Repairing American's Image Abroad

The best sessions so far at PRSA are the ones that make you most  uncomfortable. I'm listening to a panel of experts debate how or really if, America can rebuild its reputation overseas and I can tel l  from the  body language around me, that people are hearing stuff they didn't know.

By far the best panelist was Ralph Begleiter, a former  CNN reporter who used some powerful images to drive home his point that the problem is two fold:  It's the stuff that the rest of the world sees that our sanitized, politicized news system doesn't let us see.  (even though he mistakenly identified British soldiers as Americans in one of his slides) And it's the stuff corporate America puts out there in advertising, in television, and billboards  that promotes the notion that all Americans are obsessed with sex and naked bodies. Stuff we would never see over here.  And if you were wondering if communications works, look no further than the results of the latest Pew Internet Study.

Even Superman is suffering, no longer does he stand for " truth justice and the American Way."  Promoters of the latest Superman movie have dropped the  "American Way"  since they know that it will keep people away.   Once again, there was solid advice for PR pros --  pay more attention to the world, ad less to sports stats, half time shows and Hollywood gossip. 

Begleiter made a great point, which is that we fine news outlets for "wardrobe malfunctions" but ignoring the images we're sending around the world.

Part of the problem, he said, is that most of Americans think only locally, when in fact there really isn't anything that is purely domestic any more.
More good advice:

• Include international events in your conversation with clients and agents
• Promote international aspects of our clients business, and don't dis other cultures
• Show real American's not scantily glad Hollywood types
• Dial down references to sports and Hollywood
• Show people from other cultures

Darryl John Kennedy was the next panelist. He bills himself as an American Cultural Ambassador and gave some powerful arguments as to why music can be a bridge to other cultures.

Michael Morley, deputy chairman at Edelman, and board member of Business for Diplomatic Action, (BDA) made a strong argument for why business should lead the effort to change America's image overseas.

The statistics cited by Morley were pretty frightening. Even our closest allies, UK and India have seen their support for the US cut in half in the last few years. Interestingly even in the US, we only get a 77% favorability rating. In Turkey, arguably one of our best friends in the middle east, we only get a 12% favorability rating.  Even scarier, is that the place where we pay the least attention and do the least marketing and advertising, Africa, is the place that likes us best.In Australia now, describing anyting as "American" or so american, has been a convenient put down -- kind of the equivalent of saying "that's so 1999".  An even scarier fact is that 65% of young Koreas said they'd  side with North Korea in war.

BDA came to life after 911 and is a private sector, non-partisan, not-for-profit made up of senior executives and communications officers from some of America's most recognizable brands: Pepsico, McDonalds, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Weyerhauser and more.  Its mission is to enlist the US business community in actions to improve the standing of American in the world.

Not an easy task. But given the fact that  a majority of British influentials claim the clutural identify of the U.S. makes them less likely to purcahse an american product and  almost one out of four say they avoid buying american brands -- clearly we can understand the BDA's motivation.  Never mind that the US's share of world tourism has been declining steadily since the 2000. Why should we care? An increase of 1% share of tourism would mean $12.3 billion in additional spending, 150 thousand jobs 3.3. billion in payroll and  2.1 billion in additional tax revenues.

BDA offers a five point plan to solve the problem:

• Sensitize Americans to the problem and its implications
• Transform American attitudes and behaviors -- using booklets, and training courses to change the way we greet people at our borders and how we travel abroad.
• Accentuate the positive
• Reach out to business leaders in strategic world markets to build new bridges of mutual respect and understanding.
• Serve as the private sector connection for public diplomacy efforts by the U.S.  government.

The last panelist was a state department guy who's name I didn't get. His basic message was total Bush-speak "public diplomacy isn't broken" "the solution is music." The most telling comment "we have a great press structure Adan we operate with a   "modicum of integrity." Nuff said

Comments

[Norman Charest]

I have several Canadian friends who now limit their visits to THE STATES because of our policies and attitude. "It starts right at the border" a friend told me via email last week, "the border agents are arrogant and have a horrible attitude". If Canadians who are our best friends think negatively of us, can you imagine how those we're shooting at feel? Our need to wage war on terror will diminish when we change our behavior, start respecting other cultures and adjust our foreign policies.