Mexico has long conjured images of exotic beauty, Mayan civilization and cities rich in culture. But a bloody drugs war, stemming from the government’s determination to end the illegal narcotics trade, changed Mexico’s image overnight. Media coverage sensationalized the violence, portraying Mexico as unsafe to work, live and even visit. A company in crisis calls for a sophisticated and interconnected strategy to repair its reputation. But a whole country in crisis calls for another order of magnitude. At stake: Mexico’s reputation and its entire economy, from foreign direct investment to tourism.

The multi-country campaign sought not only to correct distortions about the drug war chaos but also create a compellingly positive story about the inspirational new Mexico.

The strategy: Awaken media and key influencers to the fact that Mexico had been taken hostage by a single-minded storyline and introduce a thriving, young, high-tech, multifaceted powerhouse.Favourable shifts in perception resulted from the integrated campaign with a ten-fold increase in the number of positive articles and 1bn online impressions. A tourism revival and investment resurgence have bolstered Mexico’s economy, despite a global recession, and increased consumer and business confidence, even bringing cruise ships back to Mexican ports since leaving in 2010.

Top government officials became ambassadors during an 8-city U.S. media tour, eventually reaching Europe and Canada. Media now understood the drug violence was limited to a small part of a vast country and the US State Department narrowed its travel warnings.

Trusted US influencers who already cherished Mexico became social media ambassadors, sharing their passion for the country’s culture, cuisine and design. Facebook communities, blog posts and Tweet Ups increased interest and sustained engagement, building awareness both on and offline.Powerful, credible friends of Mexico were recruited to tell the overlooked business story. CEOs from Fortune 100 companies and a legendary trade official shared personal, unscripted stories of why Mexico is important to the US and global economy. Affinity groups, including corporate intranets, helped spread this message.Finally, an integrated advertising campaign launched in key European markets revealed modern Mexico as a premier travel and investment destination with new surprises.

The campaign successfully shifted attitudes and substantially bolstered tourism and investment. 350 media interviews produced 4bn media impressions across 6 countries, more than the previous 3 years combined. Tone in coverage shifted from 'negative/neutral' to 'neutral/positive', and reports showed a 10-fold increase in positive articles. Online communications generated 1bn impressions and advertising yielded over 460m unique views. Tourism surged as the Ministry of Tourism announced 2011 was its best year ever, a 2% increase over 2010 despite an ongoing global recession. International hotel and resort chains have increased Mexico investments in Mexico by 127% since 2010. Cruise lines have returned to Mexico’s ports. Business confidence in Mexico has grown with foreign direct investment in Mexico up 9.7% year-over-year.

While the mission continues, the crisis that claimed a country is contained and the world has a new way of thinking about the Mexico they thought they knew.