Elcano To Elcano: Marca España

Reference is often made to the "Marca España" and is usually made in the context of the country's tourism. But the Spain brand is much broader than just tourism. It is Spain as a whole, and the brand has been carefully, if not always wittingly, crafted over recent decades. The Marca España is, however, under threat. The good name of Spain is being dragged through the mud. Catalonia is to blame.

Insofar as anyone would have referred to a nation's brand, which of course they wouldn't have, the Spanish brand wasn't as historically strong as history suggests. The country most certainly had global presence. As of the end of the fifteenth century, it was the global power. It discovered America, albeit by accident as Columbus hadn't anticipated there being a massive great continent between Europe and Asia.

Spain vied for global power and a dominant ranking in terms of global presence with the English, the Portuguese, the French and the Dutch. But its heyday was obviously to pass. The years of the rivers of gold were to culminate in the rivers of blood and the humiliations of imperial loss. It was the Americans who drove the final nail into the coffin of the terminally infirm one-time power. At the turn of the twentieth century, therefore, Spain had ceased to be a power, though it retained its presence in South and Central America, courtesy of its imperial past and its cultural and linguistic exportation.

Despite this culture, and coincidental to its decline, Spain failed to stamp its presence as a place of high culture. When, for example, the young aristocrats of England would venture forth for their Grand Tour, they would not go south - certainly not as far as the Pyrenees. From Paris they would go east to Vienna, to Budapest. A southward detour was to Florence and Rome. Spain, with its eventual huge global presence for tourism, was not on the Grand Tour itinerary. 

It was Otto von Bismarck who made the most cutting of observations about Spain: "I am firmly convinced that Spain is the strongest country of the world. Century after century trying to destroy herself and still no success." The truth about the Spanish global presence was that it was in spite of constant financial ineptitude, of regular military adventures and arguments, and of consistent internal conflicts. By the time that Bismarck died, the same year (1898) when Spain suffered its humiliation at the hands of the Americans, the Spanish brand was recognised for the way in which Bismarck had described it.

Through the twentieth century, the brand was hauled through the mud with depressing frequency. There was the 1909 Tragic Week, when Europe was aghast at the treatment of Barcelona rebels. The first dictator, Primo de Rivera, emerged in 1923. There was to be a second dictator. Yet for all this upheaval, Spain was acquiring a different reputation. There was a romantic perception of the country, which was to attract the likes of Ernest Hemingway. It was the start to what was to eventually follow. The influx of tourists, the death of Franco, the establishment of a firm economy and of democracy, an heroic king who defied rebellion, a charismatic president (González), the joining of the European club. By the mid-1980s the Marca España had taken hold. 

Juan Sebastián Elcano was the Spaniard who completed the first circumnavigation of the globe after the Portuguese, Ferdinand Magellan, died. His is a name steeped in the glories of the emergent Spain of the early sixteenth century. And this name has been lent to the Real Instituto Elcano think tank. Its latest Global Presence Index has been published. This is a measurement of a number of variables - economic, military, science, culture, international cooperation, tourism. The global number one is the USA. Spain is twelfth, a position it maintains from the previous index. The Marca España, where the ranking is concerned, remains strong.

But look deeper and see the extent to which regions contribute or don't contribute. The Balearics, for all the tourism, is tenth. The islands provide 2.5% of Spain's global presence. The Canaries and Cantabria are among regions which contribute more. Heading the list is the Madrid region: 29.1% of this presence. Andalusia is third with 10.1%. In between, in second place with 19.6%, is Catalonia. Fifth is the Basque Country. The two stroppiest regions of Spain together make up more than a quarter of this presence.

For it to hold good, the Marca España needs Spain to hold good. It needs unity, harmony, consistency. The Spain of recent years has cultivated its brand by having at long last discovered these. Yes, it has had to contend with conflict - ETA for instance - but the Marca España has been able to hold its head proudly on the global stage. Catalonia threatens its unravelling. History, unfortunately, suggests that this is how it should be. Century after century trying to destroy herself.

The Decline Of Brand Spain

"A strong brand has become a defining feature of success in the current economic climate. Worldwide hyper competition for business, combined with an increasingly cluttered media environment, means that the clear message carried by a properly managed brand can provide the crucial leverage needed to thrive. The financial uplift provided to a product or corporation from a strong brand is well known, and companies invest heavily in protecting their brands. Nations can adopt similar techniques to capitalise on the economic growth that comes with proper positioning of a nation brand. All nations should working to actively realise this potential."

So says David Haigh, chief executive officer of Brand Finance, a global business which advises on the maximising of value through the effective management of brands and intangible assets. It is a company which produces different reports, and just one of them is its report into "nation brands". The 2013 report has just been published, and it is not one that will spread joy among those who promote the "Marca España" (brand Spain).

Great emphasis has long been placed on the "Marca España". A year ago, a whole new website was launched in its name. At the time, it wasn't available in English. It now is and it is quite an impressive exercise in promotion. But what does "Marca España" mean and entail? According to the website, it is a "state policy, whose efficacy will be proven in the long term". The objective is to "improve the image of our country" in seeking to boost exports, attract foreign investment, support internationalisation of companies and raise tourism. It is a grand objective, but will this "state policy" be proven in the long term?

In the short term, it is not being proven. Spain has, over the past year, lost 20% of brand value, says the report. It is lumped in with nations such as Morocco, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania which have lost similar values. It is still reckoned to be A+, a distinction shared with Turkey, Brazil and India, but it has slipped from thirteenth position to eighteenth in the international ranking, one position ahead of Turkey.

In order to arrive at this evaluation of countries, Brand Finance applies a framework showing internal and external factors for four key segments - investment, tourism, products and services, and people and skills. It is when you look at what these factors are that you begin to appreciate why brand Spain might have suffered the fall it has.

