This paper was originally presented to the 1987 Market Research Society (MRS) Conference by Circle’s Andy Booth.

Introduction

Made in Japan. Made in Hong Kong. Made in Italy. Made in Britain. Peoples’ expectations of products marked with those labels vary considerably. The issue addressed in this paper concerns the extent to which and ways in which consumer perceptions of products or services are affected by knowing that the brand is British. We have explored the ways in which British manufacturers are hindered, or, indeed, assisted by their link with the U.K. It is our belief that a full understanding of this link could be of real value to British companies who could use their British heritage to maximum advantage in the positioning of their brands, both at home and abroad.

The bulk of this paper is made up from four case histories of major British companies, all of whom have a brand image which is closely associated with the image of Britain itself. In each case, either through qualitative research of our own or by interviewing key personnel responsible for the brand’s positioning, we explored the way in which British-ness is being used and could be used to provide a benefit for consumer and manufacturer. The difficulties and pitfalls of an association with a British heritage, in each case, also became apparent.

We do not expect to clarify the issue of British-ness for all British companies; but we are intending to raise awareness about the possible uses of British-ness for manufacturers and advertisers, and to show ways in which a full understanding of the benefits of being British can be explored, using qualitative research. We raise hypotheses, ask questions, and seek explanations and, in so doing, provide insight into the potential for optimising our British-ness.

British-ness and National Stereotypes

Of course we are not the first to have considered the implications of nationality. Before we could examine the meaning of British-ness in a marketing context we felt we should explore the subject of nationality and of national stereotypes. This understanding is central to an ability to utilise our national heritage in positioning brands as ‘British’.

Everybody has stereotypical views. According to psychologist Roger Brown (1986) stereotypes often have no basis in fact and yet they appear to be remarkably resistant to change. One particularly irrational stereotype concerns national characteristics. Just as we hold certain stereotypical beliefs about people from other countries, so they perceive us as British citizens, to conform to a certain model. It seems almost certain that such strongly-held beliefs will be projected onto manufacturers from a given country and to their products. We believe that as British researchers, marketing people and advertisers, we should be aware that perceptions of our products and services (particularly those exported) are affected by the knowledge that they come from the U.K. and we should ask ourselves what this actually means within a given product category, to a certain population or target group.

There is a great deal of evidence from academic psychology suggesting the existence of powerful national stereotypes. A celebrated early study was conducted by Katz & Braly (1932) in the U.S.A. They asked 100 Princeton students to characterise 12 ethnic groups by selecting from a group of traits. Some examples of the stereotypes revealed are given below:

• Japanese:  intelligent, industrious, progressive
• Italians:  artistic, impulsive, passionate
• Turks:  cruel, very religious, treacherous
• English:  sportsmanlike, intelligent, conventional

An amusing study on this same subject was conducted by Siegfried Kracauer (1949) who made an analysis of Englishmen and Russians in Hollywood films from 1933-1948. He deduced that the most common characteristic attributed to the English was snobbishness and a constant preoccupation with the British ‘caste spirit’.

National stereotypes develop early: Gustav Jahoda (1962) conducted a study amongst 6-11 year old children. It was found that the children in this sample not only associated ‘strangeness’ with skin pigmentation and language but also held very strong views about other nationalities and tended to confirm their newly-acquired prejudices (or stereotypes) using spurious evidence such as “I don’t like Blacks because one looked at me in the street the other day.”  Clearly then, stereotypes are established early and readily reinforced.

Roger Brown (1986) commented:

“To some extent, national or ethnic stereotypes are responsive to changing policies, new alliances and new enemies. To some extent, however, stereotypes manifest inertia and once in existence have their own effect on social behaviour.”

This resistance to change was demonstrated in a study conducted in Iran by G.W. Beattie where groups of lecturers, drivers and ‘workers’ were asked to attribute characteristics to Americans, the English and Arabs. Characteristics associated with the U.K. and U.S.A. were quite similar and surprisingly positive, particularly given massive media coverage stressing anti-American/ British propaganda. Beattie concluded that national stereotypes are remarkably resistant to change even when attempts have been made, via the media, to alter them.

It follows that potential consumers (both at home and abroad) hold firm stereotyped views about Britain, the British and, hence, British products and services whenever the country of origin is known.

We believe that British manufacturers and advertisers can use their British heritage in a positive, constructive way. However, in order to build upon a British heritage, one must first understand it:

1. Within the context of a given population certain facets of the British character may be acceptable in one country but not another and;
2. Within the context of a given product field to be strongly branded as British may have different implications depending upon the product in question

The national stereotype cannot be readily manipulated. However, given the strength of the stereotype and a fuller understanding of its various dimensions, British manufacturers can use these deeply-held beliefs (or prejudices) to build upon their national heritage in a way which is beneficial to their brands.

This paper now proceeds to examine the way in which four British companies have become aware of the potential of their British heritage. It explores their attempts to optimise the potential of British-ness in positioning and promoting their products or services. We have considered two British manufacturers and two British service sector suppliers.

Four Case Histories

1.  Austin Rover Group

In 1982 British Leyland underwent a change of identity to become The Austin Rover Group. For the purposes of this paper they presented an interesting prospect for interview: Had the loss of an explicit British-ness affected the way in which their products were marketed overseas? Was their change of identity prompted by an appreciation of what British-ness was doing for them? An interview was arranged with A.R.G.’s Sales and Marketing Division.

A.R.G. is acutely aware of the impact of its British-ness and has researched this subject in various different markets. In recent years the car market has undergone much change; mass-market cars are now sold exclusively on performance, product specification and quality. Gone are the days of chauvinism and blind loyalty to brand. British drivers now not only include Japanese cars on their shortlist, but buy them in their thousands. However, the research conducted within Europe amongst recent purchasers of competitive mass-market cars highlighted several interesting issues relating to perceptions of Britain as a manufacturing nation and, specifically, as an automobile producer. Whilst there were marked differences to be found between markets, a principal finding was that Britain has a firmly held pan-European image as being strike-ridden and in economic decline. Still more worrying was the finding that, in all markets, Britain suffers from a weak association with technology, advanced industry and future potential. Clearly these associations are undesirable for a British manufacturer of motor vehicles. The findings were sufficiently conclusive to prompt the company to avoid all references to British-ness in their European advertising and to concentrate solely on product quality. This is a clear example of a company whose interests in a particular market (and under specific market conditions) are best served by disassociating themselves from their nationality or British heritage.

Was this then what had prompted the change of corporate identity?  Partly, but not completely, is the answer. British Leyland had an image problem in their major market – the U.K. The company had suffered throughout the seventies from a series of quality problems and a poor industrial relations record. Recently conducted quality monitoring research suggests that A.R.G. cars are now produced to a much higher standard. The industrial relations problems seem to have been overcome. The change of name represents just one more step in a major campaign to overcome inertia in persuading the British car-buying public that a turnaround has been achieved. Awareness of the name “Austin Rover” within Continental Europe is negligible as yet. However, the name cannot convey any of the unfortunate associations attendant upon the British-ness of British Leyland.

A.R.G. is faced with a different set of circumstances in The United States:  Perceptions of Britain held by U.S. car buyers are not so damning as those held by their European counterparts. Austin Rover research reveals that Britain, as an industrial and manufacturing nation, is felt to be in a process of change. Whilst the country is perceived to have its “back against the wall”, change for the better is felt to be on the way. Jaguar, an A.R.G. sister company,  has been successful in making inroads into the U.S. luxury car market trading very heavily on ‘traditional’ British imagery – hand-crafted excellence, exclusivity and quality. In short, the company has tended to use Rolls Royce style imagery (wood and leather) which is not felt to be at all inappropriate

In the light of Jaguar’s success in the U.S.A. and of relatively favourable perceptions of the U.K. as a manufacturing nation, the launch of Austin Rover’s new top-of-the-range Sterling model is being approached with some confidence. The car has been priced at a level slightly below that of Jaguar in terms of exclusivity but partakes of much the same imagery in terms of advertising and promotion. The name of the car – Sterling – is proving particularly appropriate for the U.S. market where, it is hoped, it will evoke images of traditional British-ness, probably wrong for the European market place, yet encapsulating all that the Americans want to hear.

