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Saskia Brauer and Gernot Brauer

Sport and national reputation

The 2006 FIFA World Cup and Germany’s image worldwide

Introduction

Two recent international sports events in German-speaking countries have attracted widespread international interest, not only among sport fans: the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany (hereinafter referred to as the World Cup) and the 2008 European championship in Austria and Switzerland.

During the planning phase of the World Cup, Germany was conscious of the fact that global sports events on that scale cannot but have an effect on the international image of the host country. Major sports events can therefore be used as a means of improving a nation’s global image. This is exactly what Germany intended and went on to achieve. Now, in 2008, the year of the European championship in Austria and in Switzerland, we present an analysis of the influence it was hoped the World Cup would have, and what it did, in fact, achieve.

In this paper, we report on how Germany was perceived by World Cup viewers and selected interviewees before the tournament began, how the World Cup was expected to contribute to changing Germany’s image abroad, and how that changed in the course of the championship. In so doing, this report discusses the meaning of the term image[1] and Germany’s reputation in other countries. The report outlines the kind of stereotypical expectations people coming to Germany had as far as the country and its inhabitants were concerned, how such stereotypes developed, and what potential there was to change them. The analysis shows that today’s mass sports events are ideal platforms for significantly improving the reputation[2] of a country on a global level.

In the following chapters, this paper gives an overview of how the German government, the World Cup Local Organising Committee and other stakeholders sought to make use of the event for public relations purposes. On the basis of media reports from all over the world, it analyses the views journalists had of Germany when they started their reports and then shows how the image reflected in those reports changed in the course of the tournament. These findings are then compared with data compiled by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association[3] (FIFA) and the German tourist board[4] (DZT), based on international research they had commissioned on four continents (except Australia). Those findings are then complemented by research carried out by one of the authors of this paper in Australia. This additional research was initially intended to evaluate whether the messages from Germany would reach as far as down under and secondly, whether the reports from the Australian media would differ from those of the fans who actually travelled to Germany for the World Cup.

The core questions addressed in this paper are: what were the main elements of Germany’s image before the World Cup began – as reflected by the media and the people interviewed in Australia – which of them remained more or less unchanged during the event, and which were altered and possible reasons why. In short, the answer is: 1) Sporting events on the scale of the World Cup are capable of significantly changing a country’s global reputation 2) Planned and intensive communication in the course of such an event is an effective tool for developing a positive national image globally.

Contents

1. Sport and national reputation page 3

1.1 National images 3

1.2 Germany as a brand 4

1.3 The meaning of sports in history 7

1.4 The mass phenomenon of football 9

2 The 2006 World Cup 12

2.1 The World Cup – an overview 12

2.2 Preparations for the World Cup 12

3 Germany’s image in the media 16

3.1 Places and people 18

3.2 The national character 18

3.3 History and politics 21

3.4 Reasons for the change 24

3.5 Improved reputation 27

3.6 Remaining concerns 28

4 Germany’s image as seen in interviews in Australia 28

4.1 Places and people 30

4.2 The national character 32

4.3 History and politics 34

4.4 Germany’s image among descendants of early settlers and immigrants 35

5 Conclusions 36

6 Annexe and references 39

1 Sport and national reputation

1.1  National images

Images do not develop at random. This is true for businesses and their brands as well as for countries and their people[5]. Images can be developed and promoted strategically, and image policy is therefore a reality. But images can also develop without planning and against the will of the person, brand or country in question. Germany is a good example of this: owing to its history during the two world wars, the country was widely regarded as bellicose. The Holocaust cast a shadow over Germany’s image for generations. For decades, however, booming exports generated a positive “made in Germany” image, with German-made goods generally being regarded as technically reliable, and the people manufacturing them seen as efficient. An image of Germans as orderly and efficient did not, however, automatically guarantee their acceptance internationally.

Business corporations strategically use their brand policies to establish and strengthen a brand image in their market segments. They do so by organising promotional events, as they know that anything a customer has experienced personally will have a much bigger impact than something they have just seen, heard or read about in the media. Similarly, national image can be strengthened if as many people as possible have first-hand experience of the country. In this context, huge sporting events are the best platform for establishing and developing national images.

In order to change an image, it is important not just to paint a façade, but also to alter the substance. An image is a simplified, over-explained and evaluated construct[6]. An image may or may not represent the truth, and in addition to simply being wrong, it may even be forged. According to the American scientist James Grunig, an image can be created out of nothing[7]. He refers to Edward Bernays who suspected that most images were merely smoke and mirrors. The former US president Ronald Reagan, who as a former movie actor knew how a mock reality could be created using paper and paint, once said: “Facts are stupid things[8].”

Therefore scientists prefer to discuss the reputation of a person or a body rather than just its image. A reputation requires a person to form an opinion on the basis of direct experience; positive experience leads to a good reputation. This, according to Dozier, is something completely different to what image-makers do[9].

