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As a brand Spain has been fashionable
throughout history, but in the last decade it seems
that branding, selling and marketing have overtaken
as Spain sells more day by day.
There are world famous names such
as Almodovar, Alonso and Fernan Adria and the companies
such as Iberia, Zara and Seat that rank high on
recognition lists. In fact according to Arnholt
Nation Brands Index, Spain ranks eleventh in the
"most highly valued commercial image"
category. Yet the skeptics say Spain is failing
to take full advantage of this moment in its history.
If France is associated with fashion
and perfume, Germany with cars and Italy with design-then
Spain is not that well defined, leading some in
the Government to question and conclude that Spanish
government and institutions are not doing enough
to promote the "Made in Spain" brand.
After all Spain is going through a particularly
favorable moment in time internationally and is,
attracting worldwide interest and admiration. Yet
Spain is still perceived as a "hot" country
with little more than sunshine and fiestas, when
in fact it is that and much more. Its corporations
are world leaders in winning contracts for infrastructure
and emerging energy sources.
Despite the tourist slogan of "everything
under the sun", and despite the fact that income
from tourism represents 11% of the GDP, it should
be pointed out that 70% of its exports are of an
industrial nature. Breaking loose from old clichés
like fiestas, sunshine, flamenco and bulls, says
Miguel Otero, director general of the Forum of Renowned
Brands, is going to be a hard task for Spain and
it falls largely to our firms abroad to do just
that.
Several months ago, Jose Montilla,
Spain’s Minister for Industry, Tourism and
Trade closed a forum on the subject by presenting
a strategic plan for 2006 though 2010. The plan
established guidelines for future actions in an
effort to enhance the strategic importance of Spanish
brands at every level within the framework of their
development and with respect to their internationalization.
Its ultimate goal is to position "Spain"
as a brand name that will serve as an umbrella for
all firms and make it easier to export Spain’s
image of quality and innovation.
The forum of "Renowned Brands"
first appeared in 1999, when 17 "pioneering
firms" were all accorded "Renowned Brand"
status on account of their international reputations
and signed an agreement with the Ministry of Science
and Technology. Seven years on this same group now
boasts a healthy 71 companies from all sectors of
industry.
Among the Forum’s initiatives
is one to join forces with Spain’s Foreign
Trade Institute (ICEX) in promoting Spain abroad
focusing on priority markets such as the United
States, Japan, China, India, Mexico and Brazil.
On an international level a study
was carried out on the image of Spain around the
world with the objective of identifying valuable
reciprocal contributions between the words "Made
in Spain" and the main Spanish brand names
and to the extent to which the image of Spain influences
purchasing decisions. Interestingly the ten best
known and recognized Spanish firms turned out to
be Seat, Mango, Zara, Iberia, Freixenet, Chupa Chups,
Telefonica, Santander Central Hispano, BBVA and
Lladró. The study went on to look at identification
of the brands as Spanish. Iberia, BBVA and Real
Madrid had 100% recognition.
The levels of perception vary widely
around the world and are significantly lower in
the USA and Canada and Europe than in Latin America,
Eastern Europe, Africa where it is perceived more
favorably. Russia is the country with the highest
comparative perception of Spain’s development.
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Spain 
