NZ tops the brand charts for 2020 – but how do we take advantage in a world of Covid?

OPINION: I’d like to dedicate my final column of the year to what I think is the hottest brand of 2020 – our very own New Zealand.

Yes, I’m patriotic, one-eyed, proud and grateful to be from, and in, New Zealand, but awarding the NZ brand No 1 is not based on my bias, but on some interesting research undertaken by brand agency New Zealand Story.

Way back when I worked in the tourism industry, perception research of New Zealand guided our marketing strategy. Mostly people thought NZ was beautiful, a once-in-a-lifetime trip, a long way from anywhere, but expensive and a bit boring. Shaking those perceptions was a long game and a pricey one.

Early in this century the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies gave an enormous boost to New Zealand’s profile, putting us on the map in places where people had never heard of us or thought we were part of Alaska.

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But the movies also reinforced the perception of us being a faraway beautiful land, adding a suspicion that we all looked and lived like hobbits.

And then something happened.

International perception research undertaken in June across key markets showed that people overseas started to notice how New Zealanders do things – particularly how we approach problems – and it’s turned their views on their heads.

It’s fair to say life hasn’t been easy for us lately, and the respondents from Australia, UK, US, China and Germany were very aware of that.

They knew about our earthquakes, the Christchurch shootings, as well as our approach to Covid.

And it was our approach to adversity that has given us enormous kudos, noting the leadership in each crisis that led to unity rather than division.

We’re seen as a truly democratic country with clear communication. Evidently, we’re also good at acknowledging our failures, especially around indigenous rights.

And we’re seen as a new, young country, one that is positive and human, with leadership that reflects that. They knew we’d cleared Covid cases quickly, and they noticed lines like “a team of five million”. For perhaps the first time in some markets, we were clearly differentiated from Australia.

But there is a downside to this new perception. The world always thought we were small but now they see us as even smaller, and where they thought we were expensive, now many think we’re unobtainable and that getting here is almost impossible.

In a total shift from always being seen as a welcoming, friendly country, they‘re now unsure if they’d even be welcome.

It would be wrong to claim New Zealand has always had the same reputation.

The perception of Kiwis has evolved over time. We used to be seen as farmers in a British colony with a N0 8 wire approach to problems, and a persona linked to hardcore rugby players.

Then the concept of a new New Zealand came along beyond rugby, to high-precision yachts, past farming to top-quality chefs and niche food products, and past No 8 wire to ingenious ideas.

They started to meet our actors, musicians and artists, and the New Zealand brand grew, but very slowly.

For a long time, New Zealand agencies had put their weight behind trying to strengthen and broaden our brand, but it’s taken a run of crises to make a real change.

They always say it’s not what happens but how you react to it – and clearly those who were asked gave us huge points for our response and the values that lie behind them.

So, the next challenge is how do we respond to this new image and take advantage of it.

Worth thinking about it over your Christmas pudding.

Meri Kirihimete koutou katoa.