Russian nation-branding as it is

Last summer the Russian federal tourism agency Rosturizm came up with a logo for Russia's tourist and promotional activities under the federal target programme 'Development of internal and inbound tourism in the Russian Federation 2011-2018'. The logo reads 'My Russia' ("Моя Россия" in Russian) in which 'Russia' is written in upright bold and 'My' is in italics. Besides, the two words represent the colours of the Russian flag: My Russia against a white background.

The logo is meant to convey a certain (by all means positive) message and create an attractive image of Russia as a diverse country with lots to offer for everyone who comes to visit it. Because hey, everyone's got their own 'Russia', don't they? So 'My' is supposed to say 'Your', basically. In other words, the logo is a way to attract more tourists into the country and boost Russia's tourism industry and reputation. 

The need to have one single logo for Russian tourism programmes was long overdue. It was a shame for a country like Russia not to have one in times when nation-branding and international tourism have become an essential part of contemporary international relations, like today's global multinational corporations or the international human rights movement. Many countries have long been aware of the power of nation-branding and have since made good use of promoting themselves in a consistent and professional manner. 

So much for the good intentions and a noble attempt at nation-branding, but not all in the Russian branding and visual communications community agreed that this is the way to effectively promote one's own country abroad. I have already talked about Russian officials' weird love of possessives when it comes to national slogans and mottos ('Hot.Cool.Yours.' as the Sochi 2014 motto and 'This is My Games' earlier in the Sochi promotion campaign), so now obviously they have also decided not to look too far with the 'My Russia' thing. Whereas some say 'My Russia' is universal and thus can be filled with many different meanings to reflect Russia's diversity, others argue that the logo's minimalism and simplicity are merely the result of not knowing what exactly to fill Russia's 'brand' with. Russia is very poor on mechanisms that would help devise a viable, flexible and manageable brand to meet the country's reputation needs. All talk of a positive image and brand is too abstract and general. Ultimately, the core of the problem with the brand 'Russia' is the apparent lack of a solid national idea/identity - Russia does not know what it is and where it is going, hence no clear idea of what it needs to advertise in its brand. The country has been more often looking back into the past, ignoring the present and having a dim idea of its future. To the outside world Russia is most often associated with Soviet times, which is unhealthy (for Russia) because it needs to invoke a vision of itself as a modern and forward-looking nation. More generally, this national ideology predicament has often been cited as the primary cause of Russia's failures at soft power.
To the linguistic pedant that I am it is also not very clear why the designers of the logo translated the accompanying slogan (there is one!) "Открой свою Россию" as 'Reveal your own Russia". My translator gut feeling tells me it would be more accurate to say 'Discover your Russia'.

Overall, this example of nation-branding with the Russia logo raises, however, the more practical question of accountability. While the government officials at Rosturizm can say all they want about how they really like the winner of the logo competition (there was a tender), experts have long lamented the widespread incompetence and lack of transparency when it comes to deciding who takes care of the country's branding and image matters. What Russian officials see as 'the most accessible, interesting, dynamic and most promising' PR logo experts call 'a great waste of public money'. The expert community is seldom consulted and the entire decision-making process in Russia on all things PR & branding seems fundamentally flawed. The bid to design the tourism logo was secured by an obscure design bureau called 'Artishok' who offered their services at the lowest price of all. Russia's Business FM Radio's experts said they did not know anything about the company, although, they added, the price well explains the final product. 