British-ness for Austin Rover is a strong positive in their important U.S. market, something to be vigorously promoted. In Europe the picture is completely different, to the extent that the company actively seeks to abjure their national heritage. Within Europe the group aims to reflect the ‘confidence of a successful and developing international manufacturer selling cars all round the world’.

Austin Rover’s awareness of and manipulation of their links with Britain is highly relevant to other major British exporters. It illustrates our belief that whilst an understanding of what British-ness means is vital to manufacturers, the implications of the national identity must be considered within the framework of a) a given target market or country and b) a given product field.

2. Beefeater Gin

Gin is a product known around the world as British. MBL recently conducted qualitative research for James Burroughs’ brand Beefeater Gin in a number of different countries.

As expected, we found close links between gin (particularly Beefeater) and England. Gin (and England) are both felt to be safe, reliable and conservative. Beefeater has built upon its strong English heritage by promoting the brand in the U.S.A. with an imported, English, ‘crafted’ image that is highly appealing. It seems clear that the Beefeater brand draws heavily upon its British-ness and has used it as a real asset since the 1950s.

However, the gin market in both the U.K. and in the U.S.A. is relatively static particularly when compared to vodka and to the rapidly expanding wine market. Although imported gin in the U.S.A. is performing well compared with local products, sales appear to have passed their peak. The reasons for this are numerous – the trend towards lighter, less alcoholic beverages and increasing health consciousness are foremost amongst them. However, we speculate that one of the reasons for the decline in gin concerns its British-ness and that this, for Beefeater, is exacerbated by its strong English branding.

Our research revealed that gin is perceived to be very British (and in this case English) and this breeds associations of stability, conservatism and consistency. This image appears to be particularly strong in the U.S.A. The whole product area is, therefore, slightly ageing and conventional rather than young, modern and fashionable. The user profile of gin is also older though manufacturers both in the U.K. and the U.S.A. are attempting to rejuvenate their brands.

For Beefeater, rejuvenation is particularly relevant. The brand’s imagery has always been firmly based upon traditional values which may be lacking in relevance for young drinkers these days. In fact in America, Beefeater is drunk by older, more conventional drinkers than the new leader Tanqueray, in the imported gin sector. Similarly, in the U.K., Gordons appears to be perceived as a younger, more active brand. Tanqueray and Gordons both build upon their national identity and English heritage but use considerably less traditional ‘old English’ associations and far more international/cosmopolitan, youthful imagery.

The Beefeater branding, which is highly consonant with a stereotypical view of traditional England, could be responsible for its perception as a slightly old-fashioned brand. ‘Englishness’ is not, however, totally negative within the context of Beefeater. Much of the imagery derived from the national heritage can be, and is used as a real brand benefit despite the considerable perceived negatives. So the question is can Beefeater shed some of its old fashioned, staid imagery, yet retain tradition and reliability?  Can it retain the Beefeater name for quality (a credible English trait) yet shed its slightly exclusive upmarket, potentially alienating facet (also readily associated with England)?

The issue here then, is whether a brand can selectively use some aspects of its British heritage whilst discarding those which are less desirable. Can Beefeater adopt the ‘Lady Di’  image of Britain (youthful, sophisticated) rather than the more stolid, older Queen/Prince Philip Britain? Can Beefeater, like Tanqueray, create for itself a British heritage which is more relevant to modern drinking?

