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The consultant of Baltic Seat Regional Brand (BSRB) plan says that the word ”Baltic” is connected to bad things for the general public.
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The Baltic Sea Regional Brand was started in order to find something characteristic for all Baltic States. “There should be something more than just the Baltic Coastline. Only no one seems quite sure what,” writes Business New Europe.
The leader in national brands is UK consultant Simon Anholt, has been advising several of the region’s governments. “I’ve been working on the notion of Baltic unity and a Baltic brand for some years,” Anholt told bne. “It is problematic. As far as the elite audience is concerned, the Baltic brand is quite positive because it is associated with a very interesting, rapidly developing part of the higher-income world. Speak to any reasonably informed internationalist and they’ll be able to trot out figures about the fast-growing economies. In that respect, it represents positive brand equity for the individual countries.”
The problem is, Anholt continues, that a Baltic identity becomes a minus when you’re talking to general audiences. “The word ‘Baltic’ is strongly negative as far as general publics are concerned. It is associated not with fast-growing economies and IT, but with a vague image of a miserable, grey, post-Soviet wasteland, probably contaminated, with no culture, no self-respect and nothing of any interest to anybody.”
Anholt still claims that creating a national brand is necessary for the state/region to look at its activities and investments in a new way. He especially brings out Estonia, which has, in his opinion, progressed further in this area than Latvia or Lithuania.
“”Brand Estonia” was launched in 2001 to take advantage of the country’s hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest, but has snowballed into something more substantial. Comprehensive style guides, photo libraries and consultancy services are made available to businesses to ensure that the marketing of the country is consistent and of a high quality,” writes bne.
Source: BBN
Filed under: Foreign Affairs, Media, marketing
