Global PR firms salute the London Olympics
An international survey by the global public relations group ECCO shows that London 2012 was a public relations success for Britain.
More than 100 communications experts from 24 countries around the globe contributed to the research, with 79% judging their ‘local’ media coverage of the London Olympics as largely positive and 73% judging the event to have changed the image of the British for the better.
On an even more positive note, 99% of respondents expect that the Olympics will encourage more people from their country to visit Britain and 97% believe it has resulted in more positive perceptions of British products and services in their countries.
"ECCO’s chairman and CEO of UK PR firm Kinross & Render, Sara Render, said, "Britain has been patting itself on the back justifiably for fantastic Games but overseas audiences count even more when it comes to boosting tourism and international trade.
"This is a strong endorsement of London 2012’s positive impact on the British tourism and export brand from PR experts from around the world.
Over a quarter of survey participants believe that the Olympic Games has resulted in perceptions of the British as being friendlier, more culturally complex, more competitive and having a greater sense of humour than was previously the case.
Lutz Cleffman, owner of a German PR agency, said, "London is not just the city of greedy bankers any more. The Olympics showed a much nicer face of the people and country.
The best ‘face’ for London was seen as having been the athletes themselves (41%), followed by the people of London (23%) and the Royal Family (16%).
Dr Niren Suchanti, chairman of Pressman in India, summed up the views of many overseas consultants. He said, "So many people have been stunned, not just by the excitement of the Games but also by the sights and sounds of London.
"I do believe more people from India will want to visit London to discover for themselves the many facets of that magical city."
The survey was reported by SpotzPower.
Ian Jarrett
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