Nations With Difficulties Flag in Survey of Brand Images

In an annual study that ranks perceptions of the world's nations as if they were consumer product brands, nations with problems have suffered dents to their brand images.

For example, two nations whose economies have been under scrutiny as part of the euro zone crisis, Italy and Spain, each fell five places on the study, which is the eighth annual Country Brand Index survey from FutureBrand, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Italy dropped to No. 15, from No. 10 last year, and Spain fell to No. 19, from No. 14 last year.

Conversely, the European nation with what is generally perceived as the strongest economy, Germany, rose four places in the 2012 survey, to No. 7 from No. 11 in 2011.

The United States appears on the list in eighth place, down from No. 6 last year. America was ranked No. 4 in the 2010 survey and finished first in 2009, a ranking that was attributed at the time to the optimism surrounding the dawn of the Obama presidency.

“Global political and financial events had a large impact” in the 2012 survey, said Daniel Rosentreter, chief strategic officer for North America at FutureBrand.

Chris Nurko, global chairman at FutureBrand, pointed to results that displayed the effects of what he called “the paradox of bad news.”

For instance, Japan declined in the 2011 survey in the aftermath of the havoc wreaked by the earthquake and tsunami that year. But in this survey, Japan rose to third place, from fourth.

And in an example of good news helping a country's brand image, Britain climbed two places in the 2012 survey, to No. 11 from No. 13. Mr. Nurko attributed that to the goodwill generated by events like the Summer Olympics and the jubilee celebration for Queen Elizabeth.

The 2012 survey, which is to be released by FutureBrand on Wednesday, also has a new country in first place, Switzerland, which rose from No. 2 last year.

C anada, which was in first place in 2011, switched places with Switzerland and is now No. 2.

Here are the top 10 countries in the new survey: Switzerland, 1; Canada, 2; Japan, 3; Sweden, 4; New Zealand, 5; Australia, 6; Germany, 7; United States, 8; Finland, 9; and Norway, 10.

And here is the top 10 from last year: Canada, 1; Switzerland, 2; New Zealand, 3; Japan, 4; Australia, 5; United States, 6; Sweden, 7; Finland, 8; France, 9; and Italy, 10.