Made in Russia: National and Regional Branding as Tools for Economic Development and Promoting Russia around the World
Key conclusions
Work to promote the Made in Russia brand is continuing apace
“How do we promote the Made in Russia brand? Both the Roscongress Foundation and the Russian Export Center are focused on doing so. Together with Russia Today, they are showcasing the Made in Russia brand at airports in the run-up to the World Cup. This is the right thing to do – we need to take advantage of such important events. There will be lots of tourists, who will get to see all this and buy souvenirs. We’ve accomplished a great deal of work, especially over the last two years. We have also seen the establishment of the Russian Quality System brand. Three and a half thousand items have undergone the inspection procedure, and a great many of them which comply with superior standards were issued with its mark of quality. Goods with this label show an increase in sales of 30–35%. Thirty million Russians trust the information provided by the Russian Quality System. <…> Until we have trust in our products and start buying them, nobody will purchase them abroad.” – Viktor Evtukhov, State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
Russian companies are developing their own brands
“The Aurus car was developed in Russian over the course of two years. The project is the culmination of a great deal of work by manufacturers, engineers and scientists; digital twins, digital modelling, digital design and virtual modelling were all employed at the production stage. Every test was passed immediately, at the first attempt. The result is a car that people will be queuing up for, and not only in this country. Our partners in other countries will enthusiastically buy the entire range of these cars.” – Mikhail Sadchenkov, General Director of the Made in Russia National Brand.
“We cannot simply advertise openly on public platforms. That is why we created our own media outlet at Kalashnikov Concern a little over six months ago. We provide information about the company, and have a project called ‘Biathlon from the Inside’. People have shown a great deal of interest in us, both from the sporting profession, and from senior management figures.” – Ivan Cherezov, Head of Sport Projects, Kalashnikov Concern.
The Russian regions have been included in efforts to build and promote brands
“We have consciously attempted to incorporate the image of the book as a symbol of culture, and the letter N, which stands for Novgorod and acts as a kind of connecting symbol. It is an old-style Russian decorative script, which operates as a symbol of education and art. They are heraldic symbols. And we have strived to unite all of these in our Novgorod Rus export brand. This brand should form part of the Made in Russia brand. <...> Our companies have become actively involved in this pilot stage, and currently over 30 companies are part of the Made in Russia brand.” – Andrey Nikitin, Governor of Novgorod Region.
“We have three umbrella brands in the Udmurt Republic. They have been transformed into fully fledged development strategies. The first of these is Made in Udmurtia. It is an open platform for the entrepreneurial community. There are a number of major benefits for entrepreneurs in the region, covering everything from trademark registration to promotion. Tourism is one of the region’s biggest industries. In addition to a strategy, we have the brands Invest in Udmurtia and Recharge in Udmurtia, the latter focusing on tourism and sport.” – Alexander Brechalov, Head of the Udmurt Republic.
Problems
The absence of a unified approach to brand promotion
“As yet, the kind of synergy which could unite all this simply does not exist. As a result, expenditure increases unnecessarily. <...> Today, in one way or another, over 100 actors participate in the promotion of national brands.” – Mikhail Sadchenkov.
A shortage of tools to build and promote national brands
“There are two areas in which we are lacking. The first is technology. Secondly, we need to be a little more brazen, in the positive sense of the word.” – Andrey Barannikov, General Director, SPN Communications.
Solutions
The creation of a single platform to promote brands
“Much could be optimized, much could be seamlessly incorporated into a single, overarching story. This would lead to equality for the regions, which currently have no opportunities to promote their goods. Our objective is to build the kind of platform capable of taking consumer traffic, and directing it to the regions, while at the same time assisting them in increasing their reach via their own local brands. <...> We aim to create an environment and structure which can integrate all these brands and provide them with additional opportunities for development. At the same time, we want to ensure the fulfilment of our ultimate national objective.” – Mikhail Sadchenkov.
Tourism must be a cornerstone of promoting Russia as a brand
“Tourism can act as a silver bullet to solve a region’s poverty problems and drive their prosperity. Tourism is a great aid for smaller, out-of-the-way localities. It provides them with additional incentives for development.” – Wang Ping, Chairman, China Chamber of Tourism.
“Tourism does not require a huge amount of investment. In China, just as in Russia, there is a fairly large number of regions with plenty to offer. However, several of these may not have the requisite infrastructure. There are a great many measures that can be taken to encourage domestic tourism, and they could be applied in Russia.” – Petr Lidov, Director of Corporate Communications, Sputnik.
A shortage of tools to build and promote national brands
“Today, in order to compete, to build national brands and proudly assign them with the Made in Russia label, we need to employ new technologies and create new products.” – Viktor Evtukhov.
Culture should be used as an instrument to promote Russia as a brand
“We must teach ourselves to sell our traditional crafts in such a way as to win the attention of today’s consumer. <...> We need to unite the efforts of the entire community around these small brands, and primarily those of the local community and local government.”– Xenia Frank, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation.
“When speaking about culture or any creative field, the most important thing in terms of export potential is to create the strongest possible symbiosis of national and universal cultural codes. This works well in animation, because we make a great deal of animations and cartoons without words at all. One example of a successful animation is Masha and the Bear.” Yuliana Slashcheva, Chairman of the Management Board, Soyuzmultfilm Creative Production Association.
For more details go to the Roscongress Foundation Information and Analytical System’s website.