Beefeater advertising over the past three decades has promoted the links between the brand and England as has the Beefeater name, label and the pack copy. James Burroughs is aware of the need to reverse this trend and to reposition the brand as slightly younger, and more relevant to the modern drinker. This repositioning, they appreciate probably requires a reconsideration of the issue of British-ness.

3. The BBC External Service

The BBC broadcast a radio service around the world. They have built up a vast audience of approx. 120 million regular listeners in more than 120 countries. As well as the English language service, they broadcast in about 36 other languages. These services are broadcast from London but are produced specifically with the needs of a given population in mind. They may be said, in marketing terms, to operate at both local and ‘global’ levels.

The BBC External Service is particularly interesting within the context of British-ness. Unlike the other companies we are considering, they have a specific mandate to ‘promote’ Britain. They are also funded by the British tax payer. This, however, is secondary to the pursuit of excellence in broadcasting and the provision of a quality service. The Perry Report (1984) affirmed that the service must:

• Provide a credible, unbiased, reliable, accurate, balanced and in-depth news service
• Give a balanced British view of national and international developments
• Represent British life accurately and effectively
• Increase the understanding and speaking of English

The issue of British-ness is, therefore, of real importance to the BBC and for this reason we approached their publicity department regarding the way in which they promote the BBC within the context of its British-ness. Above all, the BBC insists upon the highest possible levels of editorial standards in broadcasting. Although funded by the Government, the main criterion for broadcasting is editorial merit and not the promotion of Britain nor, indeed, the British Government. In fact whenever the BBC are in dispute with the Government or whenever they broadcast a ‘contrary’ or opposing view, their credibility amongst listeners as an independent service is strengthened. As the pamphlet ‘Export with the BBC’ states:

“The BBC has retained its millions of listeners worldwide because it has always told the news as it is – warts and all, bad as well as good. The consequence is that when the news is good it is accepted with complete confidence.”

This perception of the BBC as impartial, is based on several factors including the ability of the BBC to broadcast views contrary to those of the Government, their emphasis on editorial standards and editorial independence and the longstanding broadcasting heritage of the service. Unlike the Voice of America the BBC is not known for broadcasting a State Department editorial. They attempt to be an independent objective radio service.

However, it seems inevitable that the ‘image’ of the BBC must be perceived to some extent within the context of its British-ness. This link is ensured by:

• The mandate to ‘promote’ Britain
• National stereotypes about Britain held by BBC listeners around the world.

Therefore, the BBC must be affected by its British-ness, but the extent and nature of the British heritage will vary from country to country. For example, in parts of the world where Britain is seen as part of the ‘capitalist Western alliance’, perceptions of the BBC (and of its authority) will almost certainly differ from levels of credibility in, say, America however hard the BBC promote themselves as a separate, independent body,

The image of a British broadcasting service, will, inevitably, vary around the world.

In order for the BBC to use its British heritage to full advantage and to free itself from any contamination or constraining imagery associated with the U.K., we feel, it must understand exactly what its British-ness means in every given country.

The Editorial Service seems to be aware of this necessity. The staff, a mix of foreign nationals and those who have close links with the countries in question, speak the local language and visit the area whenever possible. The hope is that, through these broadcasters, the service will adapt itself and use its British heritage in an appropriate and relevant way.

The World Service itself may be more problematic. One service broadcasting in English across the world will be received in a variety of ways by a vast array of listeners. These listeners will, as we have said, attribute particular national characteristics to Britain and to a broadcasting service coming from that country and will have varying feelings about BBC broadcasts.

This problem is illustrated by the way in which the BBC External Services Publicity Department ‘promote’ the service around the world and how they use the British heritage in this process. There is a clear attempt in their calendars, schedules and other literature to use illustrations which draw upon a variety of images of Britain – Royalty, tradition and also high technology and modern Britain. Some aspects of the country are deliberately avoided if their use is thought to cause antagonism e.g. churches in Islamic communities or Royalty in certain parts of Europe. The BBC has a difficult ‘global’ task to use its British heritage to the maximum and yet to retain its reputation as an independent, reliable and credible worldwide broadcasting service.

