NZ’s enhanced reputation on world stage an opportunity

Anew survey of soft power has ranked New Zealand at 16th in the world – a big jump from 22nd in 2020 and the largest increase of any country – thanks largely to our approach to Covid19.

The Global Soft Power Index by Brand Finance ranks countries according to their diplomatic, cultural, and political influence as opposed to the hard power of economic and military might. Large, wealthy northern hemisphere countries typically dominate the list. However, in this survey of 75,000 people conducted in December 2020, New Zealand’s reputation soared thanks to its Covid-19 management which has shone a light on the nation, our people, and our values.

I think most New Zealanders would agree when I say it’s humbling to see our rank increase year-on-year in this index. While New Zealand’s decisive Covid-19 response, and in part geographic location, has put us in good stead through this pandemic, we are, like everyone else, not through this yet.

However, it’s not the only index we perform well in. New Zealand has long been ranked highly for ease of doing business, and is ranked highly for honesty and sustainability. Our latest leap in soft power adds to New Zealand’s reputation as one of the most globally trusted country brands.

This trusted brand is something more and more businesses want to leverage overseas with demand for the FernMark Licence Programme at an all-time high. Offering a trademarked fern, officially recognised and endorsed by the Government, this mark of trust communicates a product or service’s authentic connection to New Zealand – and brings with it the credibility of our institutions and integrity of our people.

The question for New Zealand, though, is where to from here?

With the Covid-forced move towards doing business remotely, the playing field has been levelled for many New Zealand firms on the world stage. Distance between nations has less relevance – one major pandemic silver lining for our island nation surrounded by a natural moat. This means there is a real and near-term opportunity to translate this momentum into new business and growth for our exporters. Our ability to provide highquality, safe and trusted food and beverage throughout the past year has helped keep our economy moving. Our time to showcase our tech and innovative solutions is now.

Beyond immediate export growth, though, the leadership, empathy, trust, and ingenuity New Zealand is now recognised for pose a far more important set of questions: What should we do with this soft power? How might we transform our tourism and education sectors to create a more sustainable place to visit, and a blended learning environment that benefits our own children as well as international students? How might we become the world’s leading agritech centre of excellence?

Imagine what we could achieve with other nations on the issues of climate change, poverty, inequality, now that we know we can tackle huge challenges like a pandemic and natural disasters.

The international reaction to our values-based response to Covid-19 has made me even more optimistic about how we might tackle the list of significant challenges we all face. If we can respond like this to a health crisis, what else could we solve, at this speed and with this level of collaboration?

New Zealand’s inherit national values are paying dividends for us on the global stage. So let’s embrace this recognition and champion these values in the boldest way yet.

If we can respond like this to a health crisis, what else could we solve?

The New Zealand Story Group is a government initiative established in 2013 to define the distinctly ‘Kiwi’ attributes that make New Zealand unique, and communicate these hallmarks to the world.