Results of a new study show SA's reputation among the G8 countries is steadily increasing on the back of last year's World Cup.
The study, annually conducted by the Reputation Institute, involved large-scale surveys in which thousands of people from the G8 countries were interviewed.
“This is essentially a 360-degree performance review from everyone we work with,” says Reputation Institute SA MD Dominik Heil.
“While it's not necessarily important to be liked, as a country we have certain objectives which we need the appropriate reputation in order to achieve.”
The results showed that year-on-year, SA's reputation has steadily improved, from a score of 44.27 in January 2009, to 44.60 in January 2010, and 46.70 in January 2011 (score scale 0-100).
Out of the 50 countries measured in 2011, SA continues to be associated with mid-scale reputation countries such as Puerto Rico, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey and Egypt, and this year was ranked 33rd in the world.
Canada is the best regarded country in the world in 2011, while Sweden, Australia, Switzerland and New Zealand are in the next four positions.
Slow and steady
According to Heil, the gradual improvement in SA's reputation is much more sustainable than a rapid increase that is likely to “fall apart”. “This is a good trajectory for us to be on,” says Heil.
Heil also noted that SA has not been able to maintain the spike (a rating of 49.11) in its rating just after the World Cup, but has sustained some of the reputation capital generated by the event.
The Reputation Institute asked respondents to measure four emotional factors - esteem, admiration, feeling and trust - on a scale of one to seven. Respondent were also asked to rank various reputation attributes to determine which attributes most strongly influence the emotional factors.
Out of the 16 drivers included in the study, “Friendly and welcoming” was the most important attribute, while “Technological advancement” was the least important factor.
While SA scored well for friendliness, enjoyment and natural beauty, it is safety, ineffective governance and a lack of well-known brands in which the country rates poorly.
“Our vulnerable spot is the perception of SA as not being a very safe place,” says Heil. “The debate around nationalisation is also really hurting us.”
On the fence
“The world is essentially sitting on the fence in terms of SA's growth potential. The World Cup put us on the world stage, and now everyone is waiting to see what we will do with that momentum.”
In terms of how South Africans themselves perceive the country, the study showed an improvement on the dive it took in 2010 as a result of the public sector strike.
When asked whether he thought recent events such as the ANCYL riots may have changed the results for this year, Heil says that in his experience, events do not significantly change a country's reputation in the long term.
Madiba magic
Nelson Mandela topped the 2011 Leader RepTrak ratings, worldwide. The secondary study assessed the reputations of the world's most visible leaders and public personalities.
The institute created a list of 54 leaders and personalities, and asked 51 055 people from 25 countries to rate the individuals using the RepTrak Pulse criteria to give a score on a 0-100 point scale.
The study used four criteria: the degree to which a person is liked, respected, admired, and trusted.
“By these measurements, Mandela came out as the most popular person on the planet,” says Heil. Tennis star Roger Federer came in second.
Jacob Zuma beat out Bill Clinton on the list to be placed 35th (Clinton was rated in 40th position).
The public gave its weakest ratings to leaders deemed “anti-democratic”. Kim Jong-il, the North Korean dictator, took last place in the study.
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