentaxe da súa produción exporta a Estados Unidos?
• Menos do 10% • 10-25% • 25-50% • 50-75% • Máis do 75% •
Como pensa que ven a súa empresa/servizo/produto os estadounidenses?
______
357 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
Podería especificar os motivos polos que non exporta a Estados Unidos? (pode marcar varias respostas se é necesario)
• Empresa aínda nova/pequena • Falta de coñecementos • Falta de fondos • Falta de infraestrutura • Falta de axudas institucionais • Non forma parte do plan de negocio • Produto/ servizo non exportable a Estados Unidos • Outros motivos ______
Pensa que a orixe galega da súa empresa inflúe no seu éxito?
• Si • Non
Podería explicar os motivos?
______
Utiliza nos seus produtos/servizos algún distintivo físico que indique a empresa é galega? (produto en si ou envases, envoltorios, sobre, papel...)
• Si • Non
Podería explicar os motivos?
358 Appendix D
______
Menciona a súa empresa a orixe galega nas súas accións de promoción? (publicidade, eventos, folletos, catálogos...)
• Si • Non
Podería explicar os motivos?
______
Menciona a súa empresa a orixe galega na súa páxina web?
• Si • Non
Podería explicar os motivos?
______
Que o animaría a utilizar un distintivo indicando a orixe galega dos seus produtos/ servizos? (pode marcar varias respostas se é necesario)
• Axudas económicas • Promoción do distintivo • Accións de promoción da marca territorio • Accións de promoción das empresas galegas • Información aos consumidores/ usuarios sobre o distintivo • Condicións restritivas para conceder o distintivo
359 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
• Accións conxuntas para as empresas co distintivo • Estudos que amosen os beneficios de usalo • Outros motivos ______
Que o animaría a mencionar o feito de ser unha empresa galega nas súas accións de promoción?
(pode marcar varias respostas se é necesario)
• Axudas económicas • Accións de promoción da marca Galicia • Accións de promoción das empresas galegas • Información aos consumidores/ usuarios sobre os produtos/ servizos galegos • Accións conxuntas para as empresas galegas • Estudos que amosen os beneficios de mencionar orixe • Estudos que proporcionen datos sobre a imaxe exterior de Galicia • Outros motivos ______
Que o animaría a mencionar o feito de ser unha empresa galega na súa páxina web? (pode marcar varias respostas se é necesario)
• Axudas económicas • Accións de promoción da marca Galicia • Accións de promoción das empresas galegas • Información aos consumidores/ usuarios sobre os produtos/ servizos galegos • Accións conxuntas para as empresas galegas • Estudos que amosen os beneficios de mencionar orixe • Estudos que proporcionen datos sobre a imaxe exterior de Galicia • Outros motivos ______
360 Appendix D
Por favor, indique as tres primeiras palabras que lle veñen á mente ao pensar en Estados Unidos
______
Con que pensa que asocian Galicia os estadounidenses? (pode marcar varias respostas se é necesario)
• Paisaxe • Tecnoloxía • Industria • Educación • Talento • Atrasada • Servizos • Produtora • Estable • Tradicional • Pobre • Bo nivel de vida • Rica • Antipatía • Aburrida • Divertida • Avanzada • Atrasada • Turística • Gastronomía • Arte • Distinta ao resto de España • Non saben que existe
361 Analysis of the External Projection of Galicia as a Place Brand. The Case of USA.
• Outros ______
Cal lle gustaría que fose a imaxe que teñen os estadounidenses de Galicia?
______
362