Actual problems of promoting regional brands in Russia
Abstract. In modern economic conditions, a lot of regions of the Russian Federation are forced to independently find ways to attract investments and increase their competitiveness. The difficult period for the country is aggravated by the deficit of regional budgets, a decrease in foreign investments, the departure of foreign manufacturers, leading to a decrease in the supply of a number of goods and services. At the same time, it is impossible not to note the positive side of the current situation: the country`s active course on the import substitution. Despite the fact that the Russian economy is going through hard times, perhaps now it is the time when the regions will be able to show their capabilities and, by changing their positioning, attract the attention of the country`s population to domestic goods and services. A strong regional brand can become a serious strategic tool that helps to increase the attractiveness of regions. The purpose of this study is to identify the main problems of the development of regional brands in Russia and to develop priority directions for their promotion. The data necessary for the study were obtained during a survey of residents of Russia, as well as on the basis of an analysis of the experience of the formation of regional brands by the subjects of the Russian Federation and subjects of a number of foreign countries. As a result of the conducted research, the authors conclude that it is necessary to introduce an integrated approach to the development of a regional brand strategy, including the application of design tools.
Keywords: regional brand, branding, marketing communications, identity, import substitution, image of the region.
Highlights:
♦ the substantiation of the relevance of the formation and promotion of regional brands in the current economic situation in the country is given;
♦ with the help of marketing research, the reasons for the low demand for goods from domestic manufacturers and the current problems of promoting regional brands in Russia have been identified;
♦ the authors have proposed ways to promote regional brands by means of design in such areas as improving product design, brand communication and environmental design.
Tatiana I. Bannikova, Ekaterina A. Chudinova, Victor A. Klimenko, Anastasia E. Voronina-Darintseva - National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia