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Global Collaboration and the Impact on your Soft Power

Konrad Jagodzinski
10 August 2021

A colaboração na arena internacional aprimora as percepções positivas da sua marca de lugar e cria seu poder suave, o que, por sua vez, é a chave para implementar sua agenda estratégica. A relutância em colaborar prejudica seu poder suave e pode recuperá-lo em relação aos seus colegas.

The more you are seen to be positively interacting with others and – importantly – the more change you manage to effect, the greater the benefits to your brand perceptions and the greater your soft power, which you can then use to collaborate with others more effectively in an ever-expanding virtuous circle.

Consequentemente, quanto mais você colabora e mais soft houver, maior a sua influência nos outros e mais fácil é para você promover seus interesses estratégicos e alcançar seus objetivos estratégicos. A colaboração compensa. A energia suave é essencial. Isso é algo que a maioria das marcas de lugares entende intuitivamente, mas também há evidências acadêmicas e de pesquisa para apoiar essa afirmação. É a capacidade de influenciar outros atores na arena internacional por meio de atração ou persuasão, em vez de coerção. O conceito se encaixa na visão neoliberal das relações internacionais, que afirma que a complexa interdependência entre os atores reduz a necessidade de implantação de poder duro e incentiva o uso do poder suave. Além disso, os neoliberais veem a concorrência entre atores internacionais como um jogo diferente de soma zero-um sistema que permite que vários atores se beneficiem ao mesmo tempo sem necessariamente ter o seu caminho às custas dos outros.

Collaboration in theory…

Professor Joseph Nye
Professor Joseph Nye

Soft power is a term coined by Harvard professor Joseph Nye in the late 1980s. It is the ability to influence other actors in the international arena through attraction or persuasion rather than coercion. The concept fits in with the neoliberal view of international relations which claims that complex interdependence between actors reduces the need for the deployment of hard power and encourages the use of soft power instead. In addition, neoliberals see the competition between international actors as a non-zero-sum game – a system which allows multiple actors to benefit at the same time without necessarily having their way at the expense of others.

parece familiar? De fato, a colaboração é a aceita Modus operandi em nossa ordem internacional multilateral, que em sua configuração repousa principalmente nos princípios neoliberais. As regras são claras: atrair ou convencer outras pessoas a colaborar - você precisa de energia suave; E, por sua vez, a energia suave pode ser construída ainda mais através de uma colaboração bem -sucedida. Isso torna a colaboração e o poder suave-parafrasear o título da publicação seminal da NYE-"os meios para o sucesso na política mundial", bem como negócios, comércio, investimento, turismo e qualquer outro campo com uma dimensão internacional. Com uma pesquisa forte de 75.000 respondentes realizada em mais de 100 países em todo o mundo, o índice global de potência do Brand Finance

…and collaboration in practice

There is also research-based evidence that collaboration can benefit your place brand. With a 75,000-respondent strong survey conducted in over 100 countries worldwide, Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index is the world’s most comprehensive research study on perceptions of nation brands, but lessons from it are applicable to place brands of all kinds. The Index covers a number of survey statements that help assess the perceptions of a nation brand’s collaborative disposition – across different soft power pillars, such as Fácil de fazer negócios com,helpful to countries in need, and easy to communicate with.

No entanto, o aumento da percepção não se limita às áreas políticas específicas em que a colaboração está ocorrendo e geralmente é mais abrangente por meio de um aprimoramento geral dos blocos de construção da energia suave- Mamperidade, Reputation, and Influence of the collaborating nation brands. The key pillar that collaboration also has a particular impact on is Pessoas e valores, que captura as percepções da atitude geral de uma nação para com os outros. Os Estados Unidos registraram um declínio acentuado no Índice Global de Soft Power 2021 em comparação com os resultados do ano anterior, tornando-o o país que caía mais rápido do ranking.

