The Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index

Through a partnership with renowned government advisor and author Simon Anholt, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications provides an expanded City Brands Index^SM; the Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index^SM (CBI) — the only analytical ranking of the world's city brands. Working with an innovative set of tools that helps to assess, develop and implement brand strategies across cities, we provide the global and local insights needed to move a city’s reputation forward and increase the success of its business, trade and tourism efforts.

Since 1996, when he coined the term 'nation branding' and gave birth to this important field of place branding, Simon Anholt has been working with governments to help them plan the policies, strategies, investments and innovations which lead their countries toward an improved profile and reputation.

A Consistent Framework for City-To-City Comparisons

CBI measures perceptions of cities among nationals of both developed and developing countries by combining the following six dimensions:

• Presence - Based on the city's international status and standing and the global familiarity/knowledge of the city. It also measures the city's global contribution in science, culture and governance.
• Place - Exploring people's perceptions about the physical aspect of each city in terms of pleasantness of climate, cleanliness of environment and how attractive its buildings and parks are.
  
• Pre-requisites- Determines how people perceive the basic qualities of the city; whether they are satisfactory, affordable and accommodating, as well as the standard of public amenities such as schools, hospitals, transportation and sports facilities.
• People- Reveals whether the inhabitants of the city are perceived as warm and welcoming, whether respondents think it would be easy for them to find and fit into a community that shares their language and culture and whether they would feel safe.
  
• Pulse- Measures the perception that there are interesting things to fill free time with and how exciting the city is perceived to be in regard to new things to discover.
• Potential- Measures the perception of economic and educational opportunities within the city, such as how easy it might be to find a job, whether it's a good place to do business or pursue a higher education.

Your City’s Brand Scores At-A-Glance

Click to enlarge Each city's score across these six dimensions is succinctly captured in the City Brand Hexagon, a visual rendering of the total Index score.

This easy-to-understand tool provides a consistent framework for city-to-city comparisons against the key factors impacting a city's reputation, so you can see just where your city's brand ranks and why.

Together with the Index analysis, the City Brand Hexagon provides a thorough assessment of your city's standing, making it one of the most effective tools available for managing your city's reputation around the world.

Expanded Global Coverage

CBI is the world’s only survey assessing the strengths and weaknesses of 50 cities around the world, based on interviews with 20,000 citizens and consumers each year. CBI has been used by many cities to build a robust and all-around successful city environment for businesses, communities, visitors, students and more.

Global Insight. Local Knowledge. Tailored to Your Needs.

The cities measured in each wave include:

• North America: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New  York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver
• Western Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Geneva, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, The Hague, Vienna 
• Central/Eastern Europe: Budapest, Istanbul, Moscow, Prague, Warsaw
• Asia Pacific: Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo 
• Latin America: Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro 
• Middle East/Africa: Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Johannesburg

Several cities may be added to or subtracted from each wave of the survey fielded based on the specific requests and interests of CBI subscribers or as world events dictate.

To learn more about how the Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index^SM can help you better manage your country’s reputation,  contact us.