UKRAINE’S IMAGE NEEDS FIXING

To date, the local elites have had no time to focus on national branding due to the country’s economic  climate: Ukraine's economy contracted by a stunning 17.6 percent in the first quarter of 2015 compared with a year earlier, when the separatist conflict erupted. In 2014, Ukraine lost approximately 20 percent of its economy with industrial sector output in Donetsk and Luhansk regions falling by 30 to 40 percent. For average Ukrainians, that has translated into a drop in living standards. The economic decline has caused a plunge in the value of the national currency, which in turn pushed inflation to highs of 60.9 percent, meaning the cost of goods has soared far above modest increase in wages.

In spite of this situation, more effective efforts need to raise awareness of Ukraine and communicate the positive changes taking place. Ukraine has many strong competitive advantages and its great potential needs to be communicated efficiently. These advantages have not been assembled yet into a national story. National branding requires involvement of professionals from all walks of life. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must attract the support of both Ukrainian and foreign businesses, the Ukrainian diaspora, think tanks, NGOs and the art community, to name a few.

If Ukraine’s authorities decide to address the image issue, they must first and foremost define modern Ukraine in branding terms and streamline the country’s ragged profile. Ukraine must declare what it stands for and how it wants to introduce itself to the world. This is all about positioning the country because Ukraine has not yet established its position in the minds of global consumers. There is no single Ukrainian brand that could conceivably become an ambassador of the country’s nature and attributes. Lack of funds pose a great problem. Nor is it impossible to enhance an image without a certain degree of institutionalization. Ukraine needs a permanent managerial and coordination framework for building its brand.

There is a need to show that Ukraine has changed to show Ukraine’s new role in the world, explain why it is worth visiting and what to expect from the country. From an inner perspective: with the corruption, collapsing infrastructure, poor social benefits, substandard healthcare and so much more in desperate need of fixing, experts say that only pragmatism can now become a new national idea for Ukraine. The country’s challenge is that the government will have to spend significantly more time and money if it is to make an impact on the image problems hampering the nation’s development. The problem of Ukraine is not so much in the bad stereotypes but the complex present situation. The main rule of successful branding is promoting conformity and advertising reality.

UKRAINE’S IMAGE NEEDS FIXING