The creation of the 'My Russia' logo and the accompanying promotional goods inevitably leads one to have a look at what actually has been done in the field in other image-conscious countries over the past few years. Take the Netherlands, for example, and the regional marketing campaign for the capital city of Amsterdam called I amsterdam. A dedicated website tells the story of a campaign that started back in 2002/2004. The new single city branding strategy for Amsterdam was meant to give a much-needed image boost to a city that had been suffering considerable reputation losses in the preceding years. Amsterdam had dropped in global city rankings and had been losing the competition for visitors and businesses to other European cities and metropolitan regions.
Now the I amsterdam campaign has been running for a decade and has proven a brilliant feat of city branding. The brand has its own website packed with useful information for tourists and business people. It boasts a long list of partners and has a dedicated I amsterdam City Card loaded with lots of visitor benefits. The motto I amsterdam is designed to indicate the uniqueness of the city as 'an excellent choice for business, education, living and visiting', a centre of excellence for creativity, innovation and commerce. I amsterdam also makes direct reference to the people of the city ('I amsterdam') that are celebrated as its 'lifeblood' and are proud to have Amsterdam as their home. The motto is thus engaging, inclusive and therefore friendly. One excellent feature of the whole branding campaign, in my opinion, is that I amsterdam has gone 'real' and hands-on. The actual phrase 'I amsterdam' can be found in the city's streets as big towering letters, which never fail to attract photo-hungry visitors. The letters have become a symbol of the city, 'a physical icon' that has moved 'into the city's collective imagination'. All in all, the brand 'Amsterdam' shows how much thorough consideration, planning and effort has been put into its marketing: I amsterdam is friendly, accessible, creative, and even tactile!
Even more massive has been Britain's GREAT campaign (This is GREAT Britain - You're invited) seizing tourism and economic opportunities presented by 2012's Queen's Diamond Jubilee and Olympic and Paralympic Games. Although the focus of this marketing campaign was year 2012, it is meant for longer - from 2011 to 2015 - in order to capitalise on the legacy of the Games and bring about long-term tourism, trade and investment benefits. The UK's tourism industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the economy. Called 'one of the most ambitious and far-reaching marketing campaigns ever developed by the UK Government', the GREAT branding strategy has been the joint effort of several governmental departments and agencies: Foreign and Commonwealth Office; UK Trade & Investment; Business, Innovation and Skills; Culture, Media and Sport; the British Council; and national tourism agency VisitBritain.
What makes this campaign really great (pun intended) are its truly global character and purpose. The organisers have managed to recruit lots of partners, businesses and celebrities to their cause. Launch events promoting international tourism to Britain have been held with pomp and splendour featuring Union Jack-branded trains on the New York subway, branded double-deckers and Minis in Europe, and Spice Girls doppelgängers elsewhere. GREAT adverts, a global 'sales assault', have been placed in the world's 'biggest and most lucrative tourism markets' in 9 countries, taking 'the fight for the tourist pound right to [Britain's] competitors' doorsteps'. An interesting offshoot of the campaign is the British brand Mulberry's own contribution to the cause called Brilliant Britain. This 'guide to a truly great nation' is meant to celebrate 'unique characteristics that make Britain great', its many 'charms and eccentricities'. The GREAT campaign also has a facebook page.
As an aside, Britain's latest nation-branding feat could remind one of the 1990s Cool Britannia movement, but it was rather bottom-up than top-down in terms of origin and purpose. It is also funny and somewhat ironic that after all this hard work and amazing effort to promote the country Britain's government are now considering launching a negative marketing campaign to discourage immigration from some countries. So much for the national brand's flexibility!
It would be interesting as well to have a look at countries that are somewhat 'closer' to Russia and therefore more comparable, such as the BRICS. India, for instance, proved quite successful with its Incredible !ndia campaign that took place in the 2000s.
Going back to Russia, its latest attempt at nation-branding ('My Russia') obviously pales in comparison with the examples outlined above. I could hardly find any evidence of close cooperation in public diplomacy between the various Russian ministries and agencies that could potentialy mount a joint full-blown long-term national marketing campaign to promote the country's reputation. There is however a slight hint at some partnership activity going on between the Cultural Ministry's Rosturizm (the national tourism agency) and the Foreign Ministry's Rossotrudnichestvo (the public diplomacy agency). To Russia's credit though, it seems to have finally woken up to the power of social networks when it comes to nation-branding. Russia's official facebook page meant to show 'the real Russia' has been in existence since September 2011 but it still has a long way to go.
The 'disjointedness' of Russia's public diplomacy and nation-branding efforts has recently been confirmed again as the Russian government has hired Goldman Sachs to improve its investment image abroad. This time the body in charge of nation-branding affairs (with a special focus on financial and business image) is the Ministry for Economic Development. One remembers that Russia has not been at all averse to making use of American-based organisations in raising its attractiveness stakes.

But before a positive Russian image abroad ever becomes a reality, we Russians might as well contemplate using snow as our next big nation-branding idea.

Olympics-inspired

With the end of this year's Olympics it seems only logical to once again look back on how it all began, and assess London's, and UK's, good job on the task. After all, the world will be 'watching' Sochi, and thus Russia, in less than two years' time at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics with even greater scrutiny, and lessons to be learnt are in order. No matter how frustrated Russia can be at the West's regular fault-finding, this time it will surely have to go out of its way to impress all and everyone, if only for a couple of Olympic weeks.

