Alice asked the Cheshire Cat,
who was sitting in a tree,
“What road do I take?”
The cat asked,
“Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat,
“it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

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The most valued Spanish brands abroad

Whiplash team, February 2019

The most valued Spanish brands abroad

Banco Santander, Zara and Seat lead the top ten list of most valued Spanish brands abroad, according to the research “Spanish Brands and The Country of Origen Effect”.

This research, carried out by the Foro de Marcas Renombradas Españolas (Spain’s Leading Brands Forum), ICEX (Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade), GfK market research consultancy and Interbrand. Culture and tourism are the best valued sectors, as well as food, beverages and fashion industries.

The top ten Spanish brands abroad also include BBVA, Real Madrid, F.C. Barcelona, ​​Movistar, Telefónica, Joma and Iberostar, according to the survey that measures the impact of the “country of origin” effect on Spanish brands, products and services competitiveness in other countries. The study was carried out in Germany, China, United States, France, Mexico and the United Kingdom, considered priority markets for Spain because they monopolize a good share of our exports and of Spanish investment abroad. The research was carried out through 15-minute online interviews with a sample of six thousand people in the six countries included in the survey.

When asked about the three products or services that they most spontaneously associate with Spain, 56% mentioned generically food products and 30% mentioned products from the beverages sector. What is especially relevant is that in France and Germany, 74% and 67% respectively, the interviewees mentioned that food is what they most relate to Spain.

Although the food and beverage industries stand out when it comes to associating products and services with Spain, knowledge falls sharply when it comes to identifying specific brands, revealing a poor positioning and a lot of room for improvement.

However, the opposite occurs in the fashion industry. Users spontaneously associate Spain to the fashion and accessories industry and to brands such as Zara or Joma. The countries where the highest levels of spontaneous notoriety were registered in the fashion and accessories sector were Mexico, 40%; France, 28%; and China with 27%.

Moreover, in the banking and sports industry (with Banco Santander and BBVA on the one hand and Real Madrid and FC Barcelona on the other) the highest number of spontaneous mentions of brands were registered, although users did not necessarily associate them to Spain in a natural way.

In conclusion, we can highlight that the perception of our country is generally positive and that tourism and culture are dimensions in which Spain has a better valuation.