Global Soft Power Index structure
Global Soft Power Index structure

What illustrates best the importance of collaboration for soft power is perhaps a case study of a nation that recently saw its soft power significantly undermined by its reluctance to collaborate with others. United States recorded a steep decline in the Global Soft Power Index 2021 compared to the previous year’s results, making it the ranking’s fastest-falling nation.

Juntamente com uma resposta covid-19 aleatória, a política internacional unilateralista e combativa do presidente Trump, guiada pelo slogan 'America First', custou aos EUA sua posição como a superpotência do poder do mundo e uma queda de 1st to 6th position in the Index. To name just a few decisions that went against the spirit of international collaboration, the Trump administration withdrew from WHO, UNESCO, the Paris Agreement, and important security treaties with Russia and Iran, as well as stopped paying its UN contributions and steered the nation on a crash course with traditional allies.

Global Soft Power Index 2021 - United States' results reflect the nation's track record in global collaboration
Global Soft Power Index 2021 - United States' results reflect the nation's track record in global collaboration

A América cai da Grace Soft Power foi mais visível na Reputação Métrica, onde caiu de 13 TH to 21st, and across the People & Values pillar where it saw lower ranks for all statements, with the slide from 5 th a 50 th para amigável Provavelmente o mais chocante. Após a hesitação de Trump em reconhecer a escala e a gravidade da crise do coronavírus e o fracasso em agir de acordo, os EUA também se encontraram no fundo da métrica Covid-19 METRIC. No entanto, o público em geral classificou o país 105 TH não apenas por seus esforços para proteger o Saúde e bem-estar de seus cidadãos, mas também por sua falha na ofertainternational aid and co-operation.

In the face of these wide-ranging reputational challenges, the Biden administration has an important task to rebuild America’s international credibility. Interestingly, some of President Biden’s first decisions have been to re-join the international organisations and agreements which his predecessor had left and to offer gestures of good will towards America’s traditional allies in Europe and beyond. As our data shows, the US is still perceived as highly influential in international relations, which should help its reputation to recover under President Biden’s new ‘America is Back’ policy.

What now?

The example of the United States shows that collaboration is absolutely essential not even for place brands to succeed in the soft power game, but to make sure they stay in that game in the first place. The single most serious global crisis since World War II – the COVID-19 pandemic – will be the biggest test for international collaboration in a long time. Will the developed nations share their vaccine supplies with the developing world? Will WHO and other multilateral organisations stand up to the challenge? Will the global fight against climate change suffer at the expense of the focus shifting to the health crisis at hand? Time will tell, but those that fail to engage with the international community, should probably start planning their image-saving campaigns already today.

About the Author

Konrad Jagodzinski
Place Branding Director
Brand Finance

Konrad leads Brand Finance’s place branding and soft power practice. He liaises with clients, directs consulting projects, and is responsible for the creation and promotion of the annual Global Soft Power Index, Nation Brands, and City Index studies.

Konrad has extensive experience in advising clients in the fields of place branding and public diplomacy. Before joining Brand Finance, he worked at the Polish Embassy in London where he developed and delivered successful marketing communications campaigns as well as media relations programmes of official engagements by the president, prime minister, government ministers, and the ambassador.

In his role at Brand Finance, Konrad has advised a variety of place branding organisations, including the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Campaign, New Zealand Story, and Cape Town Tourism.

Before moving on to grow the place branding practice, Konrad was the Communications Director of Brand Finance and Managing Director of Brand Finance’s PR agency – Brand Dialogue for 5 years. He has a proven track record in executing integrated communications strategies, having been responsible for publishing nearly 100 industry and country reports on the world’s most valuable brands on an annual basis.

Konrad se qualificou com o diploma profissional de relações públicas do Chartered Institute of Public Relações (CIPR). Ele estudou estudos europeus no King's College London e na Universidade Humboldt em Berlim, e relações internacionais com ciências políticas BA na Universidade de Birmingham.

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