If it weren't for the West, it would still be a good idea to impress our Chinese counterparts anyway, wouldn't it, with whom we share the BRICS? Incidentally, the past decade has seen almost all BRICS countries undertake the hard - and noble - task of hosting at least one big sporting event: China and its Beijing Olympiad in 2008, South Africa's World Cup in 2010, in 2016 the Summer Games will come to Brazil - the first country to ever hold the Olympics in South America (not to mention that the country is also going to play host to the 2014 World Cup). South Africa has even fraternally agreed to advise Brazil on this occasion. In 2007 this hosting honour was granted to Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and in 2010 for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Do I smell a trend here?

The scale of the impression that every country aspires to make at such events is illustrated well enough by the amounts of money that nations have been shown ready and willing to pour over the last few decades into Olympics preparation and infrastructure. The rising costs are much in evidence as quite often the Games go over the intended budget and ultimately prove non-cost-effective. As a result, they are becoming incredibly expensive to afford.  

But Russia has shown unfailing determination to host the next Winter Olympiad. The Russian bid in 2007 for the 2014 Winter Olympics ultimately proved a big deal with elements of assertive diplomacy whereby President Putin unabashedly unleashed all his charms on all important IOC people in town. If anything, the bid - and the win - was every bit about getting the world, at least formally, to give Russia a chance and accept it as a worthy power with positive image potential. To the extent that money is a means to an end, it was of secondary importance to Russia. To the extent that image matters and an impression is to be made in due course on an Olympics-craving, peace-loving and smiling world, money is ultimately a primary consideration. While none of us may know for certain how much will be poured into the Sochi Games that already have beaten all previous Winter Olympics in costs, one would reasonably expect that the Opening Ceremony, the crowning glory of all Olympics, would eat up a fair chunk of the budget. After all, the Opening Ceremony is supposed to set the ball rolling in the direction of a brighter national reputation. 

Now, that got me thinking: if the grandness of an opening ceremony is in any direct proportion to the money spent on its preparation and on hosting the Olympics overall, then Russia should be doing alright. But for some reason this self-reassuring belief just won't suffice. As the Olympics are first and foremost about selling yourself to the world, Russia should really have something up its sleeve to amaze the world at the Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2014. And, as it happens, nothing provides us with a better case study and a fresh example for emulation than the recent London 2012 Games. Before I even started wondering, in the wake of the London Opening Ceremony in July, what story lines and characters could possibly fill up Russia's Sochi Opening Ceremony, Russia's Dozhd' TV channel had done it for me. The London Ceremony, with all its reminiscences and references to the 'glorious history', today's multinational society, welfare state and British culture, offers good food for thought in preparation for Sochi 2014 as we Russians are thinking about how we will do it 'our way' in two years' time.    

There are three main themes that stood out for me in the London Ceremony: 1) humour, 2) history, and 3) culture. One speaker on the Dozhd' programme kept pointing out how masterful the British are at having a good laugh about their history and themselves - doing it in that elegant, light, truly British way, using fine, sophisticated humour verging on self-irony, which only flatters the nation and does not damage the overall perception of its history and its people. Another thing was the British history part that depicted a 'glorious past' - selectively, of course. But the Industrial Revolution was truly one of the greatest things Britain has given the world, an achievement of global significance - no matter what followed afterwards in the next few centuries. Lastly, culture in its broadest sense was one big theme that ran through the whole of the Ceremony, from the NHS and classic children's literature, pop music, comedy and culture to multicultural families where the mum is white and the dad is black, through to social networking and political correctness to a sense of an absolutely inclusive society. In other words, the Ceremony was full of British characteristics.

