On Thursday, November 29, the Public Council of the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm) discussed the final version of Russia's tourism brand at a meeting. The Public Council approved the logo, whose motto is "Russia is the Whole World." The organization's press service reported this to TRN.
As Oleg Safonov, head of the Federal Agency for Tourism, emphasized during the meeting, the project to create a Russian brand has been underway for several years. "Every country that actively develops and promotes tourism globally has a brand. 144 countries have such brands and slogans. We don't, and this is a serious omission. It's important for us to promote our tourism both domestically and internationally," he noted.
The first stage involved working with citizens, and an open competition to develop the country's brand was announced, recalled the head of Rostourism. More than 10,000 proposals were received, including some professional entries, but in most cases, these were kind and naive. Three winners of the public competition received awards. "But we realized we needed to work with professionals," explained Oleg Safonov. "We contacted the Association of Branding Companies of Russia, and they responded enthusiastically to our proposal. They considered it important to participate in this historic process."
Now the work has come to an end. Alexey Andreev, the Association's director, described the process: "Recruiting professionals for this work was easy. After all, the state, represented by Rostourism, looked to us. This was unprecedented; we accomplished a tremendous amount of consolidated work. There was no experience with similar volunteer work, and we couldn't find any global examples. First of all, together with Rostourism and representatives of the professional community, we created a route map. It was clear we would need allies. We contacted educational institutions and professional communities interested in branding, design, and the reputation of territories. This is how the expert council was formed. We also secured legal protections, as this is intellectual work."
Alexey Andreev reported that 30 fully-fledged, considered strategies were received, and 10 finalists were selected. These were then submitted to a public vote, which ran online for three months. Ultimately, the final three proposals were submitted to the jury. The head of the Association of Branding Companies of Russia cited some figures: the brand's presentation video has been viewed over 40,000 times, over 50 professionals made up the Russian branding team that worked on the project, over 30 articles about Russia's tourism brand have been published on international branding resources, over 80 reviews have been published online, and experts have presented the brand's history at over 10 events in Paris, Milan, Berlin, and Cannes.
The winning concept, a symbol created in the Suprematist style and the motto "Russia is the Whole World," received the majority of the jury's votes. "The theme of Suprematism is one of the most recurring themes in Russian culture, and we found communication tools that will allow us to represent the country in this brand," says Alexey Andreev. "The metaphor was an image representing a map of the country. It can be dissected in detail and yet remains recognizable. The brand design can be used anywhere and in various forms. The symbol has a wide range of interfaces. We believe in the future of this brand. We are satisfied with the results."
The brand itself, as well as its use, sparked discussion among meeting participants. For example, should Russia's tourism brand be paid or free? Deputy Head of Rostourism Nikolay KorolevFor example, he recalled the use of Olympic and World Cup symbols—they could only be used with permission. The head of the Public Council of the Federal Agency for Tourism Dmitry Davydenko, General Director of the Non-Profit Partnership "Center for the Protection and Assistance of Citizens Abroad and Support of Compatriots" and Chairman of the All-Russian Public Association "All-Russian Association of Tourists," also noted that if the sign is free, there is a risk that it will appear on low-quality tourist products, so it will be important to monitor the use of the sign, even if it is free.
"The brand is designed for both specialists and consumers, and therefore must be recognizable and understandable," the meeting participants commented, suggesting that the final design might be difficult to understand. Alexey Andreev, for his part, noted that it is a flexible brand that can suit any context and every user, and that it can reflect the unique characteristics of different regions of Russia.
Regarding the question of why the creators of the Russia brand didn't use traditional symbols like the matryoshka doll, the balalaika, and other already recognizable Russian icons, Alexey Andreev explained that the working group explored all possible approaches: "We studied which communications worked for consumers and which didn't. For example, we suggested toning down the emphasis on matryoshka dolls, Gzhel, and so on, just as France doesn't try to use the Eiffel Tower symbol everywhere. We looked at what audiences responded to and how. Many barriers had to be overcome. Among the finalists are more traditional brand ideas, but our goal is to think ahead." "Right now, the goal isn't to unanimously adopt the final version; it's more important to ensure that our approach is sound," Nikolay Korolev noted.
Following the discussion, the meeting participants approved the proposed national tourism brand. Rostourism will register the trademark, and the format and rules for its use will also be developed.
It's worth noting that social media users have expressed extremely mixed reactions to Russia's new tourism brand. Against this backdrop, the TRN portal asks its readers to share their opinions on the matter in the comments section of this article.
Source: trn-news.ru