4. British Airways

As a company with interests in many parts of the globe, British Airways is acutely aware of the importance of monitoring its image and performance in each of the markets it serves. Four years ago the company embarked upon a programme of Customer Service training – ‘Putting People First”. Every airline staff member attended this two day course and the airline was pleased to note the marked improvement in image rating for all service related areas. However, the rating for care and warmth lagged behind the others and the question was asked whether this perception had anything to do with the airline being British: Is a British company capable of being a warm and caring company or does its national provenance make it incompatible with warmth?

The airline decided to explore the concept of ‘British-ness’. Intuitively it was felt that there must be some link between the image of British Airways and that of Britain itself. It was anticipated that qualitative research would be able to address the following questions:

• Given that a link between the airline’s image and its national identity must exist, how should the company capitalise upon it?
• Which aspects of the British image help the airline and by which associations is it constrained?
• Are there positive aspects of the national image or stereotype not currently capitalised upon?
• Would it be possible to dissociate the airline from British-ness altogether?
• Can the B.A. brand image be manipulated to use its British heritage to maximum advantage?

In a previous international advertising campaign, the airline had used Robert Morley to exemplify British-ness. Morley’s brand of ‘PG Wodehouse’ humour certainly said something about the airline and emphasised British-ness. But was this type of image (traditional Morley Britain) appropriate for a twentieth century British airline?  It was hoped that research would be able to provide an answer.

Previous experience, published papers and a number of ‘pilot’ interviews revealed the ease with which it is possible to elicit strongly-held but superficial and stock responses to the question: “What do you understand by British-ness?”  Clearly it is only of academic interest to know, for example, that Americans might perceive Britain to be fog-bound, strike-ridden and peopled by punks. Any research that was to be of commercial value would have to delve more deeply to uncover deeper-seated attitudes and imagery. A projective technique was developed by MBL to explore the stereotype of Britain. This was done in the fullest possible way incorporating as many facets of the British image as seemed appropriate and relevant. In fact, as the research progressed, we were able to hypothesise five major dimensions or traits which relate both to the national identity and also to the image of an airline. These dimensions or axes are ‘masculinity’, ‘modernity’, ‘caring’, ‘glamour/sexuality’ and ‘hospitality’.

The intention was to build up as full a picture of British-ness  – as perceived by regular fliers – as possible (using a qualitative projective technique). Then, using personification techniques, to explore B.A. brand image along similar dimensions so that the two images, British-ness and that of B.A. could be compared directly.

However, it was not enough to ascertain which aspects of the B.A. brand are British. B.A. also needed to know which British or B.A. characteristics are desirable in their corporate image and therefore the ‘Ideal Airline’ image was also explored.

The research was conducted initially in Spain. We obtained a host of ‘descriptors’ of British-ness, B.A. and of the Ideal Airline for the Spanish air traveller.

By overlapping the circles to form a Venn diagram it is possible to see which characteristics are shared by B.A. and Britain, and also by the ‘Ideal Airline’. In other words in which ways B.A. is British and in which ways it is Ideal in a given market. The strength of this simple model as an aid to future positioning of the airline becomes most apparent when examined in its entirety and considered as a dynamic whole.

• A:  Shared ideal aspects – Retain
• B:  Ideal British-ness, as yet untapped by the airline – Potential, should acquire
• C:  Undesirable aspects of BA which are also British – Relinquish
• D:  BA better than Britain – Retain
• E:  Untapped ideal – Acquire
• F:  Unwanted British-ness – not ideal in an airline – continue to exclude
• G:  Non ideal BA – Relinquish

The ideal situation is for the BA image to move until it coincides with that of the ideal airline thereby acquiring all the ideal airline characteristics in areas B and E and losing the negative or undesirable aspects in C and G. We hypothesise that it would be relatively easy for the airline to acquire the positive aspects of British-ness (found in B) given the link with Britain. By the same token it may be difficult to shake off those unwanted associations currently shared with Britain (In area C). Aspects that are deemed ideal and yet not found within either British-ness or BA may prove more difficult to acquire.