Drawing analogies with the topics in the Ceremony, the speakers on Dozhd' suggested having Lenin wave from the Mausoleum (or the armoured car) to Putin passing by on the Firebird accompanied by Ilya of Murom, or having the DneproGES and the Belomorkanal shoot from under the ground on which GULAG workers toil away. Jokes aside, there are many things that have long been considered as purely 'Russian brands' that the country could capitalise on: from fairy tales with Dragon Gorynych and the Hut on Chicken Legs, to notorious history figures like Rasputin and the entire Tsar epoch, through to more household stuff such as the Samovar, Matreshka, Lapti, Valenki and the Faberge Eggs. Not to mention Shalyapin, Tchaikovsky, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, the Russian Ballet, and the Double-Headed Eagle of course. I really liked the idea of 12,000 little swans from 'The Swan Lake' dancing all together  on the floor of the Olympic stadium (...when suddenly a massive Bulava missile creeps up from under the ground to take the place of these little swans, one commentator suggested). But seriously, 12,000 little swans dancing synchronised would look great. So would groups of people from Russia's many ethnic regions dressed in their native attire, dancing their native dances or singing in choirs. Imagine Caucasian folk dancing the lezginka in large numbers, so exciting! Despite the all too well-known ethnic issues in Soviet times and, moreover, the tensions in today's Russia, people's friendship has always been there, a recurring theme in the day-to-day life of many people. So, 'People's Friendship' could be a good theme for the Sochi Opening Ceremony in 2014, and Russia could successfully capitalise on that one.      

The one major problem with emulating London on this score is obviously trying not to slide into rude, cynical or plain stupid and fake when playing on the country's many stereotypes and its 'glorious past'. A good thing about London, as one commentator emphasised, was that the Brits can laugh at themselves and at the same time be genuinely proud of themselves in a way that they do not make idiots of themselves. Britain also came out as 'a nation secure in its own post-empire identity'. Which might be a big issue for us Russians. Russia needs to approach itself and what it represents in the minds of many people, foreign and native, in a subtle, light-hearted, easy-going way - in other words, it needs to do it the smart way. It needs to amaze audiences with its authentic unadulterated 'Russianness'. There may be a healthy dose of self-deprecation and laughter, national pride and jubilation - but these should be packed in a wisely crafted script, passionate and exciting, that would make everyone want to be part of this sportsfest, would make everyone feel happy. The other problem with comparing Brits and Russians is that from beginning to end Britain showed a progression from a normal rural country through a growing industrial society to a prosperous modern nation that positively looks into the future and sees itself at the forefront of history-making. In this hour-and-a-half story good eventually triumphs over evil and all live happily ever after. As one commentator said, it was 'a portrait of a country aware of its shortcomings but surprisingly confident about its future.' Russia has inherited from its past more than it needs to feel that way. This is not the end, not a definitive happy ending of a beautiful (hi)story as today's Russia is still in a state of 'transition', in a state of 'confusion'. But it does not mean that it is not looking into the future. And it does not mean Russia cannot introduce itself properly, present its contemporary face and show its best sides when the moment calls for it. It had better do it because we all know you can never make a second first impression.

Details of the Sochi Opening Ceremony, which will take place on 7th February 2014, are of course being kept secret. Prime Minister Medvedev hinted at certain things during his London visit, where he gave an interview to The Times newspaper and also talked to Russian journalists covering the Olympics. Medvedev's overall impression was positive, he really liked the Opening Ceremony, especially the great British music that everyone in the world knows of, and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. But, he said, the Sochi Opening Ceremony would have to be shorter in time as it is Winter Olympics, and the focus would rather be on visual effects than on music as the Russian contemporary music scene is almost unknown outside of Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The overarching theme could be Russia's vastness and its beauty. Medvedev also emphasised that he came  in for the London Olympics with the officials responsible for the Sochi Games (head of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov and Dmitri Kozak who is in charge of the Sochi preparations) 'to talk to our [British] counterparts' and learn from London's Olympic experience. Aforementioned Dmitri Kozak was more measured about the London opening spectacular and suggested that the Sochi ceremony be shorter and 'more dynamic'. Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko pointed out the cultivation of patriotism during the London Games that Russia would do well to take on board at Sochi. Rehearsals at the Sochi Olympic Stadium are scheduled to begin in August 2013. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies are administered by a special Agency for the Preparation of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Sochi Olympic Games set up in spring 2012. 

