Seen from the Outside
Rebranding a country’s global image
Government & NGO | Future Brief
Situation
The Danish Government was looking for a strategy and starting point for a global marketing campaign moving beyond traditional advertising.
Approach
The first step was to create a solid grounding of the existing global perception of Denmark. Ten countries from different regions were chosen for field research based on their current and future importance in relation to Denmark. The countries were Sweden, Germany, UK, Poland, Russia, US, India, South Korea, China and Brazil. ReD Associates visited people in these countries and studied their attitudes towards Denmark. Additional interviews were conducted by telephone and in discussion groups to add more volume and broader coverage. This material was supplemented with interviews with experts and quantitative data to validate the findings over a larger sample.
Building on insight into the awareness, perception and relevance of Denmark, we developed a positioning platform build around four core values (Balance, Perfection, Simplicity, Creativity), corresponding personalities (Responsible, Ambitious, Clean, Experimenting) and functional advantages (Sustainability, High End, Efficiency, Future Lab). This platform resonates with and amplifies the positive expectations that people have of Denmark today.
Outcome
The platform has been incorporated in the Danish Government’s final strategy for global marketing of Denmark. It enables a focus of the resources behind the campaign and helps the many independent actors work in the same direction, while maintaining individual profiles within the Denmark brand.
The Danish Government was looking for a strategy and starting point for a global marketing campaign moving beyond traditional advertising.
Approach
The first step was to create a solid grounding of the existing global perception of Denmark. Ten countries from different regions were chosen for field research based on their current and future importance in relation to Denmark. The countries were Sweden, Germany, UK, Poland, Russia, US, India, South Korea, China and Brazil. ReD Associates visited people in these countries and studied their attitudes towards Denmark. Additional interviews were conducted by telephone and in discussion groups to add more volume and broader coverage. This material was supplemented with interviews with experts and quantitative data to validate the findings over a larger sample.
Building on insight into the awareness, perception and relevance of Denmark, we developed a positioning platform build around four core values (Balance, Perfection, Simplicity, Creativity), corresponding personalities (Responsible, Ambitious, Clean, Experimenting) and functional advantages (Sustainability, High End, Efficiency, Future Lab). This platform resonates with and amplifies the positive expectations that people have of Denmark today.
Outcome
The platform has been incorporated in the Danish Government’s final strategy for global marketing of Denmark. It enables a focus of the resources behind the campaign and helps the many independent actors work in the same direction, while maintaining individual profiles within the Denmark brand.
