Sunday, August 7, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

‘Brand Armenia’: Promoting Armenia’s Image in the 21st Century

by Contributor
July 22, 2014
in Armenia, Featured Story, Latest, Top Stories
7
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A view of Khor Virap monastery with Mt. Ararat in the background

BY VASKEN KALAYJIAN

The Republic of Armenia, and by extension its worldwide diaspora, is at an exciting crossroad between the past and future. What road it will take in the coming critical years depends largely on Armenia’s ability grow its economy. Tourism and foreign investment are important factors in reaching this key goal.

Unlike other nations pursuing similar objectives, Armenia has been late to the party in terms of actively marketing its brand assets in today’s competitive global economy. But thanks to a groundbreaking initiative, recently launched by the Armenian government, this is about to change.

The Armenian National Competitiveness Foundation, working in close cooperation with the Embassy of the United States in Armenia, has been tasked by Armenia’s government to market Armenia and its people under the assignment’s banner “Brand Armenia.”

Brand Armenia is a project driven by original research that explores the ways and means to properly showcase Armenia and its people on the world stage.

It begins with asking a range of stakeholders and knowledgeable observers some fundamental questions like: What unites Armenians worldwide as a people? How do Armenians see themselves as a unique identity relative to other nations? What are Armenia’s greatest strengths and weaknesses? And most important, how would the “ideal” Armenia be defined in next 20 years?

Armenia is a Case Study in Contradictions and Complexities
Trying to brand a place like Armenia is both challenging and inspiring. Ideally, a country’s essence, assets and allure should be summed up in few words and images. Yet Armenia’s image is difficult to wrap a cohesive strategy around for multiple reasons.

First, Armenia represents a history steeped in Christianity, yet it is undeniably influenced by the Ottoman and Soviet empires under which historical Armenia was subjugated until recently.

Today’s Armenia is known to lack natural commodities for export and trade, yet it is very rich in human brainpower. It’s an ancient civilization, yet a relatively young and newly independent state. It boasts a mountainous climate with breathtaking vistas, yet it’s landlocked and surrounded by historical enemies, thereby creating barriers to trade and commerce.

Most of all, although Armenia’s population is extremely homogenous, its national identity is fragmented into hybrid identities resulting from its worldwide diaspora—French-Armenians, American-Armenians, Latin-American Armenians, Middle Eastern-Armenians, Australian-Armenians and Russian-Armenians. Each lays claim to Armenia as its ancestral homeland, so depending on who’s looking, Armenia is a mirror upon which to reflect a kaleidoscope of traits rather than as a window into the quintessential Armenian soul.

Brand Armenia is all about changing this outworn narrative, so that today’s Armenia can project itself as a modern, progressive nation with key cultural, social and business-friendly attributes that appeal to tourists and investors alike.

The Principles and Processes of Country Branding
People unfamiliar with the nuances of marketing may see branding as simply the presentation of a logo or design that can be instantly associated with a product or service. Clear examples of this are the Nike swoosh and the unmistakable penmanship of Coca-Cola’s signature, which has been used by the company since its inception. Also, few realize the psychological and emotional elements employed to construct a solid, loyal customer base that an effective brand campaign can generate.

GK Tribe Global country branding specialists are able to tap into individual and collective archetypes, emotions and values when branding products and companies. The same applies to place and country branding—forming a connection based on values and ideals.

As the CEO and Brand Architect of GK Tribe Global, the New York-based branding firm contracted to lead the Brand Armenia initiative in partnership with other Tribe Global office in Canada, Cundari Group. “I believe that a strong country brand enhances a nation’s cultural and political influence. And a country’s reputation is based on intangible assets built on actions and achievements that are highly tangible.”

Places are some of the most interesting things to brand. The initiative is often labeled “place branding,” “geo-branding” and “destination branding.” The most important activity in this process is identifying the most powerful strategy and unique positioning for the place—the “brand position.”

Establishing a signature visual and raising awareness of the brand are the next most important phases. Both involve conducting proper, relevant research with the various key stakeholders. Those audiences can include residents, businesses, tourists and visitors, meeting and event planners (including convention planners and major sporting event organizers), travelers and corporate commercial traffic.