Meanwhile, ahead of the Sochi Games in 2014 Russia, quite naturally, has started to actively engage in sports and public diplomacy - and this was evident at this year's London Games. The Russian Embassy in London acted as the main conduit for information on Russian activities in the capital during the Olympic fortnight. The Russian presence materialised in the form of Russia Park - the Russian hospitality house stationed in the beautiful Kensington Gardens and charged with the task of welcoming the world to the Russian sporting and cultural scene, and of giving a glimpse into what to expect at the coming Winter Games in Sochi. I believe the exercise in public diplomacy under the slogan 'Where Russia Greets the World' went down well. There was everything to satisfy any world-curious mind: fake snow and ice shows in the spirit of a true 'Russian winter' with famous Russian athletes to perform and engage, various cultural events, and authentic Russian cuisine. The organisers seem to have made every effort to keep to the highest standards of cultural PR. The many cultural events and performances were conducted as part of the ongoing Sochi Cultural Olympiad in the run-up to the 2014 Games that aims to 'present Russia's unique cultural heritage to the world'. The shows included rock and pop bands, ethnic folk ensembles, a Cossack choir and a jazz orchestra, theatre and childrens' performances. The organisers also talked tourism and investment while in London, presenting their vision of the future of the Sochi region and the surroundings as a dynamic must-see destination for holidaymakers and travellers alike. At some point the guests even got to dance the lezginka! Overall, it looks like the Russian hospitality house proved a good enough investment in the country's international image and a fine example of nation branding as the organisers recognised and optimised the importance of cultural person-to-person interactions. It is worth noting that some national hospitality houses, such as the US's, were not open to the public at all and only provided access to athletes and diplomats.  

Apart from the Russian Sochi pavilion at London 2012, one can get an idea of what the actual Games in 2014 are planned to be like on the dedicated website. The website looks friendly and welcoming to me. What is of particular interest are the pages that highlight sustainable development and the 'green' character of the forthcoming Games, special care for people with disabilities, and volunteering - all three not featuring particularly high in Russians' everyday lives. For dessert, you have the 'Interesting Facts' section, which did a good job of bringing out the child in me and genuinely tickled my curiosity. Getting down to serious stuff, the Sochi Games, the website goes, will be highly innovative and technologically advanced. All elements of the strategic vision for the Games are brought together in a so-called 'Russian Diamond'. The organisers have obviously embarked on the hard task of making the Games a success, aiming to showcase a modern, innovative, progressive Russia that would integrate into the global community and leave a lasting (positive) impression on the international audience. More specifically, Brand Sochi 2014 is designed to introduce a multifaceted image of Russia: a country rich in history and culture and embarking on a successful future, a country open to opportunities and the passion to make dreams a reality, and a country committed to equality and celebrating diversity. In terms of Russia's cultural and national values, an interesting objective which echoes Ambassador Yakovenko's advice cited above for the Sochi Olympics is proclaimed on the website: 'development of patriotism and the feeling of national pride'. 

Last but not least, it transpired lately that the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee had finally come up with a motto for the Games. To cut a long story short, it's "Жаркие. Зимние. Твои." I guess the creative team really wanted to make it simple and stupid but instead it just came out as simply stupid. Not to mention that the English version is plain confusing: 'Hot. Cool. Yours.' (meaning 'Hot. Winter (Games). Yours.' if literally translated from Russian). Are they cold (cool) or are they hot? The official source provides an elaborate explanation saying that the motto follows up from the brand's earlier slogan presented in 2009, which is 'This Is My Games'. It's all well and good that the Games are meant to reach out to the ordinary citizens and are 'mine' and everyone's to enjoy in everyone's own kind of way, but both of these sequences of words come across as too static for the energising spirit of the Olympic Games and thus lack dynamism. I don't see, either, how the slogan 'is intended to reflect the national character of Russia and the values of the Sochi 2014 brand, as well as Sochi 2014's progressive and innovative approach to the organisation and staging of the Games'. If the diversity of Russia's national character, which head of the Organising Committee Dmitri Chernyshenko emphasised, boils down to being either hot or cool, or both at the same time - then yes, they are right, and I have no further questions for these guys. But something just doesn't add up. Previous slogans, such as Turin 2006 ('Passion Lives Here'), Beijing 2008 ('One World, One Dream'), Vancouver 2010 ('With Glowing Hearts'), London 2012 at last ('Inspire A Generation'), invited you into the future and had the intensity, passion and inspiration that are missing in the Sochi 2014 slogan. What are Russia's mission and message in this entire enterprise anyway? 

Just for fun, creative Internet folk instantly came up with hundreds of spoofs and memes for the Olympic motto the day the official slogan was revealed. The Sochi 2014 organisers have definitely caused a stir. 

I will leave you with this lovely unofficial Sochi 2014 mascot.