The same applies to national images/reputations[10]. National images are usually built on a shared history and heritage, a mutual culture, a national economy, and a legal and ethical framework including obligations of the individual for the general good[11]. In this respect, every nation believes it is different from all others. Citizens feel they belong together and develop a degree of solidarity. They believe that they and their compatriots have more features in common than that set them apart. This often results in a sense of pride that means that the people of a nation want to share their sets of rules with others – voluntarily or by force – the latter in a missionary effort to bless the world with what they believe or to protect others from suffering. In such cases, they consider their own nation to be better than others, and believe that others would be wise to accept that[12]. Thus national stereotypes are developed.

Such stereotypes mould the collective memory of a nation to a certain extent. Collective memory has both communicative and cultural dimensions. The communicative element survives as long as people share memories with their companions. Such memories cannot last longer than about three generations – the lifetime of an individual. The cultural memory of artefacts and written documents, however, survives for centuries.

1.2 Germany as a brand

Various researchers[13] paint a pretty similar picture of what is said to be typically German – a strong work ethic, discipline, a strong will[14] – but characteristics such as creativity and flexibility are not commonly cited. Germans, they say, need to be effective and efficient, whereas other nations can compensate for a lack of efficiency with their brilliance. In their daily routine, they add, Germans have a rather rough way of going about things, which is noticeable even when they speak to each other. They tend to be quite tall but more heavyset than elegant. Stereotypically German symbols are sausages, beer and garden gnomes.

German stereotypes differ in specific countries. In the United Kingdom, for instance, Germany’s image is largely moulded by its history[15] and is further influenced by educational experiences, buildings, cities, food and drinks, and sport. To a lesser extent, the German image is shaped by the country’s economy, especially the good reputation of German cars. Only having cited all of these elements do the British refer to the German mentality, which is seen in quite a positive light (nice and pleasant, effective and well organised), and politics (a peaceful foreign policy, committed EU membership, a good environmental policy). British people generally believe Germany to be a powerful and influential nation.

There are both positive and negative aspects to this. As far as the negative side is concerned, British people first mention Germany’s role during the two world wars, especially during the Nazi era. In addition, they consider the following to be typically German: bad food, bad football, impolite, quite rough behaviour, a lack of humour, and arrogance, sometimes even racist attitudes and far-right behaviour[16].

Internationally, Germany’s image corresponds more or less to that of Bavaria. “For many foreigners, leather trousers are as typically German as the Oktoberfest, the only German event known throughout the world.”[17]

However, there are signs that a different, more modern national image is being propagated through fashion and advertising campaigns, for instance. At international competitions in these fields, German participants in 2006 won more medals than ever before[18]. At the European Art Directors Club awards, for instance, German advertising came out on top, with one in three medals (42 out of 125) going to a German participant. German entries were similarly successful at the Cannes International Advertising Festival and the New York Design, Print and Outdoor Advertising Festival. According to Johannes Newrkla, president of the Art Directors Club of Europe, this was due to the humorous and self-deprecating tone of the entries. The Germans, he said, had learnt to poke fun at themselves, and that turned out to be the basis of their success.

Bernhard Willhelm, a fashion designer born in Ulm, Germany, has presented tongue-in-cheek collections incorporating national symbols. Similarly, Eva Gronbach, a fashion designer based in Cologne, who previously worked for Yamamoto, Galliano and Hermès, has started to incorporate national symbols and colours into her designs, while Hugo Schneider and Uli Dziallas presented dresses in black, red and gold, the colours of the German flag. In 2001, Jette Joop, a jewellery designer, named her collection I love Germany.[19]

This is much more than just a game. If a brand is the dynamic result of the interaction of image and culture, underpinned by a vision[20], then the “Germany” brand can do more than just repackage folk symbols or the colours of the national flag as fun consumer goods. A brand must go beyond that: it has to mirror a country’s self-awareness and transmit a national vision playfully but consistently. Such a vision is a complicated mixture of deeply rooted elements with little or no potential to be changed, and others that are more flexible[21], and is therefore difficult to take full advantage of.

With only a few exceptions, Germany is a strong brand. The examples mentioned prove that people have successfully attempted to reinterpret it for a new generation and thus allow it to evolve further. This is possible in areas other than advertising and fashion as well: for instance, in the field of sport. Such changes can, according to the experts[22], have a substantial impact and pave the way for new kinds of business. Instead of a purely masculine and technology-oriented profile, a more realistic and diverse image of Germany could be communicated, which would allow many more producers to present their national heritage as a promotional factor[23].

Even though countries are basically brands similar to internationally well-known products, supported by diplomacy and national advertising campaigns, only a few countries have adopted strategies to develop their national brand in the same way that corporations do with their products[24]. Of course there are flags, anthems and other symbols, but all that is old-fashioned[25]. Industry has shown that acceptance and brand loyalty are supported and secured through mass events that allow the public to see and feel for themselves.

This is true in terms of both positive and negative perceptions. People from many countries had previously viewed Germany on the basis of its military past, but those impressions were later supplemented by their experiences of German-made products. More recently, sport has formed the basis for better understanding among peoples. Sporting events are an almost perfect means of reaching and exciting thousands if not millions of people. The World Cup in Germany proved this more than any other event in history.

1.3 The meaning of sports in history