New Zealand: Using data-driven strategy to enhance global perceptions

This article was originally published in the Global Soft Power Index 2025

Background

New Zealand Story’s primary challenge is to shift global perceptions of Aotearoa New Zealand and expand our country’s reputation and value internationally. We’re well known for our beautiful landscapes and friendly people, but we also want to be recognised as a place offering excellent opportunities to work, live, invest, study and visit.

For many years, we’ve relied on a broad research portfolio and third-party insights to understand how other countries viewed New Zealand. However, the research was conducted on an ad hoc basis, prompting a need for a more deliberate, structured approach to inform strategy, execution, and evaluation.

To address this, we consulted with key government partners, including Tourism, Education, Foreign Affairs, and Trade agencies, to refine our research approach. The new direction focused on creating a connected programme to inform content and align efforts across these organisations, ensuring an annual research cycle that stakeholders can depend on for strategic insights, and guide the development of a New Zealand brand plan for the coming years.

In 2023, we recommended to our Advisory Board that Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index be used as the primary data source for nation brand metrics, setting the scene for the development of a more comprehensive research programme.

Strategy

We set out to align partner organisations around a research-driven marketing strategy to enhance the economic impact of the nation brand across sectors, from investment to tourism. Brand Finance’s metrics, connecting perceptions to performance, provided a rationale for this approach and a foundation to build on. The programme comprised four steps:

• Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index Data: Understand New Zealand’s perceptions as well as drivers of Reputation and Influence across key markets, identifying strengths and weaknesses to map against areas of focus, and provide insight to guide content strategy.
• Qualitative Research: Gain a richer understanding of consumer perspectives and refine content tactics to credibly shift perceptions.
• Media and Social Monitoring: Evaluate content effectiveness and engagement, alongside campaign reporting, A/B testing, and ad testing.
• Stakeholder Survey: Assess New Zealand Story’s performance in protecting and promoting the nation brand, informing future tactics.

Brand Finance’s data has provided a globally validated, quantitative insight on ‘what’ New Zealand’s credible positioning strategy should be: improving science, technology, and innovation perceptions, identified as key drivers of influence. This focus allows us to leverage our country’s strengths in business, sustainability, and education.

The qualitative research has helped understand the ‘why’ behind Brand Finance’s data, allowing us to develop activation tactics that resonate in target markets and can shift perceptions. The key story emerging from the research and subsequently highlighted in marketing communications centres on innovations that are good for people and the planet – New Zealand’s natural areas of strength where others are willing to learn from it.

Results

We successfully implemented the research programme, supported by a stakeholder engagement plan. This included a full dissemination plan, tailored PR & communications approach, and engagement with key partners both in government and the private sector.

Cross-government organisations are now working more closely together, aligning brand vision and marketing communications, thanks to the new research programme.

The research programme has demonstrated its value to government stakeholders, ensuring the continuation of this work.

Global Soft Power Index 2025

Explore the findings of the world's most comprehensive research study on perceptions of nation brands, presented in a downloadable report and an interactive dashboard.