It is important to remember that we are treating British Airways as a corporate brand. The brand image is capable of manipulation and repositioning and the model provides the airline with the means by which to optimise such changes. British-ness research was subsequently conducted in three of the airline’s most important markets, The United States, Australia and in Britain itself, both North and South.

Returning now to the reason why the research was commissioned – the credibility of a ‘British caring’ message and the shortfall in perceptions of the airline as a caring company. The airline developed new service-based advertising. A campaign was developed which played heavily on the extent of customer service training undertaken by the airline and this new campaign was briefly examined in the British-ness group sessions. By discovering the characteristics associated with the advertising by consumers it became possible to evaluate, in an informal way, the contribution ‘Supercare’ advertising was making in each market towards shifting the image of British Airways nearer to the ideal. A method had been developed to tell the airline what British-ness and British Airways meant in each market and also which of these associations were desirable. A picture of the Ideal Airline was set up as a target and a method was provided to examine the effectiveness of advertising in taking the airline nearer to that ideal.

A further application of the model lies in the development of global corporate advertising and positioning. By examining the results of British-ness research in a number of different markets it is possible to check for areas of consistency. These provide valuable indications as to how the airline should seek to capitalise upon its British-ness on a wider and even global basis within the bounds of acceptability across different target markets.

The airline is now addressing these areas in its global advertising and promotional work and is trying to use its British-ness to full advantage in individual markets.

Implications and Conclusions

It may be seen then, that we have built up a research-based model for using British-ness in vital brand positioning. Using qualitative research, a fuller understanding of consumer perceptions of the U.K. can be obtained based on deeply-held, stereotype beliefs about aspects of the British character which are relevant for a given product field. British manufacturers can then, attempt to reposition their brands nearer to the ‘Ideal’ positioning using all the positive (and relevant) facets of the British character. The negative, constraining aspects of a British heritage, once identified, can gradually be excluded from the brand imagery. We believe that British-ness is not a simple, uni-faceted image. It seems to be a mass of deeply-held beliefs and expectations about Britain and British things. The aim is to understand this as fully as possible so that British-ness can be used selectively and carefully.

For example, we could use the model to determine the positioning of an ideal British gin. Building upon perceptions of British-ness, those of Beefeater gin and of the ideal gin, Burroughs could use the most appropriate and beneficial aspects of the brand’s character as the basis for an ideal brand in a specified market. The undesirable aspects of the brand including those which are British in nature, can start to be shed. Beefeater will move nearer to the ideal gin brand and will retain only those aspects of British-ness that support this repositioning. Therefore ‘traditional’ might be a positive in The USA whilst ‘staid’ and ‘old-fashioned’ are negatives. All are British and are associated with the Beefeater brand currently.

 Eventually, Beefeater would assume the Ideal British positioning.

Quite clearly, this positioning is unlikely to be achieved. Nor do we suggest that ideal positioning is based purely upon an understanding and full exploitation of a British heritage. Certain negatives associated with Britain will inevitably constrain British brands but endless other unrelated factors will also contribute (in a positive and negative sense) to brand positioning.

Our intention in this paper has been both to raise the whole issue of how to use ‘British-ness’ in positioning brands, and to describe one way in which qualitative research was used for repositioning a very British airline. We have also considered the global implications of association with the nation. Manufacturers cannot, it seems, expect that a British brand, will be seen in the same way in different target markets, each of whom may have their own views of Britain. However, a full appreciation of the meaning of British-ness across the various markets should assist in the development of credible global positioning for British brands. Perhaps in the long term when brands are successful, this may even have a beneficial effect on the status of the country itself.