It means surveying and interviewing people across the spectrum of society, from the heads of state to all levels of community, villages, various regions, artists and doctors, teachers and business leaders, religious leaders, political parties, the media, various diasporans around the world and non-Armenians in 36 different countries.

Each of these audiences has its own distinct issues and needs, and specialized place-based organizations market to meet such needs, such as visitor and convention bureaus, economic development councils and business improvement districts. The stakeholder groups multiply into a large mix of potentially competing points of view. This may include mayoral offices, county, provincial, state and regional entity executives and business, cultural institutions and sports team leaders.

A carefully orchestrated branding project seeks to gain a consensus across divergent stakeholder groups. That is another reason why a place-branding effort often takes much longer than does a product or corporate branding effort.

Some attributes that are important target audiences for place-branding can include good job opportunities, low crime, good medical care, affordable housing, scenic beauty, friendly people, tours to unique local sights and activities, abundant cultural opportunities, low cost of living, good restaurants and an environment for future growth and market competition.

Does Armenia possess enough of these qualities to gain stature on the world stage? Brand Armenia is ready to find out. Here’s how we will work to connect the dots in developing a cohesive and compelling brand image for Armenia and its people.

• Employ a consensus building process.
• Assess Armenia’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats based on in-depth market research.
• Select the most important assets around which a unique value proposition and marketing campaign will be built—one that appeals to residents, businesses and tourists alike.
• Tailor messages for each group.
• Create a tagline and master image that not only looks and sounds appealing, but also powerfully communicates Armenia’s unique value proposition at a glance.

Brand Armenia will present its brand strategy by the end of this year with the intention of launching the new brand in 2015. Stay tuned for updates of each leg of this exciting journey.

Contributor

Contributor

Next Post

Armenian Firm to Assemble New High-Speed 3D Printer

Comments 7

  1. Armenian says:
    8 years ago

    And by the way, that’s not to single out Armenia; anyone too closely affiliated with Russia will suffer a loss in tourism, Belarus and Kazakstan included.

    Reply
  2. PAUL BARDIZBANIAN says:
    8 years ago

    EASY ONE! ;ARMENIA–WORLD CLASS–LANGUAGE-FAITH-BUSINESS-ARCHITECTURE- RESEARCH-CHESS–HOSPITALITY AND HONESTY!!

    Reply
    • PAUL BARDIZBANIAN says:
      8 years ago

      YOU MAY WANT TO ADD; SUFFERING—NAW—KICK THE PITY PARTY OUT!

      Reply
  3. Dino says:
    8 years ago

    “Today’s Armenia is known to lack natural commodities for export and trade” Really? Cooper, zinc, nickel, lead, molybdenum, silver and gold in significant quantities are exported not to mention stone and marble.

    Reply
  4. Dr. Ani Kalayjian says:
    8 years ago

    Great analysis Vasken. We need to be mindful to have enough supportive groups to release, process, and transform the victim and suffering mentality, psyche, and attitude, and embrace a positive, uplifting, secure, meaning centered, peaceful, and harmonious philosophy of life. We need to work on transforming Horizontal Violence (Kalayjian, Ani 1990), and work on empowerment by lifting one another up. As they say, there is nothing better for our heart then bending down and lifting someone up.
    Dr. Ani

    Reply
  5. Marta Vallejo Arenaz says:
    8 years ago

    Brand Armenia is an interesting example of the growing importance of Place branding for any country. But as important as communicating the values of Armenia outside is to communicate it inside the country.

    Reply
  6. Ani says:
    7 years ago

    Thank you for the article. Is brand strategy creation finished? I can’t find much on internet. Did they launch the new brand in 2015 (as stated in the article)?

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Marta Vallejo Arenaz Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Russia Again Blames Azerbaijan for Ceasefire Violation

In Response to Lavrov, Yerevan Says it Voiced Concerns about Russian Peacekeepers in 2021

2 days ago
U.S. Wants to Assist Armenia in Reforms

Blinken Discusses Karabakh with Pashinyan, Aliyev

2 days ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • www.asbarez.com
    • August 7, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to