Paris Tops Ranking in Global City Image Study; GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media and...

Paris Tops Ranking in Global City Image Study; GfK Roper Public Affairs &
Media and Simon Anholt Release 2009 City Brands Index(SM)

Three U.S. Cities Among Top Ten

NEW YORK, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, a division
of GfK Custom Research North America, today announced highlights from the 2009
Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index(SM) (CBI) report, which captures consumer
perception of the image and reputation of 50 major cities worldwide.

Paris ranks as the top overall city "brand," followed by Sydney, London, Rome
and New York. The top 10 cities from the global survey are:

2009 Anholt-GfK Roper City
Brands Index(SM) Ranking
(Top 10 of 50 Cities)

1. Paris
2. Sydney
3. London
4. Rome
5. New York
6. Barcelona
7. San Francisco
8. Los Angeles
9. Vienna
10. Madrid

"The index measures the world's perception of each city, which influences
people's choices on where to live, work and vacation," says Simon Anholt, CBI
founder. "Particularly in the face of today's uncertain economic climate, it's
vital to understand the forces and opinions that drive business towards and
away from these cities."

The index is based on a global survey in which respondents from across 20
major developed and developing countries are asked to rate their agreement
with statements about each of 50 cities. The ranking is developed by
averaging city scores across the index's six categories: Presence (knowledge
of city and perception of its global contribution), Place (cleanliness,
aesthetic qualities and climate), Pre-requisites (affordable accommodations
and quality of public amenities), People (friendliness, personal encounters
and cultural diversity), Pulse (interesting events, activities and lifestyles)
and Potential (perception as good place to do business, to find a job and to
go to school).

Following are the top three ranked cities in each category, as well as two
additional cities with noteworthy positions on the list:

Presence Brand Ranking People Brand Ranking
1. London 1. Sydney
2. New York 2. Toronto
3. Paris 3. Melbourne
12. Beijing 33. Singapore
50. Jeddah 46. Cairo

Place Brand Ranking Pulse Brand Ranking
1. Sydney 1. Paris
2. Rome 2. New York
3. Paris 3. Rome
37. Chicago 14. Rio de Janeiro
50. Mumbai 46. Warsaw

Pre-requisites Brand Ranking Potential Brand Ranking
1. Sydney 1. London
2. Toronto 2. New York
3. Amsterdam 3. Sydney
6. Vancouver 8. Boston
27. Prague 29. Hong Kong

"While Sydney lands in first place in three of the six categories that combine
to create the index, it is Paris' big lead over Sydney in the Presence and
Pulse dimensions that push it into the top position overall," explains Xiaoyan
Zhao, senior vice president and director of the CBI study at GfK Roper Public
Affairs & Media. "Similarly, there are cities with notable strengths in some
areas but are pulled down by their poor showings in others. Even so-called
top cities have varied reputations across developed and developing countries.
Understanding the significance of these differences is crucial so that cities
can leverage their core strengths and shore up areas of vulnerability in order
to develop overall strategies to attract tourism and business investments."

Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index(SM) (CBI) Methodology
The index measures the image of 50 cities with respect to Presence, Place,
Pre- requisite, People, Pulse and Potential. Each year, a total of 10,000
adults ages 18 and up are interviewed in 20 core countries.

About GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media
GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media is a division of GfK Custom Research North
America. The division specializes in customized public opinion polling, media
& communications research, and corporate reputation measurement -- in the US
and globally. In addition to delivering a broad range of customized research
studies, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media draws from GfK's syndicated consumer
tracking services, GfK Roper Reports(R) US and GfK Roper Reports(R) Worldwide,
which monitor consumer values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in the US and
more than 25 other countries.

About GfK Custom Research North America
Headquartered in New York, GfK Custom Research North America is part of the
GfK Group. With home offices in Nuremberg, Germany, the GfK Group is fourth
largest market research organization in the world. Its activities cover three
business sectors: Custom Research, Retail and Media. With 115 companies
covering over 100 countries, GfK Group has approximately 10,000 employees (as
of September 30, 2008), 80% of which are based outside Germany. For more
information, visit www.gfkamerica.com.

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GfKAmerica and Facebook:
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About Simon Anholt
Simon Anholt is recognized as the world's leading authority on the identity,
image and reputation of countries, regions and cities. He is a member of the
UK Foreign Office's Public Diplomacy Board, and works as an independent
advisor to around 40 other national, regional and city governments on identity
policy and public diplomacy. Anholt developed the concept of the Nation Brands
Index in 2005. He is founding editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding
and Public Diplomacy, and the author of Brand New Justice, Brand America and
Competitive Identity-- the New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and
Regions.

SOURCE GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media

Deanna Decker, +1-212-752-8338, ddecker@psbpr.com; or Amanda Sham,
+1-212-752-8338, asham@psbpr.com, both of Padilla Speer Beardsley; or Kellie
Radford, GfK Custom Research, North America, +1-212-240-5300,
info@gfkamerica.com