What do NZ business leaders and entrepreneurs think about Brand New Zealand? To find out, we caught up with Karl Johnstone (founder and director of Haumi), Toni Truslove (Global CEO at Kea New Zealand), Young Ly (CEO of Serato) and Simon Coley (founder of Karma Cola). Here’s what they shared.

According to our executive interviews, New Zealand's democratic set-up functioning like a well-oiled machine and a healthy economy makes it an attractive country for businesses, skilled workforce and visitors. New Zealand’s beautiful landscape and its strong connection with nature gets a definite mention, as well as an appreciation for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s deft handling of the pandemic.

The inclusive nature of NZ, the indigenous Māori people and their heritage are a huge plus for the brand. New Zealand’s location in the far corner of the globe and its deep-rooted Māori culture adds a curiosity factor that attracts potential visitors.

Compared to many countries which are still reeling from the effects of COVID, New Zealand can be a surreal place to many people, finds Young Ly, the CEO of Serato, a software company based in Auckland. He adds that New Zealand’s brand is the strongest it’s ever been internationally, with positive feedback pouring in from around the world. Ly also credits his fellow citizens of being adaptive problem solvers, a great quality to possess in a world where the rate of change is accelerating. Coley concurs, pointing out that the lack of resources or knowledge has never been a deterrent and Kiwi ingenuity to get things done is a big asset in a country with a relatively small population.

Simon Coley, exporter and founder of Karma Cola, expresses that the perception of being clean and green, predominantly English (speaking), comparatively affordable and having a healthy way of living and plenty to do outdoors continues to resonate.

Toni Truslove, Global CEO at Kea New Zealand, too reflects the above-mentioned point of view that the geographical remoteness has pushed the Kiwis to always work harder and be smarter in how they engage with the world. Truslove further adds that “New Zealand is strongly underpinned with a history of necessary innovation and as a result, we are a unique testbed for ideas – uncomplicated legislation, low domestic competition and lots of attention from offshore investors.”

New Zealand’s overall ranking in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2020 is 10th. This is two positions up from its 2017 result and four positions better than half a decade ago, showing that the country is constantly improving the conditions for its talent.

Once again, New Zealand is ranked 1st for ease of doing business. Additionally, it is among the top 20 in the enable (12th), attract (5th), and global knowledge skills (17th) pillars. The country performs consistently well in the regulatory landscape (2nd) under the enable sub-pillar.

Judging by our expert panel’s responses to a recent survey on how they perceive New Zealand, the country is overall doing very well in terms of reputational strength. Hardly a surprise, a majority of the panel respondents pointed out obvious assets, especially the country’s greenery, cleanliness, high standard of living, respect for nature, coastline, volcanoes – and not to forget its woolly Merino sheep.

Apart from geographical characteristics, other aspects that the panel associates New Zealand with are the famous 100% Pure New Zealand campaign, the All Blacks rugby team, the Lord of the Rings feature film trilogy, its multicultural society, and the proud association with Māori culture.

But what made New Zealand a major talking point more recently is its deft handling of crisis situations and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Her leadership skills have been globally recognised for skillfully handling the Christchurch mosque shooting, call for unity with the minority Muslim population in the aftermath of the attack, and handling the COVID-19 crisis.

While a majority of the panellists feel that Brand New Zealand has a very strong focus on its unspoiled nature and greenery, the combined positive depictions of New Zealand owing to strong leadership reinforce the brand image of the country, linked to pre-existing brand values like reliability, and trustworthiness.

Most noteworthy: the soaring popularity of Jacinda Ardern has catapulted the image of New Zealand to a country synonymous with security and political stability, while harbouring a peaceful society with an inclusive population.

Country RepTrak ranked New Zealand as the 4th most reputable country in 2020, which is one position up from the previous year. This year, New Zealand’s reputation was strongest in the fields of appealing environment (2nd) and effective government (7th). According to this study, the country’s reputation has been very stable and strong throughout the last five years, showing very little variations in its ranking.

The The Good Country Index by Simon Anholt and Robert Govers ranks New Zealand 22nd in the latest edition of this study that analyses countries’ contribution to global well-being. It scores highest for its efforts in international peace and security (12th), and health and well-being (19th). New Zealand’s contribution to world order is also relatively strong (21st). In terms of prosperity, however, the country could be taking bigger steps to improve global economic equity.

Our thanks to New Zealand Story for sharing resources and information supporting our overview of New Zealand as location to live, invest and work. Interested in showcasing your region, country or destination? Contact us!