It’s a curious thing. In spite of more than a few years of economic gloom, wet summers and shouts of ‘Broken Britain’, brand UK seems to be on a bit of a roll.

Take our recent sporting success. Last year’s Olympic Games were hailed as an organisational and sporting triumph and provided fantastic PR for the UK. We took a huge haul of medals and received wide spread praise from the international community on the spirit, organisation and success of London 2012. Even the Aussie’s quietly whispered that London beat Sydney hands down.

Last weekend in particular has highlighted the success and attention that Britain is receiving at the moment. After 77 years we finally have a home grown Men’s Wimbledon Singles Champion with the boy from Dunblane. The Lions took a spectacular victory in their tour of Australia, last month Justin Rose became the first English golfer since 1970 to win the US Open and Chris Froome is leading in the Tour De France. Are we becoming a nation of winners?

It’s not just sport where we appear to be exuding confidence. Take the automotive world. British luxury brands are riding high on a wave of record orders from emerging markets. The new middle classes in China and India want a piece of what they associate with style and class, and that is old school British luxury.

What’s fantastic is that in spite of the importance of heritage for British automotive brands they do not appear to be imprisoned and restrained by it. Jaguar Land Rover in particular epitomises the new found confidence that many companies are showing. They have not been afraid to challenge preconceptions about who they are and have created fantastic modern products that are a marketers dream.

It’s no surprise then that in November last year, Britain topped Monocle magazine’s ‘soft power’ ranking of world nations for the first time due to its increasing cultural might.

The key point linking this British success is that of confidence. These industries and individuals aren’t afraid to shout about their qualities and what they have to offer the world. Confidence, rather than arrogance, is vital to successful PR and marketing. The campaigns surrounding all these brands have shown real belief in the product or idea that they were selling.

Belief is infectious and contagious. Businesses should not be afraid to shout about their success. The days where this was seen as cocky or vain are over. A minimalist approach to marketing cannot work in such a competitive era. Make sure your PR focusses on your strengths and that your agency understands what makes you great so that are in the best position to communicate your business message.