In some respects, Spain is doing quite well. Foreign tourism is most certainly holding up and has indeed been increasing, even if the tourism is uneven because of a dependence on summer tourism (and it certainly isn't only Mallorca which has such a dependence). The export of brands has been instrumental in helping to bring about what slow economic recovery there has been. Inward investment is beginning to increase, although this is not necessarily investment which can be described as productive investment; not yet anyway. Unemployment remains way too high and will stay way too high; it is unlikely to ever come down to the 8 or 9% level that it was before crisis.

It is in other areas, though, where brand Spain has problems. Take domestic investment, i.e. encouraging "local commerce to invest domestically as opposed to investing overseas". In the tourism sector, as is well enough known, leading hoteliers are investing overseas; greater growth prospects exist in foreign markets for Mallorca's big hotel chains. On domestic tourism, encouraging "citizens to explore domestic destinations rather than vacationing abroad" is not being realised in the likes of the Balearics; the domestic market slumped markedly this summer.

When it comes to people and skills, this is the segment where brand Spain probably faces its biggest single challenge. Encouraging "citizens to study and work locally, rather than going overseas, i.e. avoid the brain drain" is not happening. There is an exodus of talent, one caused by lack of opportunity and too often by the absence of systems based on merit; this is the malaise brought about by "amiguismo", to which I have referred before.

The report doesn't say anything specifically about Spain and it doesn't include factors such as corruption, dealt with by the Transparency International report last week, but as noted in the introduction, a "cluttered media environment" requires a clear message. If this clutter includes a load of negativity, then getting a clear message across isn't easy. Though not included by Brand Finance, this negative publicity surely cannot help to portray the "Marca España" in the best light. Other than this, though, perhaps the strongest message for Spain that comes from the report is that to do with people and skills. The country needs talent. It cannot afford to lose it.

Smoke And Mirrors: Brand Spain

Another day, another website. Ah, but what a website. One for the whole of Spain, but not any old Spain. This is "brand Spain": marcaespaña.gob.es. At some point in the not too distant future, you will be able to enjoy this website in English - I do hope therefore that they do something about the "gob" bit, someone really ought to tell them - but for now it is only in Spanish.

It is an odd thing, to say the least. The very title is odd, or might appear to be. Is there such a thing as a "brand Britain"? Actually, there is, and it is a website about designing brands, not about Britain as a brand. In Spain, the momentum behind establishing Spain as a brand started almost 30 years ago, in that the term "marca España" was first adopted, if only by a journalist. Since then, it has become official. And so official has it become that in June this year, a high commission for "brand Spain" within the national government was created. The website is the first obvious evidence of the commission's remit to, among other things, adopt measures to improve the external image of Spain.

The trouble with this title, though, is that it sounds presumptuous and even desperate. Why not just call the website "Spain"? A brand acquires brand status through the awareness of its reputation and its attributes and the constant reinforcement of these attributes. It doesn't acquire these simply because you call something a brand; literally, call it a brand. The desperation stems from marketing wrongheadedness that seeks to convince, by being so blatant, that all is well and good in the state of the brand of Spain.

The media, and not just foreign media, have considered the strength of this brand and were doing so before the launch of the high commission. There is, and the national government really should be aware of this, an appreciation that Spain as a brand, by which one really means its international standing and reputation, has taken an almighty great hammering. Creating a website and undertaking some sort of internet charm offensive aren't going to alter this; not in the short term at any rate. That the website is currently only in Spanish makes it appear as though it is less for international consumption and more for domestic propaganda. Again, I am afraid the government doesn't quite get it; Spanish people are not blind to the problems that the country faces and they are unlikely to be convinced by having the "brand Spain" message shoved down their throats.

At present, the website is very much for the home market. Its home page (as of 21 December anyway) reveals the face of someone who looks, on first glance, not dissimilar to Mariano Rajoy. It is in fact Jordí Folgado. Who is? No idea. The site has a message from the high commissioner for "marca España". The image of Spain overseas is "very solid" and "respected", he says. Spain's businesses are "admired", he continues. Which is fine, but then you wouldn't expect him to say otherwise.

At the end of this message, there is a tell-tale expression. "Marca España no quiere vender humo." What this means is that "brand Spain" does not wish to sell something that has no worth. One can apply an English metaphor or word instead; smoke and mirrors or smokescreen. It is a shocking mistake by the high commissioner or by the person who wrote his message for him. By introducing the notion of "vender humo", even if it is to refute it, some will assume that it is indeed all about smoke and mirrors. So why even mention it?

Why has the Spanish Government got so upset about the BBC programme, "The Great Spanish Crash"? Well, one reason is because it came out right on cue; just as the website was being launched. The government, through its ambassador, has complained to the BBC about Paul Mason's programme, but all that Mason has done is to delve into much of what is already known. Indeed, he had written about some of the issues in Valencia, on which the programme concentrated, on the BBC's website over almost three months previously.

The government would rather that attention was not paid to the various causes of the economic crisis, of course it would, and there is many a commentator, some of them Spanish, who see issues such as Gibraltar and Catalonia as smokescreens to divert attention. The government does this while at the same time influencing the neutering of leading journalists at the national broadcaster who ask difficult questions. Who else will the government complain about? Giles Tremlett at "The Guardian"? Javier Cercas at "El País"? Stefanie Müller, the German journalist who laid into the corrupt nature of the political system? Or how about the consultants Brand Finance which issued a report in August which reckoned that the "marca España" had lost 38% of its value in two years?

There are reasons why the brand has lost value, but the BBC and journalists aren't one of them.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.